Men's rugby club to play bigger teams

Friday, September 18, 2009

The men’s rugby club starts its first season playing Division I club teams this weekend. This Saturday at 1 p.m. the team plays its first match against Kansas State in Manhattan.

Club president Brandon Holland, Lawrence senior, has no problem saying what the team goal for the season is.

“We want to go to Westerns,” Holland said. “That is our goal every year. We want to win every game we play.”

Helping to achieve this goal will be the welcome addition of two players from overseas. Tonderai Kambarami — referred to by his teammates as “T.K.” — is a freshman from the Netherlands who plays outside center for the Jayhawks. Adam Grant is a junior exchange student from England who plays flanker. Both players have been impressed with the level of play they have seen so far in practice.

“There really are a lot of talented players out here,” Kambarami said. “I could see this team giving some of the teams back in Europe a run for their money, to be completely honest with you.”

Grant believes that the sport is really about to take off in America.

“I see the level of play at practice and the passion people have here,” Grant said. “I would not be surprised to see it become a popular sport here.”

With the first game coming against an in-state rival, the team knows what to expect.

“Kansas State has a really shifty backline, they do a lot of overlapping runs, cuts, and are just hard to tackle,” Holland said. “Our forward pack is much stronger then they are, so that is probably how we will play. Basic, strong forward ball.”

The forward pack for the rugby club has always been a strong point for the team, but with a revamped backline, Holland expects big things.

“Our backline has shown a lot of potential in practice,” Holland said. “Hopefully with our forward play we can suck the defense in, then spin it wide to the backs to score points.”

The newcomers are well aware of the rivalry and how important it is to defeat Kansas State this year after a tough loss the year before in Manhattan.

“All I know is that we hate Kansas State and Missouri the most, so we are going to play with a lot of energy and emotion,” Kambarami said.

When asked what to expect with playing Kansas State and America in general, Grant said, “I expect a lot of big hits and physical play, Americans seem to love that, and with this rivalry I can anticipate a very physical match.”

— — Edited By Jonathan Hermes

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