Sports > November 9, 2005

By Jack Odell

Old Gold & Black Reporter

Football fans looking for an uplifting story heading into Wake Forest’s final game of a roller coaster season should take time to check out the school’s Rugby Football Club.  Not only is rugby the sport from which football evolved, it has all of the components of football except that on this campus, it is not getting nearly as much recognition. 

What better time to put the well-deserved spotlight on the Wake Forest RFC than after they just wrapped up a successful fall season with a grueling performance at the North Carolina State Rugby Tournament in Danville to become the 2005 N.C. State Plate Champions.

In the first two games of the tournament, the Demon Deacons showed off their improving club by demolishing Guilford and Elon. In their third game, revenge was sweet as they beat rival Duke 26-0, the same team that kept them from the final four last year with a 36-0 knockout.

“We killed Duke,” senior and club Vice President Eric Jewett said.

Needless to say, those three words can put a smile on any Wake Forest sports fan’s face.

In the final game of the tournament, the team was beating Division I UNC Chapel-Hill, a top-20 national team, with only ten minutes to go.

Unfortunately, the victory escaped Wake Forest in the final minutes. Nonetheless, the WFU RFC had made a serious statement.

Members of the team credit much of the program’s recent success to their new coach, law school student Patrick Kane.

Kane has been an all-star player since he began in 1996 and is currently playing with the Triad Rugby Football Club while rebuilding Wake Forest’s club. 

“We’ve seen a lot of progression,” club President Achilleas Patounas said. “Pat Kane has turned our organization around and has taught us to play the game of rugby instead of just being in it for the social aspect.”

“Pat’s a great coach,” Jewett added. “He has helped us to be the team we are. We are trying to sustain a good program and now have people thinking about rugby when they are considering coming to Wake Forest.”

Although the club is currently enjoying their hard-earned success, they have already begun planning their next campaign.

First, seven players from Wake Forest’s 25-man roster will represent the university and the rest of North Carolina in the Southern National Rugby All-Star Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. in two weeks.  After hearing the players’ support for Coach Kane, it comes as no surprise that he was selected to coach the North Carolina All-Star team.

Looking past the All-Star tournament, the Wake Forest ruggers are setting their goals high for the spring season. 

“We want to win the Division III National Championship,” Jewett said.

And Patounas even believes the program has the potential to shift divisions.

“Honestly, we could be good enough for Division II,” he said.

To become national champions, Wake Forest will most likely have to go through Furman, three-time national champions.

However, with the senior leadership and a large group of talented young players, nothing seems out of reach.

One such talented new addition to the club is freshman Javin Hutchinson of Nairobi, Kenya. Referred to by his teammates as the “Freshman Sensation,” Hutchinson played rugby growing up in Kenya and came as a welcomed surprise to the growing Wake Forest club. 

“He is a real team player and dedicates himself to the team,” Jewett said. “Guys like him will help to keep the club going strong after the older members graduate.”

Hutchinson chose to redirect the attention to the team, however, when asked about his own contributions.

“We showed a lot of promise and cannot wait to see what we can do in the spring,” he said.

Although the club is already benefiting from a large and talented freshmen class, they are still encouraging more members to join. 

“In the spring, we would like to have new people come out. Most guys learn here and we are a good group of guys who stick together and have a good time.” Patounas said. “We practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m.  on Water Tower Field if anyone wants to come out.”

If anything, the players attest that the team is low-key, fun and something that people get a great deal out of.

“Come out and see if you like it,” Jewett said. “Most guys end up playing and stick with it after they graduate. Rugby ends up being something you do, not just play.”