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Army Rugby Football Club

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Army Black Knights
Full nameArmy Rugby Football Club
UnionDivision 1-A Rugby
Nickname(s)Army Ruggers, Brothers XV
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
LocationWest Point, New York
Ground(s)Anderson Rugby Complex, Warrior Field (Capacity: ~1,000)
Coach(es)Matt Sherman
Captain(s)Collum Magee, Logan Pearce
League(s)D1A, Eastern Conference
National Championships2022 (D1A)
Team kit
Official website
goarmywestpoint.com/sports/mens-rugby

The Army Rugby Football Club was founded in 1961 and for over 50 years the Army Black Knights have been a leader in USA Collegiate Rugby. The Army Ruggers are West Point's most winning team.

In 1980 the USA Rugby Collegiate Championship playoff system was established. Since then, the Army Rugby team has qualified for every national playoff tournament, has reached more than ten semifinals, and has finished second in the nation 3 times. In 2022, Army won the CRAA D1A National Championship.

All Cadet classes play and the team currently has over 60 members drawn from the United States Corps of Cadets fielding four rugby sides.

The Division-1 A and B sides battle for dominance in the Division 1-A Eastern division, while the C and D sides typically challenge local clubs every year.

History[edit]

Army rugby plays college rugby in the Division 1–A Eastern Conference.[1] The Black Knights play their home games at the Anderson Rugby Complex on the campus of West Point. Rugby is a relatively popular sport at West Point; for example, the 2012 game against Air Force was attended by 2,000 fans.[2] Army is currently led by Head Coach Matt Sherman, the Cadets first full-time head coach. Sherman was an All American player at Cal, leading the Bears to 4 National Championships and was previously head coach at San Diego St and Stanford.

Army has one of the most successful college rugby teams in the country. Army played in three consecutive national championship games from 1990 to 1992. Army reached the national semi-finals four consecutive years from 2000 to 2003, and twice in a row in 2009 and 2010.[3]

Army (in grey shirts) v Kutztown Golden Bears in 2017

Under Head Coach Rich Pohlidal, Army joined the newly formed College Premier Division (late renamed Division 1-A) in 2010.[4] Army reached the CPD quarterfinals in 2011 before losing to Utah,[5] and again reached the quarterfinals in 2013. Army's rugby team was briefly suspended in 2013 after several team members violated the Army's code of conduct by forwarding inappropriate emails.[6]

In 2014, Army reached the ACRC Bowl final, before falling to Life University.[7]

Army also plays in rugby sevens tournaments, including the Collegiate Rugby Championship, the highest profile college rugby tournament in the U.S., reaching the finals in 2011.[8] The Collegiate Rugby Championship is played every year in early June at PPL Park in Philadelphia, and is broadcast live on NBC. Army has established a rivalry against Navy at the CRC 7s tournament.[9] They won the inaugural Military Memorial Cup tournament at the Collegiate Rugby Championship tournament in 2012 and won the Bowl Final in 2016 with a 10-0 victory over Maryland.[10] Their rivalry with Navy brought them to victory in 2016 where they evened out the tournament wins against Navy 2-2.[11]

Club Honors[edit]

  • Division 1-A
    • Champions: 2022 (National), 2011 (East Conference)
    • Runners-up: 1990. 1991, 1992
  • RugbyEast Fall
    • Champions: 2018

Previous Seasons[edit]

2013 ARFC Season Table
Opponent Points for Points against Points diff Won Lost Drawn
Kutztown 24 19 5 W
Penn State 22 15 7 W
Delaware 55 17 38 W
Navy 28 26 2 W
RMC, Sandhurst 11 58 47 L
Life University 29 55 26 L
Season Totals 169 190 -21 4 2

Head Coach/Director of Rugby[edit]

  • Matt Sherman — 2015 - Current
  • Mike Mahan — 1987–2004, 2013–2014
  • Rich Pohlidal — 2005-2011

Current squad[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Ryan McCollum (Ohio) Prop United States United States
David Evans (New York) Prop United States United States
Greg Walker (Georgia) Prop United States United States
Donny Goff (Massachusetts) Prop United States United States
Dominic Mori (Oregon) Prop United States United States
Vince Raimondi (USA) Prop United States United States
Brock Langley (Florida) Prop United States United States
Ben Lemon (USA) Prop United States United States
Nick Tengtio (Washington) Hooker United States United States
Eric Houston (Georgia) Hooker United States United States
Tucker Jennings (Kansas) Hooker United States United States
Joseph Pervall (Virginia) Hooker United States United States
Jamison Geracci (Texas) Hooker United States United States
Jeff Ferebee (Tennessee) Lock United States United States
Ben Foley (Minnesota) Lock United States United States
John Sproul (USA) Lock United States United States
John Lake (USA) Lock United States United States
Connor Parker (California) Lock United States United States
Sean Berry (Ohio) Lock United States United States
Jake Christensen (Washington) Flanker United States United States
Max Gordon (Arizona) Flanker United States United States
Tyler Glasz (Texas) Flanker United States United States
Collum Magee (Missouri) Flanker United States United States
Nick Satwicz (Massachusetts) Flanker United States United States
Sam Speer (Texas) Flanker United States United States
Andrew Yoon (California) Flanker United States United States
Zachary Boeckmann (Missouri) Flanker United States United States
Nick George (Iowa) Number 8 United States United States
Jack Ireland (California) Number 8 United States United States
Dominic Plantamura (Maryland) Number 8 United States United States
Player Position Union
Aaron Bush (Texas) Scrum-half United States United States
Jake Banarhall (New Hampshire) Scrum-half United States United States
Blake Hunnewell (New York) Fly-half United States United States
Eric Curwin (Ohio) Fly-half United States United States
Cody Brown (North Carolina) Fly-half United States United States
Matt Kaiser (California) Fly-half United States United States
Andy Ashton (Iowa) Centre United States United States
Matt Barber (Colorado) Centre United States United States
Alex Savusa (Hawaii) Centre United States United States
Dan Myers (West Virginia) Centre United States United States
Peter Basnight (Maryland) Centre United States United States
Cam Hargis (Texas) Centre United States United States
Logan Weiland (USA) Centre United States United States
Andrew Fargo (California) Centre United States United States
Gabe Chrismon (North Carolina) Wing United States United States
Alex Abia Wing Rwanda Rwanda
George Levy (Texas) Wing United States United States
Logan Pearce (Ohio) Wing United States United States
Joe Dlugosh (Idaho) Wing United States United States
Raaqim Rispress (USA) Wing United States United States
Luke Heun (Alaska) Wing United States United States
David Huff (Alaska) Wing United States United States
TJ Rowe (Illinois) Fullback United States United States
Andrew Borer (California) Fullback United States United States
Joseph Chabries (USA) Fullback United States United States

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ College Premier Division
  2. ^ Army Beats Air Force Archived 2013-01-26 at the Wayback Machine, Rugby Mag, November 2, 2012.
  3. ^ College rugby
  4. ^ "CPD Deadline: Who's in, Who's Out?" Archived 2015-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, Rugby Today, Pat Clifton, July 1, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  5. ^ "BYU, Utah rugby gear up for College Premier Division semifinals", Deseret News, May 10, 2011.
  6. ^ "Army temporarily disbands men's rugby team", USA Today, June 3, 2013.
  7. ^ "Life Downs Army in ACRC Bowl", Goff Rugby Report, November 22, 2014.
  8. ^ "Dartmouth downs Army to take rugby sevens title", Philly.com, Kate Fagan, June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  9. ^ "Army-Navy rivalry resumes in rugby tournament at PPL Park", Philly.com, Alex Lee, June 1, 2012.
  10. ^ "Cal Mengklaim CRC yang Keempat Berturut-Turut".
  11. ^ "Cal Mengklaim CRC yang Keempat Berturut-Turut".

External links[edit]