Ruck, scrum, tackle and run

The Cal Poly Rugby Club has their eye on the ball this year, and they’re ready to ruck, scrum, run, tackle, kick and maul to get it.

“I expect great things this year like I expect great things every year,” said Gabe Escalera, club president and architectural engineering senior.

“I want us to go undefeated in the season. Last year we went 8-1, which was very close. This season I want the team to make it in the Final Four.”

Cal Poly’s rugby team was ranked sixth in the nation in the 2006-2007 season. They finished 8-1 in league play and 12-6 overall.

With their 2007-2008 preseason now underway, the rugby team leaves on Oct. 25 for a tour in Utah and will play their first match against Brigham Young University, the team they lost to last year in the final playoff match to go to the Final Four.

“We’re an a lot more experienced team this year.a lot of the freshmen guys have high school playing experience, which we’re not used to,” said Thomas Ramirez, first-team hooker and a forestry and natural resources senior.

“Everyone seems a lot more dedicated and serious,” he explained, noting that most of the players also work out and train on their own outside of team practices.

“I think we’ll be a lot better this year because of that higher level of dedication,” he said.

“I’m pretty confident we can go undefeated this year,” he continued. “We just need to step it up and beat that level. If we can do that we can make it in the Final Four.”

Rugby is a club sport at Cal Poly, but the intensity of games and the rigid practice regimen make it comparable to the level of competition of some intercollegiate sports. Players for this season were expected to begin their own power and aerobic training in the summer and were required to do a fitness test when practice began. They currently practice two to three days a week and spend another two to three early mornings purely on fitness exercises.

“We take this pretty seriously. We’re a nationally ranked team, and we know what it takes to train at that level so that we can compete at a national level,” said Ramirez.

Rugby is played with 15 players to a side and up to seven reserves. The first eight players are known as forwards, or the pack, and play in the scrum; the remaining seven players are the backs.

Positions are finalized on game day, but this season’s proposed first-team squad for Cal Poly includes Escalera and Ramirez at the No. 1 looshead prop and No. 2 hooker positions respectively; No. 3 tighthead prop Craig Harter; No. 4 lock Kurt Puder; No. 5 lock Matt Bargman; No. 6 blindside flanker Ryan Fry; No. 7 openside flanker Ernesto Elenes; No. 8 eight man Alex Murchison; No. 9 scrum half Cam Mauritson; No. 10 fly half Doug Marshall; No. 11 left wing Joe Malm; No. 12 inside center Luke Counsil; No 13. outside center Zach Hilton; No 14. right wing Trenton Yackzan; and No. 15 fullback Chris Williams.

There’s also a reserves and second-team squad that get the chance to compete.

Escalera said he enjoys rugby because it’s fast, competitive and requires him to be a well-rounded athlete.

“You have to do everything. There’s no offensive or defensive; you have to be able to rely on the person to your left and to your right to be there and do their job so that you can do yours too.”

“With rugby, it’s fast-paced and there’s constant action,” Ramirez agreed. “When you’re tackled, the play’s not over; you’re always in the game.”

The rugby club’s first home match will be against UC Davis on Nov. 17.