Rugby is a sport with a foundation in camaraderie and tradition.
Founded in Europe in the late 19th century, rugby helped start the evolution of the game of football in America.
Today, the sport does not have the fan base that American football does, but it is slowly growing and becoming more recognized nation wide. Part of this growth is seen in the ASU rugby team.
“It’s growing at 20 percent every year,” head coach Gary Lane said. “What we’re seeing is the age groups 8-16 are really picking up the sport and using it as an alternative to football."
Lane said he believes the youth programs will help to increase the popularity of the sport, therefore increasing collegiate participation and eventually professional participation as well.
The rugby program at ASU has been on campus for over 40 years.
In the last eight years, the team has been among the top 15 teams in the country and has produced several national team members including former ASU football and rugby player Chris Coyle, Lane said.
In collegiate rugby, about 400 teams, both varsity and club, are put into one pool and compete against each other. The ASU rugby team became a member of the Varsity Cup program, which is one step above the regular D1A program, Lane said, in 2014.
The Varsity Cup is a collegiate rugby postseason championship began in 2013 and is comprised of the “most recognized and accomplished university rugby programs in the country,” according to the Varsity Cup website.
In its first appearance in the Varsity Cup, ASU lost to Central Washington in the first round. This year they will again meet Central Washington, ranked third in the nation, in the first round of the championship.
The ASU rugby program has a strong presence on the field as well as on campus, senior club president and scrum-half Eric Brown said.
“We like to keep it positive,” Brown said. “It’s guys leading by example on the field by their hard work and dedication and leading off the field by being good men and holding up our principles outside the pitch.”
Rugby is a game of non-stop play, making teamwork a paramount component of success.
“I understand the hype of sports like basketball and football where the plays are so short, you have time to celebrate (as an individual) but in rugby if you score, the game is still going.” Brown said.
“You don’t have time to celebrate yourself, you have your brothers out there that are bleeding, and sweating, and putting their bodies on the line to win this game, you don’t have time for just celebrating yourself.”
Brown has been playing rugby since the summer before he came to ASU. He stepped up to the challenge of club president after he realized he could take on the responsibility.
“It’s been the exclamation point on my college experience,” Brown said. “These are my brothers.”
Colton Leadley, a flanker for the Sun Devils, came to ASU after serving five years in the military.
Leadley said he began playing in Europe while stationed there and after leaving the military was searching for a new community.
“I see myself in these kids,” Leadley said. “I try to help them and mold them into being better men.”
The first month of opponents for ASU this upcoming month is full of tough teams. The Sun Devils have already matched up against rugby powerhouse St. Mary’s and UCLA this season.
St. Mary’s beat ASU 80-12 on Jan. 17.
“I think we’ll do better as the season goes on and as the guys get into the flow,” Lane said.
The Sun Devils also lost to the Bruins last week, 32-10. The ASU players think they should have won the game.
“We’re a better team than them,” Lane said. “Decision-making hurt us and we left points on the board that we should have scored on.”
In Saturday's practice, the team focused on fixing mistakes that came from decision-making, structure and tackling. ASU is preparing for its first home match of the season against Utah, a team who Lane says will present a challenge with its size.
Brown said he believes the team is up for the challenge Utah, and the rest of the season, presents for the Sun Devils.
“This is probably the best team I’ve played on at ASU so far,” Brown said. “We have the potential to beat all these top ranked teams.”
The Utah match will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 6 at ASU’s Soccer Stadium.
Reach the reporter at haley.stesiak@asu.edu or follow @haley_stesiak on Twitter.
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