Rugby will hit Vegas; preps for upcoming match
The KU rugby club has been hard at work for the last three weeks. There is good reason why you have seen them in the football stadium on these frigid nights or perhaps in the field house at 1:00 a.m.
It is championship season once again for the ruggers. The club and coaches are earnestly preparing for the national playoffs and the team’s 10th consecutive appearance in the big dance. The team’s best showing was in 2008, when it advanced to the Elite Eight and went down to a last minute defeat in Albuquerque, N.M.
A rugby powerhouse from Northern California, the Gaels of St. Mary’s College, snatched the victory in the closing moments of the contest and went on to the national Final Four.
The Golden Bears are being heralded as having the squad to repeat that feat this year.
The first round of the nationals is on March 27. The KU side will take on its arch-nemesis, the undefeated University of Delaware Blue Hens. In order to prepare for the matchup, the Bears are bound for Las Vegas next week and the National Collegiate Invitational Rugby Tournament. The team will be lodged at the Hooters Hotel and Casino on the famous Las Vegas strip.
After the tournament concludes on Friday, the team will stay in town to watch the International World Series of 7’s, as KU alumnus Marco Barnard enters the stadium with his new team, the U.S.A. National 7’s squad. Barnard is now a contracted professional rugby player and member of America’s team. Barnard and his U.S. Eagles open pool play on Saturday against England, Kenya, and Tonga.
The KU Golden Bears will open their home season on Saturday, Feb. 20, against Loyola University. Due to the possible frozen conditions of the rugby field, this match will be played in the university football stadium. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 p.m., with the second sidegame to follow.
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