The University of Arizona men’s rugby team have had an undefeated fall season so far with a 6-0 record. Head coach and director of rugby Sean Duffy is going into his 11th season at Arizona and is excited for another opportunity to achieve a national championship.
“Every week we get better and better,” Duffy said.
For Duffy, this quick growth is partially due to the coaching staff making the choice 2 years ago to commit to a double rugby schedule. In August after freshman recruits move in, training begins for their games in September. Though the spring schedule is more competitive, the fall season schedule matches up similarly with tough games that push the team to embrace the national championship mindset from the start of the academic year.
“We are able to get these first-year athletes feeling like they are a part of the team,” Duffy said. “It has made us better and the team tighter.”
Duffy talked about the daily rugby environment that the team sustains, with team lifts and practices taking up five to six days of the week. The staff scouts about 250 players yearly from around the world, so most of the athletes coming into the program have about 6 to 10 years of experience.
Academics remain a priority for the team. Duffy works one-on-one with the players to make sure each of them is set up for their highest academic success. Duffy, a former student athlete himself, also served as an academic advisor at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he coached rugby. Duffy’s background motivates him to be a better coach and shape the rugby experience of incoming and current athletes to have an even better rugby experience than he did, despite having a successful one himself.
Captains and seniors Cameron Blair and Matteo Berenger are a part of this international roster. Berenger was born in the south of France but bounced between the U.S. and France for parts of his life. His dad played semi-pro rugby for 25 years. Blair is from Dublin, Ireland and remembers falling in love with rugby around the age of 7. In Europe, rugby holds a status similar to that of American football in the U.S., making the cultural shift to playing in a different environment a unique experience for both athletes.
“In class you would never talk about rugby to the guy sitting next to you,” Blair said. “But back home that is all you would talk about,” he added.
Duffy talked about Berenger and Blair as being high performing players that take into account everyone on the pitch, not just their fellow starters.
“I see these guys regularly doing things for these guys they will never really play with,” Duffy said. “They are looking out for the future because they know they want to come back as alumni and watch that guy play.”
As the team gears up for spring season play, they are training for another tough schedule. With several rookies stepping into more competitive play, both captains are confident in the team’s readiness and ability to rise to the challenge.
“We have a really mature group of guys that came in,” Berenger said. “It was nice to get them on track early.”
Blair had a similar take on the newcomers, saying that they brought a breath of fresh air to the team dynamic.
“I’m kind of jealous of them to be honest,” he said. “I wish I had another 4 years.”
Duffy pays no mind to rugby’s lack of a Division Ⅰ sports title at Arizona, saying that labels are not needed to mold this program into something great.
“In order to do this, you need to love it,” Duffy said. “A lot of coffee is required but if the right people surround you it makes it fun. It makes your passion fun.”
The Wildcats will play their last fall game on Dec. 8 in Spartanburg, South Carolina against Mount Saint Mary’s University.
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