After four years of being a club, the boys’ rugby program is officially a varsity sport that focuses on the basics to have a winning season.

“We started four years ago,” senior Ha Neul On said. “Jared [Woislaw], one of our captains, he and several others [alumnus Will Moore, Chris Gwyn, James Officier] started the team. Since then we’ve played three seasons and this year we’ve become a varsity sport.”

“It’s a pretty big deal to us to be a varsity sport, and we’re pretty happy about that,” senior Joe Panzera said.

The team has two new coaches, Greg Richer and Connor Cahill.

“We brought on two new coaches” senior Jared Woislaw said. “They won’t ever say this but they are really fantastic rugby players, one of them is a reigning National Champion [Richer] and the other is a college All-American [Cahill].”

“We’re incredibly honored to take the program into the varsity era and continue the team’s traditions here at Algonquin,” coach Greg Richer said.

Rugby is a combination of soccer and American football. With only passing the ball backwards, the team tries to advance the ball into the opposite end zone as they face tackling from the other team. It’s a fast paced game: if you don’t pay attention, you might miss the magic as players tackle and struggle for possession.

“The great thing about rugby is that it’s a team sport,” Richer said. “If one person fails the team does, if one player succeeds the team does.”

As its first year as varsity, the 25 player team is competitive for starting positions. The team defeated Andover during a scrimmage on April 15.

“The biggest thing is, we just come out and work hard and practice every single day,” Panzera said. “We don’t let up, we don’t quit.”

This season, they aim to move forward and work as a team.

“We plan to take this season one game at a time,” Richer said. “Our long-term goal is to build a positive student athlete culture and build a tradition of rugby.”

“We’re gentlemen playing a barbaric sport,” On said.

“The team’s been doing exceptionally well,” Richer said. “And we expect the great numbers and excellent practices to translate into success in our games.”

With officially becoming a varsity sport, the team’s spirits are higher than ever.

“I think people are finally starting to take notice to us as a real sport,” Panzera said.

“It’s only up from here,” On said.