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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

DePaul rugby wins season opener 127-0 against Lewis

The men’s rugby team displayed how amped they were for this upcoming season as they showed no mercy in their opening game Saturday, Sept. 15, defeating Lewis University, 127-0.

Junior Jake Devries, president of the club team, said that this was the biggest blowout that he has ever played in. “We put up more points in this game than we put up last season as a whole,” said Devries. The starters played in the first half, ran up the score, and they used their maximum of seven substitutions for the second half.

 Despite the large lead, Devries acknowledged that sportsmanship is important to their team. DePaul and Lewis may have been opponents on the field, but after the game they all hung out together. “You don’t really have a rival in rugby, we have a social with each team after the game and we hang out grab a burger together,” said Devries.

Although they do make new friends, they know that they are in it to win it and that’s the reason they got their first big win of the season.
“It really was just a culmination of us getting a lot better and Lewis having a smaller side. We had a lot of returning players and new players who were experienced, so we didn’t have a lot of teaching to do,” said senior fly-half Matt Tuney.

The rugby team did some intense recruiting prior to the season and increased in number. Devries and Tuney are confident about this season with the new guys and believe that they will win the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union (CARFU) championship.

 The championship means winning games and scoring points. Tuney explained that winning by 127 points was not about being unsportsmanlike. “We’re trying to win this league… points matter, if it comes down to a tie, this is why we do it,” said Tuney. The rugby team has been really serious about this season. They practice three times per week, for a total of about five hours. They began practice in the beginning of September and are still looking to bring more players in to learn the sport.  

 Their belief in winning the championship is in part due to their recruitment efforts. The team recruited several new players this season. The rugby team encourages other guys to come out and learn the sport with absolutely no experience needed. Patrick Scully, who plays scrum-half, states that this is the best decision he has made since coming to DePaul.

He was a high school All-American wrestler and never played a game of rugby before entering DePaul. This is his third year and recommends that anyone who has never played the sport to try it out.

“I met great guys that I’ll stay friends with for life, it’s fun and the best social thing I’ve ever done,” said Scully.

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