Alright Pennsylvania!
Hike up your shorts a little - we’re talking PA rugby, and what it takes to be a perennial contender for the state title.
What does it take to be a competitive rugby team every single season? First off, high school rugby has several challenges to deal with:
You lose your graduating seniors every spring.
There are a lot of other sports that athletes are drawn to because they are known better or their peers are playing them.
Most new players have never played rugby before. You’re starting completely from scratch.
That’s just a few but you get the point.
So, what exactly is the secret sauce to having a very competitive rugby team each season in the face of these challenges? Well we spoke to a couple dominant teams from Pennsylvania to find out what they do. We’re going to give you a glimpse behind the curtain…
The teams:
St. Joe’s Prep (Philadelphia, PA)
Achievements:
State champions 2011
Reached the state final 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024
7s State champions 2014 and 2019 (D1 and D2)
Gregory the Great Academy (Elmhurst, PA)
Achievements:
State Champions 2012, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Since 2011, these two have been in the state final a WHOPPING 11 times! That means there have only been 2 finals since 2011 that did not feature one of these squads. Pretty impressive stuff.
We figured with that much success, it can’t be an accident, and there must be some wisdom nuggets that we can learn.
If we focus on playing good rugby, the wins will follow.
When Tom Dugan (Director of Rugby Operations, St. Joe’s Prep) addresses his team each year he makes one thing clear: Winning games is the result of playing good rugby and having a strong team culture.
“If we measure success only by the number of state championships we win” shared Dugan, “then every year we don’t win will be viewed as a failure.” Rather, he wants every season to be measured by a different metric: Are we playing good rugby? If so, and if the players are improving, then that is a success, and the wins will follow.
One of the ways St. Joe’s cultivates their team culture is by encouraging the seniors to lead by example. Many rugby clubs leave the menial tasks for the youngest players, but not so at St. Joe’s.
“The seniors get the water. The seniors get the pads. The seniors lead by example and drive the culture” said Dugan.
And clearly something is working - their record speaks for itself.
When we spoke to Garret van Beek (Head Coach, Gregory the Great) he had similar thoughts on culture being the driving force behind their success.
Gregory the Great is a bit of a pirate ship. With 60 students aboard and a variety of sailing songs at their disposal (which you will hear if you attend their games) much of their camaraderie is built in the dorms as well as on the sports field. When it comes to rugby, van Beek shared his thoughts on being competitive, saying, “culture is huge for building a rugby program, especially a small program.”
Culture. There’s that word again. I’m smelling a theme here, guys!
We asked VanBeek for some specific examples of how to cultivate a good rugby culture, and he offered this tidbit:
You need to have legends. You need to have traditions. You need to tell stories.”
If you visit the top rugby clubs in Europe, you’ll notice that they have a certain place in their clubhouse that is filled with photos. Photos of players and teams from years ago. And trophies and plaques of course too. This is their “sacred” place as a team.
This is true at Gregory the Great too. There is a room in the school with photos of every team that has ever played. On a sleepy Saturday afternoon, you might find a curious freshman slowly padding along the photo wall, observing the faces staring back at him and wondering “were these dudes as nervous as me to play rugby for the first time?”
A senior might walk up and point to one of the photos: “That’s Steve Taylor. He was monster number 12. Total pain to tackle him.” …or something similar.
And that is how stories are shared and legends are passed down. Culture-building in action.
VanBeek also shared that he has a group of players each year that he meets with regularly. The theme of these meetings is:
How can we convince the freshmen that they will be state champs in 3 years?”
The group discusses this, and comes up with plans for how to give the youngest players confidence and the best chance at success. It’s a very intentional approach to passing the torch to the next generation of players.
So here’s my takeaway:
There are many things that go into creating a successful rugby program, and we can’t cover every single one here.
But this is clear: developing a culture in your rugby program is incredibly important. Maybe the most important thing. It gives your team an identity in the present moment and also in the future. And it helps new players buy in when they arrive.
Dugan summed it up thusly: “I think being competitive is due to culture more than anything else.”
Things to think about:
How can you create/uphold traditions within your team?
How can you build up the younger players on your team so they pass along the same culture when you are gone?
In case you’re interested:
St. Joe’s and Gregory the Great are near the top of the league every year, and 2024 was no different as the two clashed in the state final this past spring. You can and should watch it here. Teaser: It came down to a kick with zero time on the clock.
—
Ipse, Chief Rioter