Hey there, Rugby Rioter!

You know what?

It’s a new year and we’re feeling frisky.

Time to stir up some controversy!

Continue reading below and you’ll see our take on this question: Who has the advantage, Single School Teams or Club Teams?

In This Issue

• News

  • Nobody Wants to Mess with South Meck

    • Quote of the Week

    • Rugby Trivia

• Single School vs. Club Teams

  • Ice Bath Thoughts

Nobody wants to mess with South Meck…probably.

Some teams just come into the season hungry. Like they’ve been prowling the Sahara for many months of the offseason, waiting for an unsuspecting herd of wildebeest to saunter by… and then, they pounce!

South Meck has that attitude this year. They have big, strong players. They have a big ole chip on their shoulder after getting bounced from the state tournament early last year. And they have a big appetite for victory. When we spoke to Coach Rick Norvell early in December, he had Marvin Ridge earmarked as a big match for them. South Meck had been beaten by the Marvin Ridge boys last year in the state semi-final, and there was a feeling that this match would be an indicator of how the season would shape up. South Meck took care of business in that game on Dec 13th, winning handily and flexing their muscle. The confidence began building.

When they played Ardrey Kell, their most recent game (Dec. 18th), South Meck again put forth a dominant showing, with a final score line of 35-7. Contributions came from several players: Quinn Miller, South Meck’s big number 8, was again a force to be reckoned with, scoring off a line out in the early stages of the game. Jack Flemings was next to put points on the board with an excellent free-play dash to the try zone. Then came Jackson Wilson, South Meck’s speedy fullback, who scored his first try of the season off a set piece. Add in a couple more tries from Allan Diminich and Tim Hayes (his first of the season) and the scoreboard at halftime showed an impressive 31-0 score.

By the time the game ended, South Meck had logged scores by 7 different players, concluding an outstanding performance, both offensively and defensively. Worthy of a special mention is Jameson Beatty, who slotted five conversion kicks on the night.

So where does that leave us now? Well, as we mentioned in last week’s edition, South Meck has a date with last year’s state champs, Hough, on January 10th. Hough has some catching up to do in terms of playing time, having only logged one game after their first two opponents forfeited, but they are still the team to beat in NC until proven otherwise.

Fortunately for South Meck, they have a combination of recent confidence and the players to get things done. One element of their team that stands out is their incredible size; their back line features players that most teams would love to have in their forward pack - these guys are bruisers, regularly smashing through the gain-line and opening holes across the field. Combine that with savvy play from their key decision makers and you have a team that is built for smash mouth rugby but can also make you pay with speed on the perimeter.

Safe to say that Hough with have their hands full.

Noteworthy: While many teams have turned to complex pod structures and intricate back play patterns, Coach Norvell is content to run it down your throat and dare you to keep his boys in check, saying “just try to stop us.”

Love the attitude, coach.

Some big questions:

• How will teams deal with South Meck’s intensity and size?

• How will South Meck adjust if an opponent can stymie their big lads?

• Can South Meck keep up the pace as the season nears the halfway point? They have big matches with Hough and a resurgent Charlotte Catholic squad coming up soon.

There is plenty of rugby left to be played in NC, but the early message is clear: South Meck is here, and they want to trample you.

Bottom line: We’ve got some really exciting matches coming up this month in NC, and South Meck is licking their chops at the opportunity.

Editorial

Club Teams vs. Single School Teams: Who has the advantage?

This one might cause a few ruffled feathers and foaming at the mouth, but here’s my take: Club and Single School teams are on equal footing…with some key exceptions.

I can already hear the protests: “How did you come to that ridiculous conclusion?? Club teams draw players from multiple schools — they’re loaded with talent!” Or, “MY club team would make the most stout-hearted school team soil their shorts!”

Whoa, take a deep breath, Spartacus. Hear me out.

Yes, on paper, club teams have the advantage - recruiting players from multiple schools simply gives you a larger talent pool to pull from.

However, single school teams have some distinct advantages too if you dig a little deeper.

But first, let me get this out of the way: Not all states/leagues do things the same way. For instance, North Carolina plays their single school and club seasons completely separately. This means that players can play for their school during the winter season, and then go play for their club team of choice during the spring season. So clearly North Carolina is not a case where Club and single school are equal - they don’t ever play each other, and the club teams are made up of players from single school teams in the state. California also does things differently, although they do have some cross-play that takes place. There are other exceptions, but I won’t list them all here. With that in mind, my argument here is focused only on leagues where club and single school rugby plays at the same time.

Now on to the advantages that single school teams have:

Camaraderie

Don’t underestimate this one. Single schools may have a smaller pool to draw from, but they have the secret weapon of camaraderie. These players spend more time together; classes, daily meals together, walking from the school building to the field etc.

Rugby teams thrive when players have a deep connection with each other. That’s not to say Club teams don’t have camaraderie, just that single school teams have a higher floor in this category since they spend so much time together already.

Continuity

Many single school teams have coaches who also teach at the school. What does this mean? Well, they tend to be around a while. This gives the coach ample time to build a system, cultivate a team culture, and make adjustments as needed. As the seasons multiply, players will understand expectations and requirements to make the varsity squad. Continuity, however, does not guarantee success. It’s simply a continuation of whichever direction your team is headed.

Additionally, since the coach has more contact with the team throughout the day, and not only at practice, they have the ability to notice small things about the players; “these two guys get along really well”, or “this kid is really good at communicating complex ideas in a simple way during class”, or even “that lad is the class clown, what do we do with him?”

Recruiting

While Club teams have the advantage of a wider net, it also means that more work is required in actually reaching that bigger pool of players and convincing them to come play for their club. With so many competing interests in high school, it can be a challenge to get the best athletes in your area to participate in your rugby program. Recruiting is a high priority during the offseason for both, but single school has a slight advantage here since it all takes place “in house” so to speak. And games held at school - and attended by the student body - provide a prime recruiting opportunity.

Support

School support is the straw that stirs the drink. It might be the biggest advantage that Single School teams have. While Club teams often rely on a rag tag community support system (though some do this very well), school teams generally have the benefit of a solid organization behind them. Funding, promoting, retaining good coaches, helping players discern college options…all of these things contribute to my earlier points about Continuity, Recruiting, and Camaraderie.

In some ways, Club teams that remain competitive year in and year out are the real heroes here, as they have had to build a network and ecosystem from scratch and maintain it constantly.

Recent History

Here are some recent examples of Single School teams competing at a high level with club teams:

Gonzaga vs Charlotte Cardinals - Gonzaga Classic 2024

The top Single School and Club Team respectively (see: Goff Rugby Report), these two met in the final for a very intense and evenly matched game. Gonzaga won, though not without some controversy about whether the kick was good.

Gregory the Great Academy vs Pennsylvania (for the past decade)

Gregory the Great is a boarding school in Northeastern Pennsylvania with only 60 students total. Yet they find their way to the state final seemingly every year, beating a variety of Single School AND Club teams along the way. Showing that there is indeed an advantage in having a tight knit - though smaller- group of players. They currently hold the #16 spot for Single School on the Goff Report. And lest you think they are a rugby focused academy that sources the best talent from around the country, I asked an opposing coach if GGA recruits rugby players, to which he scoffed “Ha! No they don’t — they recruit homeschoolers!” Take from that what you will.

St. Martin’s Academy vs. Kansas City Junior Blues (2024)

St. Martin’s, another tiny boarding school, beat the KC JR Blues in 2024. This is notable because the Blues have been a highly regarded Club team (currently Goff’s #12 in the nation) for many years and regular attendees at the Nationals tournament. St. Martin’s is a relatively new program, having just launched in 2019 — they sit at #17 on the Goff Report.

St. Ignatius vs. Pendleton (2024)

St. Ignatius played Pendleton twice last season. Both were Pendleton wins, but both were very close games. Pendleton is the 7th ranked Club (Goff Rugby Report) while St. Ignatius is 2nd ranked Single School team (Goff again).

Conclusion

Look, this isn’t a perfect, case-closed argument; There is a lot of nuance in how high school rugby leagues are run across the country, and there is a wide delta between the most competitive teams in the USA and the rest. Plus, it’s a big country, my friend, and not everyone plays each other.

But generally speaking, I don’t believe that Club teams hold a distinct advantage over Single School programs. Maybe they did in years past, but Single School coaching has improved, and the best Single School teams can go toe-to-toe with the best Club teams in the country. A high school rugby team needs many ingredients to be truly competitive: Athletes, good coaching, strong culture…to name a few. And while you certainly need a threshold of talent, Single School coaches have been proving that they can do more with less (in terms of how many athletes they can draw from). The notion that Club teams are essentially regional All Star squads feels like a lazy take on what is actually happening each year in the high school rugby scene.

It will be interesting to see how this dynamic plays out in the coming years as rugby grows in the USA. But for now my verdict is: Single School and Club teams are damn near even.

-Ipse

That’s a wrap, gang!

Next week we’ll have more dope rugby stuff to share with you; scores, highlights, stories… all the goods.

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Happy New Year! Be well, ruck with gusto, and may your compression shorts always stay in place.

-The Rugby Riot Team