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January 18, 2010 - The new Carolinas Rugby League for men’s collegiate rugby teams from colleges and universities in North Carolina and South Carolina kicks off its season on January 23.
Wake Forest will play South Carolina in Columbia, NC State will take on North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and East Carolina will travel to Clemson. Appalachian State has a bye on the first weekend. This is the inaugural season for the league.
“It was time for a shake-up in collegiate competition in the Carolinas. This league structure will bring together some fierce rivals that will evoke a lot of local interest,” said Carolinas Rugby League Commissioner Andy Richards.
The cost and time to travel thousands of miles to play other teams was hurting both the financials and player numbers for many of the rugby clubs. With most of the DI teams not competitive, a group of concerned coaches and club directors met and decided a local league was the way to improve the situation.
League officials say student-athletes, coaches and club administrators eagerly await the beginning of the league.
“The league’s structure will foster healthy rivalry and competitive sportsmanship between teams known for playing at the top level of collegiate rugby,” said Alex Lee, a UNC junior and rugby player.
South Carolina’s Head Coach Geoff Mason said, “The geographic proximity of the league will continue traditional rivalries and also create some new ones. USC – Clemson, UNC – NC State, are already fierce now and playing each other every year with national championship qualification potentially at stake will really ramp up the competition.”
Added Wake Forest director of rugby Pat Kane: “With rugby now the newest Olympic sport, awareness of the game is going to increase dramatically over the next few years. The Carolinas Rugby League, which features well-recognized universities and collegiate rivalries, will serve as yet another step towards bringing rugby into the mainstream of American Athletics. Wake Forest is proud to be part of the league and looks forward to an exciting season of competition.”
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