The Ashland men’s club rugby team finished an undefeated season by winning the Division III club rugby state championship Saturday. The team beat John Carroll 27-10 on the intramural field to cap a 7-0 season. Ashland defeated Marshall 27-10 two weeks earlier in their first ever home playoff game to advance to the championship. It was the first time that the club, which was founded in 1985, has won the championship.

For those who are unfamiliar, rugby is a contact sport that is similar to football and is popular throughout the world in countries such as England, South Africa and Australia. A try is the rugby equivalent to a touchdown and is scored when a player runs into the try zone (end zone) and touches the ball to the ground. Tries are worth five points. After a try, the team must attempt a conversion, worth two points, which is scored by kicking the ball through uprights (similar to an extra point). A penalty kick is similar to a field goal, except that it can only be taken when a penalty is called.

Ashland played John Carroll earlier in the year and won 21-10.

“It’s always different playing a team twice because they know your tendencies,” Ashland team captain Tyler Eaton said. “We knew that this was the same team last year that stopped us from going to the playoffs when they beat us 35-5 with the exact same players.”

Saturday, Ashland scored four tries, made one penalty kick and converted two of their four conversions after tries. Kyle Buchanan led the team with seven points on two conversions and a penalty kick.

In the first half, Alex Mockensturm scored the first try when the ball was kicked into the try zone from 15 meters and he dove on it. Andrew Lioi scored a few minutes later, running the ball in on a scrum. Buchanan made one of the conversions and his only penalty kick before halftime, as Ashland went into the break with a 15-3 lead.

Ryan Sampson extended the lead in the second half, running the ball in from a few yards for a try. Jake Miller erased all doubt when he raced to the try zone from over 50 meters for the longest try of the game.

“I told the guys at the beginning of the year that we had the potential to go undefeated and win it all if we all just showed up to practice and worked hard,” Eaton said. “We got the opportunity and we took advantage of it.”

The club rugby team plays at the Division III club level in the state of Ohio. In the division, there are three conferences that comprise a total of 15 teams. Ashland finished atop their conference by going undefeated. Rugby is one of the few club sports that holds playoffs and recognizes a state champion.

“It is a big deal,” Eaton said. “Even if it is a club sport, it’s the closest thing you’re going to get to a varsity sport and I hope these guys really cherish the memory of winning it all.”

Eaton credited the team’s success this year to their ability to come together as a group and never give up.

“In the past, if a team got up on us we usually lost the game, but this season if teams scored on us we always came back,” he said.

Unlike a varsity team, the club rugby team has no coach, instead relying on a team captain who organizes practices and does everything else the club needs to continue its existence. There is no recruiting involved other than getting students to show up to practice and join the team.

The team gets most of its players from current players bringing their friends to practice. Eaton says that most of the players who show up to practice stick around and are on the team for the remainder of their time at Ashland.

“Since I’ve been here, my best friends are from rugby and I think that’s the same with a lot of the guys on the team,” Eaton said. “We’re a really close-knit group.”

Sometime this winter, a large group of men in short shorts will descend upon the Rec Center and start throwing around an extra large, odd-colored football. Don’t be alarmed. It’s just the championship club rugby team preparing for their spring season.