With last year’s success giving them hope, members of the Loyola rugby team are ready to get back into action.

Following last year’s success in the South Alabama Seven tournament, the Loyola rugby team is starting to prepare for the upcoming season. Although some players have described the road as a little rough, especially with two of their best players graduating, the team has persevered.

Connor Delahunty, team captain and criminal justice senior, said he can breathe easily knowing that the team is a bit larger than usual
this year.

“I’m really excited for this year. Seeing the amount of people that are actually coming out to practice is a breath of fresh air. I can’t tell you the last time I saw this many Loyola people out here playing,” Delahunty said.

Delahunty has been playing rugby throughout his time at Loyola and believes the sport is growing
in popularity.

“With rugby now being one of the official sports of the Olympics, I think we are starting to see it gain more attention and respect,” Delahunty said.

Alex Lithgow, fellow captain and marketing senior, said the team’s accumulation of new players will make it harder for the team to acquire a unique chemistry that every team needs in order to succeed.

“We’ve got a really young team this year. With the team growing and all of the new players coming in, we’ve really got to work hard to learn how to play together and mesh well, but I really expect a lot from all of these guys and look forward to what this year has ahead of us,”
Lithgow said.

Vincent Duhe, rugby player and history junior, explained that his love for sports kept him on the rugby team despite multiple injuries.

“Just being able to run out there, catch the ball and score the winning point is a feeling that cannot be matched. I’ve had some injuries that made me second guess playing rugby, but it would just be so weird for me to not play a sport, especially a sport like rugby,” Duhe said.

Along with providing a place to channel the players’ love of sports, the rugby team provides Loyola with new students.

Jerry Malina, the team’s head coach, said Loyola is beginning to attract new students from around the country to its rugby program.

“Members of the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club tend to flock to Loyola after high school, typically because the guys before them did the same. So that motivation, along with the ability to live in uptown New Orleans, is an opportunity that is hard to refuse,”
Malina said.

The rugby team played their first match of the season on Saturday, Sept. 10 against University of Louisisna Lafayette and grabbed their first win in a 14-8 decision.