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Cameron Yong/HIGHLANDER

If someone asked most UCR men’s rugby players why they joined the club, they would declare it’s about earning your stripes, getting in the best shape of your life and joining an eternal brotherhood.

Many of the players can be seen on campus in limited-edition shirts that read “UCR Rugby” and travel in packs. They practice and play with their hearts on their sleeves.

Currently, the team is 3-0 and hope to repeat an USA College Rugby championship this spring. And they have done this without much help from the school, overcoming obstacles such as low membership and a shortage of finances.

Yet every Tuesday and Thursday night, the men’s rugby team comes out and practices in a way that reflects UCR’s Division I sports.

The club has its roots deep in UCR’s history, being born in 1964. The club hasn’t always been around, due to funding problems, but found its way back in 1991 and then again in 2006, growing in participants and name recognition.

Rugby is a sport like no other, but if it were comparable, the players themselves say it shares similarities with soccer, American football, wrestling and even cheerleading. It is a physical sport that involves quick sprints, hand-eye coordination and bone-crushing tackles.

Javi Carlos, a fourth-year political science major and the club president, does not expect prospective members to be built like Marshawn Lynch. Instead, he likes to see an athlete’s ability to be coached. “I like to see a drive, a willingness to learn because it’s a brand new game,” he said. “Most players never played rugby, or even heard of it.”

Most players share the commonality of sports passion and curiosity, which have kept them coming back for more.

Andres Ludena, a fourth-year anthropology major, is a swimmer-turned-rugby player. “I was fresh and new, but the older guys and coaches helped me out,” he said. “Their passion for rugby kept me coming out.”

“I came out of curiosity and ended up staying after the first practice,” says Brandon Waldon, a transfer business and economics major, who was formerly a football player and track and field athlete.

It seems like there is another factor besides the aggressive nature of the sport that keeps members coming back. It may be the bonds these players share, which are even stronger than the stitching on their uniforms. “When you’re on campus and see someone else in a rugby shirt, we nod,” Waldon explained. “It’s a mutual understanding and it’s a nice bond.”

Vice President Turner Bradshaw, a third-year mechanical engineering major, added how trusting one another is the glue that keeps the team together. “In rugby, you have to rely on everybody a little more,” he said. “Even more than football.”

Game day is an experience in itself. The athletes come out together at 11 a.m. to set up the field themselves, cracking jokes and lining up the cones with pride. At 1 p.m. before kickoff, the UCR sideline is filled with friends and family, the very loyal supporters of the club.

“We have some families come from Los Angeles County, San Diego and even San Francisco,” President Carlos said. “Some of our team members are in fraternities, so their brothers come out, and some sororities come out to support us.”

The rugby team may play like hooligans during the game, but are quite the gentlemen after the game.

“We trickle down like a snake, and thank every fan for coming out,” Waldon said. “Even the other team, win or lose. It’s a gentleman’s sport.”

Junior Rodrigo Otero, sociology major, had a few preliminary workouts to suggest for any possible members for the club.

“Power cleans, squats and sprints,” he said. “Cleans give you massive explosive power because you start low and drive up. Squats, you have a huge load of weight on you.”

Otero went on to passionately describe seeing videos of professional rugby players squatting upward of 600 pounds. “I’m in the best shape of my life after two years of rugby,” Otero said.

Although the team spends hours in the gym and on the field, their success may have not occurred if it weren’t for their coaches. UCR alumni volunteer, teach, mentor and spend time with the players. Having a coach to direct the team’s energy may have been the x-factor in their championship season.

The UCR men’s rugby team continues to push their physical and mental limitations as they strive to become the best in the West. The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday at the Blaine Sports Complex.