BYU Rugby Memories: Adam McMurtrey

My story may stand out as unique. You see, I had never played rugby before attending BYU. The only relationship I had with rugby was that my high school English teacher had a picture on his wall of a rugby guy getting 'lit up' by another player. I thought to myself back then, "Man, that is a tough sport!!" That is probably what attracted me to it!

My older brother, Richard, joined the team my freshman year of college. I decided to join too. My athletic abilities and experience in football were paying off during conditioning. I tried out for the BYU Lacrosse team and made it. At the same time, I was practicing with the rugby team too. I wanted to play with the tough rugby guys—the BEST rugby guys, so that one day I could become the best. The decision to play rugby instead of lacrosse was an easy one, and later I realized, the best one!

Practice then was on the freshman field by the track, on the football field, and in the IPF. We practiced in the snow many times! The BYU rugby club was smaller then, but very prestigious. I was more than excited to practice every other day, and train on my own on the in-between days. That is where I met my great friend, Jacob Sohn.

We trained so hard. He couldn't stand that I was skinnier but could lift more weight and run faster than he could. He was a hard-hitting stud, and I couldn't stand that he could hit people and tackle people better than I could. Honestly, I couldn't tackle very well.

Jacob and I started to push each other. We would run sprints together on the off-days. I would push him hard in the weight room and in running sprints, not allowing him to stop until I was tired. As a result, he became one of the starting players as a forward.

Jacob had his way of pushing me too. We got together in the IPF on off-days where he coached me one on one how to tackle better. Tackling and hitting hard was a huge struggle for me. I was scared to hit people hard. But, getting tougher through Jacob's personal coaching and yelling at me, "HIT ME! HIT me!!", incredibly improved my self confidence. I began to put some muscle and tackling ability behind my athletic strength! Soon, I was playing on the JV squad during games. To me, I had come far: from zero playing experience (ever!) and little rugby skills and knowledge of the game to 100 percent involvement, skill enhancement, and knowledge of the game. I credit my improvement to Jacob, the "Polys", and the excellent coaching staff.

BYU Rugby changed my life forever, and I am SO thankful for the opportunity to join the team! What a prestigious honor!!! I gained self confidence! Man, I was playing BYU Rugby!! Incredible!! And, thanks to Sohn, I was hitting harder, running smarter, and staying strong. Thank you, BYU Rugby, for the experience of a lifetime!!! I look forward to cheer for the team in 2010 and on!
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The Scoop... Preseason 2008

Recently, I talked with a few BYU rugby players on campus and gleaned some tidbits about the upcoming season.

I am always anxious to know when the Cougars have their preseason bouts as sometimes the craziest rugby games happen during the Fall semester. This year, however, the BYU rugby team is going to take a break... at least from public tests. Instead, they will be focusing the whole semester on improving their strength and conditioning with some special help from the BYU football trainers.

Additionally, a couple returning starters, team captain and forward Steve St. Pierre and back Vito Qaqa, have recently undergone surgeries and will need some time to rehabilitate. So, as much as I would like to see some rugby this semester, looks like we'll all have to wait until springtime.

In talking to Steve, I also learned that the team apparently has no returning second row... no locks at all! He even invited me to come and fill the position. As fun as that would be, I have already had enough repairs to my teeth and shoulders to render me an unreliable prospect. I mentioned the lack of locks to Rob Burton, and he said that he might try to fill the spot. Rob isn't quite 6 feet tall, and I personally think he should just stick to his knitting at the flanker position instead.

I thought about last year's locks and where they went... Jacob Sohn graduated and got recruited by Belmont Shore (Super League team); Brett Clark went on a mission to Washington; Mark Anderson graduated (or is ineligible?); and Mike Ratelle won't play this year for some reason (which I don't understand). So, is there anyone left? Anyone at all???

I was in the computer lab for one of my construction management classes the other day when I overheard a guy talking about rugby and being on the team. After I got to a good stopping point in my assignment, I went over to talk to him. His name is Ryan, and he tried out for the team this year. While a missionary in New Zealand, he often saw rugby matches on weekends and occasionally participated in a few games of touch. He stood up to greet me, and I was happy to see that he is quite tall, 6'5" I later learned. Not only is he tall, but he seems to have a lot of potential, having played football in high school and having recently gotten back into conditioning and benching over 300 pounds. Let's just say I felt quite comfortable in telling him that he would be a lock for BYU... pretty much guaranteed!

And so goes the preseason, my friends...

Perhaps this year presents a good opportunity for the rebuilding of the BYU Men's Rugby team. Not only did the team lose locks, but several key players as well, such as prop Derek Smith, hooker Duran Ngakuru, and center Grant Barnes, to name a few.

In recent years, BYU has seemed to struggle in the formation of a cohesive back line, and I wonder just how deep our roster will be in terms of experienced backs. I also wonder how quickly our new forwards will be integrated into the pack, BYU's signature area of dominance.

While I am indeed concerned about the formulation of a newer team, I must also recall the lessons learned from past experiences to let optimism ride out the tide on this one. Last year, I experienced all the same sentiments: BYU had similarly lost several key players and had to look to various newcomers to step up to the task. Did they succeed? Of course. Did they return to the National Championship stage? Yes. Was it easier than the previous year? No... but they got there nonetheless, surpassing my initial expectations to be sure.

And so, in summation of my outlook for this coming year, I answer the question, "Will BYU be very successful this year?" with a somewhat proud reply, "Why would they not be???"

BYU Rugby, KIA KAHA!
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