The air was cool, clear, and crisp on an early fall morning at the field across from the Long Lane Farm. Wesleyan rugby team players, dressed in black-and red-striped jerseys, buzzed with energy for the game ahead. As I arrived at the field to watch the match, crowds were gathering, setting up chairs, and getting ready to support their rugby team.

Until recently, Wesleyan men’s rugby went by “Old Methodist Rugby,” a callback to an alumni team brought together in the ’80s and ’90s. In the fall of 2019, a rebranding occurred: Wesleyan men’s rugby and WesRugby, Wesleyan’s non-cis-male-identifying rugby club, merged together under the single organization of Wesleyan Rugby Club. While they still function as individual clubs and play separate seasons, the merge has brought together both teams into a wider, larger, and more diverse Wesleyan Rugby community. After last year’s season was completely contactless, the teams are excited to be able to tackle once again.

“It has been an amazing season so far for all rugby team members, being able to practice together on the field and also to play match games with our rival colleges like Williams and Trinity,” Wesleyan Rugby Club president Casimir Fulleylove-Golob ’22 said.

Unfortunately for rugby purists, Wesleyan’s first game of the season against Amherst was a victory by forfeit, but not before the Red and Black pulled ahead to a 28–0 lead and ultimately victory. The second game of the season was against Williams. In a strong performance, Wesleyan beat Williams by a score of 26–7, with tries coming from Tyler Burdick ’22, Jack McEvoy ’22, and Fulleylove-Golob. This avenged two back-to-back, close losses against Williams in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2019, in which Wesleyan lost by a combined five points.

Wesleyan generated their highest score of the season against Union College. The Cards emerged victorious with a score of 40–0 on the back of a dominating performance by their forwards. Five players scored their first tries for the club, including Colm Davidson ’25, Eamon Hicks ’24, Ethan de Anda Sanchez ’25, Simon Schwartz ’25, and Isaiah Koenig ’25, with Fulleylove-Golob adding a sixth.

The last home game of the season was on Oct. 18. Wesleyan played against Trinity and lost 10–7, earning Wesleyan a 3–2 record for the season. Davidson, the captain of the club, discussed the significance of the final game.

“It was the last play of the game yesterday [against Trinity] and it was Cas’s last home game ever. And he scored. It was a play of pure guts where he took the ball up against their entire team and won,” Davidson said.

Fulleylove-Golob said that it will be difficult for him to say goodbye to the sport he has been playing since a young age.

“I grew up watching and playing rugby in the UK,” Fulleylove-Golob said. “Upon graduating from high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I took a year off, figuring out where I would want to go to college. I had no idea what I wanted to study, so I decided to come to the US and check out Wesleyan. During my campus visit on a beautiful fall day, I got to talk to a couple of students at Wesleyan and it didn’t take too long for me to realize that I feel like I belong here. I knew that Wesleyan was the school that I would like to come to, and also was very happy to know that I would be able to play rugby here.”

Players emphasized that community is a key component of rugby at Wesleyan.

“Playing rugby at Wesleyan means to join the family, a group of players who have each other’s back,” Davidson said. “We practice together and hang out together. There’s always an activity if you want to be a part of the Wesleyan Rugby Club.”

This year, the team is about 30% first years and 40% second years, and the rest of the members are juniors and seniors. One of the underclassmen team members, Ben McMahon ’24, reflected on what playing rugby at Wesleyan means to him.

“This is my first season with the team and it’s just an amazing group of guys and the community is incredible,” McMahon said. “The rugby club is not an intramural sports team to play rugby only, but also a team of brothers.”

Fulleylove-Golob emphasized that the club is open to all; there are no tryouts. Each year, new students tend to learn about the rugby club through mutual friends or others who show up to the practices, then join the team. The club team also had a booth set up in September during the club fair.

“Wesleyan Rugby Club welcomes anyone who plans on having fun playing rugby with us,” Fulleylove-Golob said.

Wesleyan rugby team practices on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 4:30 p.m. on the field across from the Long Lane Farm. All you need to bring to practice are cleats, shorts, and a willingness to play rugby. You might even earn yourself a T-shirt in the process.

“We ordered 200 Wesleyan Rugby shirts this season,” Davidson said. “I’m sure some Wesleyan students have started noticing the Wesleyan Rugby Club T-shirts being worn by our players around the campus. If you come out and can make it through a practice, you earn your shirt.”

As he departs from the University, Fulleylove-Golob is excited for the future of the club.

“In my four years playing and organizing for the club it is currently in the best forward-looking position I have seen,” Fulleylove-Golob said. “That is largely because of the arrival of Colm and Hicks. Colm has brought new energy to the club and has had miraculous success in recruiting whilst Eamon adds significantly to the tactical drive of the team. There are definitely bright days ahead for the club with these two at the helm.”

Chase Williams can be reached at chwilliams@wesleyan.edu.