Rugby a St John’s Prep Powerhouse Program

One of the most successful athletic teams at St. John’s Prep may also be one of its least recognized by the sporting public. When the Eagles’ rugby squad takes the pitch this afternoon (4 p.m.) against Marshfield, it will do so with the goal of completing a fifth consecutive undefeated State Championship season.

The program started as a club under former St. John’s history teacher Maureen McAleer, who played rugby at Dartmouth, was elevated to varsity status in 2002. It has risen to prominence under the direction of current head coach Jamie Green, a U.K. native who has played and coached the game his entire life and arrived at the Prep five years ago.

Rugby is wildly popular at St. John’s with an average of 120 students participating at the developmental, junior varsity and varsity levels each year. The sport has also enjoyed steady regional growth in the past decade with the number of U-19 and high school squads in New England increasing nearly three-fold to more than 50.

Green is anticipating a future spike in participation since rugby has been restored as an Olympic sport for the 2012 Summer Games in London. The United States is the two-time defending Olympic champion – although those gold medals were claimed in 1920 and 1924.

“The Olympics are a huge part of the American psyche and Americans are great supporters and fans of their Olympians. This will be great for rugby,” said Green. NBC Sports recently aired both the Las Vegas International 7’s Tournament and Collegiate 7’s Tournament.

Unlike American football, which evolved from rugby in the late 1800s but slots athletes into positions best suited for their body type and skills, “ruggers” are involved in every facet of the game.

“Rugby accommodates many different types of athlete. Each player has to know how to run, tackle, pass, ruck, maul and even kick. The sport also creates a great sense of camaraderie and can be played for a long time,” said Green, himself the captain of the Mystic River Rugby Club that competes in the U.S. Division One.

To the uninitiated, rugby resembles controlled chaos. Each side has 15 players (8 forwards, 7 backs) and scrums used to re-start play involve 18 players. The ball is always moving, lateral and backward passes and forward kicks are constant, and the hitting absolutely ferocious. Unlike American football, players do not wear protective gear designed to absorb and deflect the shock of each blow. The pitch is both longer (110 yards) and wider (75 yards) than an American football field (100 yards by 53.3 yards) and halves are 40 minutes long.

“It looks like chaos but it really isn't – it's a really structured game. The ultimate aim is to go forward and score a try (touchdown) in the opposition’s try zone (end zone). We have excellent developmental level coaches who use a mix of video sessions, drills and walk-throughs to give our players the basics in a short amount of time,” said Green, whose staff includes varsity assistants Phil Sullivan and Thomas Collins, JV coach Maurice Kauff and Development Coach Seelan Manickam.

And therein lies the secret to the Eagles’ prolonged success. It is clearly no accident this year's team is 8-0, has extended the program’s winning streak to more than 40 games and enters today's match following consecutive shutouts of Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island (44-0) and Xaverian (10-0) on the verge of a fifth straight undefeated season. Players who arrive as freshmen with no prior experience regularly go on to play at the varsity level in college.

“The kids are awesome and willing to learn and push themselves. We have players who have played all four years and are great leaders on and off the field. There is a great sense that we are one giant team across all levels,” said Green.

“We have great leadership from our captains, Sean Sawyer and Faxon Michaud (who will play at the University of Vermont). The whole team gives us 100 percent all of the time. We are able to put our reserves on the field without losing any momentum,” he said. “Most of the guys who play varsity rugby go on to play in college. It's great to see.”