Edina Rugby Club Has Success While Respecting Game

There’s an old rugby saying that sums up the sport perfectly. When the match is over, both teams congratulate one another, share a meal or a social hour and confirm together that “all is forgiven, but none is forgotten.”

It’s why Joe Kiley’s passion for the sport is as strong as ever, even 30 years after taking up the sport. And its why he’s passed that love for the game onto his son, Ricky, who is a senior captain on the Edina U19 rugby club this spring.

“A lot of what you’re doing when you play the game that day is you’re celebrating the opportunity to play,” Joe Kiley said.

It’s a motto that the Hornets’ rugby squad doesn’t take lightly. The team not only has a competitive group on the field, but is set to , June 5. Edina, which finished its regular season with a 6-1 record after defeating Hopkins 31-26 on Thursday, has a shot to win its fourth state title in its 14 years of existence.

But more importantly than wins and losses is what the game teaches its athletes. Joe Kiley, who has been part of the Edina rugby program since 2000 as a coach, a volunteer and a parent, said rugby teaches sportsmanship and preaches good behavior both on and off the field.

It’s something he’s enjoyed for three decades, and now it’s something his son is experiencing, too.

“We show that we are going to play to win on the field, but afterwards rugby is a game of live and let live,” Ricky Kiley said. “We’re really respectful to each other, and what’s done is done on the field.”

The game is opening doors to new opportunities, senior captain Spencer Roble said.

Roble, who played football but never got to carry the ball, tried rugby and never looked back. He said regardless of your size or build, there is a position that allows you to contribute on the rugby field.

The Edina club uses the sport to travel and create teammate bonds, too. Two years ago the club went to the United Kingdom and played an exhibition against one of the UK’s top teams, Aylesbury RFC.

Ricky Kiley said it was his first time out of the country, and the trip not only taught him how to refine his rugby skills but also helped him see a new culture.

Roble said Aylesbury took the game to a new level.

“We learned a lot even with basic mechanics of how to throw the ball or draw defenders,” Roble said. “They’re so specific about the certain parts of the game that it’s just amazing to learn. We definitely reflect that on the field, too.”

The Hornets club, made up of U19 and U17 teams, has had 60-70 kids sign up over the past five seasons, Joe Kiley said. The team is growing and—under coaches Mark Dalton, Chris Babiash and Dave Heebner—has become one of the top teams in the state.

To win the title at this year’s state tournament, the Hornets will have to defeat unbeaten Southside.

Southside, Edina’s biggest rival according to the senior captains, is a squad that seemingly makes any head-to-head matchup an emotional investment for the Hornets. When the two meet, Edina wants to win.

But even in the heat of battle, don’t expect the Hornets to act unsportsmanlike. That’s not the rugby way.

“This is a very respectful game,” Roble said. “Even if both teams aren’t really well-liked between each other, there is a certain respect between the two teams. As a captain, you definitely need to show that.”