King, Gilligan Make Quick Impact on NDSU Rugby Team

Edina graduates Broderick King and Ryan Gilligan didn’t enter playing rugby. The two joined the as freshmen because their friends enjoyed the sport and it looked like fun.

Little did they know that as college freshmen they’d help lead their team near the top of the Division II rankings.

King and Gilligan, freshmen on the North Dakota State Lost Boys rugby team, helped their new squad transform from a Division III champion into a Division II contender almost overnight. The Lost Boys moved to Division II this fall, and in their first season against their larger opponents they finished ranked 25th in the national polls. NDSU ended the season ranked No. 25 in RugbyMag.com’s Nov. 1 poll.

“The coach (Cory Schlack) said throughout the season and at the first practice that this is a good team,” King said. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. After the first match at St. John’s I just thought to myself we could actually go far in this league. As the matches went on, I had more and more confidence that we were going to do well.”

King and Gilligan made the transition to the collegiate game with ease, largely because they had each other and the backing of the Edina program. Making the move to NDSU together ensured each had a longtime friend to lean on both on and off the field, Gilligan said.

“Broderick and Ryan were great additions to our team,” Schlack said in an e-mail. “We have seen some players join the NDSU rugby team that had some experience in the past, but it was never enough to actually know how to play the game. Both Broderick and Gilligan knew the game, and knew it well. Instead of teaching these two how to play, like it is with most new team members, we were instead able to focus on integrating them into our team.”

The payoff was a season to remember.

NDSU beat St. John’s and Minnesota State Mankato twice by a combined score of 88-22 in their first three matches. The Lost Boys finished the regular season 4-0-1 and topped the University of Wisconsin Platteville 35-17 in the postseason before losing to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 28-26 to end their season.

The Edina duo made an immediate impact. Schlack said the Lost Boys were in need of a fullback and a fly-half. He said Gilligan move into the fullback position effortlessly, and King excelled at fly-half despite never playing the position before.

Schlack said both were influential in the team’s success. The season’s end, while disappointing, only fueled the NDSU’s offseason preparation.

King said there was devastation in his teammates’ eyes after falling to UW-Milwaukee.

“Come spring we’re going to be bigger, faster, stronger,” King said. “The next week we were back in the weight room. Half the team was getting ready for something that is going to be four months ahead.”

It’s that passion for the sport that King and Gilligan learned during the Edina program. The duo, who played four years of high school rugby, brought a dedication to succeed to the Lost Boys program.

They’re fitting in well with a college squad known for excellence on the field.

“The Edina program trained me the best that I could be,” Gilligan said. “The jump from high school to college the difference I noticed was the size of the people. They were all bigger, but not much skill-wise.”

It is King’s and Gilligan’s goal to bridge that size gap this offseason with hard work and, hopefully, be able to compete at a higher level next season.

“I was slightly disappointed (with the season-ending loss),” Gilligan said. “I was kind of upset a little bit, but we will work in the offseason and possibly win it all.”