Moeller Rugby: Fall Season Begins

By Ryan Mechley

This fall, rugby looks to make a strong comeback after a heart aching loss in the state finals last year.

Moeller Rugby in the 2021 State Championship game

The fall rugby season differs from spring because you only have seven players on the field as opposed to fifteen . Fewer people can play in fall due to overlap with football rosters. The rugby team also has undergone a change this fall in head coaching, as Steve Kuhlman steps down and recent U17 head coach, Dominic Denoma, takes over the role.

The Rugby team looks to have a good sevens season in the fall to help them become better and achieve their main goal in the spring, which is to win a state championship. Senior players Nick Kassis, Tony Arnold, and Kaleb Gordon have been leading the team so far this season. They look to be named captains of the team in the spring.

I talked to Leader Nick Kassis about the season and asked him how he feels about the team after their tournament in Nashville. Kassis talked about how, “the tournament didn’t go as planned,” but they were able to give a lot of new players some rugby experience. They will have even more new players this year that want to learn the game.

The spring rugby season was led by a big group of seniors who had a lot of rugby experience. They were able to make it far in the season but still not far enough. I asked Kassis how much those seniors impacted the team and how the team is looking after all the seniors graduated. Kassis said that the last year’s seniors helped him “learn the game a lot” and had a big impact on him. Kassis also explained that while last year’s seniors were a great and tight group of players, they were missing some pieces. He feels like the team this year, “can go even further” and can win a state championship for Moeller.

Finally, I asked Kassis what the main goal of the team is this fall. Kassis explained to me that they have some goals that they feel like they will accomplish with hard work and determination. They want to start off the season strong and show that they are “not a team to play around with.” They believe that they have the skill and talent to win a state championship, and they want a shot at the national championship. Kassis said that the last goal they have is for the seniors to be great leaders so that the underclassmen “will be ready to lead and teach the rest of the team” in years to come.

The rugby team is ready to start their season off strong and work hard for that State Championship run.