David Buckingham, Wake Rugby Class of 2007, Continues to Impress at Men's Club Level

Courtesy of erugbynews.com

February 24, 2008 - An extremely muddy pitch set the stage for a grueling, hard-fought slug match between Division II rivals New Orleans and Memphis this weekend. Both teams came to the Feb. 23 match in Memphis with 3-0 records, having defeated all other division opponents by similar margins, and both teams seemed fully aware of the stakes at hand. The game began with a New Orleans kick off deep to Memphis. The home team quickly returned the ball to New Orleans territory, however, and a penalty call against the visitor soon resulted in an early three-point lead for Memphis, courtesy of a well-placed kick by the Memphis No. 10. Memphis tested the New Orleans back three throughout the game with a variety of kicks, which for the most part were handled proficiently. Fullback David Buckingham fielded one such kick for what became a key play. Buckingham made the mark call, took the free kick quickly and made a short run to the right side before sending a kick up the sideline. The Memphis wing and fullback converged on the kick, but neither was able to take it cleanly, allowing the ball to bounce once and up into the hands of Buckingham, fast in pursuit of his own kick. He took the ball up the sideline to the Memphis twenty two, where he offloaded to a perfectly positioned Kevin Kern who turned on the burners, outran the opposing prop and touched the ball down ten meters outside the posts. A hard running Memphis pack and centers spent a good deal of time in the New Orleans 22, but a tenacious defense managed to keep the home team out of the try zone for the rest of the half, which ended with New Orleans up 5-3. New Orleans flanker Kern and the pack delivered another clean line-out early in the second half, which led to a great run and ball presentation by second row Matt Oertling. That set up flyhalf Todd Fitzgerald to get off a pass in traffic to cutting wing Rob Hoffman, who powered his way through three Memphis opponents for New Orleans’ second and final try of the day. Center Pat Schubert was good on the conversion, which would prove decisive. Memphis continued to put immense pressure on the New Orleans defense. Without the help of fresh impact reserves Jim Hotard and Mike Grisco adding to the relentless defense of flanker Brent Dempster and center Eric Mackintosh, the capable Memphis attack may well have posted more points. Within the last ten minutes of the game, Memphis put up a converted try and New Orleans lost two players to the sin bin in quick succession for repeated fouls. However, the short-handed New Orleans side managed to hang on, winning the match 12-10. The victory raises their season record to 4-0 and puts New Orleans in first place for their division.

Wake to Honor Seniors Prior to Richmond Game

The Wake Forest men's rugby team will honor its seven graduating seniors before its last home game of the season, this Saturday against the University of Richmond. The match will kickoff at 1pm, with a brief ceremony for the seniors taking place shortly before kickoff.

The Wake Rugby Class of 2008 includes:

Tyler Eure
Owen Field
David Hobson
Andrew Jessiman
John Keough
Dinesh Kirpalani
Peter Rice

Co-captains Eure and Jessiman, as well as team executive officers Keough and Kirpalani, have been with the team since their freshmen year.

Wake loses Senior Co-Captain Jessiman for Season

Wake Forest will make its playoff run without the on-field services of senior co-captain and lock/#8 Andrew Jessiman, who was ruled out for the year with a torn ACL this week. The injury was suffered during the first half of Wake's match against UNC-W three weeks ago, but the team was holding out slim hope that there was no tear and Jessiman would be able to return for the stretch run. Unfortunately, that was not to be, and Jessiman's rugby-playing career appears to be over. Jessiman tore the same ACL last December, and rehabbed after surgery for 12 months in order to return for his senior season. Doctors have indicated that a second surgery is inadviseable and would likely be unsuccessful.

Jessiman broke into Wake's first XV as a freshman and has been instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Wake rugby program. Jessiman's on-field presence will be sorely missed as Wake advances into the postseason, but he will continue to provide valuable leadership from the sidelines as he helps nurture a Wake team consisting primarily of freshmen and sophomores.

Wake Beats NC St. 14-12, Clinches Playoff Berth in Inaugural D2 Season in Dramatic Fashion

Wake Forest escaped Raleigh with a 14-12 victory over NC state on Saturday, in the process solidifying a spot in the USA Rugby South D2 quarterfinals.

The match started with Wake in full control. Flyhalf Tyler Eure slotted an early penalty and drop goal to push Wake to a 6-0 lead, and wing David Hobson followed with a try in the corner to push the Demon Deacon's advantage to 11-0 with 20 minutes gone. But NC State battled back, and began dictating the style of play, utilizing a very basic, but very effective, strategy of forward crashes and mauls. A converted Wolfpack try towards the end of the half left the score 11-7 at the break.

NC State's forwards continued to dominate possession and territory in the second stanza, but Wake's defense held firm. Wake managed very few offensive attacks, and those that they did execute went unfinished. One backline movement that had winger Hobson away for his second try was called back for a questionable forward pass, and a second linebreak by Hobson was stymied when the NC State winger put in a clothesline tackle that warranted at the very least a yellow card and instead inexplicably went unpenalized. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack continued to keep the ball in close and grind their way down the field, eventually resulting in a try with 15 minutes remaining in the match. The conversion missed badly and the score stood 12-11 in favor of NC State. With their postseason life hanging in the balance, Wake increased its pressure, but time and again saw its attacks go lacking due to penalties or handling errors. Finally, with 5 minutes on the clock, the referee awarded a penalty to Wake 45 meters out and between the posts. Flyhalf Eure, who last week had a substandard kicking day going 1 for 5, stepped up and calmly drilled the kick, giving Wake the 14-12 lead. The Wolfpack roared back, however, and had multiple opportunities in the final 5 minutes to retake the lead. The Wake defense hung on however with some season-saving tackles by Freshman Matt Storck and Sophomore Christian Jewett. The final whistle blew as Eure booted the ball into the NC State crowd and the Wake players celebrated, knowing they had narrowly escaped with the win.

The victory gives Wake Forest a berth in the USA Rugby South Division II quarterfinals, an impressive accomplishment for a team who last year only made the Division III playoffs because the Elon University rugby team decided to go on spring break rather than go to the playoffs. Wake will likely travel to Murfreesburo, TN to face Middle Tennessee State University on March 22. In the meantime, next week Wake hosts its first annual High School Rugby showcase, featuring high school teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. As part of this showcase, Wake will be taking on the Richmond Spiders in a non-league match.

Wake Forest v. North Carolina State Details

The match between Wake Forest and North Carolina State will kickoff this Saturday at 1pm on theUpper Pitch at the Raleigh Rugby Club's Poole Rd. Rugby Complex. Directions to the complex can be found here:

http://www.raleighrugby.com/root.jsp?kick=0.5693192650831519

Wake Forest extends a sincere thank you to the Raleigh Rugby Club for once again going out of its way to help collegiate rugby in the state of North Carolina by offering the use of its world-class facilities.

Jessiman Family makes Generous Gift to Wake Rugby, Alumni Donations Still Strong

The parents of senior co-captain Andrew Jessiman recently made an incredibly generous donation to the Wake Forest Rugby Program. The donation was by far the largest in recent memory and is tremendously appreciated by the team.

Meanwhile, the Wake Forest rugby alumni have continued their tradition of helping to support the club financially. The following Alumni have made donations to the team so far in 2008:

John Boswell
Thomas Snell
Matt Farrell

The Wake Forest rugby team is incredibly appreciative of the support it receives from it's alumni. Not only did these former players lay the foundation for the team's current success, but they have continued to support the team as it strives to be a successful Division II collegiate rugby program.

Wake Falls to East Carolina

In a thrilling match on Saturday in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest was defeated by East Carolina 18-11. ECU, which finished the fall season ranked #17 in the country in Division II by erugbynews.com, came in with a grudge as despite having started the spring season with two straight wins, they were inexplicably dropped from the rankings while Wake Forest made its rankings debut at #24. ECU started strong with two long-range penalty goals from their fullback and early on held a 6-0 lead. Wake cut the lead in half with a penalty goal from flyhalf Tyler Eure, but shortly before the half ECU's forwards punched in a try which was converted. When the whistle blew for the break, Wake trailed 13-3.

Wake Forest came out strong after the break and almost the entire second stanza was played in ECU territory. Wake's offense was far more fluid then the last time these two teams met back in September, but despite numerous line breaks and excellent ball retention, Wake always seemed to be lacking the last pass or last ruck necessary to convert a string of phases into points. With 20 minutes remaining Wake finally managed to touch down, with sophomore flanker Trenton Justice capping off a fantastic effort from the Wake forwards. Eure's conversion sailed wide, and ECU's lead was 13-8. Wake continued to pressure the ECU tryline, once crossing over only to have the ball ruled held up in goal by the referee. With time winding down and Wake desperate for points, flyhalf Eure slotted a drop goal to bring Wake to within two of the Pirates. As the Demon Deacons frantically tried to get in position to win the match, a handling error in the backline near midfield resulted in a loose ball that was scooped up by the ECU #12 who took it into the tryzone to seal the win for ECU.

ECU now moves into sole possession of first place in the conference at 3-0, while Wake is in second place at 2-1. Wake finishes conference play next weekend in Raleigh against 0-2 NC State in a must win match. A victory puts Wake into the South playoffs, while a defeat likely means that they are eliminated from post-season play. ECU finishes its conference play in two weeks against Appalachain St.

Photographer Bob Hebert was at the Wake-ECU match. His photos can be found here:
http://www.pbase.com/bobhebert/wakerugby2008

Showdown with East Carolina to Kickoff at 2pm on Saturday

Wake Forest's match with East Carolina is scheduled to kickoff at 2pm on Saturday, February 16 at Poteat Field on the Wake Forest campus. The two teams are tied for the division lead and the winner of this match is all but guaranteed a playoff berth.

ECU, ranked #17th in the nation in Division II by erugbynews.com, is 2-0, having beaten North Carolina State and UNC-Wilmington. Wake Forest, in its inaugural Division II campaign, is also 2-0, with victories over UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State.

All local fans and alumni are encouraged to come out and support the Demon Deacon ruggers, who are looking to avenge a 31-7 loss to the Pirates in September at ECU.

A Wake Rugby History Lesson

1st row (L to R): Scott Juvelier (fullback), Dave Saunders (in-center), Hugo Lane (advisor), Jim McCormick (prop), Jim Atherton (hooker), Brian Hickey (prop), Eddie Silva (wing), AJ Chrzanowski (advisor), 2nd Row (L to R): Doug Gordon (out-center), Tia Fujiki (wing), Keith Ripley (lock), Cliff Barrett (lock), Walter Janke (wing-forward), Bob Gallicano (8-man), Rex Gillette (wing-forward), John Byrd (scrum-half), Tim Keiffer (fly-half).

Wake Rugger Scott Juvelier '83 recently gave us the following glimpse into Wake Rugby Days of Yore:

To some degree, a team's character is a reflection of it's history. In 1979 (my freshman year), Wake Forest Rugby Football Club was a "city side" team. The Triad Dogs didn't exist and college students played (and partied) along side "townies". Grant Fuhr (our slightly insane 8-man), Ronnie (a HUGE lock), AJ Chrzanowski (an intense wing-forward), and of course Woody Mendenhall (our rotund and lovable prop) were legendary. In 1980-81, the Triad Dogs were formed and WFU became an all college team. The 1981 Howler proclaimed: "the Wake Forest Rugby Team loooked slightly inexperienced" - possibly an understatement.

In 1981-82 still with no coach (we were coached by our player captians Rex Gillette and Jim Atherton), sharing a playing field with the intramural teams, and operating on a budget of $800, WFURFC turned a corner. The team started off 6-0 beating much more established teams such as ECU, Fort Bragg (club), and UNCG. The highlight might have been our 3rd place finish at the fall ACC tournament at Duke where we defeated the home team in the consolation match. 3 members of that team were named to the North Carolina Rugby Football Union All-state team and participated in a match vs. the Virginia all-stars at VA Tech. 1st team: Scott Juvelier (fullback); 2nd team: Rex Gillette (wing-forward), Jim Atherton (hooker). This team solidified the reputation of Wake Forest Rugby as a group of athletes who could compete with the best.

The pride I have in being a member of these inagural squads is unequaled. I will remember the days spent playing and partying with nostalgia...and with no regrets.

I wish your current squad the best of luck and hope they enjoy rugby to the degree that these first squads learned to love the game.

Wake Bests Appalachian St. 11-3

In an extremely hard fought and physical contest today in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest defeated Appalachian St. 11-3. App. St. set the tone in the first 5 minutes of the match with hard runs from their #5 and #8, and struck first with a penalty goal from their fullback. Wake turned the momentum in their favor ten minutes into the half and had the bulk of possession and territory throught the remainder of the first stanza. The only scoring Wake could muster, however, was a nicely taken drop goal from flyhalf Tyler Eure. After controlling most of the match in the first half, Wake was confident as the second half began, but soon found themselves on their heels as a rejuvenated App. St. side continually pressured the Wake tryline. Wake's defense held firm, however, and repeatedly repelled the App. St. attacks. At one point the App. St. forwards drove a maul into the tryzone and looked to have possibly touched down, but the referee ruled that the ball was held up and Wake dodged a bullet. Wake struggled to get into an offensive rythym, but did have a few good breaks from their backline. With 18 minutes left in the contest and the score still deadlocked at 3, Wake caught another break when ASU's NCRU All-Star flyhalf was yellow-carded. Wake took advantage of the 15 v. 14 situation when minutes later fullback Critter Commins fielded a kick around midfield, beat several App. St. defenders and then offloaded to freshman prop Matt Storck who took the ball in to give Wake an 8-3 lead. Eure was no good on the conversion, but minutes later slotted a penalty goal to give Wake an 11-3 lead. With their flyhalf now back on the pitch, App. St. pressured hard to cut into the defecit, but was unable to do so and the final whitsle blew with Wake victorious and moving to 2-0 in their first ever Division II campaign.

Wake is in action again next Saturday against ECU, who is also 2-0 in league play, having beaten NC St. 43-32 and UNC-W 44-0.

Wake Tops UNC-Wilmington 28-10

Wake Forest began its foray into Division II with a 28-10 victory over UNC-W in Wimington on Saturday. Wake dominated territory and possession in the first half, and were unlucky not to go into the break up more than 18-0. Senior captain and lock Andrew Jessiman left the match in the 35th minute with a knee sprain, and his absence allowed UNC-W to gain some momentum in the second half. An unfit Wake side allowed two breakaways by the speedy UNC-W back three in the first part of the second stanza, but Wake sealed the victory in the waning minutes with a penalty and converted try by senior flyhalf Tyler Eure. Wake's other tries were scored by flanker Trenton Justice, wing Perry Salvagne, and flanker Timo Kawira.

Wake's second side handily defeated the UNC-W second side 25-12 in a 30 minute match of ten on ten. Wake was led by senior flyhalf David Hobson, who scored 2 long-range tries, and junior prop Dave Poplaski who also scored a try and dominated at the breakdown.

Wake is next in action on Saturday at Wake Forest against Appalachian State, the two time defending NCRU D2 champion. This will be a huge test for the Division II newcomers.

Where Are They Now?

This is the Wake Forest Men's Rugby Team, circa 1983. This vintage photo was kindly provided to us by Jim McCormack, who donned the Wake Rugby jersey from 1980-1985. If you recognize your former self in this picture, please let us know!