Kwai Nyu Rugby Club

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The Kwai Nyu Rugby Club
Union Missouri Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s) Kwai Nyu Rugby Club/The Rebel Ruggers
Coach Flag of United States Fr. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B.
Captain Robert Ciapciak
Top scorer Kevin Donelly
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
　
Team colours


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The front of a Kwai Nyu scrum.
The front of a Kwai Nyu scrum.


The Kwai Nyu Rugby Club is the rugby club of Saint Louis Priory School, in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1956, the Kwai Nyu Ruggers--then known simply as "The Rebels"--started out under the direction of Fr. Timothy Horner, O.S.B. Having come over to America to found a preparatory school, the British monk-teachers were utterly unfamiliar with United States sports, and so started a rugby union team. For seventeen years, the Rebel Ruggers went undefeated. Today, under the inspired coaching of Fr. Augustine Wetta, Andy Wenger, and Paul Wood, the team continues to build on its noble heritage. Notable players and alumni are current captain Bobby Ciapciak, a senior and one of the best young players in the country, Sean Flachs, the current scrum half for Army, and Ben Noll, who now plays in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.

The name, Kwai Nyu is, simply, the name Rebel in Ebo, the dialect of a small, noble, warlike tribe from northern Nigeria. The Ebo are one of the few Catholic tribes in Nigeria, making them extremely devout Christians, and also extremely tough. As one of the early coaches was from this small tribe, they sing the chant in his honor.

Contents

[edit] Team History

Kwai Nyu is the only team in its school's history to go undefeated in consecutive seasons. In the mid-1970's, the team was cut from the athletic curriculum. With the arrival of Fr. Augustine Wetta, the team was restored, but this time as a club team. After years of futility, Kwai Nyu had its most successful season in 2001, led by Div. I football prospect Ben Noll, and U-19 MRFU All-Star Sean Flachs. Kwai Nyu lost two games that season, ending with an 8-2 record. In 2004, the team hit a snag, with captains and players refusing to show up to practice on numerous occasions. Kwai Nyu lost every game by huge margins that season, but Fr. Augustine was still optomistic of his team's potential. The next season started off with a low point, losing to Chaminade College Preparatory School. But during the game, the team scored its first points in nearly a year, with a try scored by rising star Bobby Ciapciak. The roster was stacked with talented sophomores, and the future looked bright. Kwai Nyu won two games, including one where only fourteen players were present. (The standard set of rugby starters is 15.)

[edit] The Tin Can Rugby Tournament

The club is also well known for its annual Tin Can Rugby Tournament, in which five teams play for five trophies. It is called the "Tin Can" tournament because the team is not an actual part of the athletic curriculum, and cannot afford a real trophy. Instead, Wetta uses tin cans to represent the five trophies. This year SLUH, Eureka, Jeff City, Chaminade, and Kwai Nyu will all compete in the tournament.

According to the official team history, the Tin Can Tournament is the oldest and most renowned high school rugby tournament in Saint Louis, Missouri. "Founded in 1502, in what was then known simply as "Cahokia," two Native American sons of the Cahokia Indian tribes fought bitterly over a bloated pig heart, then used as a "ball" of sorts for indigenous games. The argument spiraled out of control, culminating in the brutal dismemberment and death of one of these brave warriors. Every year thereafter, the event was commemorated by a gathering and athletic games, eventually resulting in the area being named Creve Cour (or Broken Heart) by French Setters. Pig hearts being unavailable, French children settled for reenacting these events with a tin can. For hundreds of years, the athletic event went uncommemorated until, in 2003, it was resurrected by the Kwai Nyu Rugby Club, and quickly evolved into a Pan-State event, attracting teams from as far away as Jefferson City and Kirkwood."

Whether or not this historical anecdote contains any historical veracity, it does in fact convey the spirit of the tournament, which is informal, but always energectic and exciting.

http://fraugustine.priory.org/Rugby%20Sites/TINCANTOURNAMENTSHIRT.htm

[edit] The Present and Future

In the 2006-2007 season, the team finished with a 4-6 record, and finished second in the Tin Can Tournament. The team is stacked with juniors, and is led by senior captain Ciapciak. The 2007-2008 season looks bright, when 13 out of the 15 starters will be seniors. Prop Bradley Taylor, one of the team's stronger players and a three-year starter, is in line to captain the team next season. The other three-year starters, scrum half Joseph Jordan and winger J. Taylor Streiff, will co-captain. This summer, Taylor will be playing on the Missouri U-19 Rugby Team, along with Ciapciak and flanker Edward Pennington. Streiff will be playing rugby sevens for Sunday Morning Rugby Club.

[edit] The Coat of Arms

The coat of arms is based on the Coat of Arms of Saint Louis Abbey, the monastery which owns and runs the Priory School. It is also known as the "Priory Shield". Certain elements of the original coat of arms have been modified: a rugby ball for the white rose, a set of rugby posts in place of the fleur de lies. But the original colors, and the blue "river," representing the Mississippi River, have remained the same.

http://fraugustine.priory.org/Coatofarmspage.htm

[edit] The Kwai Nyu Chant

In 1995, a dark and mysterious stranger came out to guest coach the Priory Rebel Rugby Team. He was as black as the night, as large as a mountain, and as fast as lightening. His name was Edu, and he had newly immigrated to the United States from Nigeria, where he had played rugby from the earliest age. His leadership was an inspiration, and his guidance came at a time when the team was looking for someone with great leadership qualities. Before he departed for the seminary, he taught Kwai Nyu this song, an untranslatable Ebo war chant known simply as "The Elephant Song." He revealed the meanings of the words to the team on the condition that they not be repeated to anyone who was not a member. Thus, the true meaning remains shrouded in the mist of secrecy.

ENNE MBA ENNE!
TZABUA!
ENNE MBA ENNE!
TZABUA!
ENNE MBA ENNE!
NWAKEI!
ENNE MBA ENNE!
NWAKEI!
ENNE MBA ENNE!
TI!
YA!
TI!
YA!
TI!
YA!!
KWAI NYU!
YA!!!


Before "The Elephant Song" was implemented as the team's official chant, the old "Rebel Ruggers" chant was used instead. It was shouted in unison before every game.

We are the Rebel Ruggers! We live in caves and ditches! We drag our cocks on jagged rocks! We're nasty sons of bitches!

[edit] Current Opponents of Kwai Nyu

  • DeSmet Jesuit High School
  • Chaminade/Kirkwood High School Red Devils
  • Francis Howell Central High School
  • Jefferson City Nightmare (Combined Team) http://www.jcrfc.org/
  • St. Louis University High (SLUH)/Christian Brothers College (CBC) Druids
  • Eureka High School

[edit] Current Members of Kwai Nyu

  • Robert Ciapciak, Fullback/Captain
  • Bradley "BT" Taylor, Prop
  • J. Taylor Streiff, Weak Side Wing/Fullback
  • Mark Haar, Scrum Half/Flanker
  • Anthony Savio, Weak/Strong Side Wing, Rookie of the Year
  • Joseph Jordan, Strong Side Wing/Fly Half/Scrum Half
  • Charles von Brecht Mulvihill, Fullback/Wing
  • James Olmstead Arnold, Inside Center
  • Alexander Kluesner, Outside Center
  • Patrick Dutton, Fly Half
  • Edward Pennington, Hooker/Flanker
  • James Mangano, Prop
  • Lee Aguera, Flanker
  • John Pfortmiller, Flanker/Co-Captain
  • Kevin Donnelly, Eight Man/Co-Captain
  • Isaac Wooley, Second Row, Most Valuable Player
  • Gabriel Lee, Second Row
  • Zachary Knippel, Flanker
  • Paul Monahan, Flanker/Eight Man/Hooker
  • Ryan Lenz, Weak Side Wing
  • Matthew J. Schulz, Team President/Manager
  • Michael Mosbacher, Devoted Fan #1
  • Philip Fonseca, Devoted Fan #2

Coaches:

  • Fr. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. Head Coach
  • Andrew Wenger, Forwards Coach/Assistant Coach
  • Paul Wood, Backs Coach/Assistant Coach (Current head rugby coach of Washington University, and head official of the Missouri Rugby Football Union)
  • Martin D. Combs, former Forwards Coach (Current head football coach of Saint Louis Priory School.)

[edit] Notable Alumni

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