Clemson Rugby

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Clemson Tigers

Full name

Clemson University Rugby Football Club

Current Rank

21st (American Rugby News)

Founded

1967

Union

Palmetto Rugby Union

Grounds

Clemson University, South Carolina

Coach

Wright Henry

Competitions

USA Rugby South





Jersey

Clemson Men's Rugby was founded in 1967 and is stronger today then it has ever been in the past. Clemson finished the 2005 Season ranked #14 the 2006 Season ranked #13 in the nation and the 2007 season #17. Clemson's best season was in 1996 when the team advanced to the Elite Eight and finished ranked 7th nationally. Rugby is one of the oldest and strongest clubs at Clemson University. The team has gone 57-15 in the last three years, with the only losses coming to Men's teams and Top 20 ranked College rugby teams. A 2006 article in the Clemson World magazine highlighted the CURFC with a great photo of Brandon Loftus tackling a player from the University of Tennessee. ^[1] There was also an article about Clemson Rugby in the Greenville News in the Spring of 2006, as seen in the picture below on the right.^[2]

1 Players
2 Championships
3 Records
4 All-South Selections
5 Team record
6 2007 season
7 Previous seasons
- 7.1 Fall season summary 2004
- 7.2 2003-2004 season summary
8 A Tradition Born Through Dedication
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Players

< Clemson had its first Collegiate All-American in 2005 in Scrumhalf Dutch Jones. ^[3]
Clemson's 8-man Scott Wagemann made the All-Marine Team and the All-Armed Services Team. ^[4]
Clemson Alumni have gone on to play in the top league in the country: Rugby Super League in the last few years. Will Phillips plays with the Olympic Club, Tyson Campbell plays with the Philadelphia-Whitemarsh and Jason Hinchman plays with the Charlotte Rugby Club
Former Clemson player and coach Jim Gaine coached the All-American team in 2004.
Clemson has had numerous South All-Stars, U-19 All-stars and GRU All-stars during the team's history.

[edit] Championships

Clemson won the USA Rugby South Championship in 2006, 1998, and 1996.
Clemson has won GRU tourney in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Huntsville Rugby Tournament Champion 2003.
Elite 8 Appearance in 1996 (Def. Cornell Univ./Loss to Penn State)
Sweet 16 Appearances in 1996(Cornell/Penn State), 1998(Dartmouth/Colorado State), 2005(Army/Penn State), 2006(Navy/UC Santa Barbara) and 2007 (Navy/Army).

[edit] Records

Clemson set the team scoring record in 2006 with a 118-3 victory over the University of Florida. Clemson's previous record was in 1998 when they defeated Citadel 100-0. In 2003 Clemson went 14-0 in the fall for the best winning percentage ever for the Fall Season. In the fall of 2004 Clemson won 19 games for the most ever in the Fall Season.

[edit] All-South Selections

2007 South All-Stars
Mike Ireson, Mike Fitzgerald, Geoff Clott, Ben Walence

2006 South All-Stars
Jason Hinchman, Dutch Jones, Mike Fitzgerald, Robert Bortins, Matt "Wayne" Bassett
2005 South All-Stars
Jason Hinchman, Dutch Jones, Mike "Irish" Ireson, Bryan Burton
2004 South All-Stars
Jason Hinchman, Dutch Jones, Shawn Hanna, Scott Waggeman, Ryan Wolf
2003 South All-Stars
None
2002 South All-Stars
None
2001 South All-Stars
Will Phillips and Neil Yanik
2000 South All-Stars
Will Phillips, Johnathon Mullikin, and Neil Yanik
1999 South All-Stars
Unknown
1998 South All-Stars
Andras Bende, Jim Gaine, Will Phillips
1997 South All-Stars
Andras Bende, Jim Gaine, David Merchant, Will Phillips

[edit] Team record

2005-2006: 14-4 Clemson outscored their opponents 766-313. 0-2 in National Tournament, 35-46 against Navy and 22-32 against UC Santa Barbara.
2004-2005: 17-8-1 Second in the South. 0-2 in National Tournament, 18-35 against Army and 26-46 to Penn State.
2003-2004: 20-2
Spring 2001: 3-3
Spring 1998: 7-0 Defeated Citadel 100-0 and Emory 94-0
Fall 1997: 3-3
Spring 1997: 5-3
Fall 1996: 5-5
Fall 1995: 6-1-1
Spring 1995: 10-0 Defeated USC 85-0

[edit] 2007 season

Dutch Jones, Daniel Hare, Bryan Burton for Clemson against Virginia Tech in Spring 2006

The Clemson 2007 team will be led by junior lock/number 8 Mike Fitzgerald and Senior center Mike "Irish" Ireson. They will lead a young but experienced team. Ted Chapman will be going overseas to the New Zealand Sports Academy to train at scrumhalf. The players will have to step up over summer in order to fill the big shoes the graduating seniors leave behind. Those who are returning as sophomores will be key to next year's success. It seems that the number of freshman and sophomores on this team will ensure that Clemson will be competitive on the national level for the next four years – if the work is put in. On March 31st, Clemson was defeated by the University of Tennessee 36-14, effectively relegating them to second in the USA Rugby South region. With this defeat, Clemson was seeded second in the South and paired to face the U.S. Naval Academy (Navy) in the first round of the USA Rugby National Collegiate Tournament.

[edit] Previous seasons

[edit] Fall season summary 2004

Dec 03, 2004 First XV results:
Record: 8-1-1
Points For: 378
Points against: 115
Avg. PF 37.8
Avg. PA 11.5
Avg. Margin of Victory: 26.3
Held Opponents under 10: 4 times
Shutouts: 2 times
CU Scored over 50: 3 times
Men's Club victories: 2 and 1 tie
Collegiate D1 victories: 2
Losses: 1 (Radford University 15-18, eventual Virginia State champs. defeated University of Virginia, Virginia Tech both D1 College Teams.
Ties: 1 (Memphis RFC 20 - 20)
Tournament Championships: 1 GRU
All-Star selections: 12

[edit] 2003-2004 season summary

The team finished with a 20-2 record over the course of the season, the best record in team history. Outscoring their opponents 819-245 in 22 games, the Tigers averaged a 26 point margin of victory. While recording five shutouts, their largest victories came over Georgia 85-0 and Florida 72-5. The team won two tournaments and had nine games where the Tigers kept their opponents under ten points. Disappointingly, the two losses came in the playoffs to the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee, and CURFC would have to wait another year to make it to the Sweet 16. Clemson Rugby also traveled to Louisiana on their first fall break tour since 1995 and returned undefeated against LSU and Tulane.

Clemson has been successful due in part to their recruiting efforts and attitude towards the sport. "We have gone away from the idea that the students will come out if they are interested." Coach Jim Gaine stated. "We do our best to market the sport as an avenue for the students to continue competition and be a part of the Clemson experience, not just another thing to do after class." The reaction has been obvious, more than 60% of the team are either freshman or sophomores, and all of these players contribute to the success of the team. The Tigers also have five players representing the south collegiate all-stars in Boulder, CO this June at the National All-Star Championship.

Clemson Players and Alumni

[edit] A Tradition Born Through Dedication

In 1967 four friends, Frank Morah, Jeremy Pike, Nick Scholar, and Jeff Tyers dedicated themselves to forming a rugby team at Clemson University. The team struggled through many years of hardships like most new teams, but as time passed the team improved. Through hard work and dedication Clemson Rugby soon became a major force in collegiate rugby.

The 1990's were a time for change within the CURFC on the field. Former player Frank Graziano became involved with the team once again and instilled an idea of field dominance nationally. During Coach Graziano's time with the team, Clemson Rugby had managed to achieve several major accomplishments. Numbered among those achievements were Clemson's first undefeated season, Georgia Rugby Union champions, a number one ranking in the Southeast, and entrance into the Elite Eight where the Tigers matched up against Penn State after a first round victory over Cornell University.

In the CURFC's 30th year and in the same school year of Coach Graziano's departure for a USA Rugby Collegiate Director position, the Tigers remained strong. Student coached the Tigers amazed many strong university teams throughout the south. A difficult Fall lead to a successful Spring semester in which the CURFC would again be in the national spotlight. After defeating every southern team they faced, the Tigers boarded a plane for Houston, Texas and the Sweet Sixteen. There the Tigers gained the respect of many nationally ranked teams and coaches for pulling together and showing the determination to even make the trip.

Clemson Rugby has grown off the field as well as on it. The Tigers have made several large strides in improving Clemson Rugby's organization. The team has set up an Alumni fund to allow graduates to give back to the club. The rugby team has also established an annual alumni weekend. This weekend consists of an alumni game, and a cookout which allows the past players to socialize with the present players and of course tell old war stories. There is a blog setup about the Clemson Rugby Foundation located on the web in order to help increase the support of the Clemson University Rugby Team.^[5]