ECU rugby ready for the national stage

The rugby team will travel to Albuquerque, NM this weekend to compete in the Division II national tournament for the first time in school history, and try to earn a spot in the national championship game on May 2.

They qualified for the tournament by beating the University of South Florida and Wake Forest to capture the South Regional tournament two weeks ago.

It is the culmination of a long, tough season in which the Pirates compiled a 7-1 record and won their second in a row, regular season conference crown.

The season started with a tough loss to Division I powerhouse UNC, but the Pirates rebounded well, and with a core of seniors leading the charge, they went on to win their next seven matches in convincing fashion.

First they took down conference rival NC State at home, 43-32, and then pummeled UNCW 44-0 the following weekend. Then conference foe Wake put up a good fight with a late charge, but the Pirates pulled out a win, 18-11.

Their final conference match proved to be their closest of the season when they welcomed Appalachian State to Greenville.

Missing four starters due to ROTC commitments, it took a clutch kicking performance by Robert Lee, former ECU football place kicker, to get the win against the in-state rival.

"The regular season was tough with the level of competition we faced and the weather we had to deal with," said junior Drew Griffin. "A few games got rained out that really would have helped us prepare for the playoffs, but we still felt confident going into the regional tournament."

That confidence was exemplified when they destroyed Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 80-3, and momentum was in their favor entering the final four of the South Region. When the draw was announced for the final four of the region, the Pirates seemingly caught a tough break when they were matched against highly ranked USF. But, this squad was not to be denied and they emerged victorious, 38-33, on another strong kicking performance by Lee.

Griffin admitted that drawing the Bulls in the first round probably gave them the best chance to advance.

"USF was much bigger than us so we had to rely on our speed," he said. "It was probably better we got them the first game while our legs were still fresh and we could use our speed to our advantage."

In the finals, the Pirates saw Wake for the second time this season. They slugged out another hard fought win, 19-10, to book their ticket to nationals.

Griffin attributes their success this season to a strong senior class and the example their leadership sets.

"Most of the seniors were here a few years ago when we were not very good, so they push everyone so we don't fall back into that," Griffin said. "We have some great seniors and everyone wants to do this for them."

Griffin also pointed out some of the standout performers of the season.

"Tom [Francisco] has been great for us, his speed has been tough for teams to handle and Connor [Duke] has been solid on the other wing too," said Griffin. "Justin [Bourgeois] has been great too."

But, he admits that the expert kicking of Lee has made the difference in many matches.

"Having Robert gives us a huge advantage over a lot of teams. His kicking has made us a complete team and gives us something a lot of other teams don't have," Griffin said.

The Pirates will face Utah Valley State in their first match of the weekend on Saturday, and if they advance, will either face Northern Colorado, or defending DII champion Middlebury on Sunday.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com