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Over spring break, the Hammerheads — Syracuse University’s men’s club rugby team — visited Leinster Rugby’s headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

The team toured the facilities and realized the wealth of knowledge and coaching that they now have access to, junior Brady Thompson said. He added they also gained a better understanding of what rugby looks like in other countries and experienced a “whole new world” of the sport. They faced off against teams made up of experienced players, learning from them and their coaches.

“They showed us what we could be,” Thompson said. “This is a turning point for us. It’s time to kick into gear and really start pushing for what we can be.”

In 2023, Leinster Rugby — one of the most well-renowned rugby clubs in the world — partnered with Syracuse University with the goal to integrate rugby into American sports culture. With the 2031 Rugby World Cup set to take place in the United States, the partnership aims to build a strong foundation of the sport for young athletes. It’s the first-ever partnership between an international rugby club and an American university, said Nicholas Davis, SU men’s club rugby team president.

The Rugby World Cup is the fourth-most watched sporting event in the world, and according to Davis, Leinster wants to invest in building the culture of rugby in the U.S. before the country hosts the World Cup.

“It’s a huge motivation for why Leinster partnered with us and why they want this partnership to kind of be a long term thing, not just a short term thing,” Davis said.

Syracuse’s men’s club rugby team competing during the team’s trip to Dublin, Ireland, where it visited Leinster Rugby’s headquarters. Photograph Courtesy of Wendy Cornell

The partnership started after SU introduced a new model for competitive club sports in fall 2023. Club sports used to exist under the sport program unit at Barnes Center at The Arch, which had two branches: club sports and intramural sports, which were both viewed as recreational sport organizations. Club sports were previously funded almost entirely through co-curricular allocations from the university.

Last spring, a working group and leadership within Student Experience decided to make club sports a standalone unit within the Division of Student Experience, changing the section’s name to “competitive club sports.” With the change, the university hired Director of Competitive Club Sports Pete Way to oversee the new department.

“It was meant to highlight that our club sports are competitive,” Way said, “and the intent of our support for club sports is to help (them) achieve that sort of collegiate team feeling.”

The new model has also allowed for a more robust club sports staff, allowing players from club teams to communicate with staff easier, Way said. According to Way, students within SU’s men’s club rugby program have seen the most change.

“I talk about rugby every day…We have 45 club sports, and most of them don’t have two (weekly) conversations about them,” Way said.

Way said the university is looking to heighten the profile of SU rugby. Kyle I. Dailey, assistant vice president of strategic initiatives and staff development, said SU is building a new club sports field on South Campus that will have a full rugby pitch. Along with a budget increase, they are working to offer club sports more access to SU Athletics’ gym facilities.

“It’s funny because any of this stuff could’ve happened over the last couple decades, but it’s all happening right now, very much as we speak,” Way said.

Leinster sent one of their coaches, Colin O’Hare, to coach rugby at Syracuse full time for both its men’s and women’s club teams. O’Hare has emphasized each team’s off-the-field training, getting players to think daily about mental health, nutrition and to view the sport more professionally.

“Colin’s a great coach in terms of his rugby knowledge and how he teaches the game and how he can get the team to rally behind him and kind of push forward,” Davis said. “Just the act of having a full time coach gives us confidence that we can compete with these teams.”

With 15 years of rugby experience and a goal of pursuing a career in coaching after graduation, Thompson considers O’Hare’s presence a “lifeline.”

“Having him around has definitely boosted us tenfold and made me a better player, and made me a happier player if I’m being honest,” Thompson said.

Last August, Syracuse hosted the Leinster Rugby School of Excellence camp for the first time. With coaching from O’Hare, retired Leinster player Sean O’Brien and some SU rugby players, both American and international teenagers came to participate.

O’Hare is also helping expand rugby outreach throughout the northeast. He runs clinics to train players and the coaches who will work with them, increasing understanding of the sport.

Davis said the Syracuse-Leinster connection gives players an avenue to ultimately land a job in rugby if they don’t go pro — something no other U.S. college can offer. Currently, two SU students in Falk’s Sports Management department, one being senior rugby player Carter Lewis, are interning with Leinster.

“We really want to make Syracuse the capital of rugby in the northeast,” Davis said.

Syracuse’s men’s club rugby team poses during their trip to Dublin, Ireland, over spring break. Photograph Courtesy of Wendy Cornell

In order to do so, Davis said they want the city of Syracuse to host a game between Free Jacks Academy and the Toronto Arrows Academy — two of the best professional teams in the U.S.

Though to truly maximize its partnership with Leinster and grow rugby in the region, SU’s men’s team wants to form a joint operation with the university’s women’s club.

At the moment, the women’s team, known as the Flamingos, operate separately from the men’s team. Davis said the goal is for the two teams to rebrand under one umbrella of “Syracuse University Orange.”

While the Flamingos have yet to see “transformative change” with the new partnership, they’ve seen more support from the men’s side when finding spaces to practice and having a seat at the table during planning discussions, team president Oluwasayo Kumapayi said.

“The men have a way bigger program than us, but we’re fighting every day to build our program and to let our program be seen,” Kumapayi said.

For the second consecutive year, the women’s team is heading to nationals next weekend after leaving their national qualifier tournament undefeated.

Alongside the initiative, the working group wants to bridge the gap between the women and men’s alumni organizations, which would make them a stronger presence on campus. The alumni network now meets more directly with SU staff and has more influence over planning surrounding the future of Syracuse rugby, Way said.

Despite not offering rugby scholarships, Syracuse rugby is evolving due to its partnership with Leinster and internal changes within the university’s operation of club sports. Davis said that an on-the-field impact from Leinster’s partnership hasn’t come yet, though the club’s ability to grow the sport has proved more significant.

“The more we’re doing in general, the bigger it’s gonna get and more people are gonna play,” Thompson said. “And then hopefully by 2031 when the World Cup comes around we’ll be set.”

Disclaimer: Daily Orange Business Consultant Mark Nash is a member of SU’s club rugby team. He did not influence the editorial content of this story.

Published on April 11, 2024 at 1:19 am