Every year on John Brown University’s Homecoming weekend, the JBU Rugby Club plays against the former team members in the alumni game. Over the last 25 years, the team has claimed only two victories against the alumni. This year, however, things did not go according to the usual script, with the current students defeating the alumni in a thrilling 31-29 match for their first win over the alumni in a decade.

Though conventional wisdom might suggest that a contest between current players and a crowd of older men would favor the youth, this has not usually been the case. There are several reasons for the alumni’s dominance, but a major one is their numbers and experience.

“I think they usually win the game because they are intimidating. They are typically a lot bigger than us. They go hard, and they’re also very passionate about beating us. They don’t want to be the team that loses to the students, since it happens so rarely,” sophomore team member Brian Ethier said.

Additionally, many of the alumni continue to play rugby long after departing the school so they can stay in game shape.

“Our coach played for the alumni. He’s been playing rugby his entire life since he was in Kenya as a missionary kid. But a lot of them have played for years, and they played for other clubs,” sophomore team member Evan Davis said.

The other advantage the alumni usually have, but didn’t this year, was a large numbers advantage.

“On this particular occasion, there was a big lack of alumni players. Usually, there are up to 40 alumni players who show up to play against us. However, there were only about 10 this year, which meant that instead of 15 versus 15, we played 10 versus 10, which also gave us an advantage because, as students, we were typically faster. We are also much faster as a team this year compared to past years, so speed was a huge advantage for us,” Ethier said.

The game was back and forth until the very end of the match when the current team scored a try to tie the game at 29 all. Because the try was scored through the middle of the goalposts, the kick to take the lead would be easier, yet the pressure was on. Ethier stepped up and converted the kick and later made the game-sealing clearance on defense. Along with scoring the first try of the game, Ethier was named man-of-the-match by his teammates for his performance.

“We scored right under the goalpost, so it was quite easy in theory. It was like a chipshot. I make them all the time in practice, but there was just a lot of weight. I knew it could mean the difference between winning and losing. The fact that I scored it means a lot to me,” Ethier said.

This game served as a confidence booster for the team, giving them their first win of the season. Additionally, this squad features more freshmen players than most previous teams, and the rugby team this season has suffered several critical injuries to their more experienced players.

Despite the competitive nature of the contest, it also was instructional for some of the less experienced players.

“It was really great playing with the alumni because they would show you ‘here’s how you can do better.’ It was competitive, but it was also very instructional and very friendly,” Davis said.

Since the alumni game, the team has come up just short in their past two matches, but they play their next game on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m., at the rugby field behind Hutcheson Hall. Attendance is free. Future Rugby Club events can be followed on the team’s Instagram page.

Photo courtesy of Brian Ethier