On Friday, Aug. 30, the No. 12 ranked John Brown University women's soccer team defeated Friends University by a final score of 7-0 at the First Friday Futbol event. The stands were completely packed with students, faculty and alumni. However, the most spirited support did not come from fans in the stands or around the field. It instead came from a group of JBU rugby players standing behind the opposing team's goal, shirtless and covered with Golden Eagle colored paint, a yearly tradition.  

“The players all meet at the rugby pitch about 30 minutes before the game, paint up and throw the rugby ball around,” Owen Johnson, rugby club president, said.

Then, they head to the soccer pitch and set up behind the opposition’s goal to cheer on the women’s soccer team. A huge part of the cheering is the rugby players running a lap around the pitch in celebration following each JBU goal. Normally this hasn’t caused any controversy, but this year things went a little differently. 

From the beginning of the match, the Golden Eagles dominated, scoring slightly over two minutes into the contest via a tap-in from senior Kaelyn Mole. Just 29 seconds later, right after the rugby team finished their first lap around the soccer pitch, Junior Olivia Fish fired a shot into the net from range and the route was on. By this point, the rugby team was going ballistic, distracting the Friends’ goalkeeper and defenders and getting under their skin. Tensions started to boil over when Friends University manager Brent Hobson approached the JBU staff to remove the rugby players from behind their goal shortly after the Golden Eagles doubled their tally and the players began another lap.  

Finishing their second lap in quick succession, the rugby team was then told by the JBU women’s soccer staff they had to move to the JBU goal for the remainder of the contest. However, that wasn’t the end of the conflict, as the team tried to first go behind the away bench before being directed to instead go around the field the other way. Forcing the rugby players behind the JBU goal did not stop them and they cheered all the louder. Just four and a half minutes later, JBU scored again to make it 3-0 after seven minutes of action.

Despite this tradition being over a decade old, this is the first time that the men in paint have been asked to move by the opposing team. Johnson acknowledged that it was all in jest and not personal, but when asked if he thought their behavior affected the Friends player’s performance he replied, “I hope so.” 

Although there were some complications to this year’s rendition, the team plans to continue the tradition for years to come, with Johnson citing it as “helping to promote rugby culture and being the first big event of the season,” serving as an introduction to JBU sports for many participating freshmen. It likewise promotes the togetherness of the athletic department and the campus. This year was, according to Johnson, “the first year that we tried to get other guys from around campus involved,” with six non-rugby team members participating in the cheering.  

The history of this rugby tradition dates back over a decade, with Ryan Cowell, a current rugby club sponsor, alumni and former player, recalling that “it was developed in the early 2010s as a way to support other JBU sports. We cheered for them and they came out to support us. The goal was to have fun and rugby players tend to be a little crazy so why not paint up?”  

The JBU rugby team opens the fall season on the road Sept. 20 against Saint Louis University, before the first home game on Oct. 5 against Southern Illinois University. Follow their Instagram for more information. The Women’s soccer team plays next on the road against Oklahoma Wesleyan on Sept. 14, before returning home to play Columbia a week later.  

Picture courtesy of Alexandra Castillo