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Photos courtesy of Chenla Ou

Radford University senior Ryan Penglase stiff-arms an opponent from Michigan.

Shane Halse, a Radford University senior and rugby club team captain, breaks tackles as he gains meters against Utah Valley State College. Radford jumped out to a 25-0 halftime lead then held on for the 25-14 victory.

RADFORD -- Radford University's club rugby team took home its second Division II national title when it traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., for the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Championships.

"It was a rough road," said head coach Mick Turk, "but I knew this group could get it done."

Radford tore through the initial rounds of the national tournament by defeating Georgetown and Salisbury at regionals in Richmond. The club then traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., and took down Michigan and the top-ranked Coast Guard Academy.

From there it was on to Palo Alto for a finals showdown with Utah Valley State College, a team that had upset defending champion Middlebury. Radford jumped out to a 25-0 halftime lead then held on for the 25-14 victory.

"I knew they had enough talent to go as far as they wanted in the tournament," Turk said. "It was just a question of getting them to believe in themselves."

Turk, 45, has been the coach of Radford's club program for the past 13 years and led the team during its previous championship run in 2003.

Early in the season Radford sustained back-to-back losses to Tennessee and Ohio State. Turk said those setbacks actually helped his players focus.

"They were pretty mad because they knew we should have beaten those teams," Turk said. "But they really pulled it all together and had a lot of fun getting this far."

Radford was considered a tournament underdog partly because of a lack of experience among the players.

"We've got a lot of ex-football players, ex-wrestlers and ex-soccer players," Turk said. "A lot of them have never played it [rugby] before. But they've got so much athletic ability that once they get the hang of it they get to be pretty good."

Rugby players have the reputation of being some of the toughest, rowdiest people on the planet. And though some of that may be deserved, Turk said, the head-butting, beer-swilling hell-raiser you see in the movies is far from the reality in the collegiate ranks.

"It's just not like that here," he said. "Some of the guys are like gentle giants."

The sport also has a social aspect. Game days can look very familiar to fans of American football, complete with traveling fans and tailgate parties.

Radford took roughly half of its 60-man roster to the championships and more than half of those players brought their families.

"We even had an 81-year-old grandmother make the trip," Turk said. "In some cases I think the families enjoyed themselves more than the players."

Rugby at the college level does not fall under the NCAA umbrella but is instead administered by USA Rugby and the individual schools' club sports departments. As with the NCAA, teams are organized into Divisions I through III. Radford competes in D-II but will be making the jump to D-I next year.

"We already play all the bigger schools," Turk said. "This move will hopefully help us create some depth and be able to compete week in and week out. Most of the top clubs go three deep at every position, while we tend to be one or two deep in most spots."

The West Coast and the Northeast tend to produce the most competitive rugby programs every year. Cal-Berkeley for example, has won 24 D-I championships since 1980. A multimillion-dollar endowment helps keep Berkeley ahead of the pack, but Turk says the gap is closing.

"They've been so good for so long, but a lot of programs are catching up. It just takes time."

Locally, rugby youth leagues are starting to take hold in places such as Richmond and Roanoke. Rugby Virginia was founded in 2007 to provide an outlet for the sport to high school-age boys and girls. It will hold its first high school state championship June 7 in Fairfax.

With more young people getting exposure to the sport, Turk said he is excited for his program and for the future of the sport in general. The rugby fraternity is a close one and more members means more opportunities for players after college.

"It's tighter than a fraternity," he said. "If you're new to a city all you have to do is find a local team and you've got 30 to 40 friends who will bend over backwards to help you find a job or get settled."

That kind of camaraderie speaks to the spirit of the game. The players may be beaten and bloodied by the end of the match, but it's always in good-natured fun.

Rugby terms and rules

Pitch: Playing field. In rugby, the pitch is 100 yards by 75 yards.

Rugby team: Consists of 15 players including eight forwards, who concentrate on winning possession, and seven backs, whose chief job it is to advance the ball. All players are involved in offense and defense.

Advancing the ball: Players advance the ball by running with it or kicking it. Forward passes are illegal. All players on a rugby team have the opportunity to run with or kick the ball.

Touch: Out of bounds

Mark: Place of infringement

Call for the mark: Similar to calling for a fair catch in American football. Can be done only behind your own 22-meter line and you must catch the ball and yell “mark” at the same time.

Line out: The resumption of play after ball has gone into touch

Scrum: Method to restart play after a minor penalty or infraction

Drop out: Play restarted after ball has been grounded by defense in its own goal area

Off side: Being in front of the ball when your team is the attacking team

On side: Being behind the ball when your team is the attacking team

Penalty kick: Restarts play after a major penalty. Team awarded the penalty has the option to kick a field goal, kick into touch (and given subsequent throw-in) or decline kick and opt for a scrum. A field goal is worth three points.

Kick for touch: To kick the ball directly out of bounds

Tackle: Ball carrier is taken to the ground while being wrapped up by the tackler.

Tackler must then immediately roll away and man tackled must immediately play the ball.

Ruck: After a tackle, with the ball on the deck, two opposing players meet over the ball.

Maul: A ball carrier is held up in the tackle (does not go to ground) by an opposing player.

Game length: There are two 40-minute halves separated by a 10-minute halftime. The referee is the sole timekeeper.

Substitutions: Seven per team. Once substituted, a player cannot retake the field. Blood bin: If a player has a bleeding wound (nose, cut on head, etc.) that player may be temporarily substituted until the bleeding stops and that player can retake the field.

Yellow card/red card: A yellow card is awarded for repeated infractions to the rules. The offending player is sent to the “sin bin” for 10 minutes while his team must play a man short. Red cards are usually awarded for foul play and result in the player being ejected. Red-carded players are also suspended from league play for two or more weeks.

Try: A try is scored by touching the ball down, with pressure and under control, in the opposition goal area. Tries are worth five points.

Drop kick: A kick for goal taking during open play by allowing the ball to drop to the deck and then kicking it through the goal posts. Drop kicks are rare and are worth three points.

SOURCE: utrugby.com