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Wilmington Rugby tries, tries again
FIRST STATE FOCUS
Kyle Grantham, The News Journal 7:26 p.m. EDT October 8, 2015
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Wilmington's Jordan Ashburn runs through a pair ofBuy Photo
Wilmington's Jordan Ashburn runs through a pair of Severn River defenders in the first half of Wilmington's 39-0 win over Severn River at Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington on Saturday afternoon, September 12, 2015. (Photo: KYLE GRANTHAM/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
A light rain falls over the field as players get ready for a Saturday game. Goal posts are erected and tents go up to cover the team bench. A handful of fans take their seats near the end of the field.
Some players wrap their feet in duct tape, instead of athletic tape, for a better hold. Others opt for no tape at all.
In a game without helmets and pads, why bother with tape?
Unlike Delaware Stadium or Lincoln Financial Field, there's no rising section of cheering fans around the pitch at Alapocas Run State Park. The Wilmington Rugby Football Club plays in front of family and friends in folding chairs.
The team formed in 1974. Players have included the late Wilmington mayor Daniel S. Frawley and University of Delaware Executive Vice President and Treasurer Scott Douglas. In 1989, the city of Wilmington recognized the team's accomplishments with an official holiday, Wilmington Rugby Club Day, on Dec. 15.
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Wilmington Rugby Club 39, Severn River 0
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Kevin Hoelzer tapes his feet with duct tape before
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Kevin Hoelzer tapes his feet with duct tape before the start of a game against Severn River at Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington on Saturday afternoon, September 12, 2015. KYLE GRANTHAM/THE NEWS JOURNAL
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Kevin Hoelzer tapes his feet with duct tape before1 of 16
Wilmington head coach Bob Weir talks with the team
Wilmington players warm up before their match against
Wilmington's Kevin Wiggins breaks away from a scrum
Wilmington's Steve Lange breaks away from a group of
Wilmington's Jordan Ashburn runs through a pair of
Wilmington's Ian Ferguson loses the ball as a Severn
Wilmington's Conor Mullarkey tackles a Severn River
Wilmington's Todd Gallen outruns a pair of Severn River
Severn River's James Hester is surrounded by Wilmington
Wilmington's Chris Wiggins runs over Severn River defenders
Wilmington's Conor Mullarkey tries to evade a Severn
Severn River players bear down in a scrum against Wilmington
Wilmington and Severn River players reach for the ball
Wilmington's Kevin Wiggins wraps up a Severn River
Mud covers the back of Wilmington Rugby Club president
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Wilmington Rugby Club 39, Severn River 0
The current team has a conference win streak of over 30 matches since 2011. If Wilmington's winning ways continue, it will find itself playing in the top tier of rugby in the United States next season.
None of this, though, has translated to support for the team, at least from those who matter.
"We have to practice on a prison field because we don't get any funding from the city," team president Matt Weik said as the team practiced in the outfield of a baseball field near 22nd and Bowers Streets on Wilmington's East Side on Wednesday night.
"Two people have had their car stolen here, the same amount have had their cars broken into here, just while we're sitting right here, car alarms go off." Weik added. "And saying we practice by the prison doesn't do well for recruiting either."
Despite that, the team is respected in rugby circles.
"People know about us," Weik said. "When we go and we play in other areas, people know about Wilmington from our past successes. We have guys on this team that have played on a national level. I think it's something the city could embrace as one of its sports."
One of those players is former Newark High School football standout Kevin Wiggins. Wiggins, a two-time all-state football player, played internationally for the United States Eagles in seven-a-side rugby, and now plays for the United States Tomahawks in international league rugby.
Wilmington's Kevin Wiggins breaks away from a scrumBuy Photo
Wilmington's Kevin Wiggins breaks away from a scrum in the first half of Wilmington's 39-0 win over Severn River at Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington on Saturday afternoon, September 12, 2015. (Photo: KYLE GRANTHAM/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
"He is without a doubt our emotional leader," Weik said of Wiggins. "Has been since high school."
Most of the players on the team played college or high school rugby. Ages range from early 20s to mid-40s.
"A lot of these guys … they don't want to play coed softball or coed football," Weik said. "Once you instilled a rugby instinct it's hard to let go. "
The stereotype of the "drunken hooligan," as Weik put it, doesn't apply to Wilmington's rugby team.
"We have attorneys, we have chiropractors, we have guys who are in banks, guys that own their own businesses," Weik said.
The impact of rugby's tight-knit community extends beyond the field.
"Guys go on to success and they pass that opportunity down to guys on the team. If they're looking for jobs in the area we can set them up," Weik said. "That community just perpetuates and it becomes a bond. You understand as a rugby player what we've all been through."
Weik himself has acted as a job facilitator.
"I get it all the time from August through September, 'I'm interested in playing, I'm looking for work in the area,'" Weik said of the emails he'll receive from prospective players.
His response: "What's your field? Alright, let me set you up with somebody."
Wilmington has yet to win a national title, though it has appeared in the Division II national title games several times, as recently as 2013 in Colorado.
Winning the Mid-Atlantic Conference again this year will boost the team into Division I.
That could pose the greatest challenge yet, but not just because of the competition.
"We're playing in a state park where it costs us money to play at our own field," Weik said. "That's what we have to deal with in Delaware because we don't have a place to play. If I could ask for one thing I'd ask for a designated facility that was designed for us."