Binghamton University men’s rugby achieves highest national ranking in club history

The Binghamton University men’s rugby club ranks seventh in the nation, the highest ranking the club has reached in the team’s history.

“It feels amazing to be ranked so high, but I’ve never had a doubt that this team would reach this level, and we’ll be aiming for even higher in the future,” said Ryan Thompson, a junior business administration major and vice president of the rugby club who plays forward.

Rugby, also known as rugby union, is a competitive, full-contact sport and has been a club sport at Binghamton since 1979, when the Tasmanian Devils Rugby Club first took the field against Syracuse University. Like American football, the object of the game is to ground the ball behind the opponent’s goal line. Unlike football, however, the ball cannot be passed forward — it must be passed or handed off backwards. The ball can be kicked forward, but the kicker’s teammates must be behind the kicker when the ball is kicked.

The Binghamton men’s rugby team is the top seed in the Liberty Rugby Conference and has earned numerous wins throughout the fall 2022 season, defeating Cornell University, University at Albany, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Brockport and SUNY Oswego.

“I think we were successful this year because of a combination of talent that was spread throughout the ages of our team,” said Alex Stabiner, a senior environmental science major and club president who plays left wing. “But talent was just the baseline. By the end of the season, we were playing as a team rather than as individuals, and that gave us the ability to play as well as we did.”

Thompson said the team has recruited many committed athletes over the past two years who have become key A-side starters, contributing to the team’s accomplishments and influencing the program’s growth.

In addition to its regular season wins, the team conquered James Madison University, 54-21, during the National Collegiate Rugby D1-AA national tournament quarter-finals that were hosted at home to advance to the semi-finals.

“Everyone who plays for the team is passionate about it and we all want results,” Stabiner said. “Yes, there are moments when the motivation is lacking, but when it comes to games, everyone plays with the intent to win.”

Stabiner and Thompson are hopeful for the future of the team and its triumphs.

“There’s always a next challenge for us,” Thompson said. “Whether it be a conference championship, getting to nationals or playing a rival program, I know we will be ready to put in the work needed to be successful.”

Stabiner said that he learned numerous lessons while playing rugby at Binghamton, with the most important being to never give up.

“Our coach always says that rugby is a ‘game of attrition’ — its two sides combating each other, waiting for the other side to give up first,” Stabiner said. “We may have lost in our game against Siena earlier in the season, but we didn’t give up. You could see that when the game ended, we were proud of the game we played. We were able to hold our heads up high.”

Along with enhancing its passion for the sport, the rugby club has allowed its members to build connections with one another and discover what it means to be a part of a team.

“My favorite memory was meeting people at our first general interest meeting, teaching them how to throw a rugby ball and watching them fall in love with the sport,” Thompson said. “Those same guys have become some of our best players and some of my best friends.”

The team plays in the semi-finals at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 against the University of Louisville at Penn State Berks, as the team continues to strive for a national title.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for them, our department and the University … I cannot thank our coaches enough for all the time and effort they put in with the students,” said Craig Dube, assistant director of Campus Recreational Services. “Regardless of the outcome, this is a proud moment and experience that these players will have for a lifetime and talk about every time they return to campus.”