Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer

There are so many club teams at George Mason University that so few actually know about. One of those is the Mason rugby club teams.

Rugby at Mason has a team for men and another for women. The men’s rugby team was founded in 1963 and is the oldest club team on the Fairfax campus.

The men’s rugby team has held a winning record in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The National Guard has sponsored the team since 2007. The women’s team is new to Mason, founded spring 2009. Both teams compete against other NCAA Division II schools that bring about a lot of competition.

The men’s rugby team currently has 45 players on the roster and three coaches that bring vast international playing experience from England, France and South Africa.

The women’s team has 25 players and one head coach. Practices are held for both teams Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Intramural Field 4.

“We are very proud of our players,” said men’s Head Coach Frederic Bardot. “We were the clearly superior team, but we never lost our focus. Now we are still undefeated, but the real test comes next week at Salisbury.

Humility is a value of rugby, and we have to remain humble to work hard and improve.”
Both teams had road matches this weekend.

“Rugby is a participation sport,” states Bardot. “Nobody ‘sits on the bench’ and all the players coming to practice play come game time.”

For more information about the rugby club teams at Mason, visit www.masonrugby.com.