The Alabama men’s rugby team has improved its record to 4-0 after a victory over Vanderbilt on Oct. 9.
The team is off to a hot start this season, winning their first four games all by double digits. They have won their two most recent matches by a combined 74 points, including a 40-3 blow out over Vanderbilt. So far, Alabama has a point differential of 71, scoring 191 points to their opponents 120.
“First step is to win the division,” Alabama men’s rugby president Shawn Dawley said. “We are in first place with two games to go, so if we take care of business we should be in good shape.”
The Alabama Rugby Football Club currently sits atop the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference’s west division. The team has picked up wins over divisional opponents Auburn, Ole Miss and Florida. Those victories have come with an average margin of victory of 39.
“We want to put Alabama on the map,” said team member Ross Depperschmidt. “We are already in the top 40 in the nation, so if we win the SCRC and turn some heads that would be great.”
At the beginning of the season, the team set its sights towards the division title, with tough teams standing in their way. So far, Alabama has a strong lead in the west division, remaining undefeated with not many games left to play.
The team has been hitting on all cylinders to start out the season and that can be attributed to conditioning. The team practices three times a week for two hours. Both teams work and compete to execute a game plan each week.
“I think we are the best conditioned team definitely in the west,” Depperschmidt said. “We come out here almost every day and have good numbers almost every day. We have great leadership and great seniority, and we bust it the first have hour of every practice to make sure we are in good shape.”
Execution has been key to their early success. Even though they are an athletic team, making their game plan transition from practice to a game situation can be tough for a team. Alabama has been able to combine a solid game plan with their athleticism to dominate opponents.
Alabama will look to continue their success and improve to 5-0-0 as they take on Kentucky on Oct 17.
