As the West Point rugby team looks forward to a tough series of games in their first fall of varsity rugby, one player keeps getting mentioned in games they play.

Flanker and co-captain Collum Magee continues to be a handful on both sides of the ball for the Black Knights, and the firstie (senior) is a big part of why Army is unbeaten and climbing up the rankings.
 

Magee was an accomplished football player in high school in St. Louis and in fact played at Central Missouri before enrolling at West Point. He never played rugby before then.

“I had a bunch of buddies at West Point who were playing rugby,and they told me ‘you’ll transition well,’” Magee told Goff Rugby Report. “I guess I did.”

Magee played hooker, then center, and finally flanker, which is where he’s happy to stay.

“I love it,” he said. “I love the responsibilities, being at every ruck, making tackles. I just love defense. I love being on the line with all my teammates and coming up and turning the ball over, or seeing the eightman pick it up and knowing I need to stop him. That’s what I love best.”

Magee has continued to learn more about the game and his position this seas.

“When I came in I wanted to be a hardworking player, and I played each phase like a chicken with his head cut off,” he said. “But now the game has slowed down for me. I am expected to have a high work rate but you have to pick your moments. I am learning how to do that and conserve my energy.”

The Army team, added Magee, is a good one, and is coming off a difficult 18 months. The team was suspended for immature team behavior, and after a period when the program’s future was uncertain, men’s rugby was reinstated, and then, with the women’s team, made varsity.

“We graduated a lot of firsties last year so we knew we’d have a young team this season,” said Magee, who was one of two returning starters, along with Logan Pearce. “But I can’t say enough about the young guys. We had a pretty big statement win against Penn State, and since then we’ve been flying high. 

“Coming back from suspension we knew we had to live up to the tradition of the program,” said the flanker, who hopes to be a helicopter pilot when he gets his Army commission. “The quality of the officers that come from the program something we hang our hats on. But we got off track, and what we learned from that situation motivated us to work harder and be more dedicated.”

Magee said that much of the work the players had to do to get the program back on the field was observed by other cadets, and in fact some cadets decided to try out for rugby because of what they saw.

Now the pressure is on, as rugby is now a varsity sport at West Point.

“Joining the department of intercollegiate athletics has been a huge deal,” said Magee. “We’ve been able to take advantage of the facilities, like the varsity weight room. But we also know there’s more oversight, which I think is good. The transition has been great.”

Army moved to 4-0 after coming back to beat Iona Saturday 26-19. That was a score that was perhaps closer than some thought it should be, but Magee was pleased with his squad’s fortitude. 

“We’ve played Iona last two years and they hit hard and play a full 80 minutes,” said the flanker. “We were not surprised that they were ready to play, and I was really impressed with how our guys reacted. We also want to be that kind of team. We have players who come to the team who don’t know rugby, so at the very least we are going to play for 80 minutes and we’re going to play tough.”

Army plays at SUNY Buffalo this weekend, which, despite UB’s winless record, will be a difficult road game. After that, it doesn’t get any easier, as they host Kutztown and Air Force before playing away at Wheeling Jesuit.

“We will continue to work on our skills every day,” said Magee. “We are developing our rugby IQ and seeing a couple of phases ahead. With these last four games it will begin to show.”