The big and imposing Rugby East opens up season this weekend and we get to see the beginning of what could be the best conference in collegiate rugby.
Could be? Well, yes. The expansion of the California Conference puts that competition in contention, but the issue with the California is that one team usually dominates—so even if the 2nd through 7th is competitive, they are all chasing #1. Rugby East is a conference where anyone could win, and, in fact, while Army has won the most conference championships, it has usually been a close-run thing.
Of course, this year, West Point is the defending national champion team, and they return with the reigning Rudy Scholz Award-winner. Larry Williams also takes on the role as team captain. As a varsity program, West Point has been working on its recruiting, and 13 freshmen come in for the Black Knights, including Staples standout and USA age-grader George Engels and Vienna co-captain and USA age-grader Dylan Liskey. It's a pretty young Army side in some ways but they have senior leadership. Army opens against Kutztown on Friday at West Point. For Kutztown this will be a year of adjustment with Thorne O'Connell, Kekoa Kauwe, and Aaron Gray gone. But this could be a real coming out season for the powerful Mate Kvirikashvili.
Penn State is at Queens, with Queens coming off a bit of a worrying game against Wheeling. The Royals won, but it was a close-run thing. Penn State graduated some really good players but have some talent coming up. Head Coach Justin Hundley is optimistic about his team and he has a right to be.