UNC Wilmington Has Some Unfinished Business
UNC Wilmington Has Some Unfinished Business
After their win over Virginia this past weekend UNC-Wilmington is now ranked #1 in the GRR D2 rankings, and it didn’t hurt that they kicked off their season trying to play D1 competition such as UNC Chapel Hill, Wingate, and South Carolina.
The weather didn’t cooperate—the Seahawks saw both the UNC and USC games end early due to weather, although they were leading the Tarheels match and were trailing only 10-5 against the Gamecocks after 20 minutes.
But a solid win over Wingate and then Virginia shows they have something going on in Wilmington.
“I feel really good about the team,” said UNC Wilmington Head Coach Jim Wiseman. “We have a core group of guys in their senior year; they are gelling nicely and we’ve added a few more guys.”
And really it’s not even just a core group that has been there for four years. Many of the players at UNCW played together in high school. Wiseman also coaches at the Cape Fear HS team and several of those players have matriculated to UNCW.
“We have lots of Cape Fear rugby players and so some of them have been together six or seven years,” said Wiseman. “You can have 15 guys on a team and they can all be good rugby players, but they aren’t a team. These guys are a team.”
As a result, Wiseman was reluctant to call out players as being in good form but there are some who have stepped up. Brothers Max and Trey Buckingham both are Cape Fear products. Hard-hitting and good in the lineout they are a massive part of the forward effort.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had a bunch of 6-4, 6-5, even 6-7 players, and it really helps,” said Wiseman. “I always tell the guys, go around campus and get me a few more athletes, and they do.”
The Buckinghams are not the only double-troubles on the team. The coach’s sons, Marshall and Mason Wiseman lock down the halfback pairing, with Marshall at scrumhalf and Mason at flyhalf.
Their experience and connection there have helped make everything a bit smoother.
Add to that the impressive Crispin Flemings at loose forward and you have that combination of athleticism, talent, rugby understanding, and unity.
Last year, UNCW bowed out in the NCR national quarterfinals, but Wiseman fairly points out that his Seahawks lost to the eventual champions, IUP, and by only five, 29-24. Almost that entire team returns for this season, and they want to take another step forward.
“Taking games against D1 teams has really helped us,” said Wiseman. “It gets us ready for that level.”
