The goal is Hawaii in 2013.
But between then and now, the Utah State University men's rugby team has a lot of work to do.
The team, which is fundraising for a tournament in the Aloha State, has had a disappointing start this year — losing against the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and in a tournament in Las Vegas.
More than half the players on the club-level team — which fields 20 to 30 players, depending on injuries and scheduling conflicts — are either freshmen or new to the sport.
“We have a lot of new guys,” said team captain Ryan McCloud.
McCloud tried to accentuate the positive aspects of that youth. “It helps,” he said, “because they tend to be more in shape than the older teammates… At each match we keep our heads up and have a good time.”
Utah State University is known for having players with the least amount of experience in the state, said team coach Nev Pulotu.
“We are trying to recruit people who are already students and also high school seniors so that we can start training them,” Pulotu said.
To promote team awareness and publicity, the team’s leaders are hoping to woo sponsors from the Cache Valley community. Sponsorships, team officials said, will allow the team to better connect with the community and raise money — including for the Hawaii tournament.
“Sponsors are important when it comes to this tournament. The team must befriend the community now to be prepared,” Pulotu said.
In that effort, the team’s schedule could be an obstacle. The next match is March 3 at Weber State University. The team is not scheduled to play a home match until after spring break.
Abbie Lewis, Adam Barkley, Amanda Morgan, Amy Nelson, Danielle Hayes and Katelyn Swain contributed to this report.
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