By Mike Specht
Staff Writer
On Nov. 17, the men’s rugby team clinched a trip to the DI-AA USA Rugby National Championship for the first time in program history. The Bonnies defeated Rutgers University 67-11 at McGraw-Jennings Field and finished the regular season with a league record of 7-2-1.
The Bonnies needed to not only win the game, but also score four tries to qualify for the national tournament. Officials gave a Rutgers player a yellow card early in the match, which put the Scarlet Knights down a player for most of the match. The ruggers quickly capitalized with a try from freshman center Jordan Farrant.
With other tries from senior Alex Brussard, sophomore John Sullivan, freshman Chuck Meagher and another by Farrant, the Bonnies only needed to hold onto the win, going into the second half leading 29-8.
“It was relieving,” Coach Clarence Picard said. “You could see later in the game, guys were a lot more comfortable playing without any pressure or tension,”
The Bonnies continued their dominant play in the second half as Sullivan, Brussard, junior flanker Justin Walker, senior lock Tim Hanna, and Meagher all scored tries. Senior fly half Kevin McCorry was 6-for-11 on conversions and sophomore lock Greg Johnson was named the “Man of the Match” in part due to his tackling and defensive play.
Picard said the team has grown and improved a lot as a whole since the beginning of the regular season.
“This was a stressful season; some guys weren’t playing up to their potential,” Picard said. “We did, however, turn that around after our loss to Stony Brook. Something clicked with the team, and we had a different mentality for the rest of the season.”
The Bonnies will prepare for the national tournament featuring 16 of the nation’s best rugby programs set for April 27-28th. The team will train together four times a week to keep in shape and prepare for the national event.
A key reason for the Bonnies reaching the national tournament has been due to the play of sophomore fullback John Sullivan. The accounting major from Orchard Park, N.Y. has been playing rugby since his sophomore year of high school.
Sullivan said he chose to attend St. Bonaventure not only to play rugby but also because of the business school and the small community atmosphere
Known as “Sully” by the team, Sullivan started every game for the Bonnies as a freshman, playing the eight-man position. He stayed at that position until early this season when Picard switched him to fullback.
“When we first moved him into fullback, he was dropping half of the passes,” Picard said. “By the end of the season, he was grabbing the poor passes and catching everything. John was our guy this year. The better he played, the better the team played. You knew when he got the ball, something was going to happen.”
“This was difficult since I never played fullback before,” Sullivan said. “I really enjoy touching the ball more and having longer runs as a fullback.”
In the game against Rutgers, Sullivan opened the half by scoring what Picard and many fans consider the most impressive try of the season. Starting in the Bonaventure backfield, Sullivan ran through the middle of the Rutgers team, running hard and breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 60-meter try.
“I saw a bunch of space and ran hard,” Sullivan said. “I really didn’t expect to make it all the way, and the next thing I knew I was in the try zone. It was my favorite play of the season.”
Looking to the future, Sullivan plans to lift weights and get in better shape for nationals, especially after pulling his shoulder last year. He also said he hopes to make the squad for the Empire 7’s tournament this spring.
Picard noted that Sullivan’s play this year paralleled the team’s performance.
“John Sullivan is the epitome of how our season went this year,” Picard said.
