By Derek Borycki, Staff Writer
Last week, the St. Bonaventure University men’s rugby team played Notre Dame College at the Marra Athletic Complex.
This game was different as it was kicked off with a ceremony for senior day, honoring the team’s seniors. This year’s seniors included prop Greg Delaney, fullback Tyler Flynn, lock Bob Kelly, forward John Laduca, hooker Joseph Vasquez and flanker Matthew Williams.
It was an emotional ceremony for the players, who have given their all to the program for all four years of their college careers.
Vasquez is a two-time high school state champion.
“Preparing for senior day was a bit weird for me,” Vasquez said. “I’ve had a back issue for awhile, and it finally caught up to me, so this season I was selected to be the team president. I also spent time as an assistant coach. Not being out there was weird, but I loved seeing the direction the team is headed.”
Williams also touched on his senior day experience.
“Although my body is in shambles, and I’m exhausted, senior day and my match means something more to me than just the end of the season,” Williams said. “I have given the program everything I’ve got each week in order to benefit the team, but I saw these last two games as a way to leave my mark on St. Bonaventure rugby as a 15’s player. It’s been a long journey, but I’m ready to close it out with a bang.”
The Bonnies’ seniors all have unique beginning in the sport of rugby.
“I started playing rugby freshman year of high school at Xavier in Manhattan,” Vasquez said. “Xavier is known for having the oldest high school team in the country. I was a decent football player, and everyone told me to play rugby, and that’s all she wrote. I have fallen in love with rugby and hope to coach it for many years.”
For Williams, his rugby experience began before he reached high school.
“I’ve been an athlete all my life, but my dad is responsible for introducing me to rugby,” Williams said. “He was starting a youth rugby league called the Police Athletic League when I was in eighth grade, and he knew I would excel at the sport. It started with flag rugby, progressed to high school tackle rugby and is now ending with St. Bonaventure varsity rugby”.
Flynn was a member of the New York Rugby Club in high school and was also named an Empire All-star.
“I started playing rugby my freshman year of high school,” Flynn said. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to play, but my dad is a huge rugby fan, so that made the decision to play rugby a lot easier for me. I credit my career to my parents because without them, I would not be playing today.”
Each player also has his own favorite experience from his tenure on the St. Bonaventure rugby team.
“The best experience for me is the feeling of brotherhood,” said Williams. “Every workout, practice and game brings their own ups and downs but knowing you’ll always have someone there to have your back is like no other.”
In the 2015-16 season, the Bonnies played a ranked Western Michigan team in a bowl game that was held in North Carolina. This was a moment that was a favorite of both Vasquez and Flynn.
“It was the best moment for me while on the team,” Flynn said about playing Western Michigan
The Brown and White have a post-season match against Davenport University on Saturday Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.
