The ISU men’s rugby club will not be playing in any type of playoffs this season, but with one game left it still has something to prove to themselves.

After a loss to rival Northern Iowa on Oct. 16, the rugby team hopes to end the season on a high note against Nebraska.

“We want to win to give people something to think about and build off of next semester,” said coach Jon Crosbie and Daily columnist.

Crosbie said a win would be especially important to those players who are on the bubble for playing next semester.

Club vice president Adam Anderson said a win would also help get the bitter taste of defeat out of the team.

“We want to go out with a bang,” Anderson said.

Perhaps the most important reason to win will be the rugby club alumni who will be attending the game, including Jason McReynolds, who is currently stationed in Iraq but will be able to attend the match while on a two-week leave.

“McReynolds has been stationed in Iraq for almost six months,” Anderson said.

“It will be important to have a good showing for him as a welcome home; that alone should be enough to inspire the team.”

Win or lose, the team plans to change a few things in the off-season. Both Crosbie and Anderson agreed that conditioning would have to be a big part of training.

“We’re going to take a break and let everyone heal up from all the injuries we had this season,” Anderson said. “Then we’ll start lifting weights and running and start training for the spring season in January.”

Crosbie said the team really needs to improve its chemistry.

“There are physical guys on the team,” Crosbie said. “Our guys need to hang around with each other more in the off season. They need to become dependent of each other on and off the pitch. If we could improve one thing, that would be it.”

The team will lose two valuable players in the offseason as well.

Both Tim Oxenford, senior in marketing, and Jim McBreen, senior in electrical engineering, are set to graduate in December. They have played for the club for several years and have helped bring up the new guys and lead practices.

McBreen was also a big leader in the back line at the fullback position. Anderson said his absence would surely be missed.

McBreen, who has played for four years, said he is going to miss the people that he played with the most.

“All the guys that have come and gone that I have known — especially the guys currently on the team — will easily be the biggest thing I miss,” he said.

McBreen had a few words of advice for the future teams that he has learned over the course of his time here: “To be successful, you have to really make rugby a big part of your life, both on and off the field.”