The ISU Rugby Club, led by a senior duo of captain Ben Sauer and Brandon Bay, is looking to translate last year’s success into this season and make a run at the National Championship tournament.

Last year the team made it to the Division 1-AA Round of 16 before losing against Bowling Green University.  

Malcolm Robertson has been the head coach for more than a decade and has contributed to the team’s success with his players-first mentality and the fact that he treats every player on his team the same way.

“I base my goals off of what the players have to say, and I give them the tools and directions necessary to reach that goal,” Robertson said. “We want the whole team to be watched and not just one player because the game is about the 15 men on the field firing with the same mindset.”

Until 2008, the team was a member of the Heart of America Conference Division II level and then moved up to the Division I-AA level. While at the Division II level, the team qualified for four national championships within a ten-year span.

At the Division I level, the team made it to nationals in 2014 for the first time in team history. The team has also qualified for five Big 12 tournaments and made it to the championship match four times, coming away with one Big 12 title.

Sauer, who is in his fourth year on the team, expects this year’s team to be much better due to the experience that they gained from last year’s run. He also credited the team’s work ethic, which is rubbing off on the young guys.

“As the captain, I am here to tell them they have what it takes to be good and keep a positive attitude on and off the field at all times,” Sauer said. “I’m here to lead by example and motivate them.”

Bay, the team’s vice-captain, also believes that the group has improved from last year because they know that they are good enough to go all the way with the core of last year’s team returning. 

Those goals will not be easily realized. The team has had a slump recently after starting out the season with wins against the University of Iowa and Kansas University.

With the team riding the momentum of the hot start, they hit a bump in the road and were defeated by Kansas State and the University of Missouri.

In the loss against Kansas State, the team suffered several injuries that hampered its game plan. Similar issues arose in the Missouri game, leading to back-to-back losses.

Despite the injuries and losses, Bay said the team can overcome and still have a successful season.

“We believe that the losses have just been [flukes], and they’re not a sign of what the future holds,” Bay said. “We need to get back to the basics, work as a unit and just grind out the little things.”

The team’s next game is scheduled to be played in the spring.