Illinois rugby (3-3-1) is near its season’s end and is preparing for the Big Ten playoffs. The goal is to bring home the championship.
According to the president of the team, senior hooker Pedro Medero, they’ve been a club since the 1960s, with Illinois ranked in the top 25 for the past two years. Its sizable roster is a contributing factor to both.
“That isn’t just us saying it, but the national Goff Rugby Report has said multiple times how we are one of the biggest teams in the country,” Medero said.
According to Medero, Illinois has over 80 registered participants across three teams — Varsity, Reserve and Development — which helps develop its programs.
“We have a lot of first-year players that we have to develop for four years here,” said Jacob Razo, junior flyhalf and team captain. “Some guys quickly pick up our system and end up being starters or key players for us.”
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Illinois started the season by losing three of its first four games. After a comeback tie against McKendree, Illinois discovered a change in play style.
“At the start of the year, we relied more on our forwards,” said Sam Schultz, junior flanker. “Now, we adapted to work a lot more with the backs and be more technically skilled.”
The success of this club has been few and far between in recent years. However, with the new strategy and momentum, Illinois feels like this year can be different.
“Even though we are not physically the biggest team, we are definitely one of the more physical teams,” Schultz said.
Schultz also complimented their head coach, Martin Russell, on the huge role he has played for this team. Although it’s a player-run organization, Russell has sacrificed a lot to be a shadow for the team.
“We haven’t been in a final in a long time, but in (Russell’s) third year, he’s helped us achieve this position and showed us the potential for what we can really do this year,” Schultz said.
Russell’s big pillar for the team has been accountability. It has pushed Illinois to play at the next level.
Despite dealing with injuries, Illinois has found a lineup that works with its personnel, allowing the team to be in “high gear” at the end of the season.
What has helped this team overcome injury problems is their players on the Development and Reserve teams. During the fall season, Illinois plays in the 15s tournament, but in the spring, the team plays 7s, which is more of the style played in the Olympics.
“It is a much more high-paced game,” Medero said. “You touch the ball more, and you are forced to make quick decisions. This helps the more inexperienced guys to learn the game a bit quicker and prepare for the fall semester.”
Only a handful of players have prior experience in the sport when they join. This results in a lot of development needed to be done.
Schultz says spring games help turn inexperienced players into key contributors on the varsity roster.
“The 7s in the spring is huge,” Schultz said. “They really help separate the good players from the great players.”
Illinois’ biggest game of the regular season is approaching, with a matchup against Wisconsin. The outcome of that game will decide whether Illinois will be sitting at the top or bottom of the Big Ten bracket.
“We’ve always lost that semifinal game and had to play in the third-place match,” Razo said. “But this year, we definitely want to be in that top three podium teams in the Big Ten.”
Illinois and Wisconsin will meet on Saturday, Oct. 19, to determine the Big Ten playoff bracket. They’ll have to wait for the first weekend in November to see the podium finish, but the goal is to bring some hardware to the club.
@Jon_Mathew23
