There is no lack of focus or confidence in the K-State men's rugby club for this weekend's home tournament. Members said the home-field advantage seems to be a big help for the club and makes the mood around practice a little looser and much more confident.
"The crowd will be the 16th, 17th, and 18th man on the field this weekend," said Hale Sloan, president of the rugby club and senior in biological and agricultural engineering. "The crowd will be huge."
The field at Memorial Stadium is one of the only fields in the conference that is regulation size, which makes the team's play smoother and faster. It also helps the team spread the offense out across the whole field. With games against two solid Big 12 Conference opponents, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, the men said they feel a sweep is possible.
"A sweep this weekend would mean a lot for the whole rugby program, not just this team," said Conner Smith, fifth-year student in architectural engineering.
If all goes as planned and the team picks up both wins this weekend, the Wildcats secure a trip to the Western Collegiate Rugby Tournament in Dallas. The ultimate goal for this year's team is a chance to play in the tournament.
Coach Danny Blea said, "In order for us to make it to the Western tournament, we must win these two games this weekend."
Making it to the tournament and winning the championship would mean the team gets an automatic invitation to the club for a trip to nationals later this season. The club is sitting at 1-1 in conference play and 8-3 overall this season. Winning this weekend's tournament would put the club in great shape to stretch the season out past May and make it into the playoffs - leaving the team with a chance to compete for the title.
After beating Benedictine College in its last game, the team is confident going into this weekend's games, Smith said.
"We are looking to beat Oklahoma and Oklahoma State this weekend based on how well we played last game at Benedictine," Smith said.
This weekend's tournament starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when the team plays Oklahoma State and concludes at 11 a.m. Sunday against Oklahoma.
