On a muddy field in Champaign this past weekend, members of the Hornet Rugby Club, watched as teammate Jody West laid on the field, writhing in pain as he had his leg examined.

West had broken his leg, dislocated and tore every ligament in his ankle; just another day at the office for Eastern’s only men’s rugby club.

The Hornet Rugby Club played a match this weekend at the University of Illinois against the university’s club team. The club lost to 10-0 in the scrimmage. The series was a scrimmage to prepare for the team’s upcoming season in which they will look to compete in two tournaments and as well as hosting two home matches later this month. The team’s home meets will take place on March 26 and April 16.

The team is led by captain Chris Green, junior communication studies major, is one of the more experienced members of the team, entering his tenth season as a rugby player.

Green has played for five different teams over the course of seven years, and now looks to lead the Hornets to another successful season.

Despite the loss over the weekend, Green was still pleased with his team’s performance.

“It definitely went well, for what I was expecting. It was kind of nerve racking thing because we had so many rookies,” Green said.

The club currently has about 40 members and competes against various other club teams across the state. Green says about 75 percent of team are first year players.

“Its definitely a new game for a lot of people,” Green said.

Green said rugby is not a sport players will be able to pick up over night, but newer players just need to give it the time to gain experience.

One first year player is freshman business management major Aaron Origel. Origel said he was encouraged by Green to try out rugby and he has since grown to like it.

Green said he sees rugby as a sport growing in popularity across the United States with more and more high schools creating rugby teams and rugby gaining more national U.S. exposure with a match recently being aired on CBS and being put back into the Olympics.

Green said the Hornet Rugby Club looks to continue the tradition of the Eastern rugby team of the 1970s and 80s, but look to turn around the team’s reputation with the university. The Eastern rugby team was disbanded by the university after an incident which ended with a house burning down.

The Hornet Rugby Club stays true to the traditions of rugby, by joining the opposing club in a celebration after each match while singing rugby songs and enjoying the fellowship of the game.

Green does not expect for there to be a resurrection of the Eastern men’s rugby program anytime soon, but enjoys the team he has now and looks forward to a fun filled season.

The Hornet Rugby Club plays its first home match March 26 on the intramural fields.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu