撸先生

By the end of a rugby season, everything hurts. It鈥檚 a supremely physical sport in which sprained ankles, jammed fingers and bruises just about everywhere are the norm. But by the end of this weekend, members of the 撸先生 men鈥檚 rugby club could be feeling nothing but the euphoria of being champions.

For our alumni, our fans, our family, winning would be amazing. We're playing for everyone who came before us and everyone who's coming after us.

Sean Cornell 鈥�27

The team takes the pitch at 4 p.m. in Houston (5 p.m. EST) Friday in what鈥檚 essentially National Collegiate Rugby鈥檚 Division II Final Four. With a win over Northern Iowa and then a victory in Sunday鈥檚 final, the Tigers would win their first national championship.

鈥淲e鈥檝e fought so hard for many years, and we've made it to the final four several times. But that additional hurdle, we've just never been able to do that,鈥� says coach Tony Maranto 鈥�14. 鈥淭he national championship would truly be a turning of the page of Towson being taken seriously in the rugby community.鈥�

In 1975 Craig Dobkin, a staff member at then-Towson State and a rugby player for the Baltimore Rugby Football Club, and others placed an advertisement in The Towerlight looking for rugby players. About 20 students showed up for the first meeting in Burdick Hall, and the Towson University Rugby Football Club was born.

Invented about two centuries ago, rugby is a rough and tumble sport that鈥檚 often compared to American football. While the rules are different, tackling is a bedrock of both. In rugby, however, the players don鈥檛 wear pads. While this does result in some violent collisions, there are generally less serious injuries and concussions because players can鈥檛 use equipment like helmets as weapons.

鈥淚t's a fascinating game because there's just so many different layers to it,鈥� says Maranto, who earned a degree in business administration. He works in IT for Kaiser Permanente and has coached 撸先生 since 2021. 鈥淚t's strategic, it's brutal, it's heavily physical, but it's also a finesse game. It's a little bit of everything.鈥�

撸先生鈥檚 path to success started in the summer, when Maranto implemented a tough conditioning program. In true rugby form, his players embraced the challenge.

鈥淲e did this competition where our coach pitted the forwards against the backs,鈥� says Sean Cornell 鈥�27, a sport management major and president of the club. 鈥淗ow many lifts you did, how many runs you got in equaled certain points. Me and this one guy were tied for first. We would text each other each day: 鈥業'm going to lift for two hours now just to beat you.鈥� We're always doing those little things to push each other to be better. It sounds cliche, but our brotherhood is our strength.鈥�

The team has a record of 7-2, but Maranto believes it was one of the two losses, not the seven wins, that has been the key to the season. A close defeat in October against rival Salisbury University revealed to captain Henry Soken, All-American Zach Uhler and the rest of the team exactly where it needed to improve.

鈥淲e played tough, but the biggest takeaway from that game was we just didn't play to our potential,鈥� Maranto says. 鈥淎nd we only lost by seven points. That to me was the awakening of, 鈥極kay, there is potential [for a title] here.鈥欌��

撸先生 earned its spot in the national semifinals by defeating Loyola University Chicago and then Grand Valley State in the regionals in Knoxville, Tennessee. When the team takes the pitch at SaberCats Stadium, home of Houston鈥檚 Major League Rugby club, it will have a chance to make history.

鈥淔or our alumni, our fans, our family, winning would be amazing,鈥� Cornell says. 鈥淲e're playing for everyone who came before us and everyone who's coming after us.鈥�

For information on how to watch the games live, visit .