"We didn't just play, we competed": Plattsburgh State rugby finishes third in national tourney

Jun. 16—NEW ORLEANS — When the Plattsburgh State Men's Rugby team arrived in Louisiana for the May Madness 7's tournament, no other team in the competition knew who they were.

That is understandable, given that Plattsburgh is an NCAA Division III school, and most of the teams they were competing against were Division I.

Those D1 teams found out the hard way exactly who the Cardinals were.

"We got there and everyone kept saying, 'Who the hell is SUNY Plattsburgh,'" Vice President of the club, Kevin Graber, said.

Finishing the weekend of May 28 and 29 with a 4-2 record, and finishing in third in the tournament, the rugby squad put Plattsburgh on the national map, now being ranked #40 in the country by the Goff Rugby Report.

During the tournament, Plattsburgh State took down Tulane, Purdue, UConn, and UMass-Amherst. Their only losses came from Salisbury University and Sam Houston State, who finished first and second.

"We had a rocky start but then finished with a statement," Graber said. "A lot of people knew us after the tournament."

DECIDING A DIVISION

Both coach Sean Morgan and team captain Tyler Callahan noted that they knew this team, which Morgan deemed 'the pandemic kids,' was special.

"We didn't touch a rugby ball in two years," Morgan said. The club just got together again last fall, at the end of September, playing scrimmages with teams like Potsdam and St. Lawrence.

In the spring, the team couldn't go to a national qualifier because they were all too far away, but after beating Siena College, a D1 college, for an at-bid qualifier, Morgan said he knew how special his team was.

"As a coach, I've been doing this a long time, you just get this feeling," he said. "By the third tournament, I knew these kids were special."

Morgan has been coaching the club, off and on, for the past 30-40 years after being involved with the team during his college years, in the late 70s and early 80s.

After the team earned the at-bid, Plattsburgh State Athletic Director Mike Howard asked Morgan if the team wanted to compete in Division II because all the small college spots were filled.

When the pair discovered there was also an open spot in the D1 club section, Morgan thought, "Hey, you'll only go to one of these once in a while. Let's go D1."

And Howard let them. The school was behind it financially, along with help from the alumni and other GoFundMe donations from the community.

"We didn't even know we were going until 12 days before," Morgan said. "The kids were a little scared when I told them where we were going, but we just had to convince them that they could play at this level.

"And they did."

THE TOURNEY

The two types of rugby that the club plays are fifteens in the fall and sevens in the spring, and this tournament was sevens play.

Sevens is aptly named, being seven on seven for seven minute halves, which results in fast-paced quick games, in comparison to fifteens, which is 15 on 15 for 40 minute halves.

The Cards started off their journey with a 22-15 loss to Sam Houston State, the eventual tournament champion, but bounced back a few hours later to defeat hometown team Tulane University, 43-0. Callahan said the team had a lot of nervous energy at first, wondering if they could compete against the "big and scary" Division I teams.

"So our first game, that's how it felt, but once the guys got rolling and started hitting and just really playing our game, that's when all that angst just sort of disappeared," he said. "The ball started rolling, the guys started rolling and we just started playing some of our best rugby."

They then went on to shutout Purdue University, 26-0, and finished off Saturday with a 29-7 win over UConn. However, Salisbury University took the final game from the Cards, 22-0.

"Physically, these guys were bigger," Morgan said. "But that's what's great about 7's, because it's a gazelle game.

"You could beat this one team in sevens and you're better than them eight out of 10 times, but there's a chance you could lose those two games and they're very important."

ROOM TO BUILD

Now, everyone on the team and in the organization has seen this historic finish as a great catalyst for the development of rugby in the North Country.

"It's special. It's not everyday that you see a Division III rugby club go in and play at a Division I level," Callahan said. "We didn't just play. We competed."

Morgan said that the help from Plattsburgh State and the alumni was one of the main reasons behind the success they found in New Orleans.

"For the school to come out and sponsor us, that was a big plus and will be great for recruitment," he said. "But, we couldn't have done it without the alumni. In six hours, they raised $3,000 when they heard we were going."

Graber said that for the future, the seniors are trying to make the program as stable as can be for the next five to ten years.

"We want to have it be one of the most known organizations on campus, sports wise," Graber said.

Callahan, who just graduated and finished his final year of rugby, said that this team is just scratching the surface of their potential.

"I don't think they've even reached the peak," he said. "From here, I see nothing but progress to be made and a bigger, stronger program to be built."

He also said the Plattsburgh region and surrounding areas need to keep the Cardinal club in the back of their minds.

"It's nuts to see a Division III team come in and play and compete with these Division I teams. That's unheard of," Callahan said.

BROTHERHOOD

In general, this club has a very strong bond, from the alumni, to the coaches, to the current players and the fans.

With that, most of these players didn't even know the game of rugby when they first joined the team, including one who quit soccer to join the team.

"My friend, he played for six months and ended up in New Orleans and scored the most tries on our team," Graber said. "I think that just shows that anything is possible, especially with our little school. We had some good coaches and a great team dynamic."

"I couldn't be more proud," Callahan said, complimenting the team on their skill development over time.

However, one of the longest relationships on the team was between Morgan and Callahan, who have worked with one another since high school, when Callahan played on the Saranac Lake high school rugby squad, which Morgan coached.

"It's really hard to find words to describe it because me and coach just have such a tight relationship, considering that I've been with him since high school and to carry it into college as well," Callahan said. "Y'know, joining a team that was really not good and to finish at the absolute best that we could, it means the world."

"I look up to him. He's like my second father," he continued. "It seriously meant the world to me."

Callahan reiterated once more just how special this team was.

"The chemistry we were able to build together is like no other," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of these guys and I love them to death. It's probably the best group of friends I could ever ask for and it built one of the strongest brotherhoods I've ever seen."

Email Jessica Collins: jcollins@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: @JCollinsSports