The West Hartford Black Hearts Rugby Club has wrapped up its fifth season of teaching high schoolers the fundamentals of rugby.

By Katie Cavanaugh

The 2015 Black Hearts Rugby Club. Submitted photo.

The West Hartford Black Hearts Rugby Club has concluded its fifth season, and organizers are looking forward to continued growth as they expand the team and teach high schoolers the fundamentals of rugby.

“Most kids learn to play rugby in the United States in college,” said Black Heart’s coach Ed Carr. “The Black Hearts teaches the fundamentals of how to play the game to high schoolers.”

The team started up in 2011 to give high schoolers the opportunity to play rugby since it is not offered by West Hartford schools. The Black Hearts was built up slowly, the original team only having eight players. This wasn’t even enough to adhere to the standard rules of rugby, which calls for 15 players on the field for a typical match.

The Black Hearts no longer have that problem, with their 2015 roster holding the names of 30 young men from West Hartford as well as surrounding towns.

That’s not to say that the team doesn’t face its share of challenges. “There are a lot of sports that West Hartford kids play in the spring,” said Carr. This prevents some young men from coming out and trying rugby, he said.

Another challenge is the quick turnover of talent. “The hard part is when good kids come out to the team as seniors and leave after one season,” Carr said.

The Black Hearts play against other teams in the Connecticut State Based Rugby Organization. Their record for the 2015 season was 2-3. “It was a tough season,” said Carr. “The way this winter was it was hard to get outside.”

However, at the end of the day the numbers on the scoreboard only say so much. What matters to the coaches is that the boys are learning the fundamentals of the game. “One of our goals is to give them the basics so they can play rugby the rest of their lives.”

Some of their players go on to play in college. Patrick McCormack, a senior at Northwest Catholic High School and a captain of the Black Hearts, will play rugby at St. Bonaventure University in the fall. McCormack decided to play rugby after watching his father play on the CT Grey Rugby Club. “I grew up watching him play, so I already knew the rules,” said McCormack.

He began playing for the Black Hearts two years ago. McCormack is appreciative of the coaches speaking highly of him during the recruitment process, and he is thankful and excited to continue to play the sport he loves at the collegiate level. “It’s by far the most fun sport I’ve played. I love everything about it,” said McCormack.

The Black Hearts are looking to continue to expand and teach rugby to those who want to play.  This also applies to females who would like to give the sport a try.

“This is a boys team, however we are willing to teach girls,” said Carr. The problem is the league will not let girls play with boys, so enough girls will have to come out to form another team. “If girls want to come out we’ll need a lot of girls, and there hasn’t been a lot of interest yet.”

For more information about the Black Hearts Rugby Club please email [email protected] or call 860-202-8045.

“Rugby is going to teach you responsibility. It is a sport that requires everyone to do their job to be successful” said Carr. “It’s just a team working together, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

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The Black Hearts 2015 captains and coaches. Submitted photo.