Players from the Penn State men's rugby team boarded a plane destined for Ireland over spring break to take on three teams that they hoped would give them more experience for their spring season.

But when the plane landed, the Ruggers met with some bad news.

Due to the recent problems in Europe with "foot and mouth disease," all games had been cancelled.

"As soon as we landed, we met up with our bus driver," coach Brett Hoffman said. "He told us the first game was cancelled."

The team still expected to play games that were scheduled later in the week, but those games were cancelled as well.

"At first, we thought maybe later on in the week we would be able to play," junior Sean Umstead said. "Two days into it, we still thought we were gonna play."

The Ruggers had known prior to the trip about foot and mouth disease, but Umstead said they didn't expect it to be as bad as it was.

The disease has not affected Ireland, but the country is taking a conservative response to it. Although humans cannot contract the disease, they can spread it by coming in contact with contaminated soil or farmland.

The disease affects animals and is highly contagious. It can also spread over long distances. Hoffman said that, because of an agriculturally based economy, Ireland is not taking any chances with the disease.

"A lot of the economy over there is based on agriculture," he said. "If the disease got to Ireland, they would be in big trouble. They are not allowing people to trade animals. Basically, the whole country is under quarantine."

With the news of no games, the Ruggers were obviously disappointed.

"We really needed some work," Umstead said. "That's the whole point of the trip is to get everyone into the game."

The trip did help the team positively, though.

"Team-wise, we got to be together all the time," Umstead said. "It was a good bonding trip. You are together 24 hours a day."

Hoffman agreed that this trip allowed for the team to become closer.

"It was an opportunity for seniors to know the freshman a lot better," he said. "From top to bottom, it was a good week for bonding."

To get in some sightseeing, the team split into groups and went to different places. They visited Blarney Castle and on Thursday, they went to the national rugby stadium.

"Spirits were pretty high," Hoffman said. "We took in the experience of a foreign country anyway."

The Ruggers also interacted with the Cork Institute of Technology, a team they were scheduled to play. The two teams came together for a social where they traded jerseys, hats, ties and other items. They also got to see a video tape of Cork playing.

The Ruggers even got a little bit of rugby in with a short practice against Trinity College, Dublin.

"It was good for us to get a sweat on and do something while we were there rugby-wise," Umstead said.

Trinity is the collegiate national champions of Ireland and the oldest rugby club in the world, Hoffman said.

"It was a good experience for individual players to see the level these players are playing at," Hoffman said.

When asked what the he thought the team got out of the trip, Hoffman replied, "Comradery is the biggest thing."

Hoffman explained how the bonding that went on during the trip will benefit the team this season.

"In reality, when you are truly best friends, you are willing to put yourself on the line for each other, which means not giving up in the middle of the game. It means running that sprint a little bit harder."