The Penn State men's rugby team is hoping that the luck of the Irish is on their side this weekend, as they will travel to Virginia to play in the Washington Irish Tournament.

The Ruggers will face Loyala tomorrow morning and West Chester in the afternoon.

Loyola, which is in the same league with Penn State, will be a familiar face.

The two teams met in the fall, with the Ruggers winning by over 50 points. Although Loyola won't be that strong of competition, senior John McGeachy explained how playing the team will benefit the Ruggers.

"Playing a team at that level is always good for team morale," he said. "To go out and beat a team like that, it gets a victory under your belt. It gives us confidence for playing bigger and better teams."

And there will definitely be bigger and better teams there to play.

"The competition is set up so there are four really good teams," Penn State men's rugby coach Terry Ryland said.

Ohio State, Indiana University-Pennsylvania and the New York All Stars will all prove to be challenging competition. The All Stars are a 30-man team from upstate New York that brings the best of 30 different schools together, Ryland said.

Ryland was not sure how the Ruggers will fair against these teams.

"It's hard to tell," he said. "We are going down there with the purpose to gain experience.

To identify players who can play at a high level."

Ohio State beat Penn State in the fall in a close game.

"They beat us, but not bad," senior Kirk Neubauer said. "They are a big, physical team; a very committed team."

McGeachy said how it will be a different story if they face Ohio in this tournament.

"Our personnel has changed," he said. "We were reorganizing our team and so on. We've worked on that and made the team even better. I hope it will be a good story. We think it will be a close match, but we are confident that we can beat them."

Although this tournament has no impact on the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union tournament or nationals, Neubauer said it will still profit the team.

"It just gets the team more experience," he said. "We have been off since October. Getting many games under our belt gets us back into the rhythm. Just practicing doesn't get it done."

Ryland is hoping to use this tournament as a way to identify younger players that can play up and contribute in later games.

"Expect to see a lot of players in action on Saturday," he said. "We are playing everyone on Saturday in one form or another. That will determine who gets the nod in Sundays games.

Ryland will be looking for a front row player who can step up among the team and contribute when they go to playoffs. He is also watching for an inside back that he can count on.

Already he has identified two or three young backs that can play outside and he wants this tournament to be time for them to gain experience so the team can be in position for MARFU.

In practice this week, the team worked on defensive skills and making sure they are tight in the scrums. McGeachy said defense will be key in the tournament.

"Mainly we have been focusing on defense," he said. "If they don't have the ball they can't score. Defense is the key to winning the game."

The Ruggers are very confident in their ability to do well this weekend and go far in the tournament.

"We are looking to go all the way," McGeachy said. "We are trying to remain positive and optimistic."

Neubauer boasted that, "barring injury and luck, I see us winning it."