The Penn State men's rugby team traveled a tough road en route to capturing its second consecutive Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) championship. Ironically, the road wasn't nearly as tough -- or scary -- as the one back home.

Just hours after their dramatic 18-17 win over the Naval Academy in Sunday's MARFU title match in Richmond, Va., the Ruggers were involved in a five-vehicle accident that temporarily postponed their celebration.

The women's rugby team, which also competed in Richmond over the weekend, was also involved.

No injuries were sustained and both squads returned safely to State College, after a lengthy delay, early Monday morning.

"It certainly added to the weekend," centre and team captain Tim Ryland said. "When something catastrophic like this happens, and everybody is safe, it makes you grateful and thankful and sort of pulls everyone together."

According to Ryland, Penn State's charter bus was nearing the border between Virginia and Maryland on Sunday night when it noticed a stoppage in traffic ahead. The driver was unable to slow down in time, however, and the bus smashed into three cars before coming to rest against a semi-tractor trailer.

Sitting dangerously close to the steep center median and leaking gasoline, the bus ran the risk of flipping over. Fortunately, the coaches and players quickly evacuated through the emergency exit and found safety.

Before joining everyone else on the side of the road, men's head coach Don Ferrell helped pull a woman out of one the damaged cars.

From there, police handled the situation while both squads waited for close to four hours until another bus from Fullington Trailways arrived.

"Experiencing something like this really puts things into perspective and, at that point in time, rugby was not important," Ferrell said.

"I was proud of the way everyone responded. They really came together. They showed the character of our teams and the type of program we have. They showed that we are a family and that was the most important part of this weekend."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, some of those involved still found time to joke.

"I think we got more beat up during the game than we did in the wreck," Ryland said.

Penn State will make its 17th appearance in the national tournament as a No. 3 seed on April 21 in West Point, N.Y. The squad plans to host Kutztown in a friendly match on Saturday.