The Penn State men's rugby team faces its home-state rival Kutztown tomorrow night at 6 in Holuba Hall. These two teams share not only Pennsylvania, but also strategies and styles of play.
Now, teams cannot simply claim to be rivals. There must be deeper reasons than the 121 miles of Pennsylvanian soil separating the two schools.
For one, Penn State does not have much competition regionally. The powerhouses of men's collegiate rugby lie mainly in the west; California and Brigham Young typically dominate the rugby world. Even though Army and Navy also continually put out strong teams, this leaves the successful Penn State squad with no major local competition.
Kutztown, according to coach Don Ferrell and the players, could provide the Ruggers with that added spark of a rivalry game. In September, Penn State traveled to Kutztown for its first match of the season. They were shocked and nearly upset by the surprising Golden Bears. Though they were given a run for their money, according to Ferrell, the Ruggers were able to pull out a 28-10 victory.
"Some of the players have friends on Kutztown, and they're always excited to play Penn State," senior prop R.J. Krempasky said. "We weren't really prepared the last time."
Ferrell may have some inside information on the Kutztown program, as he is familiar with the Golden Bears' head coach Gregg Jones. The two were assistant coaches for the MARFU All-Star team this past summer, adding a special twist to this rivalry.
The coaches have more in common than just a shared past. They seem to have the same style of game play.
"They play an exciting brand of rugby," Ferrell said. "They're not really a 'smash-and-crash' kind of team. They do attack hard, but have some really talented backs. They're actually quite similar to us on paper."
Kutztown traditionally has been a forward-dominated team, relying on brute strength and physical play to win games. But over the years, players have noticed that this trend is changing.
"Their backs have improved greatly," Krempasky said. "They have a lot of foreigners on their team now, which we do too. They get a lot of the players that could have gone to Penn State."
The similarities between the two intrastate squads further the support for their rivalry. The fact that the teams are now in the midst of a battle for MARFU's two spots in the national tournament at the end of the year only adds to the intensity of tomorrow's match.
"It's a really competitive league, and they're one of the top teams right now," Ferrell said.
Ferrell said that the match tomorrow will give the Ruggers a good test of where they are and what needs to be done to get the team ready for the MARFU playoffs later this month. He did not want to give a prediction of the game, however.
"I don't want to give them any bulletin board material," Ferrell said. "I expect us to beat every team we play. But they do have our respect."
