As winter comes to a close, sports such as lacrosse and baseball make their introduction. The commencement of spring sports has traditionally brought school-wide excitement around its two poster childs. However, when the boys’ rugby team has achieved status as the seventh best high school team in the country, it is hard to overlook. While this sport may not have as much national notoriety as others, rugby has been flying up the ranks at Staples High School as the program continues to be riddled with talent.

The rugby team is set to play their season opener against Georgetown Prep on March 11 on their home turf. With their eyes set on a national championship, the team has been committed in preseason as they look to build on a historic season last year.

“We have been training since November and it has been really good because we have gotten a lot of new players to come out and enjoy the sport while we also get into shape and do tons of running,” Kellen Archibald ’24 said. “We also had the combine where we got to showcase ourselves in front of college coaches.”

Having won the state championship last year and going undefeated in the regular season, there is no doubt that it will be a difficult task to replicate the same success. However, though there is pressure, the squad’s optimism has refused to diminish. 

“We do feel the pressure being the reigning champs, but I think it has only made us more excited and determined,” Andy Cerrito ’24 said. “We have all made it a goal to get back to that level which has helped us keep composure and set us up for success.”

The team this season is set to consist of many new faces, as 10 out of the 15 starters last year graduated. Although they will have the task of replacing some fantastic players who have moved on, captains Eoin Cuddy ’23, Rohan Narang ’23, Ari Perkins ’23 and Sam Pirkl ’23 have been doing everything they can to make sure the team is firing on all cylinders come matchday.

“It sucks losing so many seniors from last year but we couldn’t let that slow us down,” Cerrito said. “The Captains and all of us have been working to make sure the squad is all at the same level come gametime.”

Not only has there been buzz around the quality of the program, but the growing popularity of the sport and the excitement around the team have echoed all around Staples. With not many students being regular rugby watchers, the Staples Rugby team is introducing a whole new side of sports. 

“The program has been attracting a lot of attention from all around the school,” Cuddy said. “I think the reason we are growing is because we have such a supportive program that allows anyone to play, which I think is why we had 50 new faces joining this year and I am positive this will only continue to build.”