The St. Thomas Rugby Football Club recently won the state tournament and is now gearing up to compete in the regional tournament later this November.

The men’s rugby team (5-1 overall this season) got into the state tournament as a wild card and had two emotional victories during the two-day tournament on Oct. 22 and 23 at St. Cloud State University.

The team upset No.1-seeded Viterbo University in its first game and came back to crush University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The River Falls win was bittersweet because the Tommies lost to the Falcons in the last game of the regular season.

In its first game, St. Thomas had a big lead over Viterbo in the first half, but its opponent was able to fight back to tie the score in the second half.

Junior Tom Gallaher said it was frustrating to see their big lead slip, but the team rallied late in the second half to win 29-24 and secure a spot in the championship game.

The team went on to defeat River Falls 25-3 in the championship game, and the players were glad they got another shot at the Falcons.

“We were given a second chance, and we took advantage of it,” sophomore Tim Dessonville said.

Sophomore Alex Goering called the victory an “emotional win” because it meant redemption for a team that has fought hard all season.

“It was a great way to end the tournament,” Goering said. “We came into that game with a chip on our shoulder.”

The team has already started to prepare for the regional tournament, which will be held Nov. 12 and 13 in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. The players are applying a new strategy to their game. The team had previously played using a technique called “crash ball.” Goering said this technique was not effective, so the team is using a new strategy that involves kicking the ball more.

Gallaher agrees that this new strategy will benefit the team.

“We’ve had to move some people around, but it has really worked out well,” he said.

After becoming affiliated with the university, the team is proud of its accomplishments so far.

“We are ecstatic to say the least,” Goering said.

However, the team is still looking forward to their regional games and even to the national tournament.

Gallaher said the process to qualify for nationals is relatively new. The team must win state and the regional tournaments in order to get into the national tournament.

The team’s goal for the regional tournament is simple: Every game is a must win in order to qualify for the national tournament.

“We want to make it to Colorado [for Nationals],” Goering said.

Gallaher believes that winning is the only way the team can succeed in achieving its goals.

“We’ve learned that the only way to be guaranteed anything is to win,” Gallaher said. “We can’t count on luck anymore.”

Hayley Schnell can be reached at schn3912@stthomas.edu.