During the Northwest Rugby 7s Conference Championship on Saturday April 12, Central Oregon Community College faced two of the best teams in the conference – Oregon Institute of Technology and Washington State University. Throughout the season, COCC played Oregon Tech multiple times but fell short each time. “They beat us like they had no problem beating us in the first few times we faced them in other tournaments throughout the season,” said COCC rugby coach Max Bennett. “It was a little bit of a tough pool that we got put into so honestly our primary goal was to try and beat Oregon Tech, they are kind of like our rival.”
However, in Saturday’s tournament COCC put up a bit more of a challenge for Oregon Tech even if the Bobcats came up short in the end. “It was a great match back and forth, and I believe it was even tied with a couple minutes left, so we were right there,” Bennett Said. “We were so close to kind of accomplishing that lofty goal of beating Oregon Tech. They ended up beating us in the final minutes.”
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Communication and teamwork is crucial for rugby, it allows the players to work together and get the ball where it needs to be.
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In rugby, this position is known as a scrum. This position is done to restart play after there is a minor infringement or stoppage. The main goal is to get the possession of the ball back.
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A COCC player protects the ball as he is tackled by an opposing Washington State player. In that moment, the player has no other goal than to keep the ball away from Washington.
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Having good strength is key in rugby so you are able to do things like this player and leap into the air to grab the ball.
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Getting tackled is a big fundamental of rugby, tackles must be made below the shoulders by the opposing team. Protecting the ball is the main goal.
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COCC players work together in order to get the ball down the field and into the goal area, passing the ball to one another helps keep the ball moving down the field.
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After getting the ball passed to them, a COCC rugby player looks up the field to see where he needs to go or where he needs to pass the ball.
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A COCC player performs a classic stiff arm move on an opposing Washington State player while running down the field.
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A COCC player watches his back as he is trailed by a Washington State player. He looks for a teammate to pass the ball on to.
The conference championship was held at the Pacific Crest Middle School in Bend, Oregon. The COCC team competed against Oregon Tech, Washington State, Gonzaga University, and Western Oregon University. In total there were six schools who were competing for the conference title. The University of Idaho was also a part of those six. Ultimately, Washington State ended up winning the tournament after beating Oregon Tech.
As for COCC, the Bobcats ended up in a consolation bracket where they fought hard and represented COCC with true grit. “So, we beat Gonzaga, who is a really good team, and then we beat Western Oregon, who is without a doubt the best team in our league at the Division III level,” Bennett said. “I’m really proud of our guys because they stayed focused, they stayed committed, they tried really really hard, and we won both of those matches.”
Next up for COCC rugby is the inaugural alumni game which will be held on Saturday May 10. The team is also going to continue hosting weekly practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6:30 p.m. at the COCC field. They play touch rugby which is a more fun and lighthearted way of playing so that they can continue to improve for next season. For more information about the COCC rugby team visit: https://cocc.edu/departments/sports/mens-rugby
