After a busy winter saw the addition of a new head coach, the Penn State men's rugby team headed overseas for one last challenge before embarking on its push to the 2017 Varsity Cup in May.

Undefeated since last spring, the Nittany Lions put their impressive run to the test during a eight-day tour of Scotland on March 4-11. Penn State's foray abroad featured three games in the Glasgow area, highlighted by a 46-31 win over the University of St. Andrews -- the country's oldest university -- to keep PSU's streak intact in the tour finale.

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Senior team captain Malcom May said that the decision to play in Scotland came after a debate about the level of competition the Nittany Lions needed to see entering the meat of their spring slate. Touring on the West Coast in the rugby hotbed of California was also considered.

"We thought a better way to push ourselves for Varsity Cup was to go to Scotland and play some of the better competition there," May said.

After settling on Scotland, Penn State got to work on preparing for its trip under the guidance of new head coach James Willocks, a native of Balclutha, on the South Island of New Zealand. During the past four years as an assistant coach at Dartmouth, Willocks saw the Big Green win four Ivy League XV and 7s Championships as well as the U.S. Rugby 7s bowl. Those title wins coupled with his high level of passion and understanding of the game made him a no-brainer for PSU's head coaching position.

"Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've had to change coaches; I think for my class and some of the fifth-year seniors this is our maybe fifth coach in four or five years," May said. "From these experiences -- the leadership group -- we now know how to deal with it, and we don't really get fazed. ... And we also do like coach Willocks. He's a great coach."

As Penn State built up to the tour, Willocks had the team doing "something rugby" every 12 hours. Practices on Tuesday and Thursday mornings were paired with 7 PM lifts on the same day, along with Monday lifts and another practice on Friday. All of that hard work translated into a recipe for success as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 75-3 win in the tour's opener against West of Scotland followed by a 32-7 victory over Strathclyde XV.


Nittany Lions players head onto the field at Scotstoun Stadium, home of the Glasgow Warriors, to train before a match against West of Scotland on March 7.

There aren't many college level teams that get to tour, let alone in a different country and continent. And before leaving, May said the Nittany Lions were thrilled for the opportunity.

"We are student-athletes and are usually bogged down by the workload from school and trying to have a social life," May said. "It's just our time to have fun as a team and enjoy rugby."

Following its successful overseas tour, Penn State returns at Indiana University on Saturday, March 25.

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