College Team Poised To Break Out #1: Delaware

College Team Poised To Break Out #1: Delaware

What college teams are poised to make a big jump forward? Here's our first pick -- the Delaware Blue Hens. Delaware was 1-8 in the fall of 2017, losing all of its Rugby East Conference games.

Jul 19, 2017 by Alex Goff
College Team Poised To Break Out #1: Delaware
This is the first of FloRugby's list of men's college rugby programs we think will break out in 2017-18.

How they break out depends on their results in 2016-17: We might be identifying a team poised to rise into the upper echelon or maybe it's just a team that will make a move from struggling to competing. Here's our first Breakout College Team of 2017-18, the University of Delaware.

Delaware was 1-8 in the fall of 2016, losing all of its Rugby East Conference games. The Blue Hens then lined up a bowl game at the URugby Bowl Series and defeated Fordham 36-21 to finish things off a little stronger.

After that game, fullback Tom Abram said ending the season on a high note was a harbinger of things to come.



Delaware was poised to make a big move back in 2013 when a party at the school spread into town and was (many say unfairly) blamed on the rugby team. The rugby program was suspended for five years, essentially a sporting death sentence, but after some appeals the team was reinstated after only a two-season suspension. But the damage had been done. No new recruits and several transfers led the team at square one, if that.

But after getting back on the field and re-joining Rugby East, Delaware has made repairs and is slated to play in the Liberty Conference this coming season. And after working very hard to do what the UD administration wanted in terms of being good on-campus citizens, the Blue Hens have the support of the school, as well.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UDLilBob/status/860856489313001473" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Seven freshmen are joining the squad, including Luke Persanis, PJ Wicks, and Connor McGee -- all of whom could compete for starting positions. Several sophomores who were contributors last season -- Jared Wilkins was the Blue Hens' starting hooker all year -- will be back and this time with college rugby experience.

Sure, Delaware loses some important experience, and this will be a young squad, overall. But it's a team that knows a little bit, maybe a lot, about what it takes to compete in DI rugby. The Blue Hens need leadership, but head coach Struan Murray is a patient man and has marshaled this program back to viability.
Heading into the 2017 campaign, Delaware's schedule remains challenging coming off a 1-8 season, but a winning record is not out of possibility. In fact, it's likely.



Join The Conversation On Social

FloRugby's hottest content, delivered to your inbox
Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloRugby mailing list today.