By Taylor Syring

The men’s club rugby team consists of upwards to 30 athletes this season, close to double what NMU’s team has seen previous seasons.

“The team has a lot of freshmen this year,” said junior scrumhalf Ian Ronayne. “The freshmen are all fitting in well and working hard, he said.”

“There’s great camaraderie on the team and everyone’s getting along,” Ronayne said, “Everyone’s in sync as far as the team goes.”

The team practices three times each week in preparation for their upcoming season.

“We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning. About 45 minutes each time we practice; and then we just work on our positions to get us ready,” Ronayne said.

The Wildcats face off against University of Wisconsin-White-water on Saturday, Oct. 8 in Whitewater; the time has yet to be announced.

The Whitewater game is a priority to coach Phil Decastro. As a college student Decastro played rugby and he volunteers as a coach for the NMU team to stay involved with the sport.

“We want to win it all. You always want to go in with a title on your mind.” Decastro said. “It’s just the mindset you need to have.”

The team has the potential to pull it off and they work well together, Decastro said.

“There are some squabbles, you know, boys will be boys. But we all really get along and play well together,” Decastro said.

The team plays its first match in Milwaukee, Wis. on Sept. 17. All game Times have yet to be announced.

The rugby team is always accepting new players. It is $125 per season; players must have a PEIF pass to participate.

“The games are always on Saturdays early in the afternoon and it’s free,” Decastro said.

Practices are at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursdays at the NMU outdoor fields, at the corner of Wright and Lincoln street, and varying times for the third weekly practice.

The ’Cats’ next home game is at the NMU outdoor fields on Saturday, Sept. 24.