Club History
In 2002
The WSC Rugby Football Club played its first full contact scrimmage in March of 2002. The girls of South Dakota State drove 3 hours from Brookings to help teach the women ruggers the game of rugby, with live scrum-downs, lineouts, kickoffs, and full back line play.
Over 150 students and family members sat on the hill overlooking the Intramural softball fields to learn the game in a very controlled situation only scrimmage. The girls from Wayne learned more as the 1-hour scrimmage continued, and then played a short 10-minute game, and a long score was put on the board by Cassi Johnson.
At the conclusion of the women's scrimmage the WSC men took to the field to also do live tackling against SD State. Not against the men, but the women of Brookings stepped up to the plate to play a short game of "soft tackling". The WSC men did learn a lot from playing the gals of SDSU, and it helped them win their first game the following weekend.
Rugby Equipment and Jerseys
With absolutely $0 in the new checking account, and having to wait an entire year for the first school funded check, Founder and Head Coach Darrin Barner purchased over $5,000 in rugby equipment and storage rent for all the equipment, jerseys and goal posts.
The First Win and First Score In School History
The weekend after the scrimmage with SDSU, both the men and women of WSC went to the Albatross Rugby tournament, a tournament in honor of Keith Kohlbaum, founder of the Strom Lake RFC.
In their very first weekend out, WSC men and women posted victories. The women defeated Winona State of Minnesota, and the first score in school history was put on the board by flyhalf Steph Ngirchomei. The men defeated the hosts for their first victory, and the first try was scored with a key play by Lewis Benton and with a loose ruck off of the tackle, Preston Parker ran around the weak side of the ruck and dotted the ball down in the right corner of the try zone.
Fox Sports World Cable Channel mentions WSC on the Championship Rugby Show with former USA Eagles Captain Brian Vizard wishing WSC well after posting their very first win on their first weekend.
USA EAGLE under 19's Girls player Angela Mathews reads about Wayne State's quick success and sends and e-mail to Coach Barner, and acknowledges she will attend WSC after she is done with her final year in High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin .
WSC Student Activities Board awards the WSC Rugby Club $1,540, the most ever in school history, after Coach Barner announces that Texas Christian University will challenge WSC during homecoming weekend.
With the lack of seating at the Intramural Fields, the WSC players pay money out of their own pockets to have the game played out of town in Laurel, Nebraska 15-miles up the road at their new football stadium, and save any field stress to the WSC Memorial Stadium grass. Letters to the Editor pound the Wayne Stater wondering why the game was moved out of town for such a big event. WSC men took their frustrations from this chaos and defeated TCU in Laurel.
Businessman Rod Tompkins meets with Barner to discuss what needs to be done to keep major games like this in Wayne.
In 2003
WSC is invited to the Great Plains Rugby Union Conference.
WSC men and women travel to Texas for games during Spring Break .
WSC is on National TV, when they are on the NBA Basketball Show when Mark Cubin the owner of the Dallas Mavricks mentions to the TV Audience that Wayne State Rugby Players are GREAT, and also mentions that he was a rugby player at the University of Indiana in his college days.
The City of Wayne is delighted when 28 rugby teams come to Wayne for a 2-day rugby event, filling up every hotel room in town and an estimated $40,000 brought into the City. The tournament had a rematch of the 2002 National Championship with Minnesota University taking on U. of Northern Iowa in the women's Division 1 final in Wayne.
WSC has a brand new SCRUM SLED
WSC Rugby and Tompkins Rugby Park is a feature article in the August of 2003 edition of USA Rugby Magazine.
In their very first season in League Play, WSC men and women both win the League Title, and will advance to the first round of the USA National Playoffs by representing the Great Plains Rugby Union in the Western Playoffs in April of 2004.
Wayne State Women go UNDEFEATED with a 9-0 record, and outscoring it's Fall of 2003 opponents 360-40. Since their very first victory, the WSC women have a record of 32-5 in their first 4 semesters of rugby.
Over 200 WSC Rugby Fans travel 2 ½ hours to Lincoln to watch the WSC Women defeat the University of Nebraska to win the Great Plains Rugby Title, in a weekday night game at UNL.
WSC Rugby has now been on the Sports segments on ABC-NBC in the Sioux City TV Market two times each.
WSC men and women assist in the 2-Day rugby event in LeMars, Iowa for the British Days events. WSC receives several words of praise and thanks onlocal and area newspapers, radio and TV for the college in general.
In 2004
In Sept. of 2004, the 12-acre Tompkins Rugby Park will be open for play on 4 rugby fields located on East 4 th Street next to the Wayne Softball Complex, just 2 blocks South of Pamida. The game field will be an official International Rugby Board pitch and will be 76.6 yards wide and will hold up to 1,500 fans. Rod Tompkins of Heritage Homes of Wayne donated funding for the complex, and has become WSC's #1 rugby fan.
Riley's Pub donates a 47 passenger bus so that the rugby team can travel in style.
Topkins Rugby Park looking to make the September 2004 deadline for the first home game of the Fall 2004 season.
$10,000 one day event budget has been handed over from Angie Watson of LeMars, Iowa Tourism Board to WSC Rugby to help assist with the British Days Rugby Challenge. Ms. Watson and the City of LeMars was so pleased with WSC's help and organization in 2003, that the City of LeMars has contacted WSC to help with the Sept. 11th, 2004 event, for a 28 team tournament and another fine stadium marquee match up with over 1,200 expected with a night game under the lights.
48 foot locker room is donated to the new rugby complex by Wrede Farms of Pierce, Nebraska.
In 2005
WSC Women and Men qualify for the opening round of USA National Playoffs again to Greeley, Colorado. WSC women defeated Northern Colorado (who was “Sweet 16” Nationally ranked team last year), and the men defeated Angelo State in a very hard match. Angelo State was the #1 seed coming out of Texas, sitting above Texas Tech, and also Baylor.
Lights were purchased by founder Darrin Barner, however it is just for 1/3 of the field, but in due time, some more lights will be purchased and the club has high hopes that can accomplished by the end of the 2007 season.
In 2006
The Wayne Rugby Tournament had 40 teams entered as of February, and everyone was ready for the best weekend in the Mid-West with the games planed in mid-March. 4 days before the tournament 10 inches of snow fell. On Game day the snow was 5 inches thick, and the games went on, and Mid-West Texas State did some “Snow Angles” for their very first time.
Sept. of 2006 saw new white goal posts be raised on the main match pitch. A 2 nd changing room, press box, radio room, PA system, ref changing room and a two story CLUBHOUSE with a 2 nd story patio deck for VIP’s and sponsors. Clubhouse was a joint adventure with Rod Tompkins and also SAND CREEK POST AND BEAM Barn Company.
Field #4 is staring to take shape and new grass seed was put down of the main pitch and also field # 4 to make it tournament ready in the Spring of 2007. Wayne Rugby Park is getting very near completion being 16 acres in area and 4 very solid rugby pitches.
Nov. 2006 WSC women and men were crowned Great Plains Champions for their 4 th straight year in just 4 years of league play. They will both advance to the USA National Playoff structure going to the Western Regionals on Easter weekend of 2007. Winner of this 3 game weekend will advance to the “Sweet 16’s” in late April of 2007.
