BOULDER (9/16/11) – The University of Colorado men’s rugby team will be taking on the Colorado State Rams Friday, Oct. 7 at Infinity Park in Glendale. Infinity Park is the first municipal rugby stadium in the U.S. and has a seating capacity of 5000, which makes for an electric atmosphere. The players from CU and CSU will be playing for the Colorado Cup—a trophy that the winning team gets to bring home for the next year. The Colorado Cup, coupled with bragging rights and the CU v. CSU rivalry will make for an intense game.
Colorado’s young players have been performing extremely well thus far.
“We have been seeing a really strong showing form our young players,” said head coach Jim Snyder.
Adam Page, the former captain of the Denver East High School rugby team, and Danny Kennedy, a freshman from Scotland who represented Scotland at the Under 18 level, are two notable additions among the incoming freshmen.
“Both look poised to make an impact during the regular season in the spring,” said Snyder on Page and Kennedy.
The veteran players are also looking sharp. Luke Lahman, a senior from Niwot, has stepped up as leader and is one of the premier players on CU’s team.
“He’s put in a lot of work since last season and is now bigger and stronger than ever before, that coupled with his speed is going to make him someone we really rely on,” said Snyder on Lahman.
Coach Snyder is excited about his team’s potential and the year to come.
“We’re shaping up to have tremendous competition for all positions for the rest of this fall and on into the spring campaign,” said the coach.
The Buffs’ ruby team plays Division 1 Premier competition, which is the highest level in college rugby in the U.S. CU’s regular season games are played in the spring. For rugby, the fall is equivalent to spring for football teams—a time to work on skill development positional planning and team chemistry. Unlike football, the rugby team is still allowed to play games against other schools during this time. The Buffaloes will face CSU, Wyoming, and other elite schools in the upcoming months. Fall games are extremely important in getting the Buffs ready for the spring season.
Tickets for the CU v. CSU game are $6 and are available at www.glendalerugby.com. Use the code ‘BUFFS’ upon checkout so the teams can know which school draws more supporters in this big rivalry. For more information on CU rugby visit their website at http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?DB_OEM_ID=600&u=curugby&s=htosports&t=c
