If you were to ask around the country for a model small college rugby program a name you might hear often is Occidental. The small school has been a power for 50 years--30 of those lead by iconic coach and rugby pioneer Michael Godfree. Recently the team has taken home the NSCRO 7s title and has been in the 15s players for a number of years.
"Occidental College is a true small college," assistant coach Patrick Guthrie told TIAR. "It's around 1600 students. In spite of that we have a long standing rugby tradition that goes back 50 years. We have had a resurgence in the last five years to rise to the top level of the small college competitive spectrum. We were national champions in 7s. We've got a good program. We just graduated a strong group of seniors so we're looking to reload next year."
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For Guthrie, Occidental faces the same challenges as other NSCRO schools in getting enough bodies out to practice. However, he says that two things have helped Occidental stay consistent. "The key is 1) a solid program that students like participating in and it's popular on campus, and 2) it's consistency in terms of what the students are experiencing with the coaching staff. We're clear with the students that our goal is to win a national championship."
The coaching staff has been at the heart of Oxy's efforts. Dallen Stanford has been the head coach for the last several seasons and before him it was Jeremy Castro. Those coaches have not only been good tactically but more importantly have challenge the players to be better people. Now that Stanford has moved on the club is looking for a new coach with similar traits. "We're looking for a guy who has great decorum around young men," said Guthrie. "We're looking for a charismatic leader who is a great teacher. We want someone who is not just a technical rugby person but someone that wants to be involved in the program and help us excel over the next 50 years." Guthrie sees the position in the long-term with the candidate possibly taking more of a role with the Old Boys and women's teams.
Whoever takes over as coach Guthrie expects Oxy to continue it's same style of play. "When you play the style of game we play--which is a game control style--we don't give the opponents any time with the ball." Occidental has been known to have one of the best scrums in the country for a small school as well as a driving maul.
Occidental is hoping to have a new coach in place for the upcoming season. NSCRO rugby in Southern California is one of the best in the country with teams like Loyola dropping down and Pepperdine being strong. Occidental also has a strong rivalry with Cal Maritime. No matter who steps into the coach role they will have a strong tradition and platform to succeed.