BYU has become the powerhouse in college rugby over the last several years capturing three straight DI-A or Varsity Cup titles. The team is looking to earn it's fourth consecutive title this spring. We caught up with head coach David Smyth to talk about his team's spring schedule, the 50th anniversary celebration of the club, and more.
TIAR: You recently released your spring schedule. What were you main goals in crafting the schedule and do you feel that it's what you wanted?
David Smyth: I believe so! Each year we want to be playing attractive, competitive rugby. Playing against the teams on our schedule will require that we perform at a high level to be successful. We will be challenged to be at our very best and for us, that it is what we want!
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TIAR: There is always going to be controversy over who is national champion. Do you think by playing St. Mary's at home and away that helps settle the dispute?
DS: I’m not sure that this is the purpose of the home and away series. We’ve scheduled our games against Saint Mary’s for the aforementioned reasons. We’re looking to put our players in a situation where they are developing as rugby players in scenarios in which they are being challenged physically, tactically and mentally. Saint Mary’s offers these challenges, an elite team, very well coached, which performs at a very high level. Certainly these games are opportunities not to be missed, if we’re being serious about producing better rugby players in the US.
With that being said, we’ve chosen the Varsity Cup as our post-season national championship. I think history is on our side when you look at the quality of the teams competing in the Varsity Cup competition. With the support of our commercial partners, NBC, UWS and now Penn Mutual’s title sponsorship we feel that we can continue to raise the bar for collegiate rugby in America!
TIAR: You have local teams like Utah State, Utah Valley, and of course your rivals Utah on the schedule. How important is it for the program to continue to play local opponents?
DS: I think most people in the rugby circles know that the state of Utah has some of the best high school rugby players in the country. Utah youth rugby has done an incredible job of growing the game here and presenting rugby as a legitimate sport of choice for some of these young athletes. Unfortunately, our universities haven’t been as successful, there hasn’t been a good segue or transition from youth to collegiate participation. I believe there is a real concerted effort now to change this; university teams are collectively working on improving their rugby programs. BYU, I believe has a responsibility to do its part. We need to continue to play these teams, and help grow the game. Make no mistake about it, these teams play good rugby, all you have to do is look at the history of their results against teams outside the state of Utah and you see that they can play rugby.
TIAR: You haven't scheduled any men's club teams this year. Is there a reason for that?
DS: Yes, we weren’t able to match suitable dates. We talked to a few men’s teams the interest is still there for them and us so I’m sure we’ll be able to get things sorted out for future seasons.
TIAR: The club is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. What are the plans to celebrate?
DS: Well, we have a committee that has started work to make sure we have a great weekend of celebrations in the month of April 2015. Many of our alums are planning on coming back to Provo for the different fun activities, they’ll attend a game and have a chance to spend some time with our current players and coaches with the culmination of the weekend being a black tie dinner. We’re all looking forward to it!
TIAR: What do you think the team needs to do to repeat as Varsity Cup champions?
DS: Stay hungry, humble and teachable! I think our players have a good grasp and understanding that all results on the field are performance based. If they work hard and perform well, we’ll compete! The only thing that guarantees performance is by preparing as best you can, nothing is a given, work! Work! Work!
TIAR: Who are you looking to be leaders on your team this spring?
DS: Everyone on our team is expected to be a leader! That’s one of their identified roles. Throughout our fall preparations I’ve been very impressed at the efforts and focus from them all. Obviously, Kyle Sumsion with his experience and Jared Whippy, Luke Mocke, Dan Hubert, Kody Thompson with their history and contributions will provide a level of stability and an example of what the expectations will be.
TIAR: Lastly, what kind of relationship does the team have with the school?
DS: We have an excellent relationship with our university! We’ve worked hard on developing that and enjoy great support! It’s important that our players and coaches represent themselves in a favorable light to our administration. Our student athletes are graduating at a high rate and they are making significant contributions to campus life through service and examples of good citizenship!