Last Saturday’s unforseen snowfall proved to be an obstacle for the Baldwin Wallace Men’s Rugby team, as the Jackets went 0-3 at the Cleveland Collegiate Cup at Notre Dame College on March 26. 

The teams playing for the Cleveland Collegiate Cup were supposed to be Notre Dame College, Kent State University, John Carroll University, Baldwin Wallace University, and Case Western University, but upon arrival Case Western dropped out of the tournament due to the weather conditions.  

BW Men’s Rugby were bested in all three games played against John Carroll, Kent State, and Notre Dame. The losses were taken in stride though, especially because the outcome of this preseason tournament does not have an effect on their season. 

Phil Heck, the BW Ruby Football Club’s president, thinks of the game losses as a good learning experience for the entire team. 

“We’re using this game as kind of a gauge to see where we are with our team and our chemistry,” Heck said. “Going forward we’re going to look at our missteps [and] mistakes and take the overarching lessons and [apply] them in practice.” 

Having to play any sport in different conditions than the players are used to is bound to be difficult, and the heavy snow threw the players for a loop at times. Junior, Brandon Yu, who couldn’t play in the game due to a previous injury, offered insight on the complications of playing in the snow.  

“You can’t get any traction, plus, you’re on turf,” Yu said. “If it was on grass it would be a little easier because [the snow] would just get matted down, but on the turf it just slides and stays on the top. So you’re slipping all around.” 

Rhys Jones, sophomore at BW, has never played rugby in the snow before and had similar opinions on the game.  

“Conditions were just awful, you can’t play rugby in snow like that. It was difficult. But we did what we could. We need to work on a few things…but it was a good effort from all the lads.”