All Army Rugby Team in the Media

Fayetteville Online- Military, Thursday, September 21, 2000

8 soldiers chosen for rugby camp, Services will compete for title this year

By J.S. Newton, Staff writer

The All-Army Rugby Team will likely be made up of a number of soldiers from Fort Bragg.  More than 100 soldiers applied to try out for the first official All-Army Rugby team.  Fifty were selected to attend next week's selection camp at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.

Of those 50 selected to attend the camp, eight were either members of Fort Bragg-based units or have played for Fort Bragg's club team.  The head coach, Lt. Col. Michael Stephenson, is also from Fort Bragg.  All-Army Rugby camp selects include: Lt. Brian Boyer of A Battery, 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment; Capt. Dennis Kellen, a medical administrator; Capt. Michael Ripley, of the 7th Special Forces Group; 1st Lt. Courtney Shepherd, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Airborne Division; Staff Sgt. Craig Smith, C Company, 307th Forward Support Battalion; Capt. Trevor Swartz, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 20th Engineer Brigade; and two National Guardsmen -- Capt. Brian Pierce and Capt. Michael Bruschi.

Although Bruschi and Kellen were honored by being selected for the camp, neither player can make it to Fort Indiantown Gap because of work.  Bruschi has played with the unofficial All-Army team for the past five years.  Just being selected for the camp was an accomplishment, he said.  ''It's an honor,'' he said.  ''It is a thrill that is hard to replicate.  It has been the pinnacle of my career since I started playing with the Army team.''  He said he has won national championships before.  ''But it doesn't compare to putting on the Army jersey and going out there and playing the best that the Marine Corps can put on the field,'' he said. 

The Army announced July 21 that it is adding rugby as an All-Army sport.  The deadline to apply for the first-ever All-Army Rugby team was Aug. 8.  The trial camp will be held Oct. 7.  ''This is the first year rugby is recognized as an official Armed Forces championship,'' said Maj. Suba Saty, the Armed Forces Sports chief.  ''By recognizing and funding rugby as part of our program, we will be able to build the program within the military and enhance the existing strong competition at the national level.''

Players who make the All-Army team will participate in the Armed Forces Championships on Oct. 9-15 at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla.  And the best players from each service will be chosen for the Armed Forces Rugby Team, which will play in the National Rugby Tournament in Tampa on Dec. 1-3.  Bruschi said the All-Army team has traditionally been a dominant force in Armed Forces rugby. 

''The (unofficial) All-Army team has always been a dominant figure in the military rugby community,'' he said.  ''And part of that is just the spirit that the team brings with it.''