The Claremont Colleges men’s rugby team, the Lions, started the season with claws out, taking home wins in several major tournaments including the Bowl Championship and the Chula Vista West Coast 7s Rugby Tournament. Across both competitions, the team held a 5-4 overall record. The team will continue to fight until the end of spring, as they switch from playing 7s – where seven players are on the field at a time – to 15s, which are played as 80-minute games with 15 players on the field at a time.
The Lions play in the Division I Gold Coast Rugby Conference, which consists of schools from across the southwest. Recruiting for the Lions occurs during the fall semester; 20 players made this year’s roster.
The team attracts many athletes from other sports on campus, and many players often have no rugby experience before coming to the 5Cs; however, a few of the Lions have played on national teams and at other high levels of competition.
Among experienced players is Mate Kvirikashvili CGU ’25, who is currently rostered on the USA national rugby team. Sam Martin CM ’26 is currently playing on the Hong Kong national rugby team while studying abroad. Nick Laskowski CM ’25, Luke Laskowski CM ’27 and Tanner Holland CM ’28 all used to play on the Hong Kong national rugby team before coming to play for the Claremont Colleges.
Zachary Regala Gaa CM ’27, a player from Singapore, came to the United States to play for the Lions and since arriving has paved his way on the Claremont rugby team and the campus in general. “It’s been a huge culture shock for me coming to America,” Regala Gaa said. “It took a lot of adjustment to get used to. However, I’ve enjoyed it so far and have found a good place socially and academically.”
Sam Brown CM ’26, a former Canadian national team player, was recruited to play for the Lions. He was hoping to find a college in the United States and explained how Jeremy Ognall, the team director, introduced him to the Lions.
“The tight-knit community, vibrant student body and the rugby team culture at the school instantly drew me in,” Brown said. “Not to mention that the SoCal weather was a huge improvement from the Canadian weather that I grew accustomed to.”
The Lions won the Bowl Championship final on Oct. 7, their first tournament of the season. They encountered tough pool-play games at the beginning of the tournament but emerged victorious. CMC hosted the tournament, which marked the starting point of their season, and featured colleges like UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of San Diego and San Diego State University.
On Oct. 26 and 27 the Lions competed in the Chula Vista West Coast 7s Rugby Tournament. The team earned a spot in the competition’s Plate Final and beat San Diego State to take home the crown. At the end of the tournament, Brown and Kvirikashvili received all-tournament player honors.
Brown recalled the Chula Vista tournament as an important moment for himself and the team so far this season.
“Getting the opportunity to compete in one of the best 7s tournaments was a privilege, and we put forth a good showing, winning the Plate Final,” Brown said. “It is always a good time when you get to travel with the boys, and it makes it even better when you come back with some hardware.”
Regala Gaa recounted feeling strong after coming off the Chula Vista tournament, as the Lions made adjustments to their play that helped them in their following games.
“The Chula Vista West Coast 7s tournament marked a turning point for this team,” Regala Gaa said. “There was a huge attitude shift in this tournament, through which many of the new players who had never previously played really stepped up.”
The Lions have high hopes for the rest of their season, aiming to push for a national championship in their 15s season, which entails longer games than the 7s season. They’re preparing to play against the University of San Diego and Arizona State University to see who moves on to regionals.
With some fresh faces on the team, upperclassmen players like Timeo Coletta PO ’27 look forward to seeing the new additions develop as the season goes on.
“Seeing a lot of the freshmen recruits who had never played rugby before walk on and compete was a great sight to see, as we’ve all learned a lot this season,” Coletta said.
According to Coletta, the team is hoping to win a national championship in the 15s season and consequently must prepare for the tough matchups that come with the journey.
“This club has a strong history of winning titles, and we want to uphold that legacy,” Coletta said. “As we build up to the 15s season, we look forward to playing friendly matches to prepare ourselves for the knockout games in the spring.”
In 2018, the Claremont Colleges won the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 7s Championship in Philadelphia and the NSCRO National Championship Cup in 2017 and 2019.
Brown explained how, with the help of the other leaders, he aims to help his team achieve success while also developing players’ individual skills.
“As a captain, I want the team to perform at its best and achieve success on the pitch; however, I’m equally concerned with the development of our players off the pitch,” Brown said. “I hope that we can continue to achieve on-field success while upholding the values that our program stands for.”
Along with player leadership and team director Ognall, the Lions reap the benefits of an experienced coaching staff including head coach Scott Bracken, previous player on the U.S. men’s national team, assistant coach Thorne O’Connell, who grew up playing in South Africa and has played for the U23 U.S. men’s national team, and attack coach Ray Egan, who has coached top programs in Ireland.
“Our coaches are extremely dedicated to the program and their extensive rugby playing and coaching career makes them excellent coaches who help the program excel at a high level,” Brown said.
Backed by the recent tournament wins, the hungry Lions will enter into their 15s season in the coming weeks.
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