U.S. military rugby team tours Europe

By ASHA ANDERSON
School of Communication
University of Miami

PRAGUE– It was unseasonably cool for summer in Prague and the heavy downpour was quickly erasing the chalk lines on the Czech National Rugby Field that had been carefully drawn a few hours earlier.

Members of the Czech National rugby team lie facedown on beds while their team masseurs prepared their muscles for the 5 p.m. game. No more than 15 feet away, 41 American military rugby players huddled under one canopy and took turns taping each other’s ankles.

The Czech players have trainers to tape their ankles. That is only one of the many differences between the sponsored, 23rd ranked in the world Czech National team and the unfunded United States Combines Services team, which hadn’t even had a chance to practice together before it shipped off for its European tour.

And yet, on July 11, 2004, the two teams faced each other on a soaking wet rugby field, in true David vs. Goliath style, in front of about 1,000 loyal fans.

The U.S. Combined Services team is comprised of the best hand-picked players from each military branch. Members of Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard are all represented on the team and they vary in rank from cadets in the Air Force Academy to high ranking officers.

“This is going to be the biggest game the Combined Services team has ever played,” Kevin Flynn, the team’s coach, told his players during his pre-game speech.

According to Flynn, it is unheard of for a club team, such as Combined Services, to play a national team of the Czech’s caliber.

The Combined Services team’s European tour began on July 3 with its first game, a 17-7 win against a regional all-star team in Amsterdam, on July 6. The next day, the team went on to beat the heavily favored British Army in a 31-0 blow-out. The Combined Services’ next game was scheduled against the Polish National team, but the latter organization went on labor strike the night before they were set to meet.

Carla McCormick, one of the U.S. player’s wives, pointed out the irony in the Polish team’s decision.

“Our guys sacrifice quite a bit to play rugby,” McCormick said. “They take time out of their jobs and pay out of pocket to come here. It’s such a kick in the face for Poland to cancel because of money.”

For the Combined Services team, the European tour is a labor of love. Army Capt. Kingsley Fink paid about $2,600 for travel and accommodations to participate in what he calls, “A good time and good rugby. You can’t beat that!”

Of the 41 players who made the intercontinental trek, only 21 can dress for the game and, of those men, only 15 can actually play.

“People are giving their time and money and some of these guys aren’t even playing,” team captain Pat Wallace, an air traffic controller in the Navy, said. “But they love rugby so much that they want to come out here just to watch the game.”

Navy Lt. Commander Bobby Lindor added that team funding could raise their level of competitiveness abroad.

“It’s the little things that funding would help as far as having a physical trainer or just having the tape, the ice, things that will help us be better prepared for the game,” Lindor said. “We are playing a national team and we have to search for pharmacies to buy tape and bandages. You can go to a high school football game and they even have trainers.”

Team manager Dominic Budzisz, an Army Staff Sergeant, expressed his admiration for his teammates.

“With no money support, these men are doing it for the love of the sport,” Budzisz said. “They all have huge hearts, a high level of camaraderie and the desire to succeed. They are proud to represent the United States in any way possible.”

Providing ambassadorship for the U.S. abroad is a role that the Combined Services team has enthusiastically embraced.

“We try to put out best foot forward,” Lindor said. “We want to put America in a good light. We want to show that we’re physical, we’re aggressive, but we are also gentlemen and we respect the teams that we are playing and the countries that are hosting us.”

According to Army Sgt. Wayne Nicholsen, the team’s behavior abroad does a service to both the country and the military.

“We are ambassadors for the armed forces over here,” Nicholsen said. “Its good to for the U.S. military to create a good public impression oversees. There are lots of eyes on us right now, looking for us to make mistakes, so it matters that we have clean, hard fought matches and show respect for these countries on and off the field.”

After a clean, fought match on the Czech National field, the Combined Services team suffered its first loss of the tour. But the scene after the game was all hand-shakes and smiles, as the U.S. players anxiously bartered parts of their uniforms for items from the Czech players. The beer flowed as freely the sportsmanship displayed earlier, as the two teams celebrated together with dinner on the field.

“We wanted to compete against the best in the world at the highest level,” Kareem “Monty” Montague, an Army captain, said. “The ultimate way to accomplish that is to play a national team. So we are just proud to be here.”

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