JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. -- Interception, tackle, turnover, and kick-off; these sports words make some Americans think of football, not rugby. Yet, many are starting to associate these words with rugby, which is where American football derived most of its terminology.
Rugby 7s have been added to the world stage as an Olympic Sport and is scheduled to make its debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Last year, Nick Punimata, who hosted the inaugural Best of the West 7s (7 players) Rugby Invitational Cup held June 23-24 at Cowan Field on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, (JBLM) Wash., envisioned a rugby tournament where military members would compete.
The "U.S. Military Select Team" coached by Kevin Swiryn, a former U.S. National Rugby team player in both 15s and 7s rugby games, consists of Servicemembers from every branch of service and most hadn't played rugby for months or even years. Yet, with less than a week of practice, they used their military discipline and got themselves prepared to compete with teams that have been playing together, some, for as long as five years.
"What these guys do is really special," said Swiryn. "It's an honor to coach them in something that's fun, exciting and gives them a break from their day-to-day lives."
Saturday, they divided up ten teams into two groups of five. In rugby, this is known as "pool play." The military team was one of two teams to finish undefeated in the first day's pool play. The "U.S. Military Select Team" was ranked fourth out of five teams prior to that section of the tournament. That day, they came out on top, placing first in their pool play.
Local rugby team owner, Waisale Serevi, co-founder of "Serevi Rugby", whose team is named "Serevi Select", was very impressed with the military's team when his players scrimmaged them Thursday. Serevi played international rugby for 21 years and his national team won two World Cups for Fiji with him serving as their captain.
Serevi said the military team may be the team to beat in future tournaments. He admired how they started from scratch and went up against the elite and won.
The "U.S. Military Select Team" captain, Maj. Nate Conkey, an instructor at the Department of Physical Education, West Point, N.Y., was a crucial component to the team's success and was awarded the "Man of the Match", which is the rugby equivalent to a football or baseball team's "Most Valuable Player Award."
"It's symbolic of the team effort," said Conkey. "Anyone on our squad could've taken that award. It was an amazing experience. The forging of bonds and friendships with these guys will last a lifetime."
On Sunday, the final day of the tournament, the remaining four teams in the championship bracket (known as the finals in many sports) squared off in two intense rugby matches leaving the "Serevi Select Team" and the "Pacific Coast Grizzlies" to compete in the final match to become the inaugural champion. Luckily, the sport of rugby has different levels of championships to accommodate teams with a variety of skill levels. With only one loss, the military team competed for the second level championship and re-established their success from the first day with another victory.
The "Serevi Select Team" from Seattle, Wash., took first place overall, second place went to the "Pacific Coast Grizzlies" who are based in the San Francisco Bay area of California, and third place was awarded to "U.S. Military Select Team" from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
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