The bright lights of Friday Night Rugby turn to the Big Ten this week, with Wisconsin hosting Purdue at the Wisconsin Rugby Sports Complex in Cottage Grove, WI. The Badgers enter the league opener as slight favorites, having beaten Purdue 31-22 in West Lafayette, IN last fall.
Wisconsin’s also riding the momentum of a pair of preseason wins, having outscored Division II men’s side, Wisconsin Rugby Club, 49-24, in three 30-minute periods, and the University of Minnesota, 77-7, winning the Claymore Sword for the first time. The traveling trophy was introduced to the rivalry in 2021, with the Golden Gophers claiming the first two before the rivalry took a break last season.
“We had a really good training camp. Our numbers are the highest they’ve been since I’ve been here,” said senior Wisconsin captain Titus Henkels. “Beating Minnesota was especially fun since it’s a rivalry game, and we haven’t beaten them since I’ve been here.”
The Badgers return all but one forward from last year’s pack that went 7-2, narrowly missing out on the conference playoffs. Along with Henkels, Wisconsin is led up front by Declan Smith and Jackson Trotter. In the backs, All-Big Ten honorable mention center Karter Bell, slides down to center. And Mason Buttner slides down from flyhalf to scrumhalf.
“It’s been a huge revelation to have those two in new positions,” added Henkels. “It’s made our offense a lot smoother and our defense more contiguous.”
The Boilermakers had a tougher preseason with a 56-20 win over Division II Loyola being sandwiched by a pair of lopsided meetings with Division I varsity programs in Marian and Aquinas. The Marian outing was a scrimmage setting broken into periods, while Aquinas beat the Boilermakers, 68-0, in a full 80 minutes.
“We were just looking to play whoever, and we figured if we had some really good competition before Big Tens, it would help get everyone in the right mindset,” said Purdue fullback, president and captain John Kustra.
“You get beat up a little bit, but I think we, for sure, learned a lot from those matches. Especially watching the film afterward. In reality, we’re not terribly far off of them. The big differences are that they train more and have more discipline.”
In addition to Kustra, Purdue is led in the backline by senior center and co-captain Sean O’Donnell. He was the leading Division I Club try scorer at the Collegiate Rugby Championship last April, as well as an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection last fall. Up front, the Boilermakers are led by prop John Zeng. Having picked up the sport at Purdue, he’s relatively green, but a large unit with a really high ceiling.
With both teams entering undefeated in conference play, optimism is high heading into Friday’s match. So are stakes.
“Those Big Ten games, especially in the West, we need to win two out of three of those to make the playoffs,” said Henkels. “Those are the three biggest games of the season.Those are what we prepare for, and everything else is extra. So we’re looking forward to this one.”
