New Mexico Tech Grad Named to Rugby All-stars

by Dave Wheelock, NMT Rugby Office

Right: Patrick Simons and Rob Harrison

SOCORRO, N.M., Nov. 27, 2006 -- From student ruggers to citizen athletes, two former New Mexico Tech Rugby Club members continue to reach higher. Robert Harrison and Patrick Simons, May and December 2005 graduates, respectively, traveled to St. Louis, Missouri in November to compete for spots in the Western Rugby Football Union's All-star team. For Simons, who made the All-Star team, it was the first successful step into the rarified air of representative-level rugby. He now has the opportunity to rise to the pinnacle: the U.S. national team.

The Western Rugby Football Union (WRFU) is one of seven territorial unions comprising the United States RFU, and is itself made up of seven sub-unions representing ten states. Over 60 all-star candidates from the WRFU's ten-state region converged in St. Louis November 11 for intensive practices and scrimmage matches against the Midwest RFU, also in St. Louis for the same purpose. At stake were positions on the West's developmental (under 25 years of age) and senior sides.

Harrison and Simons, current members of the Santa Fe Rugby Club, represented the Rio Grande Rugby Union, of which New Mexico Tech is a collegiate member. The two former Pygmies saw action in a Saturday scrimmage and Sunday's developmental trial match against the Midwest. Harrison, a Los Alamos High School grad and NMT's 2004-2005 Jeremiah Wright Player of the Year, slotted in at wing while Simons played both fullback and center. It was from the latter position that Simons scored the West's first try in Sunday's selection match. "Our backs put hard pressure on the Midwest line and forced a bad passed that bounced between their centers. I grabbed it on the bounce and trucked the 20 meters for a try just outside the goalposts," wrote Simons in a recent e-mail.

Simons, a 6' 3", 220-pound product of Moriarty High School, also reflected on the transition from his days in the New Mexico Tech team. "In college, many players are still new to the game and learning, making inexperienced mistakes, while in men’s, there are a lot more who know the game and play well. This allows for better, faster, more exciting play. I would say the same is true in moving up to the level of Westerns. Overall, I would say the intensity and physicality was just greater than in the Rio Grande (Union)."

Pat Simons and the rest of his new WRFU teammates will reunite in Orlando, Florida December 1-3 to compete against six other developmental level teams from around the country in USA Rugby's National All-Star championships. Play will proceed under the watchful eyes of U.S. national team coaches, although in Simons' words, "I think most eyes will be on the senior sides."

-NMT-