Southeastern to host rugby match, anniversary party

Monday, November 6, 2017
by: Tonya Lowentritt


     HAMMOND – In honor of the 50th anniversary of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Rugby Club, the university will host a rugby match on Nov. 18.
     Scheduled at 1 p.m. on the Southeastern football practice field adjacent to Strawberry Stadium, the match is free and open to the public. Interested players, including those with no previous rugby experience, are invited to play while the community is invited to cheer on the teams.
     “Over the course of its existence, the storied SLU rugby squad won numerous state and regional championships, propelled scores of players to relative stardom, and became a mainstay of club sports on the Hammond campus,” said Leon Ford Endowed Chair, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies Samuel C. Hyde, Jr. “The success of the SLU team gave rise to the internationally renowned Hammond Mardi Gras Tournament which, for a time, was the largest rugby tournament in the world. At its peak, the Mardi Gras Tournament hosted more than 200 teams from as far away as Australia and Japan.”
     Hyde said that earlier this year a new effort to revive the Southeastern rugby team was launched by SLU rugby alumni Marcus Aguilar and Sonny Fontenot. The Nov. 18 match is designed to encourage rugby alumni to support the team and attract current Southeastern students to what alumni consider the most exciting team competition sport in the world.
     A family friendly reception, complete with refreshments, treats for kids, door prizes and announcements about the status of rugby at Southeastern, will immediately follow the 1 p.m. match alongside the playing field.
     For more information, contact event organizer Jason Mapp at mapprugby@hotmail.com or Hyde at shyde@southeastern.edu or at 985-549-2151.




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