Shawn Rivera looked for other hobbies when he left school, but nothing compared to playing a sport - specifically rugby.
“I’ve never had a feeling other than on the field that feels so good,” he said. “Making any kind of play and having one of your guys just be like ‘dude, that was awesome,’ that right there gets me through my year.”
The Wallenpaupack native found the Wilkes-Barre Rugby Breakers this spring, and now there’s no turning back.
“I couldn’t have found a better team,” he said. “I was coming off four years of not doing any sports…I couldn’t have found a better group of guys to be able to just ease me into it.”
The Breakers practice and play at The Bog, a park on Dewey Street in Wilkes-Barre. At a recent practice, vice president Tony VanScoy said the 50-year-old club is growing in numbers.
“Right now we're probably no less than 30 at a practice, which is phenomenal numbers,” he said. “If every single guy comes out, we’ll be closer to 45 which is fantastic.”
The team is gearing up for their fifteens season - rugby played with a roster of 15 people. Preseason has already started - the team beat South Jersey Rugby Football Club in a preseason match on Saturday.
The Breakers are part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union and play in men’s division three, VanScoy said.
But with all the attention the bronze medal-winning U.S. Women’s Rugby team has been getting, VanScoy is hopeful they’ll be able to expand with a women’s team and keep bringing more people into the sport.
“We’ve actually had a lot of interest in women’s rugby, we don’t have the numbers just yet to start a team,” he said. “But it’s an awesome opportunity and something we’re certainly exploring if we had enough numbers.”
Contact and Camaraderie
VanScoy says a lot of people compare rugby to football, but he thinks of it as a combination of soccer and wrestling - he’s played both of those sports, so finding rugby in Wilkes-Barre 17 years ago was meant to be.
“It was a perfect match of both of them and I never stopped playing,” he said.
Rugby is typically played with teams of either 15 or seven players on the field. The objective is to run the oblong ball, or stone, down the field and force it to the ground in the endzone to score points.
Whoever is carrying the ball can be tackled by the opposing team. They can pass the ball as well, but only backwards or laterally.
Team captain Ian Bukowski says that keeps the game moving.
“It’s constantly moving, compared to football where it’s constantly tackles, reset down and stuff like that,” he said.
When the ball goes out of bounds, the teams can form a scrum - one player half-throws the ball into the chaos and the middle of the scrum battles for possession of the ball.
Players usually wear no padding. Some opt to use a padded cap to protect their ears, but most wear only a mouthguard to go with their uniforms and cleats.
Tyler Freas, another captain, says the rules around tackling and contact during the game keep players safe.
“You have to tackle below the chest at this point,” he said, holding a hand at his sternum to demonstrate. “There’s a large emphasis on looking out for head injuries right now. They’re constantly changing the laws and rules to make it safer for players at the professional level as well as the club level.”
Jordan Phillips, who plays in the forward position, said the hard-hitting contact and the community around the game has kept him interested in rugby for more than six years.
“You go out there, hit guys as hard as you want to, and afterwards talk it out and enjoy each other’s company,” he said.
Freas has been playing with the Breakers for 17 years. He says that camaraderie is what keeps people involved.
“I’ve met several friends of mine, close friends of mine…through rugby from all over the place, and we’ve had plenty of players take opportunities to travel,” he said. “To Europe, France…we’ve had ex-players go to Australia to play. We’ve had players reach international levels at this point from our club.”
Decades of Growth
Founding member Chris Shaw, watching Saturday’s preseason match, recalled starting up the Wilkes-Barre club with just four people after they saw a match in Harrisburg.
“St. Patty’s Day 1973 was our first game,” he said.
The team celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Over the years, Shaw has seen how starting in Wilkes-Barre can lead to great things for rugby players - one of the team’s first members, Mike Liscovitz, went on to play for the U.S. Eagles national rugby team.
“Best natural athlete I’ve ever seen in my life,” Shaw said.
Shaw is 77 years old now, but as he watched the match, he said he wished he could still play.
“I was 43 when I played my last game, then I reffed for five years after that,” he said. “I love the game.”
Starting the Season
Saturday’s preseason match was the first as a Breaker for Leroy Sengeledo. He joined the team in August, but he’s been playing rugby since he was 11 years old.
“With our first game on Saturday and how we performed as a team, it makes me really look forward to the season,” he said.
The team’s schedule is posted at wilkesbarrerugby.com and on the team’s Facebook page. VanScoy is hoping that the Olympic spotlight on rugby will translate to more fans and interested players.
“I love all the new players that are coming in and all the new guys that are excited about it,” he said. “After 18 years, I can only play so many more years, so it’s great to see new players come in and want to play.”
Their next preseason game is Saturday, Aug. 31 at The Bog in Wilkes-Barre.
