The Ohio State men’s club rugby team will be competing in the national championship tournament after winning the Midwest Regional championship last fall. The Buckeyes will compete against 15 other collegiate rugby teams.

“Everyone is underestimating the team’s ability,” said OSU rugby club president Corey Allenbach. “I think our young guys will surprise everyone.”

The OSU rugby club will begin its spring season with a home game against Scioto Valley on March 15. The Buckeyes hope the spring games — which include games in Gainsville, Fla. and Nashville, Tenn. during spring break — will prepare them for the national tournament, which begins April 19 in Colorado Springs and then moves to Stanford for the Final Four.

“Our team goal for the national tournament is to get to the Final Four, but we are going to take things one game at a time,” said coach Tom Rooney.

Collegiate rugby has become more competitive and structured, changing from the mostly social image it had in the mid 1980s.

“In 1987, the first collegiate rugby World Cup was played, and rugby in the (United States) started to change,” Rooney said. “Rugby started to become more structured and more competitive.”

“Everyone on the team is really competitive,” said captain Kurt Nienberg, who began playing on the club when he was a freshman. “We are not out there just for fun.”

Players spend time training, both during and after the season. During the season, the team practices three days a week. The players get a month-long break after the fall season before they begin winter training three days a week in January.

“If you want to compete and be successful, you have to be in the weight room in the offseason,” Allenbach said.

Club sports do not get university funds for traveling, forcing teams to do fundraisers and solicit money from other sources.

“We are funded by OSU rugby alumni, fund-raisers and money that we earn from working,” Nienberg said.

Rugby can be a complicated sport to learn and play.

“You spend your first season learning what you can and can’t do out on the field,” Rooney said. “After your first season, you have a good feel for how the game is played.”

The OSU rugby club is always looking to recruit athletes.

“We know there are athletes around campus that we have not found yet,” Rooney said. “That could be a great value to the team.”