History 1 of 2

1. The Hilton Head Island Rugby Football Club


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1974- the club is started by Phil Ordway, Ed Hughes, Perry Woods and others. Tim Hobbs was our Kiwi player/coach. As the only place to have a beer on Sunday, home games and parties are community events. Our High Spirits Invitational Tournament, a must for many southeastern teams, begins in 1976 and was held annually in October until 1986. Strongest local competition- Clemson and GreenvilleTeam kit- sky blue and green hoops jerseys, white shorts, sky blue and green hoop socks

1978- our coach leaves, many club founders move or enter semi-retirement. With only a few veteran players remaining (Ed, Perry, Paul Kyserling, George Heyward and Domenic Kiomento) the club is carried by a large group of new mostly novice players who become the backbone of the club for years to come. (Rick Clanton, along with Rufus Weaver, Tim Griffin, Mike Novitski, Scott Stanas, Jacob Preston, Keith Davis, David Hatch, Rick McDevitt, Kevin Wright and Paul Esposito). An ever-changing group of Marines is an integral part of the team. Ed Hughes, Paul Kyserling and Rick Clanton fill the coaching and administrative gap. We host our first touring side, Henley RFC (England) in 1980. Strongest local competition- Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta)Team kit- green jerseys with sky blue horizontal band, white shorts, green socks with sky blue top

1982- Peter Smith, South African player/coach arrives, team flourishes. Peter was a former Natal provincial side #10 and a “real" coach. We have an active player roster of more than thirty for the first time. Strongest local competition- AugustaTeam kit- solid green jerseys, white shorts, green socks

1984- our coach leaves, the team flounders. Rufus and Rick step in. Unbelievably, Rufus coaches and Rick is Social Chairman. Strongest local competition- Ft. StewartTeam kit- navy blue jerseys (Which Kevin Wright got us in return for modeling for a Lands End catalogue), white shorts, green socks

1985- Dick Raymond, English player/coach arrives, team becomes somewhat more solid but fails to flourish due to lack of commitment and organization. Practices consist mostly of jogging slowing for hours on end. Dick was a rock solid prop but no match for Tina, his psychopathic girlfriend. Rufus takes over Social Chairman duties in order to insure the presence of beer at the parties. Strongest local competition- AugustaTeam kit- green jerseys with sky blue horizontal band, white shorts, green socks with sky blue top

1986- our coach leaves, the team flounders. We fail to field a team for the '87 season. Rufus and Rick travel to Charleston for games (sometimes with Mike Novitski). We sell T-shirts at the State Tournament to raise the entry fee and borrow half a dozen scrubs to field a side. Strongest local competition- AugustaTeam kit- solid green jerseys, white shorts, green socks

1988- Mike Walker, Scottish player/coach and Ray Dowling arrive. Team is re-formed, struggles but has a great time. Many former players are bribed to play again. The cost of getting Tim Burke back was an overseas tour. In 1990, Hilton Head takes it first, and to date its only, tour, playing in the Isle of Mann and Scotland. Strongest local competition- AugustaTeam kit- solid green jerseys, white shorts, green socks

1990- our coach leaves, Bob Weir, Kiwi coach arrives. Hilton Head travels to its first game with 13, looses a player after 5 minutes, beats Jacksonville. Hilton Head thrives, fielding two sides for many years until Bob decides he wants to be liked. Team stalwarts, Dave Mudwilder, Buzzy Sullivan, Sean Ryan, Mike Hudson and Kelly Preston arrive. After peaking in 1993, earning a berth in the ERU (Eastern Rugby Union) semi-finals, the club begins a slow decline, failing to field a side for the

2002 fall season. Club leaders have never had to field a side without 15 experienced players, forgetting club history; they think the end is near. Strongest local competition- Hilton Head Team kit- wide black and green hoop jerseys, black shorts, green socks with black tops until 1996, then green with black and white horizontal bands, black shorts, black socks with green tops.

2004- rebuilding begins again. New leadership (along with Rick Clanton) replaces old and with a strong core of novices and recent arrivals (Mark Haycock, Jason Carnes, Craig Hysel, Craig Fenstermaker, Dave Coursey and others) we are a few recruits, some hard training and a little renewed commitment away from dominating our local competition and returning to our place as a top team in the southeast. Clanton serves as player/coach.

Fall 05 to Spring 06- The rebuilding continues, players and coaches come and go. We're winning again, but the most interesting development is "The Committee" which takes fund raising to a new level. Spiffy jerseys and taking a bus to away games makes it look like we know what we're doing.

Fall 2006 - Team goes unbeaten for the fall season as a prelude to a great Spring season. Bob Weir coaches. Team Kit : Alternating green, blue, and black banded jerseys, black shorts, socks.

2007 - Under Bob Weir's leadership along with coaching assistance from John Stiles the team won the Georgia Division III Championship. The championship was clinched in an away game versus Savannah decided in the last minutes by a missed penalty kick. We then faced off against Huntsville at home in our first playoff game, losing in overtime on a penalty kick. The team kit is upgraded to green & black jerseys pro quality jerseys. Carswell and Murphy's are major sponsors.

Fall 2007 - Team has had substantial turnover but still looking good. There are lots of new faces joining the crotchety old vets. Rick Clanton takes over coaching duties from Bob Weir who has a much more important match to win.

Spring 2008- Hilton Head wins their matrix and loses in the 1st round of the Division 3 play-offs. Coaches- Rick Clanton and Larry Clark.

Spring 2009- Hilton Head 6-0 in their matrix and advances to the Final 16 in the National Division 3 play-offs. Coaches- Buzzy Sullivan and Larry Clark