In New Zealand, rugby isn’t just a sport: it’s a religion. With the help of New Zealand’s ambassador to the U. S., Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille and some Kiwi rugby devotees, Jeff Murphy hopes to bring that religion to Alexandria.

The excuse for this party was the Tri-Nations rugby match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the South Africa Springboks. It was televised live at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Mark Kirwan, the owner of Daniel O’Connell’s Restaurant and Bar, was the host. Kirwan coaches rugby at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.  Murphy played rugby in college and has been coaching Alexandria teams for five years.

“It’s a wonderful sport and we are getting more and more interest from the kids here,” Murphy said. “You don’t need fancy equipment or pads: all you really need is a ball. That makes the sport accessible to kids without regard to economic status. Many of our players aren’t the typical athlete but once they start playing, they’re hooked.”

One of those athletes is Chris Stevens, a senior at T. C. Williams High School who began playing rugby when he was a ninth grader. “I was a little skeptical at first because I’m pretty small and I thought there was a real possibility that I could get hurt,” Chris said.

But, at 5’10” and 135 pounds, he’s playing and loving it.

“After the first day, I was hooked,” he said. “I really hope that one day rugby will be a varsity sport at T. C. Even though there are a lot of seniors on the team, more and more kids are coming out to play so I think that’s a real possibility for the future.”

Passing the bucket
Murphy is starting a nonprofit organization to support rugby throughout Alexandria. New Zealand’s embassy in Washington has supported a rugby team at one of that city’s charter schools for some time. Ambassador Roy Ferguson offered to help Murphy in any way that he could and put a donation in the bucket that was passed on Saturday as a beginning. Bert “Ram” Todd, owner of Kiwi Kuisine in Alexandria, prepared traditional meat pies.

“You can’t watch a rugby match without meat pies and beer,” said Thomas Prendergast, a former rugby player who provided instruction on the sport. “It’s easy to understand and every American that I’ve met who has watched a rugby match has gotten hooked. Once you’ve really experienced rugby, you’ll never go back to football.”

The event raised just over $1,500. Murphy is establishing a board of directors, incorporating and applying for tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. He’s looking for volunteers who can help with all of that.