M. rugby: New coach tackles UCLA rugby program

When most people think of rugby, T-shirts from American Eagle
and Abercrombie and Fitch are probably what first come to mind. The
UCLA men’s rugby team is now on the path to trying to change
this perception, and the person leading the way is new coach Scott
Stewart.

Stewart, a Canada native, is a former national rugby player and
is also currently the Canadian Junior National Team coach for the
Under-21 group.

“My overall main goal is to create a name for ourselves as
the hardest working sports team on campus, and I also want to beat
Cal and Stanford,” Stewart said.

This is a big task in light of the fact that Berkeley was ranked
the second best team in the nation by North American Rugby
News.

Stewart’s desire to beat Stanford may stem from being
second on the list to become the Cardinal’s coach.

Stewart is the second-most capped (games played) player in
Canadian rugby history with 65 games over a 12-year career. He was
a three-time member of the Canadian national team and also played
professionally in Europe.

As a coach, he has taught prospective rugby players in over 200
clinics around the United States.

He will undoubtedly recruit not only from within the United
States and his home country of Canada, but also try to find players
from within the campus, which is how most rugby teams are
created.

“I want to raise the visibility of rugby as a high
performance program at UCLA. Rugby represents the spirit of
competition,” Stewart said. “Bottom line: It’s
fun and you get to tackle people hard.”

Thomas Pinney, a fifth-year senior and the rugby team captain,
has seen a noticeable difference in the team with Stewart’s
approach to the game. He is sidelined with a left arm injury that
has most likely ended his season, but it does not deter him from
coming to practice and assisting in any way possible.

“(Stewart) is very organized and dedicated. Coach is
someone who not only comes in with a world of experience but also
wants to help us improve as players,” Pinney said.

Stewart likely received the coach and director of rugby
positions is because of his positive outlook on what he plans to do
in the future.

Stewart is coming in with a plan of attaining funds upwards
of

$1 million in a three to four-year span. It is an imposing goal,
as the rugby team is currently closer to a four-digit number.

To reach its goal, UCLA rugby has instituted a rugby foundation
for people to donate gift-checks which are tax deductible.

“We are trying to get the pieces in place. There is a big
rugby alumni community that is now at its economic peak and has the
opportunity to bring UCLA back to where it once stood
dominant,” Stewart said.

Ken Cordaro, the former co-coach for the rugby squad, along with
Jake Pike, have both stepped down for Stewart because Cordaro
believes that Stewart has the willingness and the ability to return
UCLA’s rugby team back to formidability. Cordaro, who is also
in the field of civil service as a fireman, and Pike, who is part
of a promotion company, are now assistant coaches.

“We are a team that is in the process of
rebuilding,” Cordaro said. “Because we are not a
scholarship- based team, many players from our team were new to the
game when they first started. I would say that about 10 percent of
the team had no idea how the game was played when they first got to
the field.”

Stewart has a lot of things he needs to turn around before the
rugby team will have a chance to compete with the elite
schools.

One thing that Stewart will bring is an identity to an almost
non-existent sport on campus.

“This will be a high performance program. I can’t
speak for (the players), but I’ll guarantee that I will never
quit,” he said.