CONNOQUENESSING TWP— Rugby in Butler?

Slippery Rock University senior and Connoquenessing Township resident Clint McConnell is working on it. And he's getting plenty of help from his friends.

McConnell is hopeful of forming a Butler team to enter the Allegheny Rugby Union summer league, which ends with pool play in the fall.

The ARUconsists of Division I, II and IIIteams. The Pittsburgh Harlequins are the area's lone representative of Division I, which is equivalent to the semi-pro level. Only a few Division IIteams exist in the region as well.

"Division IIteams are more highly skilled and organized, with solid fundraising in place,"McConnell said. "Division IIIis comparable to weekend softball leagues. It's organized rugby, but more for the fun of just playing the sport."

ARUDivision IIIteams exist in Pittsburgh, Erie, Morgantown, W. Va, and Canton, Ohio.

If McConnell has his way, a team will soon exist in Butler.

"I want somewhere nearby to play,"he said. "I got tired of traveling to Pittsburgh every day last summer to play rugby.

"Butler is a city of 20,000 people with no organized sports — where you travel to other places with a team from your town — to play. Softball and hockey leagues around here are like intramural, in-house leagues."

Some friends from Butler County Community College, Mike Graham and Matt Yandura among them, and business owner Ben Calairi have been assisting McConnell in his bid to get a Butler rugby team started.

Calairi, 30, played at SRUin 2000 and 2001, and recently returned to the sport. The Rock has offered rugby as a club sport since 1979.

McConnell is a member of SRU's current team, which went unbeaten in ARUplay last fall and will be part of the 200-team Pitt City Classic later this month at Cooper's Lake.

"I had gotten away from it, but I started playing again as a way to get back in shape,"Calairi said. "I think the team is going to happen. Guys come in, enjoy playing, tell some friends and word gets around.

"It's intriguing enough that a lot of young people will at least check it out."

A group of Butler players began practicing together last fall. Calairi suffered a broken arm during one of those practices.

Seven players were involved in those fall practices. McConnell said he has 12 players interested now, but has yet to get all of them coming to practice at the same time.

"You need 15 players on the field to have a rugby team, 22 players to be accepted by the ARU,"McConnell said. "You can be a few guys under that 22-player number if you're Division III, though.

"My goal is to have 15 players coming to practice once a week. All we need to do is get the word out."

The ARUsummer league begins play in June.

McConnell said his group is searching for a home field. Fields near Meridian Elementary School and Highfield Hall are among those being considered.

The ARUcovers Western Pennsylvania. The Potomac Rugby Union covers the eastern side of the state.

"All of these smaller unions are part of larger regions, like the Midwest Union,"McConnell explained. "(The SRU)team lost in the Midwest Region playoffs in Grand Rapids (Mich.)last fall.

"Once you get involved with rugby, you're part of a big social organization that covers the entire United States. The rugby world is like a fraternity. You can go to any city and instantly have friends."

"It's almost like a brotherhood," Calairi said. "It's loosely structured, but it's genuine competition."

For information about the team, send an e-mail to butlerrugbyclub@yahoo.com.