To start the 2008 spring season the Hilton Head Gators were traveling to Valdosta on a cold rainy day.  This was to be the debut of the highly touted British import "Big Jim." As his first duty as Match Secretary, John Barlow arranged for a charter bus for the 4 hour trip.  The bus was to leave the Kroger in Bluffton at 7:00a.m. for South Georgia.  The bus we were supposed to be on got in a wreck on the way to pick up the team.  A replacement bus was dispatched from Charleston and we hit the road on the 2nd charter bus around 8:30 a.m.  On the way, Craig Fenstermaker insisted we watch the 1985 motivational wrestling movie Vision Quest.  Just after the movie had ended, the guys started looking around at the surroundings and notice that we were in FLORIDA.  John Barlow, AKA Nugent, had used Map Quest to get directions to the field without actually looking at the directions and sent us through Florida to get to Georgia from South Carolina.  We eventually got to the field and within 10 minutes of the start of the game Big Jim broke has pinky and we haven't seen him since.  After we beat a weak Valdosta side 36-12 and partied with them for a couple of hours (when you have a bus no one has to worry about driving home,) we got back in the charter bus heading to South Carolina.  On the way the "john" on the bus become to full for the bus to proceed.  The driver pulled off I95 and "fixed" the problem.  We arrived back in Bluffton around 12:30a.m.

 

STAY IN SHAPE! Keep running, lifting, etc. Taking advantage of the time off when other teams are likely to slack is important - and smart! It will make jumping back into things that much easier in January. 

Bill Bryan played for Hilton Head from the mid 1970s until maybe 1979. He was a big tight forward from Ohio State who loved singing at parties as much as playing the game. While most of us remember him as a typical big guy of the time who’d walk or jog from one set piece to the next, Bill seems to be in almost every action shot of the time and he’s right with the ball. .... He took a big hit at a home game, his eyes were swimming and as we helped him up he uttered what I think is the most famous statement in Hilton Head Rugby history, “Who am I? Where am I? Give me a beer!” .... Bill moved to Charleston shortly after that and never played again. He died a few years ago. His obituary listed rugby as one of his great passions in life.

Back in the early ‘80’s Hilton Head was entered in the Coastal Area Tournament, held that year at the fairgrounds in Statesboro, GA. We were struggling for numbers and at kick-off time we didn’t have enough to field a team. We were all upset, but Rufus (R.E., Moon Dog, Freight Train) Weaver most of all. “To hell with this!” Rufus said. “I’m going to my Dad’s wedding. Ya’ll want come?” ....How could you say no? So we showed up at a little church in Statesboro, in uniform, filling up the “Groom’s side” of the church. Courtney Hill’s girlfriend had a local publication that had the week’s TV listings and local happenings. We were the feature article in the next issue that included a nice photo of the team with the happy couple. ....Mr. Weaver and his new bride postponed their honeymoon and went to the tournament to watch as we joined up with a few Charleston players to become the “Chuckheads”. I believe we won a few games and lost to Savannah in the finals.

Hilton Head has a home game this Saturday, Nov. 1, against Savannah RFC at Barker Field. Come out and watch the only true contact sport in the Lowcountry! It should be a great game, as Savannah is our biggest rival.

So come to Barker Field for the game - we could use all the support we can get. Then of course head over to Murphy's Irish Pub afterwards for beer, food, and all of the post-game shenanigans you can handle.

THE GAME STARTS AT 2:00 P.M.

Hilton Head will play The Citadel at Barker Field this Saturday, October 25, at 2:00pm. The sun should be out by then and the temperature may be up to 80! This might be your last chance to enjoy a warm day and rugby at the same time.... We played them about a month ago in a mini-tournament in Charleston. They're fast, athletic and fearless (like all 20 year olds tend to be).... Party to follow at Murphy's.

Welcome Samantha Lee Fenstermaker, newest addition to the club. Let’s hope she has her mother’s looks and disposition!

Although we haven’t played them for a long time, we’ve have lots of great games against the Atlanta Renegades, they’ve blown us out a few times but we’ve won more times than you’d think.... Once, playing in Atlanta (maybe it was ’99) we showed up with 16 or 17 players and, of course, the ‘Gades had 50 plus. As usual, they were bigger, faster and more experienced. We were locked in a tight game, up by a couple of points late, when their flyhalf, a Frenchman whose name I can’t remember, flew into a rage when one of his forwards criticized him. He ripped off his jersey and stomped off the field.... As it turned out, he was their only kicker. His replacement wiffed a few easy penalties and we escaped with a win. We selected the Atlanta flyhalf as our man of the match.

Guys- ....I didn't see an email go out about this yet, so f.y.i. our game scheduled at home against Columbia this Saturday, Oct. 11 has been changed to us traveling to Savannah for a mini-tournament with Savannah, Charleston, Augusta, and possibly Columbia. First match is at 10:00 a.m., we are guaranteed 2 games, and games will probably be 25-30 minute halves, so we will need everyone to be there, as many bodies as we can get. NO excuses, Savannah is only 45 minutes away and the more people we have out there, the less likely someone is to get injured with playing 2+ games. Mike Holmes or Jason may have more info on this, but this was what I was told today. ....We had a good run yesterday night, thanks to everyone who came out and put the effort in for a good practice. Now we need an even better practice tomorrow. ....There's more here, but its not REALLY fit for the tender ears of our potential opponents.

Paul Kyserling, aka the Human Spear, began playing for Hilton Head in 1975. He had a long career, playing for the Boston RFC, HHI and the Palmetto Select Side. Playing at inside center, he was a devastating tackler, knew how to put his outside center into a gap and had a sweet little squib kick that he could drop just behind our opponents back line. …. We were playing Charleston and the referee awarded us a penalty kick a five yards from their goal line. For some reason, possibly thinking they would be more difficult to move when one of our big Marine ran at them, their forwards locked arms. Paul Kyserling quickly tapped the ball and dove underneath them. Unable to disengage in time, all they could do was sit on Paul as he scored the easiest try of his career. ....If you have a "Legends" story to tell, please post it here or email it to me via this site and I'll post it for you.

We just got word that Big Dan Gillies has arrived in Iraq. When Iran got the news they immediately made moves to seal their border and we now fully expect the war to be over within a few weeks.... Put him on your prayer list, please.... Photo below.

But not here.... It's only showing in the "top 50" markets. And we're not one of them? We must have hundreds of people who go to the movies in Bluffton and its suburbs (like Hilton Head).... Anyway, you might try calling Sea Turtle at 757-2859 and asking them NICELY to show it. I tried sending an email to info@seaturtlecinemas.com but it was rejected.... Check out the trailer at rugbymovie.com.

We'll play Citadel and then Charleston......Game time is 12:00............ We will leave Golds Gym Parking lot at 9:00a.m. sharp............. Usually games are played on the parade ground- Summerall Field. Directions: From US 17 Northbound: •Immediately after passing the round Holiday Inn and crossing the Ashley River Bridge, exit US 17 toward the right, but stay in the exit ramp's left-hand lane until you reach the traffic light. • Turn left onto Lockwood Drive, continue .5 miles, and turn right onto Fishburne Street just before the baseball park. • Go .3 miles, then turn left at the stop sign onto Hagood Avenue. • Follow Hagood Avenue past the football stadium and enter The Citadel through the Hagood Gate . . . or if the Hagood Gate is closed, turn right onto Huger Street, turn left after one block onto Elmwood Street, then turn left after one block and enter The Citadel through Lesesne Gate.

There hasn't been much new activity here, so I thought I'd jump in with a few stories from the old days. Here's one I posted long ago that disappeared when we updated the site:.... Peter Smith played and coached us in 1980. He was a former Natal, South Africa provincial side player and had come to play and study at Life Chiropractic College. The chiropractic way of life was not for him, so he and Sharon, his wife, decided to spend the time remaining on his visa with us..... The George Washington RFC (now the Potomac Athletic Club) came down to play us. They were big, fast, experienced and just a little cocky. Early in the match, they were penalized for offside and Peter signaled for the posts. To a man, the Georgies laughed. Why, this little guy was lining up to try a 60-yard kick! What a joke! .... Peter’s kick cleared the post with plenty of room to spare and our opponent’s attitude changed from arrogance to panic. They started worrying more about getting penalized than playing rugby and left the field with their heads hanging and a loss to the Little Green Men.