The Malvern rugby team will spend their spring break on the other side of the pond.

Malvern’s Rugby Team will be competing at the International Rugby Championships in Ireland during spring break. They will be playing against kids from different countries, all of which take Rugby very seriously.

“These guys have been playing their whole lives,” says head coach Matthew Boccuti, “whereas we just picked it up in high school.”

The team will leave on Thursday, March 24, and will be in Ireland for ten days. They will arrive at Dublin, have a few training sessions, and will have a match.

They will only be in Dublin for a few days. The team will then drive up to Galway, and do the same thing there. They will have a few training sessions and have a game.

After that, they will go to Limerick and play Gaelic Football. They will travel back to Dublin after that and fly home from there.

“We are taking twenty-one guys,” Boccuti said, “so having those guys there for a week plus will be a big experience for the team.”

The tournament will take place right before their season opener, so it is going to be a great help for the team.

“Just having them practice for that long together and then play three games back to back, is going to be really developmentally important for the team,” Boccuti said.

Not only will the team grow in terms of skill level, they will also grow as brothers.

“This trip is going to bring 20 to 25 brothers tighter,” Athletics Director Mr. Kurt Ruch said. “It will help them as they go through their next couple of years at Malvern.”

The Friars will have seniors Matt Heisler and Alex Galilea leading the team through the tournament. The junior group, Jack Ludin, Luke Stratton, Sean Kelly and Kyle Hegarty, will be behind the team every step of the way, possibly becoming future leaders of the team.

“We are looking pretty good,” Stratton said. “It’s not going to be an easy competition, but I think we are going to do alright.”