CINCINNATI — Withrow High School's rugby team is part of a more inclusive sport growing worldwide, said Al Lucas, the head coach of the Cincinnati Wolfhounds Rugby Club.

What You Need To Know

  • Withrow HS rugby team is part of the growing sport worldwide

  • Cincinnati Wolfhounds Rugby Club speaks to diversity efforts in the sport

  • Withrow HS coach shares his experiences with the players and the importance of the game

“There’s a huge push to be more inclusive,” said Lucas, who is also a former board member of USA Rugby. He estimates about 30% of USA Rugby members are players of color.

Lucas said teams like Withrow are helping the cause, and Head Coach Nathan Myers believes it all comes down to instilling in his players a pursuit of excellence.

“To walk onto a field or court and believe that you belong and that you have every right to win every game that you’re a part of,” Myers said.

Even though most of the players don’t pick up rugby until they get to Withrow, a growing number of players are becoming skilled enough to play in college.

Three Tigers' alumni were part of Thomas More University’s Rugby D-II national championship win for rugby last December, including former Withrow Captain Ta’veon Veal.

“I’m so proud of him and what he represents not only for his family but leaving a legacy for Withrow Rugby,” Myers said.

“Coach Myers helped me for a lifetime more than on the field," reciprocated Veal.

Myers also helped current captain Themba James Martin-Weiler secure a rugby position and academic scholarship to Myers’ alma mater, Mary Washington University, in Virginia.

“Coach Myers expects the best out of all of us,” Marin-Weiler said. “When I move on, try to expect the best out of myself and do the best I can.”

Myers said his coaching is just part of the equation, that the sport of rugby itself helps the young men to mature and become a team because they have to look out for each other on the field.

“There is no sport that I’ve ever experienced that even comes close to the kind of development that I’ve seen in the young men here at Withrow,” Myers said.  “The game itself holds the potential to develop them as people.”

Editor's Note: The previous version of the story associated rugby with the NCAA, to which it has no affiliation. This has been corrected. (June 6, 2022)