“Rugby is a thug’s game played by gentlemen,” says head coach Kent P. Currie. So perhaps it is fitting that the Harvard Rugby Football Club has steamrolled to success, while remaining politely content with their relatively low campus profile.

For the first time since 2003, Harvard’s rugby club earned a spot last Sunday in next spring’s upcoming national tournament.

The club secured its spot despite losing to perennial powerhouse Army in the finals of the Northeastern Rugby Football Union (NRFU) playoffs.

Now Harvard faces stiff competition at nationals, where they will most likely square off against Army again.

“The biggest difference between the top ten teams and Harvard is not talent, but money,” said Fred J. Bressette, the Northeast Rugby Union’s vice president of colleges, referring to Army’s $2.6 million dollar rugby facility. “Harvard is as talented as any team I’ve seen this year.”

Despite low initial expectations and a lackluster opening to the season, the club has rallied of late to secure the second seed in the northeastern bracket of the national tournament.

“At the beginning of the season, I would have been surprised to hear that Harvard made it to nationals,” team captain Andrei R. Plair ’07 said. “But once we got the ball rolling, we just kept it rolling.”

The loss of several key senior players from last year’s team made initial losses to Yale and Boston College appear dire.

The turning point of the season, according to both coaches and players, came when Nicholas Mott ’07 delivered a heartfelt and inspiring locker room speech before a Dartmouth game.

“Nick’s been injured so he hasn’t been playing,” Joshua N. Copp ’07 said. “From the moment he finished that speech I had no doubt that we were going to win that game.”

Blazej Kesy ’07 added, “Since then we’ve been pretty much unstoppable.”

Despite being arguably less athletically gifted than the 2006 squad, new defensive schemes, a revised training regimen, and improved team discipline have lifted the rugby club to upset victories over Buffalo and Boston College.

“Last year we had a gifted team,” coach Robert J. Karetsky said. “As coaches we didn’t understand some parts of coaching defense. As coaches we needed to learn.”

But this year Harvard is frequently lauded as one of the most gifted defensive squads in the country, according to Bressette.

Even so, the club will have to rely on its enthusiasm and skill to make a strong showing against its better-funded favorites at nationals.

The squad looks forward to tackling collegiate rugby’s juggernauts this spring—regardless of the score.

“The number one goal for the team this year was to enjoy it,” said Currie.