Mon, 06/01/2020 - 5:56pm
The crowd roars. The BYU men’s rugby team is battered, but victorious. After three straight years of finishing second to the University of California, the striped Cougars have won their first D1A National Championship in program history. BYU team captain, Steve St. Pierre embraces the 2009 eagle-shaped trophy in one hand and the founder of BYU rugby, John Seggar, in the other. Seggar later reflected on that glorious moment, “I had never been so excited in my life ever or since.” He said, “I still get teary when I think about those kids. It’s the culmination of everything that I dreamed about.”
BYU went on to win four more national championships in the next five seasons and has become one of the most successful rugby programs in the country. BYU rugby had meager beginnings with a small gathering of 12 guys in 1961 and over the years has grown to a powerhouse program supported by the university.
Foundation
The foundation of BYU rugby, established more than five decades ago, was built on the courage and optimism of Coach Seggar and his love of the game he learned as a 17- year- old. In 1961 Seggar was a freshman student at BYU and with the help of Gideon Dolo and Aidan Lemon, he gathered a small group of guys to practice rugby together. By 1965, BYU officially recognized the club. After Seggar graduated from BYU, he attended the University of Kentucky earning a master’s degree and PhD in sociology. Seggar returned to BYU in 1967 as a faculty member teaching sociology.
As soon as he moved back to Provo, he went straight to the pitch. “I decided to just work out with the team and soon enough I became the faculty advisor for the club,” he said.
The head coach at the time was BYU graduate student Wi Haerati, who was a busy student working on his master’s degree. One day Seggar arrived at practice and Haerati wasn’t there. Seggar decided, “If we’re going to be here, let’s do something,” and he proceeded to run the practice. As the season continued, Haerati became too busy with school and asked Seggar to take over as head coach. Seggar coached the last three games of the 1967 spring season and won all three. The following season, the team asked Seggar to continue as head coach. He agreed under one condition which he posed to the players, “You play as though you’re going to play for a national championship.”
Coaching
The first year Seggar coached the full season, the team went 9-1-1 and was ranked No. 6 in the country. Seggar continued to coach the “Ruggers” until 1974. He took a three-year leave and returned again to coach for another eight years after arranging with the dean of his college to make coaching rugby a part of his university assignment.
Each season, Coach Seggar and the Ruggers played about 20 matches at home and away. Of his 231 career games, Seggar logged 184 wins with an 80% winning average. He said his best game ever was beating the Church College of Hawaii in 1972. The opposing team came in with a record of 69-2 and the Ruggers beat them by a close score of 12-10. Another landmark win took place in the fall of 1981. The Ruggers scored 76 points in 60 minutes. This feat was even more impressive considering the old scoring system which counted tries as four points instead of five.
Secret to Success
When Seggar was asked how he was able to build such a successful program, he mentioned three important factors. He stated that his years playing rugby in New Zealand as a young man provided him with a great knowledge of rugby strategy and love of the game. He also credited his education, “I was trained as a social psychologist because I was interested in understanding human behavior. I was successful because I know how to motivate people.” Lastly, Seggar emphasized his diligence to learn more about rugby and teach those he coached, “I tried to get my hands on all the books I could.”
Early Years
Seggar fell in love with the game of rugby at age 17 after moving with his mother and stepfather to Auckland, New Zealand. For three years, he played rugby league for a club called Greenlane. At age 19, he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a building mission for the New Zealand Temple. After his mission in 1958, he played rugby union for one year at the Church College of New Zealand. In 1959, he came to BYU as a freshman and was the first in his family to not only graduate from high school but also college and graduate school.
National Influence
Over the course of his coaching career, Seggar not only built BYU rugby, but he was monumental in the development of collegiate rugby across the country. He served as a member of the National Coaching Committee and the National Committee on Education for Research and Development in Rugby. He also served on the board of governors for the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby), the official governing body for rugby in the country.
BYU Rugby Today
Current head coach Steve St. Pierre reflected on Seggar’s impact on the program, “We wouldn’t be where we are today without all the work he put in.” St. Pierre said, “He started the club and kept it going for a long time and built the tradition.”
Coach St. Pierre shares Seggar’s deep desire to have success on the field and build a winning program as a national contender. Today, BYU blow-outs are not uncommon and the average margin of victory for the Cougars during the 2019-2020 season was 64 points.
As for individual stand-outs, Seggar coached All-American Mark Ormsby who played four years of rugby at BYU from 1981-84. Since 2001, BYU has produced 48 Collegiate All-Americans.
Seggar’s foundation of success for rugby at BYU has continued to remain firm and to exceed expectations. The Cougars have become one of the most decorated programs in the country winning five national championships in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 under the direction of Coach David Smyth, one of Seggar’s former players.
Current Coach
St. Pierre is a former BYU team captain, national champion, Collegiate All-American, and Pacific Coast All-Star who took over as head coach at the beginning of the 2019 season. St. Pierre recognized the contributions of many former BYU players to the program over the last 50 years. “There have been a lot of great players who have worn the jersey,” he said. “We want our players to recognize and respect that legacy by putting forth their best effort always.”
Looking ahead, St. Pierre is determined to maintain a successful program but believes he also has a role in helping players reach their potential.
“We want to have success on the field, but also want to help develop our students off the field as well,” St. Pierre said. “We want them to be good students, good providers for their families, good husbands, good fathers, good sons, good members of the Church, and future leaders in addition to being great rugby players. The wins will come as long as we’re doing all those other things as well.”
Coach Seggar said he is very proud of the BYU program and all those who played with him and for him before his retirement in 1985. “We had a lot of fun and we’ve worked very hard to keep our eyes on the prize for a very long time. These boys today, with their dominant victories, send the message that the Cougars will be a force and a standard for the nation for a long time to come.”
