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Home - Cover Stories
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Rough N' Rugby
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Omaha’s very own goats rugby team has been kicking ass, literally, and they look mighty fine doing it... the reader style crew caught up with the coach and few players at the new parliament pub
special cover style pictorial by Dale Heise story by Niamh Murphy
Fueled by Lone Star Beer and rocky mountain oysters, the Omaha Goats Rugby Club took home the West Rugby Football Union Championship this past weekend after beating Fort Worth 45-24 and annihilating Colorado Springs 65-0. The Goats played flawlessly all weekend in Fort Worth and the only mishap was Coach Shawn Rediger’s lost iPod.
The Goats advance to the Sweet 16 in Austin, May 22; they will take on San Fernando Valley, the No. 2 seed from the Pacific Union.
The Omaha Goats remain undefeated at 10-0. The team is four victories from a National Championship. Winning in Austin would put the Goats within reach of their first U.S.A. Rugby National Championship and give them a trip to the final four at Infinity Park, in Glendale, Colo., June 5-6.
The Goats are led by first year Coach Rediger, assisted by Ray Harrower (a veteran player and coach with significant international experience in South Africa) and team captain Corey DeJong. The combination of their dynamic leadership styles has truly turned Omaha rugby around. Rediger took over coaching responsibilities mid-season in March 2009 upon suffering his fourth career-ending knee injury after playing for 19 years.
The Omaha GOATS (Greater Omaha Area Touring Side) Rugby Club, founded in 1978, capped an impressive league season defeating last year’s division champions Tulsa in the West Central Division Championship match April 17, in Omaha. The Goats ran the league table finishing the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record, outscoring opponents 324-53.
After a 3-5 finish last year and several mediocre seasons, the Goats renewed their focus under Rediger. A hard-as-nails attitude and commitment to overpowering and outplaying their opponents transformed the team into a national powerhouse.
The Goats have a rich, proud history of mutual respect amongst players. The tight knit group stuck together since day one to be the best at what they do. The strategy was sweet and simple: perfect the basics, perfect them aggressively and execute them with confidence.
Results came immediately, with the Goats winning four of the first seven non-division matches against highly ranked teams to conclude the Fall 2008/Spring 2009 season (rugby seasons run Fall through Spring) which set the stage for the highly anticipated 2010 season.
The Goats began training for this season last July. Rediger had one philosophy: “We play like we train, so we train like we play. Every battle is won before it’s ever fought, and attitude is everything!”
The training was physically demanding and mentally challenging, and the team embraced both. They have only one goal: to be the best they can be — on and off the field.
The Omaha Goats have been here before. In 1996 they advanced in the playoffs to the Sweet 16 — Rediger’s first season with the team as a player.
But this season has been the most satisfying, successful season since then, and if the Goats keep up the pace, the team has a chance to be the best to wear the black Goats jersey in a 32-year history.
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