When I did Civil
War reenacting, we had what we called The Rule of Five. That is, the
145th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg would be commemorated as a big
deal, as would, say, the 130th Anniversary of the Battle of
Antietam. The 126th Anniversary of the Battle of New Market or the
139th Anniversary of the Battle of Sayler’s Creek might get
reenacted because we liked to blow off black powder, but it didn’t invite the
sense of occasion of the years divisible by five. Hence, The Rule of Five.
We used to have
campfire discussions of why this was, and came to the conclusion that it must
be because humans have five fingers on each hand (well, those of us who didn’t blow
fingers off playing with M-80s as kids, that is), and since we all learned to
count using our fingers that’s why five became the natural occasion to
commemorate things.
Fall 2006
represents the thirtieth year of the existence of the Western Suburbs Rugby
Football Club. The Rule of Five demands this article. Five years ago, in
2001, I put together a more ambitious piece using interesting quotes from old
newsletters; you can
read that by clicking here. Also, you are invited to look around on the club’s history page, where
old match scores and photos may be found. (This year I posted some slides from
twenty years ago; as we had a championship season then, too, those are interesting.)
There’s nothing
more to add, really, than to make two observations.
The first is that
we certainly commemorated our thirtieth in grand style, by winning the Potomac
Rugby Union Men’s Division III Championship! Well done! I do not think
that it was a conscious desire to elevate this past season more than the others
on the part of the players; I think it was simply that the right guys played
the right kind of rugby at the right time.
The second
observation comes from what I heard a president of the club (I forget which)
once say at a banquet. But he said that the only real job of the club president
is to ensure that the club continues to exist during his tenure as president so
that the baton may be handed over. Steve Lough has certainly done that, and he
and his fellow officers are to be congratulated. Maintaining a rugby club is
hard work; about as hard as practicing and then playing rugby in matches,
actually. You don’t really get a sense of it until you try it. But Western
Suburbs continues… and that’s reason enough to celebrate.
I have invited the A-Side Captain Jon Carter
to pen a few words for the occasion, and he has done so:
Seeing that I was still a baby when Western Suburbs was founded, I am very honored to share in the traditions of one of the finest rugby clubs. I have the honor of serving not only as a player for this club but also as captain. I have many memories with Suburbs both on and off the pitch. We have had our share of highs and lows with both big wins and big defeats. Through it all, our club has maintained the highest level of character and commitment - qualities that are the cornerstone of rugby itself. I am very proud to see us at the top of the table again as we celebrate our 30th Anniversary and our recent PRU Championship. I feel this accomplishment is a fitting tribute to those that started our club and a benchmark for all future players. Thank you and Congratulations to all who have been a part of Western Suburbs Rugby!
Jon Carter
December 21, 2006
WSRFC – Captain
I will give the last word to the club’s
founder, Pat Cunningham. With his unique vantage point as an elder statesman,
he chose to write not about Western Suburbs, but about rugby and friendship in
general, and his words help us to see why Western Suburbs has been around for
as long as it has:
November 24, 2006
I have often
asked myself if I played rugby for 22 years because I really loved the game, or
because I enjoyed the friendships that I developed. That question was answered for me recently.
This summer
while vacationing on the Outer Banks, my son Brendon was hit by a rogue wave,
which left him on the beach with a broken neck. He is now a quadriplegic and probably destined to a life of
restricted mobility.
Within a week
of his injury I began receiving calls from former teammates expressing their sorrow
and asking what they could do to help.
Bob Koury began developing plans to modify Brendon’s house to
accommodate the wheelchair; Larry Winstead offered unlimited manpower; and
George Wilson said he had access to an electric wheelchair. These names might not be familiar to WSRFC
members today, but they were instrumental in the early years of getting the
Club started.
What is really
surprising is that these calls, and the many that followed were completely
unsolicited… I had told nobody about Bren’s accident. The “rugby-grapevine”
had gone in motion.
Flowers were
sent to my home; cards and letters became a familiar find in my mailbox; and
the calls continued, I once again felt the comfort I remembered from my playing
years. The call “with you” had even
more meaning now.
So now I know
that rugby was my avenue to getting to know some of the finest men in the
world.
I am eternally
grateful.
Patrick
Cunningham
Long live
Western Suburbs RFC!
Wes "Brigham" Clark
Webmaster, rugbyfootball.com
December 30, 2006