After being non-existent for the past four decades, rugby has found its way back to the campus of CSU East Bay.

Senior accounting major Chris Moore has started a rugby club on campus for the first time since the early 1970’s and is looking for it to be a permanent fixture in campus life.

“I saw a void at the school,” Moore explained. “I figured Cal State Hayward was last in line so we might as well jump.”

According to Moore, who is also head coach, the team is a club funded through Student Life and Leadership on campus, though according to him Associated Students Inc. is there to provide financial assistance just like any other club or organization on campus.

Rugby has grown in popularity within America over the past several years as USA Rugby, which according to their site “has over 98,000 members and is responsible for the development of the boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club rugby programs, and ultimately all of the national teams representing the U.S. in international competitions.”

Moore is a former Marine who used to play rugby while in the service as a way of getting a workout.

Moore feels the rugby team is necessary for CSUEB, since the school was the only large-sized four year institution, in the Bay Area that has eliminated its football program. He believes this is a good time to try to institute a rugby team.

The team will be a participant of the Northern California Collegiate Rugby Conference Division-II where it will compete against other collegiate rugby clubs from schools such as CSU Monterey Bay, and other rivals.

The team will also be a registered member of USA Rugby and will play rugby union, which is the most popular form of rugby.

The season for the team will consist of 12-16 games with the top teams participating in the playoffs, which varies in location.

Currently the club is still under its one year probationary period but once the period is up they will be able to participate in any postseason festivities, if eligible.

According to Moore, the team currently consists of at least 13 players, as many come and go, while most are stragglers who have just started practicing later in the quarter.

Many of the players are first-timers and have no experience in rugby, which is with whom Moore says he sees himself doing a lot of teaching the fundamentals.

One player, who Moore looks to for assistance, is team captain Kris Rhodes who has been playing the sport for eight years.

He has played professionally in Canada and Ireland, where the sport of rugby is very popular, and is looking to use this team as a platform to propel himself onto the national team.

“I’m trying to actually make a name for myself this year, to get a tryout for the team that is going to Rio in 2016,” Rhodes explained.

Currently, the team is practicing three times a week as they prepare for their first game, which will start sometime in January.

While Moore knows there will be some difficulties early in the process, he just wants to see progression as well as an increase in numbers.

“It’s a work in progress,” Moore said. “The people who are putting in effort, it shows.”