Nearly 50 Years In, Severn River Rugby Bigger Than Ever

As Severn River Rugby Club nears its sixth decade as a fixture in the community, things could hardly look brighter.

Fresh off of back-to-back national final appearances and an increase in player base and club interest, Severn River is about to embark on its most ambitious season to date.

The club started in 1976 when Henry and Mike Posko, who played for a club near the District of Columbia, wanted to create a club that supported and developed within Anne Arundel County. Thirty years later, Severn River Women was born. Now the united Severn River Rugby boasts two men’s teams and two women’s teams, as well as an “Old Salts” team for the more “seasoned” players and members of the club’s alumni association. Their board is combined, and the club also works in the community developing U-19 men’s and women’s teams.

“Not a lot of clubs have connected men's and women's sides like we do,” said women’s player Lenni Ferreira, the club’s social media coordinator. “We have a joint board, and we work our events together. It's pretty rare and really cool.”

The club plays within two of the three universal rugby codes: rugby union, which has 15 players on the field per side, and rugby sevens. Union boasts a mix of power, speed and battle tactics, with games equally capable of ending 35-30 or 3-0 over 80 minutes. Sevens, on the other hand, is faster paced, relying on moving the ball quickly and getting it to speedy players in plenty of space. The 14-minute game routinely sees both teams score in the teens and 20s, or even higher.

Severn River plays union during the fall and spring seasons and sevens in the summer, largely to stay sharp and keep camaraderie up.

“We are a very tight-knit club, and we have a great culture,” said Severn River men’s president Joe Milluzzo. “We enjoy being around each other. We don't go three months without seeing each other, without touching a ball. Every week after sevens or fifteens practice, most of the club goes in, we get a meal and a drink, and kind of hang out for an hour or two. We just enjoy being together as a club.”

All competitive teams participate in National Competitive Rugby’s Mid-Atlantic Conference. The men’s side has teams entered in Division 3 and Division 4, and the women have finished second nationally in Division 2 the last two seasons. They plan to add a Division 3 team for the 2023-2024 season.

Teams that win their conferences advance to National Competitive Rugby’s final four, where they face off against another conference champion in the semifinals for the right to compete for a national division championship.

The Severn River women have been strong in their own conference the last two seasons and are looking to build on their national experience to finally get over the hump and win a division title.

“For a lot of people, [the last two years] was our first experience playing in the final four,” said Bri Leonard, the women’s club president. “If you played in college, you didn't usually make it that far; in college [at Kansas State], I only made it to the round of eight. It's different to play rugby and travel with your team than playing locally. You're in the same hotel and with that team together, and that helps us come together.

“The competition at nationals was like nothing that we've really seen locally. We play a lot of the same teams, and a lot of the time, we don't have that level of competition. For me, to see how we respond to not always winning and being down in the game and able to respond, it says a lot about the team we went with.”

Some players, like Leonard, have collegiate rugby experience. But others, like Milluzzo, came to the club without ever having played.

While it helps to have athletic experience of some kind, the club welcomes people of any experience and skill level to come throw the ball around and see if they like it enough to continue.

“We all know rugby is not at the level of popularity as other sports in the U.S. quite yet,” Ferreira said. “I think getting other athletes and turning them into rugby players is the name of our game. I ran track in college and joined the rugby team. We know it's a lot of learning and nobody has the luxury of playing since childhood, really. We're very used to and welcoming of folks who have never touched a rugby ball.”

The club goes all out on camaraderie and learning as well, to knit new players into the club culture and get their skills up to speed. While COVID-19 delayed some of their consistent international plans, both men’s and women’s teams are headed abroad later this summer to the British Isles to bond and develop their skills more.

The men will visit Wales, where they will train with, and against, local teams and attend a home match for the Welsh national team as they tune up for the men’s 2023 Rugby World Cup. The women will do likewise in the Republic of Ireland, playing matches against local teams and taking in a men’s World Cup tune-up match between England and world No. 1-ranked Ireland.

“The clubs over there are really accommodating,” Milluzzo said. “They're really trying to bring in the U.S. clubs, and we've had a lot of success connecting with the teams. We always get a really great welcoming.”

Severn River also seeks to bring that same hospitality back home, investing in the local rugby community and the community at large.

Whether developing roots with the Green Hornets’ touch and flag rugby programs, partnering in rounding up Toys for Tots with their home field host American Legion Post 175, taking part in the Annapolis Pride parade, or working with other clubs and businesses to grow lasting relationships, the club has community in the forefront of its mind.

“We like to connect with local businesses and try to work with them to see what we can do to help support them in the community and if they would like to support the club,” Milluzzo said.

Practice for the new season begins August 22.

For more information on Severn River Rugby, visit www.severnriverrugby.org.