VMI Rugby Update: Kicking off 7s Season

The VMI Rugby team began the season in the cold of January, practicing for their first tournament. Despite the practice field being covered in a foot of ice, the team continued to use the cleared football practice field. The first tournament was on Feb. 14, at Richmond University. Unfortunately, the team did not achieve the result they wanted, going 4-1 in the tournament. Despite this, the first tournament is always beneficial, allowing the team to get their headspace right and nerves out for the rest of the season. The following weekend at Elon had similar results to the first tournament. Following Breakout, the team got the addition of 4th classmen, adding significant depth to the roster. This, along with the upperclass members of the team, allowed for both A-Side and B-Side teams to compete in another Richmond tournament two weeks later. The B-Side "Bomb Squad" had a 2-1 record, with their loss to a more experienced Citadel. The day began at 10:00 AM with an opener win vs ODU, setting a tone for the rest of the day. The B-Side took The Citadel head-on; some of the Keydets had never even touched a rugby ball before this year, and gave Citadel a run for their money. They closed out their bracket with a win vs ECU, where Bill "Bill" Cockrill '27 housed 2 tries. VMI A-Team began the tournament 2-0, where Caleb "Spiel" Chandler dropped 3 tries in one game. In addition to this, key players like Josh Oludoyi '26 and Augie "Relentless Optimism" Arnaiz '27 held a strong line. Both VMI and The Citadel advanced to the semi-finals, where the Keydets took back what was theirs and emerged victorious over the Bulldogs. For many years, these teams did not have a chance to compete against each other, which is unheard of for rival schools. But since August of 2025, the teams have met on three occasions, with the Keydets coming out victorious each time. The tournament lasted all day, with VMI playing a total of 7 games. VMI Rugby continues to look forward to the rest of the season. Key events are nationals qualifiers, conference, and a 15s game vs UVA to close out home games. All of these are significant events to spectate; game info can be found on @vmi_mensrugby_official Instagram. The Keydets have eyes on the Conference Championship, but will not dismiss the closer games in sight of the championship. Rahh Rugby!! Please consider supporting The Cadet through a donation at: www.thecdetfoundation.org. The cadet remains independent of both VMI and its Alumni Agencies. All funds go to support our programs governed by a Board of ONLY cadets and alumni.