Fall schedule set

The University of South Carolina rugby team looks to improve on a successful 2022 15s campaign that included a victory over rival Clemson, a second-place finish in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC), and a 7th ranking by National Collegiate Rugby (NCR).

USC is positioned in the powerful SCRC D1-AA East Division with Clemson, Kentucky and Georgia and will face cross divisional contests against Tennessee and Kennesaw State. Last year, Tennessee and Clemson finished the season ranked 4th and 11th nationally by NCR, respectively. Kentucky, which joins NCR this fall, finished higher than all SCRC teams in other national rankings.

That means hard-contested games for the Gamecocks.

“We will face three opponents who are top ten NCR programs,” said Head Coach John Roberts. “The University of Georgia is also a rising program, and I expect them to make some noise this season.”

That said, the Gamecocks should be well-equipped to meet the challenge. The squad returns 12 starters from last year’s 15s team and is coming off a successful 7s season which saw South Carolina capture its second consecutive SCRC championship.

The squad will also be onboarding a talented 15-member freshman class, many of whom played leadership roles with some of the nation’s top high school programs.

“I expect many of the freshmen to compete for starting spots,” said Roberts. “Our program should be deeper and more talented.”

USC will be looking to fill key roles at fullback and fly-half. The front row, which was a concern for Gamecocks last fall, should also have a new look.

Outside of conference play, USC faces Coastal Carolina and Furman in preseason warm-up games. The team will report to campus August 16 for an intense rugby camp. Classes begin August 26.

The program will host events for Family Weekend (September 22-23) and With You Weekend (October 28-29). More information on those plans will be shared next week.

View the schedule.