History of Oshkosh High School Rugby

  The roots of the Oshkosh High School Rugby Club can really be traced to the roots of the Oshkosh Rugby Club, which was started back in 1978 by - as near as anyone can tell - a small group of hearty souls led by Father Mike Dory from Lourdes High School. Oshkosh very quickly established themselves as one of the top teams in the state - both on and off the field - and their success has been shown throughout the state of Wisconsin and in the Midwest during the 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's. Oshkosh is the current Wisconsin Municipal League champions, and will compete in the Midwest Division Playoffs in April.

  The Northeast Wisconsin Youth Rugby League - fondly known as N.E.W. Rugby, was started in 1995 with 4 teams competing in the Green Bay area. Looking to expand the league to more teams, N.E.W. contacted the Oshkosh club about forming a team in late 1996. Long-time Oshkosh player - and legend - Wayne Binversie took up the challenge and founded the Oshkosh High School Rugby Club in 1997. Joining Wayne in coaching the team that first year was Scott Koehnke, also a long-time player. Throughout the late 1990's, Oshkosh established itself as a tough team but one which almost always struggled to find enough players. In 2000, Paul Spanbauer joined Scott and Wayne to make up the coaching staff.  Paul has retired from coaching Rugby for the 2003 Season and now Scott Mears is assisting in the coaching efforts.

  In the 2004 season the team finished 2^nd in the conference and managed to fight its way into the state tournament for the first time where they finished 8^th.  However in the 2005 season the team finished 4^th at the tournament held in Oshkosh and again fell 2^nd in the conference to Fon Du Lac. Led by an equally dedicated group of parents and supporters, the club has begun to establish itself in the community as an excellent athletic opportunity for students of all the area high schools who are  looking to lead the team to state and follow the trend of improvement in 2006.