This year, the Wayne State rugby team is looking to extend its streak of five national titles since 2001, when the program began.

 
“It started with an ad in the Wayne Stater and from there I wall papered the campus with flyers,” Darren Barner, Wayne State rugby coach, said. “Henno Trablanche from South Africa flew up from DFW and I had 90 faces of women and men that were eager to start a new team in the spring of 2002.”

 
With the forming of the men and women’s rugby programs behind him, Barner knew the bigger task at hand would be getting the teams in a position where they could win.

 
“I pretty much knew in the back of my mind we might go 0-11 or 1-12 being a brand new program,” Barner said.

 
But to the surprise of many, the men and women were able to find success, winning the Great Plains Conference in their first season and qualifying for the national playoffs.

 
“It was just incredible seeing the work ethic of that team and how much they wanted to improve,” Barner said.

 
Along with the success from the “Originals,” as Barner called them, another crucial part to Wayne State’s winning formula was picking up a major sponsor in Rod Tompkins and Heritage Homes.

Through generous donations from Heritage Homes the club was given the opportunity to build one of the nicest Rugby complexes in the Midwest, if not the country, which includes not one but two turf fields.

 
“If not for Rod Tompkins and Heritage Homes, this team would not only be mediocre, I’m sure it would not even have existed,” Barner said. “Our rugby park is simply one of the best places for small college rugby and we are nationally known for our home field.”

 
Undoubtedly, the main reason for the success of the team is Barner himself. From the start of the program back in 2001, he has invested many hours in the program between coaching, actively seeking sponsors for the team and traveling to professional clubs to learn more about the game itself.

 
“Coach Barner is like a father figure to the team,” Wayne State rugby player Jacob Rath said. “He puts in hours of work for us that not many people realize. We all work hard for him because without him putting in the work at the very beginning of Wayne State rugby, we wouldn’t be in the high-caliber position we are now.”

 
As the rugby team looks forward to the coming season team members hope to continue to replicate the success that the program has achieved over its storied history.

 
“There will always be pressure to do better than teams of the previous year, but all you can really do is put in the work to reach that level,” Rath said. “I think I speak for the entire program in saying that we look forward to another successful season and working to add a couple more national titles to our resume.”