As we begin another exciting season of Southern Virginia University Rugby, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who continues to support our players and this program.
By way of introduction, my name is Paul Lasike, and I am the head coach of the SVU men's rugby team. I was born and raised in New Zealand and moved to the U.S. when I was 17 to play for the storied Highland Rugby program in Salt Lake City, Utah. I served an LDS mission in Birmingham, Alabama, and then attended BYU, where I played rugby and football and earned a degree in Physical Education and Coaching.
I went on to play two years in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and played professional rugby for eight years, which included representing the United States at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. I finished my playing career in 2025 and moved into coaching.
I am going into my second year as head coach, and we have seen significant growth since year one. We have recruited more than 13 new players and retained 96% of our roster from the 2025 school year. We also welcomed two new coaches: Eric Nelson and former SVU Knight, O’shea Settle.
Watch Us Play!
For those who don’t know, we compete in D1A in the Rugby East Conference, which is one of the toughest D1A conferences in the country. We compete with Penn State, Navy, Army, Life University, Mount St. Mary’s, and Mary Washington.
We have our first conference match today (Friday, September 18, at 5 p.m. ET). We would love for you to come watch us play or tune in via ourKnight Athletics Youtube Pagewhere the game will be broadcast live. Schedule, results, and news articles can be found on ourwebsite.
As we continue to grow and develop our program and retain our players, that can’t be done without the support of you—our family, friends, alumni, supporters, and rugby community.
Rugby Excellence Scholarship
We are massively grateful to all those who have already supported our program in any form over the years to grow it to what it is now.
At this time, we are seeking to fundraise $70k for the Rugby Excellence Scholarship, a new fund that was created last fall. This helps us recruit and retain the athletes we need to build and compete at the highest level in collegiate rugby, and provides our players with experiences that can shape the rest of their lives.
The scholarship is awarded to our players based on the following:
- Character
- Rugby Skill
- Academics
Our goal is to build young men through discipline and accountability on and off the field. Our mission at SVU is to Gather students in faith, Lift them intellectually, socially and spiritually, and Launch them into successful lives and careers. I am extremely proud to be leading this team and grateful that I get to coach these great young men.
On behalf of SVU Men’s Rugby, we want to thank you for your support, generosity, and love for our athletes.
