Our Legacy
By the numbers
State Championships: 6
Regional Championships: 2
National Appearances: 3 (2 for Warriors, 1 for Wahines)
Boys College Offers 10+
Girls College Offers 10+
Our Legacy
2010 – Getting Started
The Wando Rugby Club is established by a small group of students
Wando Rugby Club chartered thru USA Rugby & Rugby South Carolina
Wando Players approach Outlaws Rugby Club for coaching needs
Chris Davis volunteers to be the first Head Coach
Dave Marshall volunteers as Assistant Coach and Treasurer
13 players hold scrimmages against School of the Arts
2011 – First Full Season
Wando Rugby is accepted into the "Rugby South Carolina" statewide high school rugby league
Tod Shepherd joins Coach Chris as co-Head Coaches
Club grows to 36 players
Club practices on a small field inside the I’On subdivision
Notable players include Dana Corcoran, DJ Fuller, Tyler Griffin, Peter Huthwaite, Nick Morrison, Nicolae Toma
Regular season record: 3 wins, 6 losses
2 Wando players make State All Star team
Club does not qualify for the Rugby South Carolina playoffs
2012 – First Playoff Appearance
Steve Evangelista joins the coaching staff
Our league, Rugby South Carolina, grows to 11 teams competing in a single Division
Rugby South Carolina schedule consists of 10 games
Club grows to 39 players
All Wando Rugby are "away games" because we did not have a home pitch
Wando wins two games, each by the score of 3-0
Finished regular season in 4th place
Regular season record: 5 wins, 4 losses, 1 weather cancellation
4 Wando players make State All Star team
Qualified for Rugby South Carolina playoffs
Nick Morrison wins MVP
2013 – State Runner-Up
Club grows to over 50 players
Former players Nick Morrison & Peter Huthwaite join the coaching staff
Wando Rugby becomes sponsored club at Wando High School
Mt. Pleasant Recreation provides a home pitch at Cario Middle School
Wando receives 4 scheduled home games
16 High School teams now compete in Rugby South Carolina, divided into Divisions I & II, with Wando in Division I
Regular season record: 7 wins, 2 losses
Defeated Greer in playoffs to advance to State Championship
Lost State Championship to an undefeated Chapin team
6 Wando players make State All Star team
Invited to High School 7’s Championships in Philadelphia, PA
Ryan Springer wins MVP
2014 – First State Championship
With over 50 dedicated players, the club adds a “B Team” who competes in South Carolina Division II
Most of 2013 team returns for 2014 season (only graduated 4 seniors)
A Team goes undefeated 10-0, outscoring opposition 332-24
A Team defeats Chapin 45-0 in the state semi-finals, in the best game the team has played in their 5 year history
A Team wins first ever State Championship over Greenville High School by a score of 10-3
A Team ends the season ranked #19 in USA
B Team finishes regular season in 2nd place, losing the Division II State Championship to the Charleston Ravens’ A Team
With both the A & B teams playing in the State Championships, Wando Rugby elevates itself to elite status
Davis Strobel wins MVP
Davis Strobel earns a Rugby Scholarship to Arkansas State University, one of the top 5 rugby programs in the USA
2015 – Lowcountry Champions
Club graduates 23 seniors from 2014 State Championship team
Guy Vorster & Jack Strobel join the coaching staff as team grows to 65 players
Rugby South Carolina adopts a new "regional" structure with three Divisions: Lowcountry, Midlands, Upstate, in an effort to reduce travel, with the unfortunate side-effect of pitting A & B teams against each other
A Team has another undefeated regular season, outscoring the opposition 415-20, ranked as high as #9 in the USA
B Team finishes regular season in 4th place
A Team defeats Aiken 65-0 in the quarter-finals playoffs, and Chapin 28-0 in the semi-final playoffs
A Team dominates, but loses the State Championship in an overtime heart breaker by a score of 11-6 in front of 1,000 home fans, played during Tropical Storm Ana. The game is remembered as the “one that got away”.
A Team ends the season ranked #24 in USA
Club hosts Bracebridge High School, a touring side from Ontario, Canada
Club hosts Georgetown Prep High School, a touring side from Washington, DC and nationally ranked at #15
Micah Stewart wins MVP
2016 – State Champions
Club grows to 80 players and graduates 9 seniors from the 2015 team
Kerry Gholson joins the coaching staff, as co-Head Coach of the B Team with Coach Steve
A Team attends Ruggerfest in Charlotte, defeating Union County and Myers Park, but losing to power Charlotte Catholic
League reverts to Statewide divisional alignment, with A Team in Division 1 and B Team in Division 2
A Team loses their first regular season match in over 3 years, 26-20 against South Greenville, in which Wando led 20-0 at halftime
A Team finishes regular season at 6-1
B Team finishes regular season in 5th place and wins the Division 2 Plate Title
A Team defeats Greenville 33-10 in the semi-final playoffs
A Team wins State Championship by defeating South Greenville 25-24 on a converted try on the last play of the game (see YouTube video here)
A Team ends the season ranked #23 in USA
Club hosts Bracebridge High School a second time, a touring side from Canada
Charlie van Vliet wins MVP
2017 – Two more State Championships
Club grows to 90 players
The club fields a C team, for several unscheduled scrimmages against other schools
Simon Read & Thomas Meredith join coaching staff
Club joins the inaugural MSIRL (Mid-South Independent Rugby League), a new league for elite high school programs
A Team finishes RSC regular season at 5-0, outscoring the opposition 156-21
B Team finishes RSC regular season at 4-2, while gaining playing time for the future C Team
A Team wins State Championship in Division I, defeating South Greenville 14-12
B Team wins State Championship in Division II, defeating Spring Hill by a score of 25-16
The MSIRL semi-finals & finals are played on Memorial Day in 95F heat in Charlotte, where the A Team defeats the Charlotte Tigers in the semi-final match, and begins the “ice bath” tradition to prepare for the finals
A Team then defeats a strong Union County (Charlotte) team to win the MSIRL Championship by a score of 35-7
Charlie van Vliet wins MVP again
2018 – National Championships, State Champions
Club starts an official C Team on the Rugby South Carolina schedule
John Wagner joins the coaching staff, as Head Coach of the C team
A Team dominates the Rugby South Carolina regular season with a record of 7-0-1, outscoring the opposition 384-47, and the 4th undefeated season in the last 5 years
A Team finished undefeated MSIRL, with a record of 6-0, outscoring the opposition 247-81
A Team loses the State Championship in a controversial game. The A team was ahead 9-7 after regulation, but South Greenville scored in the 14th minute of extra time
B Team finishes RSC regular season at 6-1, outscoring the opposition 177-34
B Team wins State Championship in Division II, defeating Bishop England
A Team invited to the National Championships in Kansas City, where they defeat the reigning Tier II champions, St. Thomas Aquinas by a score of 15-14
A Team wins the National Championships Sportsmanship Award receiving a new Hooligan Rugby kit
Arthur Doyle wins MVP
2019 – National Championships
Simon takes over as Head Coach from Tod Shepherd
Coleman Herteau joins the coaching staff, leading the fitness program and the C team
The club forms an official 501c3 and also forms a Board of Directors led by parents
A Team invited to the National Championships in Utah
The club starts the first ever Wando Girls team, called the Wando Wahines, with 52 girls registered
The Wahines are lead by Head Coach Kim Perritt, Coach Kerry Gholson, Coach Ogle and Coach Anne Montgomery
A Team wins Charleston Post & Courier’s “Club of the Year” award
A Team wins State Championship, defeating South Greenville 27-7
2019/20 – Carolina Ruggerfest and COVID-19
Donovan Craig joins the Warriors coaching staff
Former player Robbie Inglett join the Wahines coaching staff
Wahines get a few games in early in the 2019-20 season before anyone in the Lowcountry has even heard of COVID
Boys A/B/C and Wahines start the season at the Carolina Ruggerfest in March in Charlotte just before the season is cancelled for COVID-19
2020/21 – Mama Anne and Wahines State Champions
Coach Mama Anne passes away on December 4, 2020 and the team mourns a gentle giant and forever icon of Wando Rugby
Amidst the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic and dwindling teams in Rugby South Carolina, we salvage a season by venturing to Greer, SC many spring weekends in 2021
A team loses to South Greenville boys to finish 2nd in the State Championship
Wahines beat the South Greenville girls side to become Rugby South Carolina State Champions
2021/22 – Nationals Championships (Wahines)
Former Wando players from Oceanside form a rugby club at Oceanside Collegiate Academy
Coach Donovan Craig takes over as Wando Head Coach from Simon Read
Former Wando player Connor Hogan joins the Warriors coaching staff
Bill Bell joins the Wahines coaching staff
Mike Flood and Greg Hildebrand join the Warriors coaching staff
Wando RFC stops being a Wando High School club - now welcoming all Lowcountry high schoolers to rugby
Wando enters 1 boys team and 2 girls teams into the NC Rugby Fall 7 tournament. Boys win 1st place in their division and girls A side finishes 2nd in their division.
Girls send a team to Girls High School Nationals in Euclid, OH where they make a solid first time appearance and finish 7th overall
2022/23 - Respect, Support, and Grow
Another great season!