Former rugby player and coach entertains and edifies UCSB’s playoff-bound team. Reg Golledge sat facing two dozen young men. All he could see was a shadowy outline.
They saw a 67-year-old geography professor who had gone blind 21 years ago and who was sitting in a wheelchair because his legs were shot. But Golledge used to be a rugby player, like themselves, and he once coached the UCSB team to which they now belong. And when Golledge was done talking, they could see more clearly their objective in the upcoming USA Rugby Collegiate Championships. They could feel the desire to put their strong legs to work.
Coming off a 10-1-1 season, the Gaucho ruggers are making their third consecutive appearance in the Sweet Sixteen. UCSB will host one of the four regional pools on April 15-16 at Harder Stadium. The Gauchos will face either Wyoming or Texas A&M on the first night, and Purdue will play Utah or Sacramento State. The next night will be a playoff for a berth in the Final Four at Stanford two weeks later.
“In rugby, fitness is paramount,”Golledge told the team Thursday. “When I coached, the guys thought my name was Onemoretime. The last five minutes win the game for you . . . Play until you hear that whistle blow. Keep driving and driving.”Golledge played rugby in his native Australia and in New Zealand. He took a faculty position at Ohio State and started a rugby program there. He also refereed the matches. UCSB was already playing rugby when he joined the geography department here, and in the early ’80s Golledge helped out as coach. “It is one of the strongest programs around,”he said. “It’s a tremendous game. It helps a person develop inner and outer fitness. After running for 80 minutes nonstop, you can hardly walk after the match. It’s always been a social activity as well. Guys develop friendships that last a lifetime.”
Golledge’s coaching career ended when a sudden failure of his optic nerves left him sightless. “A year later I got a call from some old Ohio State mates who were having a party,”Golledge said. “Rich Ederle got on the line and said, ‘So, you lost your sight?’“‘Yes, I’m sorry to say.’” ‘Are you still refereeing?’”Golledge’s humor and sincerity made an impression on the Gauchos. They could sense how much he cared about what they were doing. “It helps us remember that UCSB rugby is a lot larger than the guys on the roster,”senior Mark Negus said. “A lot of people have been involved in the game.”“Everybody who ever played rugby here is part of this,”said junior Reid Wilson, the team captain. “We’re not just playing for ourselves. We’re playing for the team and the school. I want to leave a successful rugby club behind.”Senior Adam Mayer said, “UCSB rugby is decades of people who played and decades of people who supported the club. Knowing that will give us the strength to beat any team on the 15th and 16th.”
