When a team’s postseason run comes to an end, it’s usually because they lost a game. This wasn’t the case for the St. Edward’s Rugby Football Club, as they did not attend the state championship tournament.

The team’s season came to an abrupt end before the Lonestar Conference playoffs in early March, due to what the team described as “attendance issues” during practices.

One of the team’s key rules states that if a player misses practice during the week without properly communicating their absence to the team, they do not get to play in the game that weekend.

Instead of bending their rules for the playoffs, the team decided to keep that promise and opt-out.

Club President Zac Silverman explained the decision making process as tough but necessary.

“The decision was made by the officers and the coach, and although it was an extremely hard decision to make, it was made with the club’s best interest in mind,” Silverman said. “So that next year, the club can continue to perform under the high standards that we pride ourselves on.”

Silverman cited midterms as an issue that was conflicting for players and their ability to come to every practice.

Since the team has struggled with maintaining attendance, it was difficult to enforce the team’s own rules.

The three main rules stated on the rugby team’s Facebook page are “1. Be on time 2. Be presentable 3. Never criticize a teammate.” They set an example for the future of the team by sticking to their values and not compromising their rules.

“The rugby team, since I have been a part of it, has set extremely high standards for ourselves in terms of responsibility and accountability,” Silverman said.

The team played their second-ever game on campus Feb. 18 during Homecoming & Family Weekend. They defeated the University of of Texas at San Antonio, 34-18.