Pair of Western ruggers have to forego unique training opportunity in New Zealand

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of Western's students, with opportunities to travel and learn being severely curtailed. Nathan Mathis and Kyle Peters are both members of the nationally ranked WWU Men's Rugby program, and both had been awarded $7,500 scholarships to attend the prestigious Crusaders Rugby Academy in Christchurch, New Zealand this summer. Sadly, the travel bans due to the COVID-19 outbreak have canceled those plans.

Nathan is a sophomore from Yelm and is a Kineisology/Pre Healthcare major; Kyle is a freshman from Puyallup majoring in Sociology with a minor in Leadership. The Crusader Academy is considered the "Gold Standard" in a country where the game of rugby is the national sport. They were both awarded the $7500 scholarships by the Western Rugby Alumni (WRA)  and were two of six players from the USA invited to attend. Their bags were packed, visas applied for and were anticipating a unique sporting/educational experience only to have it taken away due to the pandemic. The scholarship included airfare, meals and accommodation, registration fees and spending money.

Optimism is high that things will return to normal and this opportunity will be there for both these motivated student athletes in 2021.  They will now spend the summer working and looking forward to the challenging and unique times ahead.

-- Paul Horne

WWU Men's Rugby Head Coach