Rugby takes off at Bishop England
In a way, he’s one of the founding fathers of high school rugby in South Carolina. But Keith Bayer is more than a man ahead of his time.
He’s also been a successful coach, leading a Midlands team to a state championship in 2008. Now, he’s working his magic here in the Lowcountry as coach of the Bishop England rugby team.
For years, the team didn’t even exist. Now, the Bishops are 7-0 in the season and the No. 1 ranking in the state.
How did it happen? It wasn’t easy on the field as the Bishops went 2-6 in 2014 and followed that up with a 3-5 mark last spring. This spring, the Bishops are thinking big. Playoffs begin May 7 and the state championship is May 14.
What made the birth of the program easy was the support the school and its athletic department had in launching rugby, which is a club sport in the Palmetto State.
“The support from the school has been fantastic,” Bayer said. “They let us play in the stadium and practice on their fields. Their facilities are our facilities. A lot of clubs struggle to find fields to practice and play on.”
Bayer is one of those Ohioans who moved to South Carolina. But here’s his twist on that. He grew up in Ohio, played rugby at the University of Cincinnati and then moved to the Midlands, where he helped launch rugby in the Palmetto State. He coached at Spring Valley, and led the Vikings to the 2008 state title.
Then he did the unthinkable: He moved back to Ohio. He relocated to the Cleveland area because of his job. In his spare time, he coached high school rugby.
He returned to the Lowcountry and landed the Bishops’ job.
What type of student-athlete plays rugby?
“It’s not a typical cross section,” Bayer said. “Half play football and the other half didn’t play any other sport to that point. What you get are football players who like contact and then you have students who are juniors who wake up 6-foot tall, and they are ready to find a sport. The good thing about rugby is that it’s a team sport. It takes more than one individual to have success.
Team captain Joseph Thatcher has been solid in his career. He will play the sport at the next level. He will matriculate to Kutztown University, which is located in the Philadelphia area. The school is a perennial rugby power and one of the best on the East Coast.
Ian Butler also has talent. He’s always in the mix, and is the brother of Noah Butler, who happens to be one of three talented assistants. The other two are Paul Truluck and Matt Loveland.
The team roster includes CJ Bakle, Jordan Baltimore, Branden Baltimore, Max Bodach, Charles Howle, Jack Tessier, Joseph Thatcher, Tavis Shaw, Connor Hogan, Ian Butler, Tate Stamey, Jack Graves, Carter Kilgore, Callum Scott, Hunter Powell, Max Easter and Zach Pace.