The Highland High rugby team has ruled the sport among Utah high schools for more than two decades. It's been to the U.S. championship match all 14 times it has been played and come home with 11 titles.
Now, Highland has been given a chance to rule the world.Highland is preparing to play in the World Schools Rugby Championships in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 27-Aug. 5. It's the first-ever high school world championship sanctioned by the International Rugby Board, the sport's worldwide governing body.
The 22-player team, consisting mostly of football players, will be competing for the inaugural championship with 11 other high schools considered to be the best in the world. What makes the selection even more prestigious is that Highland is the only team from the Western Hemisphere invited to play in the tournament.
"This is really a big deal in the rugby world," said Highland coach Larry Gelwix, adding that television networks in Great Britain and South Africa will be broadcasting the tournament. "Outside Utah, the sport's popularity (in the U.S.) is really exploding."
It won't be the first time Highland has faced foreign competition. Past teams have toured Australia and New Zealand on three separate occasions, the last time in 1996. The teams have compiled a 12-4-2 record on the trips and also have never lost when hosting a foreign opponent.
Other countries being represented at the tournament include Australia, England, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Wales and Zimbabwe, all places where rugby has historically been a top sport.
In fact, most of the teams participating are from private schools, which are allowed to recruit top prep players worldwide, offer scholarships and give monthly spending money, a practice that is not allowed in the U.S.
"The level of competition is just off the charts. All these schools are national champions," said Gelwix. "Someone is going to finish 12th and go home discouraged but just to be in that elite class is pretty impressive."
The teams have been divided into four pools, and the three teams in each pool will play each other. The four pool champions will advance to the semifinals, with the winners playing for the championship.
Highland couldn't have drawn a tougher opponent in its first match, facing host Prince Edward, Zimbabwe's national champion. Wales champion Ysgol Giantaf is Highland's other pool opponent.
Although the United States is not known as a rugby nation and Highland may be lightly regarded, Gelwix says his team can surprise some people at the tournament. This year's club holds a perfect 15-0 record, blowing away its competition by an average score of 49-2. Five players were invited to play for the U.S. national team, including team captains Andrew Cannon and Morgan Scalley, the Deseret News' reigning Mr. Football.
"In my 23 years of coaching, there have been four or five teams that have really stood out, and this is one of them," said Gelwix. "We're up for the challenge."
What has been another challenge for the players is raising money to pay for their expenses, half of which will be taken care of by the tournament. The team has held various fund-raisers since receiving its invitation in March, ranging from selling fireworks and doing yardwork to moving furniture and putting on dances. The players have also visited local businesses to try and obtain sponsorships.
"You name it, we've done it," said Gelwix.
No matter how the team fares, the trip itself is once-in-a-lifetime for most of the players, who will tour South Africa for a few days after the tournament is over.
"It's a chance not a lot of people get," said Scalley, a U. of U. recruit who was a ballboy for Highland when his brother played for the team. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to win the whole thing. I'm excited to go with the fellas and see what we can do."
The team departs Sunday and will be able to get in a few days of practice before playing its first match July 27.