The boys’ rugby team gave it their all but came up short against Fairfield Prep, ending their season with a final score of 33-25 on May 20. Though the team won’t move forward in the playoffs, their fight, unity and character were on full display. The game was intense from start to finish.
At the end with a chance to win, Staples drove the ball down the field, but the effort ended when Prep intercepted the ball and ran it into the endzone, putting them up by six more points. A conversion followed, giving prep an eight-point lead with just 30 seconds left on the clock.
Earlier in the match, an equally critical moment turned the tide when Cody Goldman ’25 injured his arm.
“He is arguably one of the best players in this entire state, ” Staples Rugby coach, Jack Corcoran, said. “When you see one of your top players, especially captains, get hurt like that, you can’t help but say to yourself, wow, that’s really tough.”
Even with the loss, the bond between teammates was clear.
“We were together this game,” Ben Barger ’26 said while reflecting on the team’s unity.
Even with the Wreckers playing as one unit, Prep started to gain momentum in the second half of the game due to some strategic plays, and Staples couldn’t keep up.
“Obviously not the way we wanted to end the season. Especially in the second half, we just let it go after Cody got hurt… so bittersweet to end the season like this,” Finnbar Mulcahy ’26 said.
Coach Corcoran reminds the boys that setbacks are part of growth and learning from these fumbles are what will be giving them a step forward in next year’s season.
“A lot of these guys will have to learn through hardship and pain,” Corcoran said.
Above all, the coach emphasized that he and his coaching staff really try to make the best men they can. They feel strongly about helping the boys learn how to get through tough challenges that life may throw at them, handle hard times and to be there for each other no matter what.
“We haven’t really felt defeat yet, so I think it will hopefully reenergize us and remind us what we don’t want to happen,” Robert Jones ’26 said.
Staples will have one more game this season – against the loser of the other quarterfinal matchup – a final chance to take the field together and end on a high note.
