459 ARW Airman scores big: helps win Armed Forces Rugby Championship

  • Published
  • By Capt. Rebecca Garcia
  • 459 ARW/ PA
Andrews AFB, MD --  One 459th Air Refueling Wing Airman helped score the Air Force rugby team its sixth consecutive Armed Forces Rugby Championship Nov. 13 on Stewart-Watson Field at Fort Benning, Ga., winning 5 out of 5 games for a perfect record.

TSgt. Scott Marchant, a traditional reservist, wing historian and fitness monitor competed on the Air Force team in a competition that ran from Nov. 10 to 13 where the best of the rugby best went up against the other service representative teams from the Army, Air Force Marines, Navy and Coast Guard.
Marchant, who also plays rugby locally for Baltimore-Chesapeake RFC, competing against teams from the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU), has been playing rugby for six years.
Though he enjoyed the whole experience, Marchant admits that the highlight of the game was the Air Force winning the tournament for the sixth time in a row while winning all five tournament matches with no tries scored against the Air Force team. Additionally, Marchant admitted that given the past success of the Air Force team (Air Force had won for five consecutive years) anything less than a significant point win would have been difficult to handle.

The Air Force team scores during round robin play are: Air Force versus Navy, 52-3; Air Force versus Army, 43-0; Air Force versus Coast Guard, 52-0; Air Force versus Marine Corps, 45-0; and in the championship match, the Air Force faced the Army, winning again with a score of 34-0. The Air Force team outscored the other services by a 226-3 clip and only the Navy team was able to score against the Air Force by receiving 3 points to the Air Force 52.

Army head coach Mike Stephenson said that the Air Force is playing at a different level than the other services, "You've got to have the stars align in a perfect storm (to beat them) ... They bring the wood."

When asked what the secret was to being able to go out day-after-day and give your best to such a physically demanding and often brutal sport, Marchant replied that the key to success involved "showing up to training camp already in good physical condition, otherwise I would have had nothing left to give in the tournament after the training camp was finished."
Marchant added that he is really proud of his Air Force team.
"People are often surprised to hear that all of the services have rugby teams that aren't affiliated with their service academies, and they are also often surprised to hear that the Air Force team, in particular, performs so well in competition" said Marchant. "The Air Force has some really great talent which extends into the athletic arena. I'm glad that I could be a part of it."
"TSgt Marchant is a perfect example of the incredible talent of our Wing Airmen. The Liberator's continue to astound me with their personal commitment to excellence - not only while on duty but also in their civilian lives," said Col. James M. Allman, 459th ARW Vice Commander. "TSgt. Marchant excels as our Wing Historian and is making a positive impact in our Wing by helping Airmen become 'Fit for Life.' I commend him for his efforts representing the Air Force Reserve on the winning team and am very proud of his achievements!"