 n 2002, Brian Obara arrived to the United States of America from Kenya with aspirations of getting a college education and playing rugby. He was accepted into William Paterson University of New Jersey, however was dissappointed to discover that there was no rugby team. Three years went by until Brian decided to make a difference. He went on the hunt to find a rugby team. He used the social connections of his good friend Robert “Bob” Ruinge to assist him in his search. Brian created a Facebook group and learned that there were many people who were also interested in playing rugby, including Bill “Clay Aiken” Hoffmann, who would serve as another future founding father. In the spring of 2005, Brian and Bob met with John “Pressed Ham” Russo, who was on his way to the cafeteria, and gained his interest in starting a team at William Paterson University. John joined Brian and Bill to become a most feared triumvirate. During a search for a coach for the William Paterson University team, Brian Obara came across the North Jersey Rugby Football Club, a local mens rugby club. Instead of waiting for the school's approval to play rugby, the threesome joined the North Jersey Rugby Football Club, where they learned much about playing rugby, improved their skills, and received advice on how to successfully organize a team. After a strong campaign of recruitment, the first ever team was formed with almost 40 players, the majority of whom had never played rugby before. The North Jersey RFC would later allow William Paterson rugby players to play under their team name as they continued to work towards acquiring approval from school officials. On May 1, 2007, after three years of struggle to become an official club sports team, the William Paterson University RFC was finally granted approval and made official by the Student Governement Association of William Paterson University.
Sadly, Brian graduated two weeks later, and will never wear the orange and black jersey for the WPURFC. We hope he can continue his ongoing support by returning this fall as an assistant coach to finally watch his dream become reality.
We wish him the best in life, and thank him, Bill, and John for their motivation and perseverance. |
 |
|