Half of squad moves on, looking for new blood

Whatever you do, don’t get in his way.

He’s a mean, brute force and a downright violent rugby player out on Johnson Field.
Alex Melad, a member of the UNM club team, truly defines what a rugby player should be.

“He is one of our key players on the team,” said teammate Drew Riordan. “Every day on the practice field, Melad brings it.”
But in his third year with the squad, Melad is half player and half recruiter.
The UNM rugby club will lose a large portion of its team at the end of the spring semester. So Melad has taken it into his hands to start spreading the word around campus.

He goes around campus encouraging people to join.

“Usually, we’re recruiting at Johnson Gym, or we’re just looking around campus,” Melad said. “But, currently, we have a lot of people from out of state. Some people from California are going to school here next year, and are going to join the rugby team.”

It might be Melad’s athletic background that helps him recruit. He has an eye for talent.
Melad played football and baseball for four years at St. Pius X High School.

But being on Pius’ football and baseball teams just didn’t quite cut it for Melad. He wanted to play something else. In his senior year of high school, he discovered the game of rugby.

Melad said he loves the game of rugby, because, unlike baseball or football, players on the field can play any position.
“It’s a hell of a sport,” he said. “It’s different than football, because every player in rugby has the opportunity to run with the ball a lot. It’s physical, fun and everybody has to be in great shape to play rugby. It’s really one of the funnest sports to play.”

Riordan, who also played rugby with Melad at Pius and UNM, said a former coach told Melad that he was too small to play on a college club team.
But Melad proved he could not only be a notable rugby player, but a strong leader off the field.

“He sets the bar for the rest of the team basically, when it comes to playing in games,” Riordan said. “A lot of the guys look up to him because he brings a lot of intensity, and the guys on the team like that. He’s a damn good rugby player out there, and he has definitely earned it. Sometimes he looks pretty freakish.”
Although the UNM rugby team is finishing up the season as school winds down, there are still a few games left.

On April 24, UNM will play in a tournament at Socorro and participate in several summer tournaments at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Park.
Melad said he sees the tournaments as opportunities to spark interest in rugby locally.

“Lately, we have played a few games,” Melad said. “But my focus is on rebuilding the team right now.”
And as long as Melad is on the team, it will have a strong foundation to build upon.