CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Crabs are back in the Texas Rugby Union Men's Division 3 playoffs for the first time in 12 years. The Crabs have been playing rugby in the Coastal Bend since the 1970's.
"We've been ready for this moment. It's been years," said Crabs teammate and Calallen 1998 alum Louis Gaitan. It's our time and we're going to take it."
The Corpus Christi Crabs ended the regular season going undefeated (7-0), finishing at the top of the Mens Division 3, Central standings and earning a trip to the Semifinal.
"We're about to make our city real proud getting to playoffs and hopefully win the whole thing this year," said Crabs vice president Bobby Hyatt.
It's an achievement that few Corpus Christi players have been able to experience, like Gaitan.
"I was part of that team. We played in Austin, Texas," Gaitan said. "We played at the Huns Ruby pitch, so it's kind of exciting to finally get back with a new group of guys just to have this experience again."
This year's roster, which is made up of 21-40 year-olds, has a balance of old and new blood. Teaching players to love the sport has been a huge reason for their success.
"You play offense and defense, so there's not sides," Hyatt said. "Everyone gets to tackle, everyone gets to pass the ball and run the ball and anybody can score at any point. It's a really beautiful sport because it flows like basketball or soccer, but it's got the aggression and violence of football."
The team's hard work and dedication is recognized by second-year head coach Robert Hays who was once a Crab, beginning his playing days in the 1970's.
"Well it's huge for our team and I hope it's big for the city too," said Crabs head coach Robert Hays. "All these guys live here, everybody lives here. Everybody spends money here and they have jobs here."
The Texas Rugby Union Semifinal against OKC Legion is Saturday at 2 p.m. in Corpus Christi at the fields next to Haas Middle School.
"We're representing our city," Gaitan said. "We're representing our state against another state, so hopefully we have people coming out to support us."
