Tanner Russell helps Navy win rugby title

HOUSTON — The Navy Midshipmen won its first Division I-A national rugby championship Saturday, rallying past Cal for a 28-22 victory, and Tanner Russell played no small part.

Russell, a 2020 Flathead High graduate and a sophomore flanker for the Middies, was named Player of the Match by the College Rugby Association of America.

The win capped a stunning 18-0 season for Navy, which was making its second national championship appearance and first since 1994.

“I thought it was going to be an off year,” Russell said via phone Tuesday. “But it ended not being an off year. I thought the upcoming years would be our best, but it turns out we had the mindset and work ethic to get it done this year.”

The Midshipmen beat Cal 33-28 in Annapolis, Maryland, in March; Saturday they trailed the Golden Bears 15-0 and 22-21 at Avena Stadium.

Junior fly-half Landon Opp’s breakaway try and Roanin Krieger conversion kick gave Navy its first lead with 12 and a half minutes left.

Russell said he remembers little of the final portion of the match.

“I kind of blacked out, to be honest. I don’t remember a lot of what was going on,” he said. “It was, ‘Holy Smokes, let’s keep going, and just keep grinding away,’ like we had been doing the whole game.”

Russell said he was credited with 21 tackles and five turnovers in the final.

“My job is pretty simple,” he said. “Hard ball-carrier on offense, and kind of an enforcer on defense.”

Thirteen of 23 rostered athletes had not played rugby before getting to the Naval Academy, though Russell played three seasons with the Flathead Valley’s Black and Blue rugby club. When he got to the Academy rugby was a natural draw: The 205-pounder, as good a football player as he was at Flathead, felt too small for the gridiron; he had little desire to wrestle in college.

He finished the season with four tries, scoring 20 points on a roster that includes Lewis Gray, who was named the top men’s college rugby player by the Washington Athletic Club on Sunday. Navy’s rugby team took on varsity status this season, meaning it can recruit to the team. The upcoming seasons remain promising, and Russell is happily on board.

“I’m glad to represent the Valley,” he said.