Since 2008, the Longwood University rugby teams have held an annual rugby tournament honoring former player Todd Miller. Miller passed away in 2008 due to injuries he sustained in a rugby game against VMI. Passing out on the sidelines, Miller was airlifted to MCV in Richmond. Though his injuries didn't seem life threatening at the time, Miller passed away eight days later on March 9.
Every year since, the Longwood men's and women's rugby teams have hosted the Todd Miller Rugby Tournament, honoring Miller in a day-long event and raising money for a scholarship in his name. To date, nearly $10,000 has been raised, all of which has been donated to the Todd Miller Scholarship fund at Longwood University. Though an emotional reminder of a loved, lost friend and family member, the tournament gives both the Longwood community and visiting teams a feeling of camaraderie. Brought together for the same cause, teams and spectators enjoyed a day of fun-filled rugby.
The fourth of its kind, the tournament kicked off this past Saturday at 8 a.m. and continued through the day till around 3 p.m. for the finals. Teams were divided into two groups, A and B. Within group A were Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Longwood and Mary Washington University's (MWU) B squad. Within group B were MWU, James Madison University (JMU) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Fast paced, the games were 25-minute halves, starting promptly on each hour. Nicknamed the Todd Miller 7s, teams played with a total of seven players rather than the fifteen-player norm. Allowing an unlimited roster and seven substitutions, a total of seven games decided who played in the either the championship game or the consolation final. A cold winter wind blew through every game, adding a chilly bite to the air, but posed no problem to each school's athletes.
The Longwood men's rugby team prevailed through the bitter cold at 8 a.m. in order to record the tournament's first win. Not playing again till noon, the Lancers then watched as MWU defeated VCU 17-3 in game two, leaving only Longwood and MWU undefeated in the tournament by 10 a.m. After an MWU win over VCU in game three, the Longwood B team recorded yet another victory for the Lancers with a 12-7 win over VMI's B team.
The following two games saw shutouts, including an MWU shutout victory against VCU prior to a VMI shutout victory against the Longwood men's team. After a starting time of 1 p.m., JMU went on to tie MWU 10-10, while Longwood's B team recorded their second win of the day, defeating JMU's B team 10-5.
Due to their 21-0 loss to VMI, the Longwood rugby team left the championship game up to either VMI or JMU. In doing so, Longwood played in the consolation game versus MWU, scor¬ing a well-deserved 17 points but falling to MWU, who scored a total of 24. The championship game was decided by three points as JMU slid past VMI, attaining an 18-15 victory and winning the 2012 Todd Miller Rugby tournament. Helping plan, fundraise and market the memorial tourna¬ment, Sigma Sigma Sigma made the 2012 Todd Miller Rugby Tournament a great success once again. Though the Todd Miller Rugby tournament is over this year, prayers for the Miller family continue until next year when the Lancers host it once again.
The Longwood women's rugby team continues their season next Saturday, March 3 in Farmville while men's rugby will have to wait until their next match on March 10, traveling with the women's team to play Savannah in Georgia.
