Luis Hernandez (left) secures the ball with his right hand and prepares to stiff arm an opponent during a Rugby match (Photo courtesy of SJSU Club Rugby Team)
By Thomas Christian (@ThomasGoatNBA) — Reporter
With year-round, late-night practices, San Jose State’s rugby club players are used to practicing under the night sky. However, for club president Luis Hernandez, there may be some foreshadowing to playing under the stars.
Founded in 2017, Major League Rugby is a fast-growing pro league in the U.S.. Hernandez might just be their next young phenom.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and about 230 pounds, the brutal sport seemed like a natural fit. “I don’t know if I was very good right away, but I always had the size for it. Size helps a lot in rugby,” said Hernandez.
Hailing from Sacramento, Calif., Hernandez quickly found there was much more to rugby than just sweaty, bearded men and prolate spheroid balls.
“Rugby culture is so unique compared to all the other sports I’ve played,” Hernandez said. “In other sports, you have to really compete against each other instead of just trying to get better individually. Rugby has a really positive culture and other players are extremely supportive.”
Part of what makes Hernandez such a unique prospect is what he has accomplished off the field. Hernandez wasn’t aware San Jose State had a rugby program. Four years later, Hernandez has navigated the club through three head coaches and a global pandemic.
“Luis was always a big guy, but he played a bit more timid in high school,” said longtime teammate Fernando Perez. “We played around a lot of talent in some high-level rugby matches, but when we came to SJSU, we both realized we needed to step up and be that go-to player.”
Perez wasn’t the only one to share the kind words of Hernandez.
“Something that I noticed about Luis was how he as an older guy helped the younger players grow their games and get better,” Former high school teammate Jack Galvez said. “When I started out, these guys were ranked No. 10 in the nation. Still, they took the time to teach us the basics.”
Despite individual skill, rugby is a team sport. Likewise, it’s of no use to be an excellent player if one does not have a proper team for which to play.
Spearheading massive recruitment efforts, Hernandez mentored almost all of the rugby club’s newest players, turning them into valuable cogs in their game plan.
When asked about Hernandez’s work ethic, Perez said, “as a club sport, rugby at SJSU takes a lot of work to pull off. Scheduling practices, games, workouts, equipment, budgeting and all of those things fall on Luis.” He went on to say, “college-level rugby is often treated like football’s ugly cousin, but Luis did that extra work to make sure the club stayed together.”
“Personally, I think I have leadership skills that my teammates tend to buzz off of,” said Hernandez. “I know how to look at a game and attack the different areas that can help my team make a play,” Hernandez continued. “Communicating and directing my teammates goes along with that vision though … they tend to follow my lead. It’s definitely something that I’ve developed after being a teacher and a leader of my team for so long.”
MLR operates similarly to any other major North American sports league. It currently features 15 teams and holds a collegiate draft similar to the NBA or NFL, where each franchise selects one player per round.
Hernandez attended special training camps designed to scout for talent around the country to get on the pro radar. “The NFL combine is televised, and they’re running 40-yard dashes and doing a bunch of drills,” Hernandez said. “The MLR draft process is actually pretty similar, except on a much smaller scale … it’s definitely not as public, there’s no TV deals for rugby.”
However, with MLR’s expansion has come an increased opportunity for profit. The league already has sponsorships with Honda, American Airlines, and AVEVA. A growing league getting more visibility is now able to better reach prospective players.
Even as Hernandez played high school rugby at a high level, he never thought about rugby as a possible career. “I didn’t try to get recruited because I didn’t think there was anything out there,” Hernandez said. “I never thought of rugby as a college sport or as something you can do professionally.”
That all changed in the summer of 2021, when Hernandez traveled and played for Silicon Valley Men’s Rugby, a private club that helps develop young players. He competed in major tournaments around the U.S., including Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City and even the rugby club National Championships in Seattle.
The level of competition he faced there is similar to that of MLR. Many players who have already made their way into the professional world start at these high-level amateur events.
“I was able to hang with them,” Hernandez said. “That gives me hope that I can make it at the next level. I’m really excited to see if I can play in this league and compete against these guys. I’ve seen some of these pro players while I was growing up, playing in the Sacramento area. Guys are my age and already playing professionally, it’s pretty exciting.”
Hernandez still has a year of college eligibility left. He plans to continue competing for SJSU’s Rugby club until he graduates. Regarding his post-graduation plans, Hernandez said, “ideally I can put my name in the draft and an MLR team will believe in me enough to draft me.”