Rapid Deployment

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The Brotherhood of Rugby

The Quantico Hooligans, an amateur rugby team made up of mostly Marines and other military personnel around the Washington, D.C. area, create and maintain close bonds despite the constant loss of players due to military commitments.

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"My biggest motivation is to see that what the guys before me and hopefully what I've maintained, I'd like to see it sustained," Jacobs said. "And I've tried to engage the officials on base and say, 'When I retire, Quantico rugby shouldn't die.' "

The Passion Shows

As the Hooligans start the second half, Barrett Dupuy's shin still is more red than white, but his knee feels better, so he decides to keep playing.

"I'm fine," he says to teammates, without further explanation.

At 26, the former walk-on football player at Louisiana State is a co-captain. He will be at Quantico for one more year before transferring to another base, but if he ever returns here, he can see himself back on the Hooligans, maybe in a leadership role.

In just four seasons, he already has Jacobs's passion for the team.

"It becomes more than just going out and playing on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays," he said. "It's something you think about in your off time."

Walking tentatively at first, Dupuy joins his teammates and the Hooligans start to make progress against their opponent, the Washington Irish. Passes that earlier in the game were dropped, or missed altogether, are leading to movement down the field.

The team that looked raw and disjointed in practices only days before now has the appearance of veterans as they wear down the Irish. Soon, they score.

After the Irish re-take the lead, Dupuy makes a run up the middle and puts the Hooligans back on top. A few minutes later, the Irish miss a potential go-ahead kick. The Hooligans win -- and against a Division II team, no less.

They go on to lose their next game to the reigning champion of Division III, but they end the day with another victory.

Afterward, Jacobs gathers everyone by the side of the field, where they can crouch down and get a small reprieve from the wind.

There is still much to improve, he tells the players, and they need to make sure they get enough people next week. But at this moment, the Hooligans are somehow 2-1 at the beginning of yet another season. And spring only promises to get warmer.

"That," Jacobs tells his men, "was the best start to a season I've seen in a long time."