Greg Levinsky
Before Erik and Asa Rosenmeier starred on the rugby field with the University of Vermont and Brown University rugby teams, respectively, they battled at Pequossette Park, down the street from their family’s Belmont home.
Once a week, the Rosenmeier boys walked to the open field with their rugby ball. They created drills, often resulting in Erik, one year older than Asa, working on tackling his younger brother. A decade later, Erik, now 19, and Asa, now 18, see those casual, effective practices as the start of their success in the sport.
“We would just kind of play until one of us would walk away kicking and screaming,” Asa said.
“Mixed emotions on my part,” Erik added. “I look back on it with a lot of fondness now, but I used to get really upset when I couldn’t tackle Asa.”
Few can. Asa is among the top players in the country for his age. He starts as a freshman for Brown, the reigning Division I National Collegiate champions. A crucial part of the Bears forward pack, Asa played with the USA Rugby U18 boys team and participated in training camp with the USA U20 team in San Diego in December. Asa, who captains the New England Free Jacks Academy team, earned an invitation to a winter preseason camp with the Free Jacks professional team.
Asa hasn’t declared a college major but is interested in environmental engineering. If all goes to plan, he will play rugby professionally. In the United States, that’s a part-time job. Overseas, it is a career. His goal?
“To win a World Cup,” he said.
Erik starts for the UVM Catamounts, the reigning New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference, Division II champions. The sophomore also plays for the New England Free Jacks Academy team, the regional development program for the Quincy-based Major League Rugby team. The intelligent, hard-nosed player with a standout kicking game has also suited up for the Northeastern Academy 7s and Boston Irish Wolfhounds Rugby club teams.
Erik, who is studying forestry, is an avid outdoorsman. He participates in the whitewater kayaking club at UVM, skis, and hikes.
Erik plans on driving to Colorado with a friend to ski this winter.
He also sees coaching rugby in his future. Erik enjoys working with Belmont’s youth teams alongside his brother and father, Peter, and at the Gifford School in Weston, where Peter serves as clinical director.
“It’ll be part of my life for as long as I’m alive,” Erik said.
The boys remember their first exposure to rugby: Dad woke them up at 5 a.m. one October day when they were in fifth and sixth grade to watch a World Cup game on television.
Peter comes from a rugby background. He played at Brookline High School, Amherst College, overseas in Namibia, and with a few clubs in Greater Boston. Peter, who commentates for the local club broadcasts with Belmont Media Center, began coaching at Belmont in 2017 and serves on the program board.
“They were so quickly at a different level,” Peter Rosenmeier said. “Everybody thinks that I have some grand plan, but I really didn’t. I hoped that they liked it. Once you get out there, you get the bug. It’s a really hard game to not absolutely love.”
On that early October morning, Asa remembers wondering, “Why are we watching this game?”
It’s clear now.
The ensuing Christmas, they got the rugby ball that got them started. The boys dabbled in other sports, Asa in football and Erik in ice hockey, but rugby felt right.
Erik and Asa started playing competitive rugby in seventh and eighth grade, respectively, as part of the Belmont After School Enrichment Program [BASEC] run by coach Tim Berens and their father.
“We knew enough about it and were really, really excited to get to high school to start and play for an actual team,” Erik said.
Erik and Asa both played at Belmont High School. Erik co-captained the Marauders 2022 MIAA Division I state championship team, and Asa followed suit the next year.
“It was very quick,” Asa said. “As soon as we started playing it, we actually liked it, but we were sort of confused until we started to play it.”
The boys’ mother Sara Smith never played rugby but has been around the game, first with Peter and now with her sons. The parents travel to many of their boys’ games, including trips to Pennsylvania and Texas this season.
“I feel like it’s such a character-building game. To see them so passionate about something and their bond over it, I’m so thankful for rugby,” said Smith. “I ignore the collisions and hope it’s all going to be OK.”
Though the long rugby practice days in the park no longer happen, the game still bonds the boys. It’s a significant part of their relationship and helps strengthen family ties.
“Even if we’re just talking about day-to-day, rugby is a big part of it, but we’re both well-rounded in college and find things that interest us.” Asa said. “When we talk about things that aren’t rugby or rugby-related, we’re talking about Erik’s outdoor adventures.”
