Meet Andre Castrillo, this week’s Campus Celeb!
Name: Andre Castrillo
Year: Finishing last term as a senior (5th year)
Major: Psychology/minor in Business
Hometown: San Rafael, CA
HCO: How did you first get into rugby?
I was playing a pick up football game and someone said I was holding the ball like a rugby ball (never played football so I don’t really hold the ball very well I guess). The president and captain of the men’s club at the time told me I should come out and try it out, and so did someone on the women’s team my freshman year at the U of O.
HCO: How long have you been playing?
I started playing my sophomore year here at U of O, I always thought rugby seemed like a cool sport but I didn’t have any programs in my area during high school so when I got the chance I took that opportunity.
HCO: What position do you play?
There are two different parts to a rugby squad, the backs and the forwards. Backs set up plays and defend primarily in the open field space and forwards usually grind it out in closer quarters with more back to back contact. Forwards also have to support the backs when they carry the ball. My position is flanker in the forwards, my job is to make tackles on defense and create chaos for the other team while running with my team on offense and making sure we protect the ball when we go down. Kind of hard to follow but I tried to make it sound as simple as possible haha, come check out a game on Riverfront Field this season.
HCO: What is your favorite memory so far?
My favorite memory so far is when our team was heading into our league’s semifinal match against Washington State University. Before this game we had an undefeated record with 11 wins and one tie, but the rest of the league was still openly trash-talking on our division’s webpage about us saying we only got lucky to make it as far as we did. That kind of juiced us up for the game and we came out to smash them 53-3. I also got player of the game which I was pretty stoked on.
HCO: Do you have any crazy experiences from being part of the team?
(laughs) Yeah, a lot of crazy experiences… Don’t know which ones are cool to share but I’ll go with the boot. I don’t know how long ago this tradition started but first I have to mention it’s a voluntary tradition. After making your first try (score) as a part of the team the next social we have, the player will most often drink from a game cleat filled with liquor, beer, wine, milk, sriracha, and any other possible household condiments or goodies guys can get their hands on in the moment. I’ve seen some pretty creative ones and some real gnarly ones in my years on the team so far. Mine was more mild than some others I’ve witnessed. Rugby is kind of a crazy sport, hence we also have some craziness off the field as well; if you’re not a bit crazy, rugby’s probably not the best sport for you. Oh and those players drinking from the game cleat are always 21 or over, obviously.
HCO: How is the season going so far?
Unfortunately we lost our first game by points from a kick, 3 points, at the end of the second half. But that’s just going to give us the ability to light that fire under ourselves and put us back in an underdog mentality that we thrive on and are used to from the history and past seasons of our club. We have an entire season ahead of us and aren’t quitting on the plan of competing in the National Tournament again this coming spring.
HCO: When is your next game?
Our next home game will be after our bye week on Valentine’s Day the 14th of February, everyone should definitely come check it out! Riverfront Field on the walk to Autzen, games are usually around 12 noon.
HCO: Outside of rugby, what do you enjoy doing with your free time?
Outside of rugby and school and stuff I love to just kickback and chill sometimes. I also am pretty big into wrestling so I continue to do that off the field when I’ve got the time. Listen to music, mess around, do some art, take a hike, I try and mix it up, keep it interesting. Also try and think about what I’m about to be doing with my life in the future hah, kind of in the process of figuring that out still.