Two national title games, including one championship, in the last three years. Talk about having big shoes to fill.

But Danny Neighbour isn’t daunted by the lofty legacy. The first-year head coach is cautiously optimistic that the St. Bonaventure University men’s rugby team he inherited from Tui Osborne can be a factor on the national stage again.

The Bonnies open their season at home Saturday at noon vs. perennial national power Navy. (The Bonaventure women host UB at 10 a.m.)

“We obviously lost some great seniors, but we were also a very young side last season. We had six or seven freshmen on the starting 23 in Houston (for national title game) so I think we’re a little more seasoned and mature this year,” said Neighbour, now in his 10^th year with the program. “We’re in a really good place. Collectively, as a team, I think we have more depth than ever before.”

The Bonnies, who lost to Notre Dame College in the National Collegiate Rugby title game in 2023 and defeated Penn State for the NCR national title in 2021, added 22 freshmen to their club, “some who will be featured against Navy,” Neighbour said.

Ranked No. 1 in the NCR preseason poll, St. Bonaventure has come close but never defeated Navy, which lost the Collegiate Rugby Association of America national title game in May to Saint Mary’s. (Division I rugby is split between CRAA and NCR.)

“We’re starting our season off with one of our toughest tests, so it’ll be a great starting point for us,” said Neighbour, a native of Bridlington, England. “Win or lose, we’re going to learn a lot from the game. But we’re quietly confident that we can measure up really well against Navy and hopefully take a win.”

Neighbour, who’s played rugby since he was 7 years old and been around the game on and off for the last 38 years, started as a volunteer coach with the Bonnies in 2014 and eventually became a full-time assistant under Osborne five years ago. When Osborne stepped completely away from the program in March, Neighbour took the reins.

“Because I had been out of the game for a while, I still had an old-school knowledge so Tui really helped bring me up to speed with the new game that has developed and showed me how to build a culture,” Neighbour said. “The game has gotten a lot more tactical and technical over the years. Some may think that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s changed for the better. It’s a safer game, a quicker game, and much more structured.”

When he stepped down, Osborne expressed supreme confidence in Neighbour’s ability to lead the program.

“Danny is a teacher at heart and our collaboration through the years has facilitated our continued success as a program,” Osborne said. “My confidence in Danny is strong and I’ve always viewed him as an extension of my role as head coach.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).