Rugby connects Germantown, Houston football players amid tense rivalry

Drew Hill | Memphis Commercial Appeal

Well after both teams had huddled on either side of the field following Germantown’s 49-28 win over Houston on Friday night, Red Devils right guard Henry Castillo and Mustangs linebacker Ryan Bullock met each other at the 50-yard line.

“Gosh!” Bullock said while hugging Castillo. “Congrats man, that was a great game.”

After a game the players referred to as a “backyard-style” rivalry, the two players owed it to each other.

After all, just three months prior the two players were playing on the same rugby team and taking home a state championship. That team, which consists of players from Germantown, Houston, Cordova and Collierville, had 13 players represented in the game between the Red Devils and Mustangs.

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Due to a lack of players in the area, the rival schools have joined forces to dominate rugby in the state, nicknaming the team the Germantown Community Rugby Program because it would be too difficult to pick one school for all the players to represent.

It made for an interesting dynamic when the two sides lined up against each other on the football field.

“Right at the start, I wasn’t sure if (Castillo) was going to be out there,” Bullock said. “Then I got out there and was like, ‘Hey, who is that right guard there? Oh, it's Henry. How’s it going man?’ Then it was officially on for the rest of the game.”

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Don’t let the friendly introduction cause confusion, Bullock said he was still out to dominate Castillo when the two lined up before each play. The fact that they are teammates in the offseason just adds fuel to that fire.

“When it’s rugby, it’s rugby,” Castillo said. “You play with your teammates because we are under one name, but when it comes to football and there’s that separation all the focus shifts to football. And as a note, I kind of rocked (Bullock) all night."

The Houston linebacker rolled his eyes at the verbal jab from Castillo. It’s something that both players hear all spring, because although the sport is different much of the talk still centers around football.

“There’s definitely a little bit of smack talk that goes on between us,” Bullock said. “But once it becomes game time, we kind of put that aside because we are all brothers."

Bragging rights will belong to Castillo and the other three players from Germantown when the rugby season gets going again this spring. The healthy dose of trash talk will be a way to motivate his teammates on their quest for another rugby state championship.