West Des Moines Wombats Rugby Club

Thanks to everyone who came out to Hidden Valley and SingleSpeed Brewing Co - DSM TapRoom to support the Wombats today, and a big thank you to Bremer County Bucks Rugby Club for a great, physical match.

It was a tale of two halves for the Wombats. We put together a strong first half and created some good momentum, but things stalled after the break and Bremer took advantage.

Final: Bremer County 46, Wombats 12.

Plenty to learn from, plenty to clean up, and plenty of season left. Back to work.

The Wombats are ready to defend their home den tomorrow at Hidden Valley Soccer Complex with a 1pm kickoff against the Bremer County Bucks Rugby Club!

Come on out, bring a chair, bring a cooler, bring a friend, and enjoy some great rugby for FREE!

Everyone is invited to the post match social at SingleSpeed Brewing Co - DSM TapRoom following the match!

Two unbeaten teams. One field. A massive slugfest waiting to happen.

The Wombats are back home this Saturday for Round 2 of the Iowa Rugby Union D3 season as the #3 Bremer County Bucks Rugby Club rolls into West Des Moines.

Both sides enter the weekend 1-0. The Wombats earned theirs with a 36-20 road win over Dubuque. Bremer County picked up the forfeit victory over Des Moines D3.

Now we actually get to settle one on the field.

Bremer brings a physical, hard-nosed group to Hidden Valley, and the Wombats know exactly what kind of match is coming. This one has all the makings of 80 minutes of collisions, scrums, carries and two teams trying to impose their will on each other.

Bremer County Bucks at West Des Moines Wombats
Saturday, August 29
1:00 PM kickoff
Hidden Valley Soccer Complex — West Des Moines

Admission is FREE.

Bring your own refreshments.
Bring a chair.
Bring a friend.
And bring some noise!

Then stick around after the final whistle. Players, supporters and friends from both clubs are invited to SingleSpeed Brewing Co - DSM TapRoom in downtown Des Moines for the post-match social featuring a keg of Gable and a taco bar.

Week 2. Home rugby. Let’s make Hidden Valley loud.

Congratulations to our Vice Captain Scrumhalf Joshua DeTar on earning Man of the Match honors this past weekend! His work rate was like no other, getting to every breakdown, connecting the forwards and backs with ease, and playing physical with pick and goes and making big tackles when called upon!

This past Saturday we welcomed 5 more Wombats into the Mob as they dropped in and made their league debut in our Battle Royal against Dubuque Rugby!

#97 Jackson Neary (Des Moines Roosevelt Boys Rugby)
#98 Nick Marker (Norwalk Rugby Club / UNI Men's Rugby)
#99 Brett Reynolds (UNI Men's Rugby)
#100 Luckyboy Kpan (Lincoln Rugby / Eastside Banshees Rugby Club / Des Moines Rugby Football Club)
#101 Corey Philips (Daughter plays for Ankeny Girls Rugby and the Wombats are his first experience with rugby!)

There is the awesome new website called Club Rugby America where people can go and search for senior rugby clubs! What a great tool for graduating college students to use to find clubs! We need to keep club rugby alive and well in the United States! Grassroots rugby is an amazing experience and community! We would love for YOU to play for the Wombats, but we think the 2nd best option is to just play anywhere!

Check out our page and the website!
https://clubrugbyamerica.com/find?club=2c781439-5117-41d3-826f-7dbffcfe81a6

Bottom of the Ruck
USA Club Rugby
UNI Men's Rugby
Iowa State Men's Rugby
University of Iowa Men's Rugby
Iowa Central Community College Triton Rugby

Club Rugby America Find your rugby club, any adult, anywhere in America. Every club in the country on one map, and a matchmaker that puts you in front of the right one.

Grab a friend and get to Wombats Rugby practice tonight!

We’ve got work to do. The Bremer County Bucks are coming to town this Saturday, and tonight is another chance to sharpen things up, get reps in, and get ready for a big home match.

Veteran, brand new, or just curious about rugby, come out and get involved. No experience required.

Practice: 6:00–7:30 PM
Indian Hills Junior High in Clive
Post-practice social at Pally's Bar & Grille-Clive,IA

Get your work in tonight. Then come back Saturday ready for Bucks vs. Wombats at 1pm at Hidden Valley Soccer Complex!

We’ve got a change to our fall schedule! After Des Moines D3 dropped out, we dropped down to 4 fall matches before a chance at Midwest Rugby Union playoffs. Thankfully we were able to find an opponent on October 3rd! We will host Iowa State Men's Rugby at home at 1pm with a social at SingleSpeed Brewing Co - DSM TapRoom to follow! Join us for a great day of friendly rugby!

Week 1 is in the books.

The Wombats opened the 2026 Iowa Rugby Union D3 season with a 36-20 win on the road over the Dubuque Riverboat Gamblers.

Dubuque put us under pressure from the opening whistle, but the Wombats answered with a great defensive stand through the first five minutes. Then, on our first touch of the ball, De’Andre Moore found the try zone and put us on the board.

From there, the first-match rust started to show. We were whistled for 10 penalties in the opening 30 minutes and 20 over the course of the match. Timing issues, handling errors and missed connections left plenty of opportunities out on the field.

The moment that changed the tone came just before halftime.

Backed up on our own 5-meter line, the Wombats pack came together for a massive defensive scrum. Eight men dug in, drove Dubuque backward and turned a dangerous attacking opportunity into a Wombats free kick heading into the half.

From there, we started to find our form. Man of the Match Joshua DeTar led from the scrumhalf position flying around everywhere to get the spark and continuity we needed.

The second half was more controlled, more physical and more representative of the rugby we know we can play. We created opportunities, finished enough of them and defended our way to a 36-20 opening-round victory.

A great physical match against Dubuque and a good way to start the season, but there is a lot to clean up. Twenty penalties and missed opportunities will give us plenty to work on this week.

1-0.

Next up: Round 2 of the Iowa Rugby Union D3 schedule as we come home to host the Bremer County Bucks.

Back to work.