The West Des Moines Wombats are a rugby club that is committed to the next generation of rugby players. The club was founded in 2021 by Ryan Gray, Phil Vsetecka, Niko Felice, DeAndre Moore, Jeremy Newman, Marcus Benton, and Justin McKay. In the fall 2025 season, the Wombats went 4-3. Since the club’s establishment, the team has had roughly 90 men play in games, and they have had over 200 practice with them.
Since this is a newer club to the Des Moines metro, the turnout rates for practices average around 50-60 players. There is a range of men and women of various ages, including high schoolers. Games average around 30-45 registered players. Ryan Gray, the former president and a current player, said “the Wombats have been able to grow and attract new people because we’ve tried to use a different approach than most clubs out there. We’ve tried to introduce the sport to new people. Then once people come to a practice, game, or social event, we feel that they get hooked because they are able to find what they need from our club.” One of the biggest goals of the Wombats is to create a community of rugby players around Iowa.
The future of rugby in Iowa is bright. The Wombats have many players that are coaches at local high schools, most coaching at WDM Valley and Urbandale. Julian Hall, a Wombats player and coach of the Valley Tigers, said, “The Wombats work tightly with the T3 series, which invites inner-city kids from elementary through middle school to start learning the game, and we invite everyone to games and social events to get a feel of who we are in the community.” The Wombats have hosted many referee and coaching clinics to demonstrate how the game should be played.
There are a couple of different levels of rugby across Iowa: middle school, high school, college and club teams. The Wombats are classified as a D3 men’s club league. Around the Des Moines metro, there are two premier rugby clubs. The Des Moines Rugby Club and the West Des Moines Wombats. The biggest thing that separates these clubs is the time commitment. The Wombats practice every Wednesday with games on some Saturdays. The DSM Rugby Club practices multiple times a week with games on most Saturdays throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
The Wombats are the most age-diverse club in the metro. The club has players who are 18-50, with the average age of 24-32. The team practices on Wednesdays starting at 6 p.m. and are open to anyone. This is a great opportunity to learn or relearn the game of rugby and to get involved in a community.
