While the scoreboard read 18-0 in favor of the Delbarton School, it marked what is believed to be the first scholastic rugby contest in Staten Island history, a fact not lost on the Vikings.

“It was a fun atmosphere for the first game,” said junior John Munson, who, like most of the Vikings, also plays football for the school.

“It’s definitely different than football. We’re still adapting to it,” added junior Anthony Blachman. “We’re still a work in progress.”

On Friday, the novice Vikings received a dose of tough love from their Morristown, N.J., opponents.

“We were playing against a team that’s had a program for about 12 years,” noted Blachman, whose rugby position is No. 5 fullback after playing tight end in football.

“Delbarton was a good group of kids. They knew we were learning the game, and they were helping us out a lot on the field.”

Blachman said that rugby “is more continuous [than football]. It has a running clock.”

“It’s much faster than football, with no breaks,” added Muson, a flanker in rugby and a defensive end on the gridiron. “But both are contact sports.”

Bringing the sport to Sea was the goal of athletic director Rich Bruno. “My dream 10 years ago when I came here was to have all the kids get involved – so we added sports like archery, fencing, competitive dance, gymnastics, sailing and rugby. It was really the only sport we were missing.”

Bruno got attracted to rugby — which has its origins in 19^th Century England — by seeing it on TV while on a cruise ship. He originally reached out to coaches with the New York Rugby Club, but that fell through during the Covid pandemic.

Bruno, then turned to Justin Knight, an assistant coach with Sea’s JV ice hockey team who has experience with rugby. Knight doubles as president of the Brooklyn Rugby Club.

“Justin is a dynamic guy, and he hit the ground running,” said Bruno, whose program is playing a scrimmage schedule against local powers including Delbarton, Christian Brothers Academy, Don Bosco Prep, Fordham Prep and Xavier.

Knight credits Bruno, Principal Michael Reilly, Dean of Men, Greg Manos and Assistant AD Tyler Young for their work in bringing rugby to Sea.

When is a loss a win? If you were at St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s frigid Huguenot field on Friday, you know the answer to that question.

“Football and rugby are two different sports, but they share some of the same qualities,” Knight said. “They both have very impressive athletes. The biggest difference is you can’t do go 80 minutes at 100 percent, you can’t sustain that physically.”