Nazareth College Men's Rugby

Robert Ruhland was named the head rugby coach at Nazareth in August of 2025 after spending one season as an assistant coach. Ruhland brings to Nazareth coaching experience at the high school and college level. Since 2006, Ruhland has been heavily involved in the Fairport Rugby Club. His duties ranged from a board member, to head coach and a player. In 2013 he was honored into the Fairport Rugby Club Hall of Fame. Prior to serving as an assistant at Nazareth, Ruhland served as the head coach of the RIT Tigers RFC for five seasons from 2019-2024. Ruhland completed his Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration at Oswego where he was a member of the Rugby team, as well as being a team captain and club president. His playing days also saw him compete for the Rochester Aardvarks RFC from 2013-2022, where he served as a team captain.  

Gardner is a high-performance medical practitioner and performance leader with experience across professional, collegiate, and high school sports. He previously was on staff as an assistant coach in 2023 before serving as Head of Medical for the USA Senior Men’s Rugby Sevens National Team during the 2024 Olympics.  He has held both medical and performance roles with the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans organizations. Currently he operates a performance facility in Rochester, Liquid Sports Lab. Gardner holds a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Nazareth University, a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from SUNY Cortland, and a Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Ithaca College. His interests focus on utilizing objective measures and science-driven performance systems to support athlete development, readiness, and injury risk mitigation and management in high-pressure competitive environments.

Eke Aiono joined the Nazareth rugby staff in the fall of 2025.  A 1991 Rugby World Cup veteran, Aiono brings an elite international pedigree to the sidelines. A rare double international, he has represented both his birth country of Samoa and the Japanese national team. His playing career included nine years of professional rugby in Japan, following a standout tenure in New Zealand where he represented Canterbury, New Zealand Universities, and Taranaki Secondary Schools. In addition to his global playing experience, Aiono has extensive coaching experience at both the collegiate and club levels, having led programs at SUNY Geneseo and RIT, as well as the Rochester Aardvarks and the Rochester Colonials Club Teams. He is a fixture in the Rochester rugby community running rugby clinics, strength and conditioning programs, as well as youth and high school rugby camps.