In 2004, a new touring side called the Hot Rod Lincolns (San Antonio, TX) made their debut at the Lakefront 7s and won the top prize in the Men’s divisions.
More than 20 years later, Jay Arbizu — one of the original team members — is returning to coach a new generation of Hot Rods.
I interviewed Jay about the Hot Rods experience back in 2004, and what it means to be returning.
Enjoy!
VD: How did the Hot Rods first come together back in 2003?
JA: We had a group of guys in San Antonio that really loved the tradition of rugby that included touring. And we had gotten into a bit of a rut in the way that our rugby was becoming way too serious because every game meant something.
It was either a Cup match or a playoff match or a match that would determine seeding.
And so the hot rods was a way to go play good rugby just for the fun of the game without the pressure of the outcome. And of course tours are great for team bonding.
VD: What do you remember most about bringing the Hot Rods to Lakefront 7s in 2004?
JA: We got the idea to go to Wisconsin because one of our local players — Jason Spodick — was from Racine. He had been to Summerfest and it was a good way for him to get home and visit since he was living and working in San Antonio now. So it all just kind of came together from there.
The 2004 tour to Milwaukee was very exciting! We made a program with each of the players pictures and got some sponsors to advertise in the program and we produced maybe 50 or 100 of them and pass them out around San Antonio and even Milwaukee once we arrived.
We also had a beer sponsor that gave us a couple of kegs of beer and a CO2 setup.
And not only were we excited about the rugby and the tournament, but Summerfest was also amazing so many live bands and so much music.
And let’s not even talk about how great the weather is in Milwaukee (compared to San Antonio in the summer).
And one of the craziest things that happened is somewhere in Missouri I think we ran across some crazy weather with thunderstorms and lightning and it was blowing the RV this way and that and so we figured we better pull off and let the storm pass.
As luck would have it, as we pulled off the highway to try and find a place to weather the storm, we immediately saw a fireworks store And it happened to be located right next to an adult themed store. For a trip like this, it seemed to be almost too perfect.
VD: The Hot Rods won the Men’s Competitive division in their Lakefront 7s debut. What made that original group so successful?
JA: I think what made that group so successful is that we had a good mix of athletic guys and solid rugby players.
We were all friends too, so nobody wanted to be the one to let the rest of the guys down. Which meant that everyone played some good rugby!
VD: Was there a particular match, moment, or off-field memory from 2004 that still stands out two decades later?
JA: The thing that stood out to me the most was how there was almost a visual representation of the momentum we were gaining throughout the tournament.
Each team that we played, when the game was over, they seemed to kind of back us up and jump on our bandwagon.
They would start cheering for us during our next match and this seems like it went on and on with each match that we played the group that would cheer for us got a little bit bigger and bigger.
We played the Chicago Lions in the final, and it just seemed like everyone was on our side and I don’t know how true that is… that’s just what it felt like!
VD: The Hot Rods have traditionally played just one 7s tournament a year. Why has that format worked for the team?
JA: The way our season worked in San Antonio, we would play 15s beginning in the fall and depending on how far we went in the playoffs that would wrap up in the spring: April, May maybe June if we were lucky.
So finding a time frame that would work, summer just seemed to make sense. And of course there’s the issue of money and time, so it was just easier for guys to get off for tour like this in the summer. And 7s is less expensive and easier to organize than a 15s tour.
So that became our time to decompress and just play rugby for the fun of it and it was great. The road trip, the camaraderie, the rugby and then all the stories that came out of it.
And really after we won at Lakefront 7s, all the guys back home that didn’t make the trip we’re really wanting in and I think that really gave us the momentum that carried us forward for the next several years.
I think it was the following year that we took the Hot Rods to Ireland which was the first International tour for our group and from there it just kind of became a legendary tour and a thing that we were definitely doing again and again.
VD: What does it mean to return to Lakefront 7s in 2026, more than 20 years after winning the tournament?
JA: This is a momentous occasion for the Hot Rod Lincolns. To go back where it all started but with the fresh new group of guys that are just beginning to understand the bigger picture of rugby and how unique and welcoming the culture is.
And that’s why, when we named this year’s tour, we kind of borrowed the old Schlitz beer slogan and we are calling the tour: The Tour That Made The Hot Rods Famous!
As a group we’re coming up on 25 years of touring and it all started with that first tour to Lakefront 7s.
VD: You were a player on the 2004 team and are now returning as coach. How has your perspective on the game changed?
JA: When I was playing, it seemed like those days would go on forever and of course as we know, now when we are older, that things are always changing. I’m still friends with most of those guys and I could tell you what they’re up to and probably where they live. But it just kind of changes. Guys get married and start their own families get new jobs and get promoted and move away, etc.
And so it’s taught me really to enjoy the moment because you never know when it’ll end and that’s one thing I try to get across to the younger players that I coach nowadays.
And the way I explain it is that there is a window of time with a core group. And just about the moment you realize that you have a great Core Group, the window is wide open. But it is already slowly closing and you might get one year out of it, you might get 2 years out of it. If it’s a great run you might get three or four years out of that group but when that window closes you don’t know when or where the next window for the next Core group is going to open up.
And we don’t know how long it’s going to last … how long it’s going to stay open and so as soon as we recognize that we’re in those moments, I let them know that and I let him know that they’ve got to take advantage of this window while it’s here because the fact that we recognized it means that it’s already starting to close on us.
And I think it’s probably one of those things that the younger guys can hear and maybe they can visualize but until they go through it once or twice themselves it really won’t make sense.
VD: Some members of the original Hot Rods team now have kids coming through the San Antonio Rugby youth program. What does that say about the legacy of that team?
JA: That is really hitting the nail on the head! We talked and talked back then about having a youth program and a lot of those guys took the bull by the horns and made it happen so that we actually have a thriving youth program that is producing quality rugby players.
And the men’s program has even got to benefit from some of those younger players stepping up into the men’s program. And I think we have a deep enough root and enough excitement around the Hot Rods tour each year that some of these younger players, especially if their dad’s played, it’s almost like a rite of passage that they can’t wait to be on their first Hot Rod tour.
And really that is where we wanted to be: a bunch of us old guys can go and hang out and watch the young guys play and tell our stories and have our fun and drink our beer but not have to worry about the aches and pains! LOL!
VD: How would you describe the rugby culture in San Antonio, and how does the Hot Rods team fit into that larger community?
JA: The San Antonio Rugby Club has a great culture and I’ll give you an example. We have lots of military rugby players that come through San Antonio and some have played at high levels before and some are relatively new but they stay in touch and stay connected to the San Antonio Club.
The San Antonio Club just has that family feel to it and I think that’s why so many rugby players consider this their home Club even as they move around the country or if they’re in the military around the world. And it’s not just the players. It’s their wives, their partners, their kids, their parents, their whole family is kind of taken in by the club and I feel like they remember that. And their family remembers that. And that’s what kind of keeps the tight bonds even as people move on with their lives.
And really we just see the Hot Rods as an extension of the San Antonio rugby culture. I’ll give you a great example.
The year we went to Ireland, the reason we went was because we had a friend named Cian. He came to San Antonio to work with his uncle’s company for a couple of years right after he got out of university. So our club took him in and we all became great friends and we got to meet his uncle and of course his parents when they visited.
So when Cian went home, they invited us and because we already had the Hot Rod tour established, they invited is to their local Kinsale 7s. We get the tour together and we get into Cork, and head to the 7s.
Now, everybody on a Hot Rod tour wears a cowboy hat and a belt buckle as kind of an identifier that “Hey, we’re from Texas”!
And we had some rain as you might imagine in Ireland, and cars at the 7s were getting stuck in in the muddy field used for parking. We start helping folks get their cars unstuck, and lo and behold, one of the groups that we helped were friends of Cian’s parents.
But we didn’t know them and they didn’t know us. But they were actually going to meet Cian’s parents at a funeral wake. And so they all get to talking at the wake, and just in passing the friends mentioned how these guys in cowboy hats help them get their car out of the mud!
Cian’s parents absolutely loved it because they knew that was us that it helped their friends randomly and so they went on to let their friends know that it was the Hot Rods who pushed them out of the mud.
And to me that twisted turn of events is the San Antonio rugby culture in a nutshell.
VD: The Hot Rods are coming back looking for a repeat, two decades later. What would it mean to win Lakefront 7s again in 2026?
JA: For the Hot Rods to win Lakefront 7s again, I think that would be amazing!
And if that really does happen I think we all need to take this directly to Disney or whoever makes those movies like Remember the Titans and Rudy.
And for this core group of players that we have on the tour, I’m sure that winning this tournament again would be Like them cementing their own legacy and having their own stories to tell.
