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Rick Coome has had his nose broken close to 10 times playing rugby. Coome has also suffered broken fingers and a broken collarbone -- yet the Las Vegas 50-year-old still plays with a passion for the sport.

"I like it because it keeps me young and I enjoy the camaraderie of these kinds of athletes. They're not on scholarship or playing for millions of dollars," Coome said. "You walk on that field with 15 guys and you're ready to give your blood. You're laying your body on the line every time you get on the field."

Coome, who has been playing rugby for 25 years in the valley, is one of the founding fathers of the Las Vegas Rugby Football Club, now known as the Las Vegas Blackjacks Rugby Team. The squad has advanced to the National U.S.A. Rugby Football Union Sweet 16 the last five years -- and the Final Four three years ago -- and is poised to make another run for glory this season.

The Blackjacks, comprised of players from all walks of life and from around the world, will fight for a berth in the Sweet 16 on Saturday (April 28) at the Southern California Rugby Football Union Championships in Santa Barbara.

The team, which has won the last three Southern California titles, has come a long way since Coome helped start it in 1975.

"The quality of the rugby is what's grown. I consider us, in our division, one of the best clubs in the United States," he said. "We've brought in a lot of foreign players. Our club's like a United Nations."

Indeed. The Blackjacks, who play home games at UNLV, Silver Bowl Park and wherever they can secure a field, are made up of many ancestries, including American, Canadian, Irish, South African, New Zealand, Australian, Samoan and Tongan.

The players' professions are also diverse, ranging from bartenders to doctors, but they are all bound by their love of the game.

"The thing about rugby is it's continuous. You get to do everything," said Coome, a former semi-pro football player. "You get to tackle, you get to run with the ball, you get to pass the ball and you get to kick the ball, whereas in American football, you do the same thing all the time.

"And it's very, very fast-paced. The energy you have to expend is phenomenal. You run five or six miles in a game. It's 15 guys doing everything for 80 minutes, with a five-minute halftime."

Armed with only a mouthpiece and a thick jersey, rugby players rely on true grit more than anything. The game has evolved a bit from the days of 'blood substitutions,' where players wouldn't come off the field unless they were seriously injured, but rugby is still not a game for the meek.

"It is that kind of hockey mentality," Coome said. "I'm not trying to be a tough guy, but this is the way it is."

Amazingly, Coome had kept all of his teeth in tact until this season.

"I finally lost a tooth after 25 years," he said. "The thing about rugby, though, is you don't have many knee injuries. The object is to tackle around the waist and the chest. There's no crack-back blocking like in American football."

Coome said the Blackjacks, who compete in the Super B division -- which features more than 300 teams across the country -- have a good shot to advance to the national Final Four this year.

"I think our chances look real good," he said. "We've had some great practices."

The Blackjacks went 10-1 to earn the top seed in Saturday's playoffs. The winner of the match will earn a berth in the Sweet 16, which will be held in Fort Worth, Texas, May 12-13. The two-day, single-elimination tournament determines which team advances to the Final Four.

The Blackjacks, who will host the 21st annual Las Vegas Midnight 7's Rugby Tournament June 23 -- considered one of the nation's top rugby tournaments -- is made up of close to 40 players, who are split into an A side and B side for league play.

Hank Greenburg, Terry Lyman, James White, Ryan Pietronic, Joel Wallis and John Greenburg play as props. The second row features Kelly Dolan, Joe Indrieri, Eric Kapper, Eric Gilmore, Coome and Taani Tai. The flankers include Rob Cornelius, Bob Hamre, Brendon Lee, Eric Heinicke, Tonga Shea and Roy Nelson.

Steven Jackson, Mapui Tai and Masi Sala play the 8-man position. The hookers are Marc Cordova, Mark Jackson and Matt Moss. Scott McDonald and Wray Dybal play the scrum half and A.J. Adams and Jason Kelly, the team's leading scorer, play the fly half.

The inside center is comprised of John Stefano, Phillip Moss and Adrian O'Leary while the outside center is made up of Roger Cowen, Gil Ness and Jeremy Silva.

The fullbacks are Wesley Cann and Graeme Neil while the wings are Mark Huckovic, Cosmo Larrison, Pepe Martin, John Shea, Dan Wilson and Chong Nam.

The support team includes Anthony Hunter, John Lietner and Jason Molitz.

The Blackjacks are always looking for players and sponsors. Those interested can call Coome at 456-5057.