Brothers On Three Examines Love, Loss, And Rugby At West Point Academy

The new film by documentarian Sean Mullin looks at the people that make Army Rugby a unique program.

Courtesy of Brothers on Three

Released in Los Angeles on November 6th in anticipation of Veterans’ Day, Brothers on Three is a tale of love, loss, and bonds forged through fellowship on the rugby field. The film, directed by West Point Class of ‘97 graduate Sean Mullin, takes a deep look at the United States Military Academy at West Point’s rugby program and the men and women who continue to make it unique.

Although the film begins by looking back at Army Rugby’s 2022 national championship victory over California school St. Mary’s, Brothers on Three is not a story about on-field success. “I don’t think it’s a rugby movie. It’s a movie about positive masculinity,” Mullin told me ahead of the documentary’s release. This theme, which was not planned but emerged during filming, is evidenced by the number of hugs, tears, jokes, and emotional moments the young men on the rugby team exhibit throughout the film.

Brothers on Three focuses on the highs and lows the team faced throughout its 2023 season, while mixing in stories of many former players, including several of West Point’s twenty-one fallen Ruggers. Fellow Class of ‘97 graduate Ian Weikel, who served in Iraq after 9/11 before being killed in action in April of 2006, features prominently in the film. His number eleven jersey was the first Army Rugby jersey to be retired from the program, and the filmmakers follow his son, Jonathan, as he plots his own course to West Point. Lt. Larry Perino is also highlighted. Perino was a talented rugby player who served as a medic in Somalia on the mission recreated in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down.

With elements like poetry, hill runs, group tattoos, and an emphasis on commitment to a cause, the film rebuffs the notion that rugby is just a sport for meatheads or that the U.S. armed forces are turning into a group of rightwing oathkeepers. Instead, it shines a light on the mature, versatile, and emotionally available young men who, in addition to their studies and dedication to military service, play rugby at West Point. Political leanings are never discussed throughout the movie, and Mullin says that even after spending several years filming dozens of West Point rugby players, “I couldn’t tell you the political persuasion of any one of them.”

Created by the recently departed Michael Mahan — whom Mullin refers to as “the godfather of Army Rugby,” — West Point’s rugby program is the school’s most successful athletic program. It is not merely an escape from academics, but a vehicle to shape the character of young men and women. Such is the program’s power that statistics show being part of the team triples a West Point cadet’s chances of becoming a general.

Coach Mahan never played rugby at West Point, but he transformed the men’s program into what it is today and helped form Women’s Army Rugby (WAR) in 2003. Mahan understood that rugby’s grueling physical nature could forge the leadership qualities that cadets would need in combat. He was right. Army Rugby players take pride in leading from the front, which is why the team has the highest percentage of players of any sport that join the infantry.

Mahan’s ruthless training regimens also helped his players forge bonds beyond the classroom that would endure through the decades. Mullin says, “West Point creates certain bonds, but then there are rugby bonds.” The film director still hangs out with his fellow Army Ruggers every summer, a critical reason why Mullin decided he needed to capture the spirit of Army Rugby on film.

Mullin’s motivation for making Brothers on Three stems from his own journey at West Point and the relationships he developed there. During his sophomore year (1995), he was considering leaving the academy. He wasn’t sure if West Point was for him, and if he wanted to escape debt and service-free, he would have had to leave before entering his junior year. Rugby changed his mind.

After the spring rugby tour, he found himself recommitted to the cause and the team. He also knew he had uncovered something unique about the team culture, which became the seed for the eventual documentary.

After teaming up with Class of ‘01 graduate and Hollywood screenwriter Brian Anthony, Mullin secured permission to film from West Point, current rugby coach Matt Sherman, the players, and the Department of Defense — thanks in part to former West Point rugby player General H.R. McMaster. Cameras began rolling on October 23rd, 2021.

Trust, Commitment, and Love are the way of life for the Army Rugby team. Trust is the building block that underpins the team. Coach Sherman and every player in the locker room, from the “plebes” (Freshmen) to the “firsties” (Seniors), speak honestly and believe unequivocally that their brother to the left or right will have their back, just as they would in combat. The team’s pre-match hugs symbolize that they will always be there for each other, regardless of the result.

Each Army Rugger has taken on the extra responsibility of playing at Warrior Field and is willing to endure the injuries, hill runs, and losses to represent West Point. The love between the players and staff is visible in every moment of the film and is the why that players can reach for when they need motivation.

In between grueling training sessions and physically punishing games, West Point’s rugby players share music-filled bus rides and family-style lunches, during which plebes have to tell a joke. Despite losing five games in a row during the 2023 season, and losing to eventual national champions Navy twice during the regular season, the brothers continue to pick each other up throughout the movie, showing an unbreakable spirit that viewers can tell will last for generations.

After a loss against Lindenwood, captain Larry Williams is left speechless, telling his teammates, “I got nothing.” It’s an uncharacteristic moment for the psychology major who leads from the front both in the pack and in the locker room. But as he later notes, “I realized that being a good leader isn’t about how much you win, it’s how you handle loss.”

Be it the physicality or the life lessons, it’s evident that each player who plays rugby for Army walks away a changed man. The unbreakable bond is what Mullin says led him on his multi-decade journey to chronicle the team’s past and present. It is a brotherhood best epitomized by one line in team poet Conor Fay’s final poem “Parting Glass,” which he delivered to his teammates on the night of graduation.

“For what we made here has no end.”

Brothers on Three is playing across the country in major cities and smaller markets. As previously reported in The Guardian, on Friday, November 14, Brothers on Three will be screened at West Point ahead of the annual Army-Navy military academy clash.

At the time of writing, it is unclear which streamer will pick up the film after its theatrical run, but given the success of Mullin’s last film, It Ain’t Over, about the career and life of Yankee legend Yogi Berra, and the emotional charge of this one, Brothers on Three is sure to find a long-term home on of the major platforms.

At a time when military service and oaths to the Constitution are being twisted into partisan political theater, Brothers on Three is an excellent reminder of the sacrifice the men and women in the armed forces are willing to endure to protect the country. Moreover, it is a perfect display of a unique togetherness that sports (in this case, rugby) can shape over generations.