NR | 1h 42m | Documentary | 2025
After graduation, they served on the mission that captured Saddam Hussein, fought in the Battle of Mogadishu (immortalized in “Black Hawk Down”), and were aboard the last 2021 plane evacuating Kabul, Afghanistan.
Members of West Point’s rugby team are over 300 percent more likely to reach the rank of general than their fellow cadets. Occasionally, some even go on to become filmmakers, like director Sean Mullin (class of 1997), who documents the Army Academy team’s 2023 season in “Brothers on Three.”
NCAA Division I Rugby doesn’t receive anything like the media attention lavished on football or basketball, so many viewers might not know that Army won the 2022 National Championship. However, this film covers the 2023 season.
Throughout their history, Army “ruggers” (rugby players) have been West Point’s sports team with the highest winning percentage of any sport at the academy. They had often reached the Final Four, but 2022 represented their first breakthrough championship season.
The Team to Beat
That made them the team every school wanted to beat when the Pentagon granted access to Mullin’s crew. Notably, numerous producers are also Army rugby veterans, including writer Brian Anthony (2001), so those behind the camera had an authentic understanding of the West Point rugger experience.
The West Point team has two notable rivals. If you know anything about Army sports traditions, you can easily guess the first. The second, University of California–Berkeley, perhaps also makes sense. The two schools hold very different cultural associations but frequently faced off in the playoffs.
Regardless, the Army team takes pride in their rugby prowess because, they argue, of all sports, it best approximates combat conditions. Physical contact is high, while padding is minimal. Despite being cross-service rivals, it’s maybe reassuring that Navy’s rugby team also has a winning tradition, including a recent national championship of their own.
The 2023 U.S. Military Academy Army Rugby team on the field. (Brothers on Three)
Even though the late retired Lt. Col. Michael Mahan (1970) stepped down from his second stint as head coach in 2014, well before the 2022 championship season, he played a significant role in shaping the team and helped further inspire them in an unofficial, emeritus capacity. Mullin interviewed him at length, so his voice and wisdom greatly enrich the film.
The 2023 U.S. Military Academy Army Rugby team in action. (Brothers on Three)
‘Firsties’ and ‘Plebes’
The film also closely follows a sizable portion of the team, from senior “firsties” to freshmen “plebes.” The team captain, Cadet Larry Williams, won collegiate rugby’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in 2022. Even so, he still must go through the season opening tryouts to retain his spot, just like every other player. As a result of the tryouts, the audience fully invests in the 2023 team on an emotional level.
Perhaps the most moving sequences pay tribute to team veterans who were killed in action. These segments aren’t just shoehorned into the film. They usually flow organically from the jersey presentation ceremonies that precede each game, throughout the season.
This tradition reminds each player of the team’s legacy, especially when a fallen alumnus’s family attends to bestow their loved one’s number on the rugger who now carries it. The profile of Capt. Ian Weikel (1997) should have most viewers tearing up, especially since Weikel’s son now aspires to follow in his footsteps at the academy.
There is a good deal of military history in “Brothers on Three,” including coverage of the heroics of retired Col. Larry Perino (1990) in Mogadishu, and the oral history of Weikel’s colleagues from the task force responsible for apprehending Saddam Hussein. Yet Mullin’s documentary is also a crowd-pleasing sports film.
In fact, he quite skillfully builds the suspense for each game through dexterous editing and storytelling. Clearly, Mullin has an affinity for sports subjects. His previous documentary, “It Ain’t Over,” profiled New York Yankee (and World War II Navy veteran) Yogi Berra. It helps that most viewers will have little prior knowledge of the 2023 regular season or playoff results. Collegiate rugby doesn’t get much national television airtime, but maybe it should.
Poster for "Brothers on Three." (West Point)
Teamwork
Regardless of each game’s score, the film vividly illustrates the power of teamwork. If you read former retired Navy SEAL Lt. Cmdr. Jocko Willink’s management books, you should also find “Brothers on Three” (titled after a team’s ritual pregame bonding holler) instructive and rewarding.
Along with team spirit, redemption emerges as another major theme. Drawing support and motivation from their brothers, team members must overcome mistakes on the field, academic struggles, and disciplinary issues. Mullin delivers an honest, unvarnished portrait of the Army ruggers. But the supposedly roughhouse behavior of a few will seem decidedly mild to anyone who attended a civilian party school.
Without question, the Army ruggers from all classes are a cut above. They were called to serve, so viewers will feel called to cheer. Frankly, “Brothers on Three” ought to encourage greater fandom for the service academies athletic departments because they are truly “America’s teams.”
It’s a stirring film that truly celebrates service. Very highly recommended.
“Brothers on Three” opens in theaters on Nov. 7.
‘Brothers on Three: The Story of West Point Rugby’
Documentary
Director: Sean Mullin
Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 7, 2025
Rated: 4 1/2 stars out of 5
What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to features@epochtimes.nyc
