MIT RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

On September 12, 2015, MIT kicked off the 2015 fall season at home vs. Old Gold. A last minute kickoff change left both teams with an extra hour of anticipation on the beautiful sunny day. Once the game began both teams showed signs of offseason rust. MIT’s defense was put under pressure early, but was able to stop a threatening attack inside their 22. MIT got on the board first after an Old Gold penalty led to 3 points from flyhalf/slug/fullback John G. About 5 minutes later, another Old Gold penalty led to another 3 points for John G.

On May 16, 2015, MIT traveled to Shenantaha Park in Malta, NY to take on the Danbury Mad Hatters in the 3rd round of the playoffs. Having never advanced this far in the playoffs (and having never dealt with such a confusing waiver process before) MIT were eager to show that they were not just happy to be there and that they could actually compete with the best DIII teams in the country.

On May 2, 2015, MIT traveled to Fort Adams in Newport, RI to defend their title in the NERFU cup. The team continued their annual tradition of growing moustaches for the weekend tournament. Not all moustaches were created equal but all were appreciated. What was not appreciated was having to play their first tournament game at 8:45 AM on a Saturday. MIT first faced off against North Shore, a team they were familiar with having played them just weeks earlier. MIT defeated North Shore 12-5.

On April 25, 2015, the MIT B’s were defeated by Freedom RFC. Short a few numbers at the start, MIT borrowed players from North Shore RFC. As the game started and MIT tried to get acclimated with the new faces, Freedom took advantage of the disorganization and scored the opening try. MIT responded and Toro, working his usual Saturday overtime shift in the front row, threw a beautiful pass to Gus, who outpaced the defense to make the score 7-5. Diego continued to show his versatility as he played his 3rd position in the backline in as many weeks.

On April 25, 2015, MIT defeated Freedom RFC in Amesbury, MA for the NERFU Division III championship. Prior to the kickoff, MIT were forced to change jerseys as both teams arrived wearing white. This was not the only change MIT had to make before the start, as Galen was ruled out of the game with a case of old man’s back. After sorting out the “fashion don’t”, Freedom got off to a quick start. MIT turned the ball over in their own half and Freedom attacked the weak side. Their wing found a hole in the defense for the opening score just minutes into the game.

On Saturday, April 18, 2015, MIT showed their depth with a B-side win over North Shore. The game featured hard tackling and long runs from the MIT B’s. Coach Sean was pleased with the effort as several players put their hands up for selection to the A-side. The scoring started when fly-half Aaron ran through a gap in the defense and went the remaining 50 meters basically untouched. Chris L. followed that up with a long run of his own after breaking a few tackles but was unable to break the goal line.