MIT RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

The following match report was submitted to www.nerugbyrefs.org by referree Don Jennings:

Sunny fall day. Match played on the grass turf field at MIT.
The first half finished 20-11 North Shore with both teams scoring tries, North Shore two with two conversions and two penalties while MIT had an unconverted try and two penalties.

The second half was more of a running affair with North Share adding three more converted tries while MIT added two converted tries of their own.

On October 29, 2016, MIT traveled to Springfield, MA to take on the Springfield Rifles. Early arrivals were once again treated to an intense flag football game where Brett Favre and the purples lost on a last second interception to the reds. Perhaps fueled by this intense competition, both MIT and Springfield competed in an intense and very chippy game. Just 10 minutes in a Springfield player was given a yellow card for throwing a punch. Inside center Simon kicked the penalty to give MIT an early lead after James’ foot needed a rest from kicking all 12 points the week before.

On Saturday, October 22, 2016, MIT took on Charles River RFC. After playing 4 straight games at home, MIT was finally forced to travel, but luckily they only had to go from Cambridge to Boston. The morning rain stopped in time for the kickoff, but would return later during the game. The wet conditions and narrow field made for a low scoring but entertaining affair.

On Saturday, October 15, 2016, MIT hosted Freedom RFC at Briggs Field on another perfect fall day. There was a 20 minute kickoff delay as Freedom’s jersey bag decided to show up fashionably late. MIT and their punctual jerseys were the aggressors from the start. A well executed back-line move put winger Sam into space. Sam broke off a long run but was tackled short of the goal line. After a stop in play the referee forced fullback Jona to adjust his illegal leggings.

On Saturday, October 8, 2016, MIT hosted Mad River RFC at Briggs Field. It was the second weekend in a row where MIT faced a rematch from last season’s NERFU playoffs. The big question on the day for MIT was how the front row would perform with 3 of their regulars missing because Toro had to “go see about a girl.” With limited front row subs, the trio of Caleb, Jarrad, and Rob did just fine, combing for 3 tries as they each played the full 80 minutes.

On Saturday, October 1, 2016, MIT hosted Old Gold in a re-match of last season’s NERFU playoff final. The morning’s rain left a cold and damp pitch for the teams which led to a sloppy opening with multiple knock-ons and penalties. It seemed like the only offense MIT could generate in the first half was from 8-man picks from Cody and Caleb smashing and stepping his way through defenders around the breakdown. MIT’s longest play involved one of Cody’s 8 man picks where he found no one home on defense.

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, MIT hosted Saratoga for their first match on their newly renovated grass pitch. It was a perfect fall day and the combination of ideal weather and a pristine new field made for great conditions for running rugby. Unfortunately Saratoga took better advantage of the conditions as they had a more dynamic attack on the day.