MIT RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

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.

On Saturday, September 17, 2016, MIT traveled to New London, CT to take on the New London County Rugby Club on a beautiful sunny day. The game started out with New London controlling possession. MIT’s defense held for the first 10 minutes, but some miscommunication led to New London’s outside center finding space out wide for the first try of the game. An MIT turnover led to the same outside center finding a huge gap in the defense for New London’s second try. MIT struggled to hold onto the ball during the first half and could not get any offense going.

On September 10, 2016, MIT traveled to Dover, MA to take on Boston Maccabi RFC. James L. argued with the ref for 80 minutes. Tries were scored by Jarrad, Chris W. and John F.

MIT travels to New London, CT next Saturday, September 17, 2016 to take on New London County Rugby Club

On Saturday, May 7, 2016, MIT took on the Fairfield Yankees in the sweet sixteen round of the national DIII playoffs. There was a lot of excitement during the week leading up to the match. Both teams were visited at practice during the week by a former New Zealand All Black & Hawkes Bay player. Coach Sean was excited to have a fellow Kiwi at practice. Apparently Coach Brad was even more excited for the playoffs as his pants literally split open during Tuesday’s training.