The success of the Tufts University Rugby Football Club (TURFC) this fall did not go unnoticed. The season, highlighted by a trip to the semifinals of the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU), earned the Jumbos a top-10 national ranking.
The National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) released the rankings earlier this year, naming the top 20 Div. III rugby programs. Tufts came in at ninth on the list.
The rankings are not only a testament to TURFC's strength, but also to the skill across New England, with the region's top four teams ranked among the top nine on the national list.
In the New England semifinals this past fall, Tufts fell in a close match to Springfield, who sits in sixth on the NSCRO poll. Salve Regina went on to win the region and earn a spot atop the latest rankings, as well as a chance for a bid to Nationals this spring.
For New England teams, the NSCRO looks at the fall season, while for many other parts of the country — the teams which compete during the spring — the rankings are based off early spring-season matches combined with results from 2010.
For Tufts, the fall season opened with a bang; the Jumbos did not allow a single point in their first four games. Their fifth match, however, was a wake-up call: On Oct. 16, 2010, Colby scored on Tufts in the first two minutes and held on for a 25-17 win.
But the Jumbos rallied back even stronger after their loss, winning their final two games and ending the regular season leading the Div. III North Conference, with a 6-1 record. The Jumbos led their division in points scored (207) by over 50 and allowed over 50 fewer points than any other team in the division. In fact, Tufts' 45 points allowed was the lowest among all 32 teams in Div. III.
"We got the No. 1 seed in our conference going into New Englands, [which] was really big was for us, and it gave us home field for the first round," junior co-captain Gabe Perrone said. "Then we beat Eastern Connecticut State at home, which was exciting."
The loss to Springfield ended the Jumbos' season, leaving them with a final record of 7-2.
Co-captains Perrone and Kyle Boutin, also a junior, both attribute the program's gains in the past few years to the leadership and the new attitude athletes have adopted.
"Our committed coach, Bob Ryman, has been here for the past three years, and Gabe Perrone was rookie captain two years ago, and he was captain last year too, so he's been a constant on the team," Boutin said. "There's been strong leadership, and they've made sure that we've had crisp practices, that people are committed and that we've had a brotherhood-like team vibe."
The team thrived this fall under the leadership of co-captains Perrone and senior Andrew Ward, before Boutin took over the position this spring. Boutin and Perrone will lead the team next semester alongside TURFC President Asher Rosenfeld, a junior.
"Upperclassmen leadership has definitely been more solid than in the past, and we've brought in a lot of younger kids," Perrone said. "We've tried to transition the team attitude into one that works really hard and wants to win just as much as any other team."
Each year, the team builds off freshman newcomers. According to Boutin, it is uncommon for any of the athletes to have played rugby before coming to Tufts. Rather, most kids come from backgrounds of soccer, lacrosse or football.
Another big accomplishment for the team this season was the number of athletes who ended up sticking with the program. In the past, many interested at the beginning of the fall tended to steer away by the end of the semester. TURFC finished the season with around 40 members.
"We probably had the most kids [ever] join and stay with rugby this year," Perrone said. "It's hard the first couple years you play, because some kids don't pick it up as quickly as others, so you might have to go through a few years playing B-side or not playing much time, but hopefully we get those kids sticking with it, because junior and senior year, they're the big contributors."
Ending their season just two wins away from earning a bid to Nationals for the second year in a row, the Jumbos have a hunger to build off their performance next fall.
"Our main goals are to try and win New Englands and improve upon what we did last year," Boutin said. "We have a solid returning pack, so we think we can make it the next furthest step and make it to Nationals."
While the NERFU competes only during the fall, the athletes use all school year to prepare for the season, attending captains' practices a few times a week to get into shape or joining other leagues to gain more experience.
The team is also planning its first annual alumni weekend to celebrate its success and the support its found from TURFC alumni.
"We'll have an alumni game, which will be a bunch of college kids playing a bunch of old guys trying to relive their college days, so that should be pretty fun to watch," Perrone said.
The team is optimistic about the athletes and the skills it carries to next year, and will be ready to prove that a top-10 national ranking is what it deserves — and where it will stay.
"We've been doing really well the past three years, and we've played really consistently, so we are just trying to improve upon that in the fall," Boutin said.
