Rensselaer Redhawk Rugby Club

Current RPI Rugby News:

The IRB along with NYSR will be eneacting some of the experimental law variations (ELVs) this fall PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ OF THIS DOCUMENT

The men's new jerseys have been orderd, check them out here

RPI Rugby is looking forward to hosting this years Rugby 101 Program.  With a record number of incoming students participating, 75, the club is excited to host one of the larget NRB events.  Both teams are excited for new prospects and running a top notch program.  In the past this event has has had a great return on investment for the team, by recruiting some of the most active club member we have.

RPI Rugby returned to the annual Albany Law Tournament thsi weekend.  Expectations were high for both the Men's and Women's Teams. The Men's Team's expectations were particularly high; with them having won the whole tournament the past two seasons.  They started strong, dominating play and keeping the U. Albany side well within their own half.  However, being unable to successfully get across the try line, severely hurt the Red Hawks, as they would later give up the match’s lone try.  Despite this, the men battled hard and in the second half crossed the line, but were denied and so their road to a shutout tournament victory was hampered, but not eliminated.  In the second match they played the always tough-nosed Cortland Homer Thundering Herd.  The Herd, best known as the “prison guards from Cortland” stuck to their traditional hard hitting forwards match and was able to get a handle on the game.  However, the young and injury plagued Red Hawks stood tough and did not simply roll over.  Even in defeat, the team continued to play hard.   Fortunately for RPI the Women’s side faired better.  Having opened the day with an early morning victory, they fell just short in the championship game.  The game, marked by several long runs was played heavily by the backs and was a good display of ball movement as well as opportunity for the women’s side many new players to gain valuable experience.  Look for several of these players to prove dominant this fall.

April 14, 2007
 
The men’s team traveled to NYC once again for the Four Big Apple Classic on Randall’s Island.  Hosted by the New York City RFC, this tournament was host to several different brackets of players.  RPI opened against ­­­SUNY New Paltz.  The match was hard fought, but unfortunately the short field did not work to RPI’s advantage, being a fast paced team.  Positives from the game were flyhalf Pat Riley’s stolen pass from the game and strong play from the forwards, who were able to cycle in substitutes as the match progressed.  The second match of the day against Binghamton’s A-side saw the heat of the afternoon take its toll.  Multiple Redhawks went down with injuries and as a result, an opportunity to move into the consolation bracket championship, following a forfeit, could not be accepted.  The afternoon showed the team’s resilience, but unfortunately did not yield multiple victories.

April 11, 2007

Cross town rivals Union College came for a visit on RPI’s home turf.  The Dutchmen arrived seemingly unprepared and early on were in for a surprise as the Redhawks dominated forward play, particularly in the set pieces.  Excellent lineouts and dominating scrums marked the play for RPI, as they stole balls, both in the air and through driving the Dutchmen backwards.  However, in the end it was the ability of the Union backs to get the ball wide and run forward away from the breakdowns that afforded them the victory.  The improving technical ability of the young players was cause for celebration and optimism for future matches.