Eagles Soar Past Huskies

The Boston College Rugby Football Club began regular season play with a match against the University of Connecticut this past Saturday, September 26, at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton, Massachusetts. This anticipated NERFU opener was played in front of a large crowd of parents and supporters, and was a must-win for BC. The Eagles had been preparing hard for the season for nearly a month, with the majority of the team reporting for pre-season camp on August 26th. In preparation for league play, they played many formidable opponents, including the Boston Men’s Super League Team, Dartmouth, Middlebury, as well as McGill and Queen’s University from Canada.
After being bounced from the playoffs last year at the hands of the Huskies, BC came out of the gates with high energy, with senior center Andrew Steck scoring a try in the opening minutes of the match off a quick-tap. The team’s newly acquired fly-half, sophomore Dave Walsh, put through the conversion to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead. BC’s game plan of playing wide, free-flowing rugby seemed to be working after other senior center Julien Collard touched down twice, putting BC further ahead at 19-0. A Husky was sent to the sin-bin with 5 minutes left in the half for stamping, and the Eagles took advantage of the extra man to score a fourth try just before the half, with sophomore Mark Muldowney finishing off a nice counter-attack. The Huskies simply had no answer for the high-tempo Boston College attack.
The second half opened with excitement as UConn scored for the first time from broken play, though it was not long before Captain Conor Hynes answered for the Eagles from a quickly taken free-kick. The BC onslaught continued with a second try from Steck and a final minute run by sophomore, Jake O’Brien. UConn’s late penalty try proved little consolation, with the Huskies spending much of the time pressured deep in their own half thanks to Walsh’s pin-point kicks. The final tally for Saturday’s A-side match was BC 43, UConn 10, with Dave Walsh converting 4 of 7 tries for the Eagles. The victory and bonus point mean a lot for the Eagles, who are looking to win the newly-restructured NERFU 1st Division.
The impressive A-side win was followed up by a great B-side display, as the Boston College second XV shut down the Huskies B-side. BC seemed almost to score at will, with veteran and rookie players alike repeatedly crossing the UConn try-line. Many players showed a great deal of promise as future A-siders. It was an especially successful weekend for BCRFC thanks to the support of all the parents and alumni who were present. The team celebrated Parents Weekend with the victories and a well-attended post-match dinner. The Club would like to thank all of the Families and Alumni for their continued support. The Eagles look to continue their success next week, and will host local rival Northeastern at the ICC.