With all of the success of the varsity teams this fall season, it can be extremely easy to overlook one of the most exciting and thriving squads on the Hill. The Tufts University Rugby Football Club (TURFC) finished up its best season in four years on Sunday, falling to defending national champion Plymouth State 24-10, but not before securing the East Conference Championship of the New England Rugby Football Union.
Led by a core of experienced upperclassmen in addition to an influx of strong freshmen, the Jumbo ruggers finished 4-1 in the Div. III East Conference, locking up first place with a 26-7 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Thursday.
"The last two seasons we've really struggled, with very few seniors," junior tri-captain Tom Bennett said. "Now we have a lot of guys who have really matured and have come together as a team is what has brought us our success this year."
The theme of the Jumbos' season seems to be improvement. Just four seasons ago in 2005, Tufts finished in last place in its conference, partially because the squad was littered with freshmen new to the pitch. Since then, the prestige of the program has steadily increased, culminating in a conference championship, Tufts' first since 2001.
"If you go back two seasons, we were a sub-.500 team with undersized players," coach Bob Rhyman, a former Div. I rugby player, said. "Now, we've made really big strides with this group of young men who have matured both age-wise and from a rugby perspective. The learning curve in rugby is so dramatic. The difference in this sport between a senior [and a freshman] is like night and day, so the strides these kids have made is unbelievable."
Perhaps the best indication of the Jumbos' improvement was their 9-0 victory over UMass Lowell, the reigning conference champions, who downed Tufts last season 56-0. TURFC also took out Saint Anselm College, the runner-up last season, in a nail-biting 8-5 contest.
Tufts' lone loss for the season came at the hands of Babson in a game that seemed to be more of a fluke than anything else. With no time left on the clock and Tufts up one point, Babson scored a try -- the equivalent of a touchdown worth five points -- sending the Beavers to a 20-16 win.
"We just didn't play our game against Babson -- our heads got a little big," senior Erik Aurigemma said. "We thought that we could just walk up to the field 30 minutes before the game and expect to win. Losing a game made us realize that we can't look past anyone and that we have to bring our game every time. "
"Winning is easy to accept, but losing is really what has brought this team together," Bennett added. "We certainly didn't want to experience [the Babson loss] again, so it just made us that much more hungry. How we responded after that game was the defining moment of our season."
After the loss to Babson, Tufts fell into a tie for first place, with only a rescheduled matchup with Wentworth left on its schedule. Led by Bennett's three conversions and tries by Aurigemma, sophomores Marcus Cheek and Brett Moore, senior Ben Broderick and freshman Andrew Purcell, the Jumbos secured their spot in the semi-finals of the New England Championship.
On Sunday afternoon, TURFC took on Plymouth State, the defending national champions, for a chance to move on to the National Tournament in the spring. The Panthers struck first, executing the conversion -- the equivalent of a PAT -- to jump out to a 7-0 lead. Plymouth State then broke through the Tufts line for another try, going up 12 points heading into the second half.
The team began to mount a comeback late in the contest, scoring on a three-point penalty kick by Bennett, described by Rhyman as an "amazing kick near the sideline." Sophomore forward George O'Connor then scored to bring the Jumbos within two points. Two late Panther scores, however, allowed Plymouth State to distance itself and secure the win.
"We were winning every line-out, setting our scrums, and dominating every facet of the game," Rhyman said. "After George [O'Connor] scored, I was sure that we were going to win. The final deficit does not truly reflect the closeness of this game."
Tufts, who led the East Conference in points allowed, was able to hold Plymouth State, a team which had put up over 50 points three times this season, to its third-lowest scoring output of the season. A key part of this was Bennett, who locked down one of the Panthers' best players and one who "would be starting on most Div. I schools," according to Rhyman.
Despite the loss, Rhyman was quick to point out the successes of the season, most notably the conference title as the "crowning achievement" of the squad.
"What I'm most pleased about is how hard this team works," Rhyman said. "One of our unofficial team mantras is the phrase 'mediocrity is not acceptable,' and they always delivered on that this year. Some teams only practice twice a week, but we were out there three times, focused and disciplined for every minute."
A steady influx of freshman from the class of 2012 has brought the roster size to 35, an increase of 15 from last season, leading to an extension in depth and talent for TURFC. Sophomore Matt Menning, for instance, left the football team to become a rugger and has stepped right into place for the Jumbos.
Rhyman was also quick to point out the play of three specific Tufts players, referred to as the 8-9-10 link of the "number eight" -- the only rugby position without an official name -- the scrum half and the fly half, filled by junior Matt Woerner, Aurigemma and Bennett, respectively. An integral part to any rugby squad, this link formed the backbone of Tufts' offense, which tallied 98 points this fall, good for second in the conference.
With a number of standout players competing for the Jumbos, the possibility for a disparity of talent to develop among the players exists, but Rhyman said TURFC is blessed with depth that should ensure success beyond this fall's campaign.
"Our B-side, our JV team, would give our A-side scrum a run for their money every practice," Rhyman said. "It wasn't clear who was A or B, and that is so unusual for rugby. I could have started anyone on this team and not have felt a deficit in talent. While there are 15 guys on the field, the 20 on the bench made this championship happen."
