On 4/18, MIT competed as the #1 seed in the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) Division 3 championship playoff semifinal against #4 seed North Shore RFC on their home turf at MIT. MIT was victorious in this semifinal match, defeating North Shore by a final score of 30-16. MIT never trailed in the match and led 15-6 at half, though North Shore worked back into the game in the second half, coming within 4 points midway through. MIT took command again late, however, scoring two additional tries late in the second half to secure the semifinal victory.
MIT competed for the league championship against #2 seed Freedom RFC on 4/25 at the New England sports park in Amesbury, MA. MIT was victorious in the match, winning by a final margin of 33-12 to secure both the regular season and tournament NERFU D3 championship. Freedom struck first in the match with a try, putting MIT down by 5 early, but MIT struck back quickly and controlled the rest of the first half offensively and defensively. The halftime margin was an 18-5 advantage for MIT. The contest evened out a bit in the second half as Freedom successfully shut down MIT early and eventually pulled the game within nine at 21-12, but MIT again came on strong late to secure the final victory. This victory secured MIT a spot in the D3 national playoffs, the first round of which will take place in Saratoga, NY on 5/16.
On the weekend of 5/2-5/3, MIT traveled to beautiful Fort Adams state park in Newport, RI to compete in the annual NERFU cup tournament. MIT were seeded #3 in the Men’s B pool, with the top two teams being Division 2 clubs. This may have been the toughest outing in terms of quality of opponents MIT has faced in this particular tournament in recent years. On the first day, MIT played two half (40 minute) matches. The quarterfinal contest was a re-match against North Shore RFC which MIT won 12-5. MIT won the semifinal match 13-7 in tough, highly physical game against the Boston Maccabi RFC. This victory secured a spot in the championship game the next day.
On 5/3, MIT played in the NERFU cup championship game, this time playing a full 80+ minutes of rugby. MIT faced the Boston Irish Wolfhounds RFC D3 team, another team they had faced and narrowly edged in the prior fall season. The game was a tremendously physical and hard fought battle. MIT had the single-point halftime lead at 11-10, though eventually lost the lead in the second half as the Wolfhounds brought on some fresh (and surprisingly much bigger) players. MIT trailed 18-11 at about the midway point of the second half, though strong play in the last quarter of the game allowed MIT to even the contest at 18 a piece as the final regulation whistle blew. The result of the match came down to a 5 minute sudden death period in which both teams had scoring opportunities. However, a series of penalties put MIT deep in its own territory and the Wolfhounds eventually worked their way in to the try zone for the win. In the end, MIT lost a tough match 23-18 in overtime.
MIT’s league championship win secures them a spot in the D3 national playoffs. The first match will take place Saturday 5/16 in Saratoga, NY against Danbury RFC. Should MIT win this match they will travel to North Carolina to compete in the D3 Men’s rugby national playoffs at the end of May. Success there would give MIT the opportunity to play for the D3 championship in Colorado the second week in June.