Week 3 in the rugby calendar was an away game for the HBS Rugby Football Club against Seacoast RFC, 1 hour north of Boston. The spirit and commitment of the team was clearly evident with HBS being able to field two teams against the bulkier and more experienced Seacoast sides.
The training build-up during the week had been tough and hard, with rigorous rucking and scumming drills. The simulated “game-time” was also intense, with passionate play from the Barbarians. There were some casualties unfortunately, and our hopes for a speedy recovery go out to Zach “The Hammer” Rossley and Scott “Kong” Pasquini.
Against Seacoast, both the 1st team and the Barbarians played with passion, with Ollie “The General” Corlette, being denied an opportunity to set up a score, by some questionable reffing calls. Carl “Lavos” Lavin kept the 1st team in contention with some pin-point kicking, but in the end, some great running by their winger, who apparently is about to be signed by the USA Eagles rugby team, meant a defeat for HBS.
The Barbarian’s, playing with players that had hardly played before, played with the same passion they had shown during practice, but in the end were beaten by a more experienced side. Special mention goes to Sunru “Tackle machine” Yong and Wen the “Hard hitter”.
Off the field, the real highlight of the week was the “Newbies Sing-Song Party” at UNO’s Bar & Grill, which was their official welcome to the HBS RFC. As the name suggests the Newbies were introduced to a whole range of HBS RFC rugby songs, which with copious amounts of beer entertained not just the team, but also the partons of UNO’s. Judged the best-dressed song of the evening, Captain Lavos led the team to the chorus of “Running bear and little white dove.” You’ll have to come to drinks after one of the home games to hear the rest.
Next on the Agenda: The Wharton Tournament October 1 and 2. The HBS 1st and Barbarians team travel to Philadelphia to defend their title as best MBA rugby club for the region.
