Tuck Rugby Club
The history of the Tuck Rugby Club, though storied, has been passed down through the ages primarily via the oral tradition of storytelling. Dismissing those events that are clearly untrue, we have developed the following spotty timeline:
1987: Tuck wins the MBA World Championships in Philadelphia.
1988: Tuck repeats as MBA World Champions.
1995: Tuck places second in the MBA World Championships, now held at Duke.
1997: Tuck defeats Georgetown and Purdue but falls to LBS and Thunderbird in the World Championships.
The following entry was recorded in the Club log:
After two months of practicing in a tiny corner of Alumni Gym with only one outdoor practice (in a snow storm), the club headed south to hospitable North Carolina. In our first match, we faced a more skilled London side. Although their passes were pretty, the old green was the more physical side. Tony Florence T '97, Greg Foster T '97 and Tuck's little big man, Steve Meade T '98, had solid games. In the end however, with the green pressuring a tiring London side, London was victorious.
Later that morning, we regrouped and dispatched of Georgetown. Unfortunately, Al Rosier -- former Dartmouth All-American tailback turned rugger -- was lost to a hamstring injury. The early afternoon brought a blasting from our good friends at Thunderbird. These guys didn't look like they did a lot of studying. They were easily the tannest guys at the tournament, and a couple of them may have played for the Raiders when Howie Long was still getting in a three point stance on Sundays. They were, however, top notch crooners and more than willing to drain the Red Hook truck. While Thunderbird did teach us a thing or two about the finer points of the game, a couple of Dartmouth's grad students put on solid performances. First year DMS student Mark Brauning dished out possibly the best hit of the weekend, and Kevin "White Shoes" Kuryla T '98 showed everybody that guys over thirty really can still make an impact.
Our final match saw a weary Tuck side produce an EARLY Sunday morning victory against Purdue. Fans and tournament officials were impressed with Tuck's performance, especially given that several team members were out spreading goodwill in Chapel Hill the night before.
1998: With strong support from the Medical School, the Club travelled to Duke for the World Championships -- results not recorded.
1999: In a bid to improve its public relations, the Club published the following missive in the Tuck Times:
Following last year's stellar season, Tuck Rugby Club has continued to dominate opponents and quietly establish themselves as one of the elite business school rugby clubs in New England. "They are beginning to dominate opponents the way Wales did back in the 1970s when they had Graham Price," stated William Ackerboom, a local rugby expert, as he watched the team complete a rigorous training session recently at Sachem Village.
Following a recent Third Place finish at the Chase International Rugby Tournament hosted by Vermont Law School, the club is now focusing their efforts on the World MBA Tournament at Duke.
One of the keys to the club’s success has been the devastating play of the scrum. Led by the powerful play of co-captain Edmund "Joey" Gaither, the majestic Joe Santos, Geoff "The Strategist" Drayson, and Andy "Sour Money" Petitjean, the scrum has continually kept opponents at bay. After defeating Bishop, a premier Canadian Club, and winning the Third Place Trophy at the Chase International Tournament Coach Martin Grundy said, "…our new guys like Jason "Spaz" Copeland and Greg "Frenchie" Handrick really stepped it up…if the Dec Sci midterm had not kept them from the first few games we would have been in the final …"
The other key to victory has been the dashing play of the backs. The stealthy co-captain Donato Monaco and Second Year stars Horacio Barakat and Jon "Francis" Farley are joined by a crop of promising First Years including Aaron Davenport, Asi De Silva, Robert Frederick, Jeff Kovach, and Todd Buechs. The consistent play of this unit has been the season’s biggest surprise. "You don’t just replace a guy like Mark Patricio overnight…but we are playing better as a team….", said Monaco in a recent press conference.
Coach Grundy is pleased with his squad’s performance but is cautious to claim this is "the year". "We have a solid first side but our reserves need to step up. A few promising players seem to be perpetually on the disabled list", said Grundy. Indeed, injuries to Joe Reid (Thumbs), David Herrera (Wrist), and Anil D’Souza (Ankles) are enough to frustrate even the normally unflappable Coach Grundy.
"They say Rugby is a hooligans sport played by gentlemen, while soccer is a gentlemen’s sport played by hooligans. Some of our players need to decide if they are hooligans or gentlemen… , " said Grundy as he poured down another pint recently at 5 Olde.
When asked what the highlight of the season has been so far, Grundy’s face lit up and he said, "there is no question that Joe Santos’s 85 meter run in those dashing green shorts against Colby-Sawyer has been the highlight of the season. Who thought a big man could move that fast?"
When asked to confirm reports that Professor Sam Wylie and Richard D’Aveni were suiting up for play in the Spring, Gaither and Monaco refused to comment, although Wylie was recently spotted at "The Farm" screaming "Ruck Oveeeeerrrrrr!" during Australia’s victory over France in the Rugby World Cup.
Tuck also played in the World Championships in 1999, though the results were not recorded.
2002: The Tuck men's team does not win the World Championships but does triumph in the boat race. By contrast, the Tuck women's team -- formed for the first time -- come in fourth! In other matches, Tuck struggled against the University of Western Ontario's Ivey Business School but defeated Colby-Sawyer to finish the season on a high.
2004: Tuck competes in the World Championships.
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2008: After a short hiatus, Tuck rugby is restablishment. The club plays fixtures against Dartmouth Old Green, UVM, MIT and Yale, and competes in the Balls to the Wall tournament and Duke World Championships. Please click here to read more.
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