Georgetown University Rugby Football Club

The Georgetown University Rugby Football Club is the intercollegiate men's rugby union team that represents Georgetown University in the USA Rugby league.

Early History

The Georgetown Rugby Football Club (GURFC) was founded in the spring semester of 1967 by former members of the Washington D.C. Rugby Football Club. The founder was a graduate student, Michael Murphy. In the early history of the club, GURFC fielded both an “A” and “B” sides, while occasionally mustering the numbers for a “C” side. In the fall of 1968, GURFC hired its first coach to the program, which only lasted until the Spring. During this time, John Clisham worked as the club president.

In the Fall of 1985, Georgetown Rugby set on a self-directed course in the PRU. Under the coaching / playing leadership of Dave Pegno (and his housemates), the team rallied through a building season that was to be foundational for the long list of championships and accolades to come post 1985. The leadership torch was passed to up and coming underclassman - Jim Thompson from New Zealand, Doug Brown from New Jersey and Tom Gletner from Maryland to guide the team through a rough transitional period. Completing a .500 season in 1986 - the team began to gel as a true unit in 1987. After monumental victories over all PRU challengers - GU secured the regular season PRU championship in 1987 and dropped a 13-10 decision to Salisbury State in the league challenge match championship. Building on success - the team began to roll with undefeated season play in 1989 under the guidance of president / captain Doug Brown and PRU all all-star Dan Kirk. The 1990 team featured 5 PRU all-stars and took advantage of Spring Bok coaching expertise from Heyn Van Rooyen and Theo Van Wyk.

Evolution of the Officers

In the early days of the club, the “officers” consisted of a scrum captain, a backs captain, a president, a VP/Treasurer, and a secretary. The 5 "officers" would determine the A, B, and C side rosters each week. In 1970-1971, John Kelly was president, Jack Schmidt was the (Match) Secretary, Joe Pulosi and Mike (Last Name Unknown) were the captains, and Leonard Natoli, Jr. served as the Vice President/Treasurer. At the time, the Vice President/Treasurer had the best job of all, which was to set up the weekly party. The officers have remained relatively unchanged over time except for the division of the duties of Vice President and Treasurer into the three posts of Treasurer, Vice President, and Social Chair. Along the way, it was deemed necessary to separate the Social activities with the Financial responsibilities.

The Fall End of the Year Party has been a tradition since the beginning of the club, and remains today as the primary means for selecting Team Officers. An important right of passage for new team members included the "turtling" ritual, conducted bi-annually. Each season, one player would vie for the coveted torch award granted for exceptional performance at away game road trips.

In Memory

The following rugby players died at a young age: [http://www.georgetownrugby.org/in_memory/inmemory_main.php]
* Dan Rigby (MSB '05)
* Kevin Hurley (MSB '00)
* Jim Bitonti ('95)
* Robert Leonardo ('92)

Recent Seasons

The 2001 fall season marked Georgetown's last year in Division I. The 2001 season was a building year for the team with the older players coaching the incoming and promising freshman class.

The spring and fall 2002 seasons marked a new start for Georgetown that began with a last minute victory over Catholic University in the Capitol Cup tournament.

During the fall of 2002, Georgetown moved from Division I to Division II. They subsequently won the Potomac Rugby Union's Division II championship.

The 2004 Fall season was marked with joy and tragedy. On the morning of October 17, 2004, team friend Dan Rigby died in a house fire on Prospect Street in Georgetown at what had been known as the 'Rugby House'.

That same season, Georgetown shut out Salisbury University in the PRU championship, avenging their last minute loss to Salisbury in 2003.

In the past three years since, the Georgetown Rugby Club has been a sponsor of the annual Run For Rigby to raise money for off-campus housing safety awareness.

The spring 2005 season marked Georgetown's championship run into Final Four of the USA Rugby National Tournament.

= Championships and Titles =

*1989 Capitol Cup Champions
*1990 Capitol Cup Champions
*1991 Capitol Cup Champions
*1992 Capitol Cup Champions
*1998 Capitol Cup Champions
*1999 Capitol Cup Champions
*2000 Capitol Cup Champions
*2001 Capitol Cup Champions
*2002 Capitol Cup Champions
*2003 Capitol Cup Champions
*2004 Capitol Cup Champions
*2005 Capitol Cup Champions
*2006 Capitol Cup Champions
*2007 Capitol Cup Champions
*2008 Capitol Cup Champions

*1987 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
*1989 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
*2002 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
*2004 New Orleans Mardi Gras Tournament Champions
*2004 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
*2005 Cherry Blossom Tournament Champions
*2005 MARFU Championship

*2005 USA Rugby National Tournament Division II Final Four
*2008 Cherry Blossom Tournament Champions

External links

Club-affiliated sites

* [http://www.georgetownrfc.org The Georgetown Rugby Club's Official Site]
* [http://www.georgetownrfc.org/gallery/rigby.html Dan Rigby Memorial Page]
* [http://www.runforrigby.org Run for Rigby Official Website]
* [http://www.friendsofrigby.org The Friends of Rigby Foundation]
* [http://www.georgetownrugby.org/main.php The Georgetown University Rugby Alumni Association]

Newspaper articles

* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/101207/sports1.cfm Rugby Wins on Harbin Field]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/100606/sports6.cfm Summa Leads Hoyas]
* [http://www.georgetownvoice.com/2007-04-12/sports/rugby-clubs-brotherly-scrum Brotherly Scrum]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/041905/sports6.cfm GU Makes National Final Four]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/032304/sports7.cfm Hoya Notebook: Sailing and Rugby]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/032205/sports13.cfm GU Rugby Teams Rough It Up]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/091203/sports7.cfm In the Spotlight: Pat Pierce]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/032304/sports10.cfm In the Spotlight: Ben Purcell]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/110904/sports6.cfm Rugby Club Grabs Potomac Union Title]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/110502/sports10.cfm Rugby Wins Potomac Union]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/020703/sports7.cfm In the Spotlight: Greg Suellentrop]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/110703/sports4.cfm Georgetown Routs Navy in PRU Semifinals]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/043004/sports4.cfm Georgetown Wins Seventh Consecutive Capital Cup]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/102902/sports7.cfm Rout Moves Hoyas On To Title Game]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/101102/sports5.cfm Striving to Maintain Perfection]
* [http://www.thehoya.com/sports/101601/sports9.cfm Georgetown Gets First Win]