New England's decision to walk away from college representative play carries some personal interest, for 20 years ago I was on hand when the program got underway.
The previous year had seen a major effort to bring 'rogue' teams into union membership, and NERFU followed up by inaugurating a Division 2 tournament. After that event, several of my teammates were invited to try out for a university select side that would visit Australia the next summer.
(Side note: Joining the union had required the athletic director's approval, and in shuttling between the two bodies I was assured by NERFU that we would be seeded in the opposite bracket as our archrival. So naturally we played them in the first round.)
NERFU liked what it saw in two of them, and rightly so. They were each accomplished, post-varsity athletes (football and soccer) who could have become territorial-caliber players -- certainly 1st division club starters.
But that is hardly a remarkable statement. Many New England small colleges could have claimed as much, and that is before you consider the Ivies. The region was, and presumably still is, loaded with superb collegiate athletes thirsting for rugby direction.
Later this spring, my alma mater will celebrate its rugby club's 50th anniversary. It's discouraging to think that New England has gone backward over the past two decades, and that the region may not be alone.
Must be a Williams alumnus. Ironically one of the teams that has refused to participate in the NERFU All-Star program since it was resurrected 4 years ago.
Posted by: Northeast Realist | 10 March 2008 at 13:32
Any chance of you writing another piece Kurt? You're the only "active" blog I know of where fellow ruggers can chime in with their thoughts on the US game. I will still continue to visit daily.
Posted by: SD Hitman | 13 March 2008 at 14:00
Yeah, I'm definitely missing Kurt's posts and the lengthy (and sometimes heated) discussions in the talkbacks.
Looking for a rugby blog fix, I went searching yesterday and stumbled upon this one. It appears to be a brand new blog (the first post was yesterday), so I guess only time will tell as to whether the author will keep with it. I seriously doubt that the author has Kurt's credentials, but it gives us another platform for discussion and a view from another perspective.
http://usasleepinggiant.blogspot.com
Posted by: Friend | 14 March 2008 at 04:29
Thanks Friend. After Goff disabled "leave a comment" function on his site. We only have gainline as a sounding board. I will check out the blog link you provided.
Posted by: SD Hitman | 14 March 2008 at 09:21
NEW SITE FOR ONLINE TV AND MOST POPULAR TV SERIES:
http://stafex.net
Posted by: http://stafex.net | 17 March 2008 at 13:40