Plate winners in Las Vegas

Our Maddogs had quite the showing at the USA Sevens Invitational in Las Vegas. NU went 2–1 on Thursday, with a dominant win over Weber State, a hard-fought win over South Carolina and a tough, grinding loss to Colorado State. That put the Dogs second in their pool, just one point short of the top Cup bracket.

As the second seed in the Plate bracket, we opened day two with a solid 32–0 shutout of conference rival Fordham, then avenged the day-one defeat to Colorado State with a 17–5 win over the Rams. We finished the week taking home the Plate trophy with a 24–0 win over James Madison, allowing only one try in the playoffs. We haven’t yet secured our goal of a national tournament place, but we brought home hardware for the first time in three years. Next year we fully expect to make the Cup final and challenge defending champions Dartmouth.

One of the biggest reasons for this early success is the new Carter Field dome. It gives the team normal practice hours between 6 and 9pm, instead of the 5am or 10pm slots of years past, keeping us fit through the dead of winter.

NU’s support covers roughly a third of the cost of the Las Vegas tournament alone, and club costs have traditionally been met by player dues and fundraising. By the end of this spring, the newly established NU Rugby endowment will begin to offset seasonal expenses. That’s huge, but we still need your help. I can’t say enough how thankful I am to the friends and family of NU Rugby, from finalizing the endowment last spring to a touching Memorial Alumni Tournament this January.

— Ed Tubridy, NURFC head coach

Up next: both the A and B sides play a run of spring tournaments starting March 30 at URI.