Charles River Rugby Football Club, nicknamed ''The Rats'', is an American

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club based in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

which currently competes in the

New England Rugby Football Union The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body for ...

. Charles River has also a

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

section.

History

In 1973, the Charles River Rugby Football Club, affectionately dubbed "The Rats", was founded by a group of ruggers from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

and Boston Rugby Football Club. In striking green and orange jerseys that quickly became the club's trademark, the Rats achieved many early successes, including winning the Portland RFC Invitational and advancing to the Annual New England Tournament semi-finals. The Rats continued to attract new players and build on each year's accomplishments over the next decade, thus solidifying themselves as a fixture in the New England rugby community.About Us
on CRR website In 1980, the Rats earned promotion to New England Division I thanks to a staggering defeat of the renowned Berlin Strollers. The early eighties were busy for the club, as the men concentrated on augmenting club membership via a merger with the Old North Bridge RFC of Concord, MA. Highlights of the eighties include continual success both in New England and in international tournament play. In 1985, Charles River placed 2nd in NERFU Division I, qualifying them for the national playoffs: the team defeated Binghamton RFC in the first round, then lost to Old Blue RFC of NYC (16-6), which ended up advancing to the national finals. In the fall of 1986, the club defeated Boston RFC 12-9, eliminating them from the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The Club settled into a restructured Division II in 1992 and proceeded to hold the top seed in that division from 1993 to 1994, running three winning seasons in a row. The club failed to post a winning season again until the fall of 2005 when the men's side, under coach Fergal Hehir, made it to the playoffs. They defeated Rockaway RFC in the first playoff game in the spring of 2006 and lost to Montauk RFC in the second game. Under Hehir's tenure, Charles River's men's side ran four winning seasons in a row. In 2008, Hehir stepped down and the following January, the club came under the direction of Anthony Adams former player with the Boston Irish Wolfhounds RFC. After going winless in Adams' first league season (fall 2009), the Rat's men's side was almost relegated down to Division III, but managed to argue their case to stay in Division II. They were put in the new Daly Conference of Division II. In 2010, another South African, Hylton Haynes, took over as Men's coach. Currently, the Rat's men's side competes in Division III. In 2015, the Rat's men's side advanced to the Division III NERFU Cup finals, eventually losing to the Springfield Rifles RFC. In the fall of 2017 they beat out Old Gold RFC to earn a spot in playoffs. 2005 also marked the first season of the Lady Rats, a women's team to complement the men's team. The women had a successful winning first season, fielding a competitive side in all of their matches. In 2007, they went undefeated in Division III and were promoted to Division II. In the NERFU realignment in 2009, they were placed in Division III. In May 2011, they won the Division III championship. Since then, and multiple NERFU realignments, Charles River Women's RFC is currently competing in DII. In 2017 they made the playoffs for the second time in their history, and fell in the second round. The Rats men's side has been running about 50 active players per season and the women's side has been running about 40 players.

Division

The Charles River Lady Rats are a part of the

, Senior Women's Division II. In this division, they compete with: :*

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

WRFC :*

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Wild Roses :*

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

WRFC :*

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

WRFC :*Portland, Maine (PWRFC) :*North Shore Monsoons WRFC :*Upper Valley WRFC The Charles River Rats are a part of the

, Senior Men's Division III in the Northern Conference. In this division, they compete with: * Mad River RFC * North Shore RFC * Boston B RFC * Freedom RFC * Boston Maccabi RFC * Springfield Rifles RFC During their history, they have merged with the following clubs while retaining the name Charles River: * Old North Bridge RFC (1981)(based in

Concord, MA Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

) * Hanscom Hawks RFC (1987) (based on

Hanscom AFB Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located predominantly within Bedford, Massachusetts, with portions extending into the adjoining towns of Lincoln, Concord and Lexington. The facility is adjacent to Hanscom Field ...

) * Dracut RFC (1995)

References

External links

* {{Massachusetts Sports 1973 establishments in Massachusetts Rugby clubs established in 1973 Rugby union teams in Boston South Boston