The Missouri Rugby Union (MRFU) is the Local Area Union (LAU) for

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 ...

teams in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and parts of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. MRFU is part of the

Mid-America Geographical Union The Mid-America Geographical Union (MAGU) is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams playing in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and parts of Illinois as a member of USA Rugby. It was originally established in 1975 as the ...

(MAGU), which is of several Geographical Unions (GU's) that comprise

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

History

Early History. The honor of creating the Missouri Rugby Football Union belongs largely to Harry Langenberg. In 1933, Harry arrived back in St. Louis after attending Princeton University, where he was introduced to rugby. Harry not only played rugby, but also served as an assistant coach for a school club. In St. Louis, Harry joined forces with Edmond St. John Hoogewerf and Hugo Walther to form the Missouri Rugby Football Union. Shortly after the formation of the Missouri Rugby Football Union, Harry founded the first club to become a member, the Ramblers. The Missouri Rugby Football Union is now one of the oldest of the 39 territorial unions operating within the USA

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 ...

, and one of the oldest sports organizations in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

area. The Ramblers Rugby Club is the second oldest surviving independent rugby club in the United States. The Ramblers were Missouri Rugby Football Union champions in 1947. Grand Rec. Grand Rec was the first team allowed to keep the Missouri Rugby Football Union trophy for winning the championship three years in a row, in 1950. During its last years a younger team, the Grand Rec Juniors, was formed and also played. After winning permanent possession of the championship trophy, Grand Rec disbanded, and the juniors became just Grand Rec. Paul Birchfield from Grand Rec became coach of the juniors, now Grand Rec, and coached them to a championship. Bill "Terrible" Turk was the only Grand Rec player who played on as a member of the juniors, now just Grand Rec. Among Grand Rec's original team was Rudy Bukich (see Wikipedia entry). All the Missouri Rugby Football Union games during this time were played on the pitch in Forest Park,

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

. During the original Grand Rec's reign, the champion of the Missouri Rugby Football Union played Princeton for the Missouri Challenge Cup. This series was discontinued when Princeton returned the cup, after having won the game the previous year, saying the scheduled date interfered with studying for exams.

Gateway Ruggerfest

The MRFU has hosted the Gateway Ruggerfest Tournament annually since 1948. The tournament was traditionally scheduled on Easter weekend in Forest Park and was known as the Easter Ruggerfest. In recent years, the tournament has been scheduled the week after Easter and has outgrown the capacity of Forest Park. The 62nd annual Ruggerfest was held on April 10–11, 2010 at

Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park (also called Creve Coeur County Park) is a St. Louis County park located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, United States. The park is the largest in the St. Louis County Parks system and includes Creve Coeur Lake, an o ...

in St. Louis County.

Senior Clubs

Men's

Men's Division II *

St. Louis Bombers The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis from 1946 to 1950. Franchise history The St. Louis Bombers were originally part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The BAA merged wit ...

Men's Division III
Kohlfeld Scorpions

St. Louis Hornets Rugby Club

Sunday Morning

St. Louis Royal Ramblers

St. Louis Bombers Rugby

Franklin County Crimson Rugby

Belleville Rowdies Rugby

Women's

Women's Division I
St. Louis Sabres

College Clubs

Men

Collegiate Division I-A *

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

Collegiate Division I-AA *

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Collegiate Division II *

Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busin ...

Principia College Principia College (Principia or Prin) is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." "Although the College is not affiliated wit ...

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

Women's

St. Louis Sabres Women's Rugby

High School clubs

Single School Programs *

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and is ...

(CBC) *

De Smet Jesuit High School De Smet Jesuit High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school for boys located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The school began classes in the fall of 1967. It was named in honor of the p ...

Spartans *

Fox High School Fox High School is a public high school located in Arnold, Missouri that is part of the Fox School District. Approximately 2,000 students are currently enrolled. The school is named for Charles Fox Parham, Charles Fox, who once owned the land wh ...

Warriors *

Saint Louis University High School In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Saint Louis Priory School , image = , address = 500 South Mason Road , city = Creve Coeur , state = Missouri , zipcode = 63141 , country = United States , ...

* Liberty North High school * Liberty High school Multi-School Programs *

Kansas City Junior Blues Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

* Eureka High School *

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

Nightmare *

Kirkwood High School Kirkwood High School is a public education, public secondary school in Kirkwood, Missouri, United States. The school is part of the Kirkwood R-7 School District. Dr. Mike Havener started as principal in July 2011. History Kirkwood High School ...

Parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

United
Marquette High School
* Winnetonka Rugby * Park Hill United * Columbia Bandits * Nodaway County R.F.C Maryville High School Girls St. Louis Sirens Nodaway County High School Rugby Club

References

{{reflist

External links

Missouri Rugby Football Union website

MRFU Blog
Rugby union governing bodies in the United States Rugby union in Missouri