The Offseason for the Outlaws

The team has to come back next fall with full intentions of being a better team than this year's Outlaws.  There is no other way to go but improve and be better teammates, on and off the field.  It all starts with all of the hard work that the summer will bring.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xHjC27YvM 

Captains Have Been Announced

Pleased to officially announce Alex Brussard '13 and Evan Meister '15 as our captain and vice captain for the 2012-13 season.

A Picture of the Seniors

Season Wrap Up

A summary of the Empire Conference Finals can be found on rugbymag.com.  Besides the disapointment of loss, it was a great weekend overall in New Rochelle.  A lot of family and friends showed up for the "revised" alumni weekend.  We are very appreciative of their support.  The commitment of our coaching staff was a major part of our success this season.  Also, big thanks to this year's group of seniors and 5th years.  They were a great group of guys who got the whole team to buy into a system by strong leadership skills.  Next years seniors will have to follow their lead and keep getting better every single day.  Go Outlaws!

The Outlaws Squeak Away With One

The Outlaws won today, 37-28, against Iona in a tough-fought match.  It was a very close game that wasn't decided until the very last minutes.  Iona's shifty wingers kept the game close with crucial tries that kept the Outlaws on their heels.  But the boys in black and yellow were able to keep the lead at the end of the game and now advance to the finals of the Empire Conference Final, tomorrow at 2 P.M.  You can find a summary of today's game on rugbymag.com, as well as the official scoring on our facebook page.  http://www.facebook.com/sburugby . For more information, follow @Sburugby, which allows you an follow the game live.  GO OUTLAWS!

The Outlaws are in Town

The St. Bonaventure rugby team has arrived at the hotel. The Hampton Inn workers are frightened about how many cookies they will have to make to keep the front row at ease. The team will depart from the hotel at 2 tomorrow and be on the field for warm ups by 3. Kick Off is at 4. You can stay connected through live tweets of the action, by following @sburugby, or come here for a wrap up summary of the game. Go outlaws!

Off to Iona

The boys are on the road to New Rochelle, New York. Keep on checking this blog and our twitter account to stay informed on the teams travels and success in the Empire Rugby Conference Playoffs.

Playoff System Explained

New York State is split into what is called the Empire Rugby Conference.  There is an Empire West Conference and an Empire East Conference.  The West is made up of ourselves, Binghamton, Brockport, UB, and Syracuse.  The East is made up of Stony Brook, Iona, Merchant Marines, and Fordham.  After a 7-1 Fall Season, the Outlaws have secured the #1 seed in the West.  Finishing 6-2, Binghamton took home the #2 seed in the West.  Stony Brook and Iona both finished up at 5-1, with Stony Brook having the advantage as the #1 seed of the East, resulting in Iona as the #2 seed of the East.  This Saturday, at Iona's field, the #1 seed (our Outlaws) will take on the #2 seed from the East, Iona.  The winner of that will play the winner of #2 Binghamton vs #1 Stony Brook in the finals of the Empire Rugby Conference Playoffs.  The winner of the Empire league is given an automatic bid to the sweet 16 of D1-AA national playoffs.  This is something our team has yet to accomplish, so you can now understand better why the team has been putting in so much work.  The Outlaws will have one more practice tomorrow before they take off for Iona on Friday. 

The Playoffs Are So Close, I Can Taste Them

The Empire Conference playoffs are less than a week away and the team seems to be ready for them.  All of the guys were back to school on Monday afternoon for a hard, defensive-based practice.  Then, the team was up early this morning for an hour session to continue working on defense.  The team has about 7 hours left of practice before they take off for New Rochelle, New York for this weekends' playoffs.  They will be back at it this afternoon looking to get better during each minute of practice. Keep posted to this blog and our twitter, @SBURugby , as we will be giving live updates of the preparation leading up to and the action of the playoffs.  GO OUTLAWS!

About the Matt Dungan Scholarship

*The Matthew Dungan Memorial Scholarship honors the life and legacy of former Kenmore West rugby player Matt "Duncan" Dungan. Matt, a 2009 graduate of Kenmore West High School, was a sophomore rugby player at St. Bonaventure University when he died unexpectedly from natural causes on January 23, 2011. The Matthew Dungan Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a rugby player at Kenmore West who plans to attend St. Bonaventure.

Originally Posted Thursday, February 9

Second Annual Night at the Races

Friday, February 17, 2012 , there will be a fundraiser at Braunscheidel Post, Kenmore NY. This event will be a benefit for  The Matt Dungan Scholarship Fund as well as the Kenmore West Rugby Program, Matt's highschool's rugby team.  Please join us for a night of fun with great food and friends while we raise money for a great cause! Tickets  can be purchased on-line at http://kenwestrugbyrace.com/.    Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated.  There is also a Facebook page that you can join, http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/268136653243871/ .

Originally posted Thursday, February 9th

So, What is Important Now

The team has been attending fitness sessions since the day they returned from Christmas break.  Although some guys like Brussard ate too many cookies over break, they have been working hard to reach the top levels of fitness needed to be an elite Division 1 team.  The fitness sessions have been broken down by the different positions.  So, all of the front rows work together, all of the second rowers work together, all of the loose forwards work together, etc.  The fitness sessions include position-specific workouts.  For example, the front rowers have been working on strengthening their core and overall fitness so they can be a more mobile, and effective front row.  Starting next Monday, the team will begin full team practices.  Five hours a week of full team practices along with the fitness sessions, the team should be ready to go on tour at the end of February and play their best rugby.  W.I.N.

New Team Motto

The team has taken on a new motto this spring season.  What's Important Now? Or shortened, W.I.N. We take every day as an opportunity to get better.  As a team, we have taken on the responsibility to get better in one aspect each and every single day.  Although this speaks mainly to rugby, such as getting a stronger core so we can be more efficient in rucks, but we are also trying to get better as young men each day.  If you follow us on twitter (@sburugby) , you will see that we will continue to tweet including the trend #W.I.N.  Because, every single day, we will have to realize what is important now and strive to become better. 

Originally Posted Thursday, February 9

New Beginnings for 2012

The St. Bonaventure Men's Rugby team returned to campus January 16th, 2012 with their heads high and ready for more action.  The team finished the Fall Season 7-1 overall in their conference and are now headed to playoffs in the spring.  They will start off the season with a spring break tour of exhibition matches.  They will travel to Maryland where they will play Maryland and Temple the first weekend.  The following weekend, they will travel to West Virginia where they will play matches against West Virginia and Shippensburg.  If the team can win the Empire Conference playoffs set to play in March, they will play Shippensburg in the first round of the  USA Rugby Division 1 Collegiate National Playoffs.  Fitness sessions have been started and outside practices have already started due to great, unexpected weather. Stay tuned for more on the SBURFC 2012 season.  Also follow @sburugby on Twitter for more behind the scenes.

Originally Posted Monday, February 6