Springfield Rugby Football Club Alumni

They bought the 1st green & yellow jerseys at a men's store in the "X" in Springfield. It was the summer of 1969 when several young men met at Cathedral High School to form the Springfield Rugby Football Club, the Rifles. Some of the original group included: Tim Rabbit, Bill Cosgriff, Bob Crowley, John Del Negro, Dan Desesa, Paul Rieker and Phil and Joe Ward. In the earlier days, the members of the team primarily came from Chicopee and Springfield. The team's first match was played against Schenectady, NY. At the time New England was divided into three divisions. Springfield played in the 3rd division. The team later played a number of times for the Division 3 Championship. The team had a handful of experienced players. What they lacked in talent, they made up for in athleticism and hard play. "We were successful because we had great athletes who were very physical" said founding member Paul Rieker. "Typically teams like Albany and Boston had bigger and more experienced players. We were sometimes undermanned in the set piece, but often dominated the play by being extremely physical. Our aggressive defense frustrated teams often causing them to make mistakes that we would capitalize on." The team really had two watering holes, The City Line and St. Mikes in downtown Chicopee. While the social life at home was fun, the away games were an experience. "It was a long strange trip, the stories are outrageous" said Paul.