Harvard Business School RFC
Encyclopedia
The Harvard Business School RFC is a rugby union
team based at Harvard Business School
in Boston, Massachusetts. The club competes in the New England Rugby Football Union and is composed of graduate students from throughout Harvard University
.
Through advertisements, coercion and the promise of female spectators, the first contingent of forty or so interested men began to train at Soldiers Field. Despite the negative advice of the HBS Dean of Students and an attempt to merge the HBS side with the Harvard College side by force, Johnstone and McInnes persevered. The spring 1964 record of 5-2-1 was the harbinger of a glorious tradition of Eastern rugby strength, melding American athletes with the rugby culture of international players.
Since its inception, more than 1000 men have played for HBS Rugby.
Columbus Day weekend marks an annual gathering of all rugby alumni and current players to celebrate a tradition and renew a bond that few others have had at HBS.
, Flexpower
, and Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team based at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
in Boston, Massachusetts. The club competes in the New England Rugby Football Union and is composed of graduate students from throughout Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
History
HBS Rugby began in the fall of 1963. Prior to the team's founding, the Harvard Business School sporting culture was dominated by softball, bowling, and ping-pong. Dissatisfied with these options, two Scottish MBA students, Jim Johnstone '65 and Morris McInnes '65, founded the HBS Rugby Club.Through advertisements, coercion and the promise of female spectators, the first contingent of forty or so interested men began to train at Soldiers Field. Despite the negative advice of the HBS Dean of Students and an attempt to merge the HBS side with the Harvard College side by force, Johnstone and McInnes persevered. The spring 1964 record of 5-2-1 was the harbinger of a glorious tradition of Eastern rugby strength, melding American athletes with the rugby culture of international players.
Since its inception, more than 1000 men have played for HBS Rugby.
HBS Rugby today
Rugby is the only competitive, extramural team sport at HBS. The team continues to build its legacy of success with a full slate of NERFU games each fall and a spring touring calendar that includes London Business School, a rotating Spring Break tour, and the MBA World Championship at Duke University.Columbus Day weekend marks an annual gathering of all rugby alumni and current players to celebrate a tradition and renew a bond that few others have had at HBS.
Old Boys
An Old Boys touring side formally began with a trip to the Freeport Bahamas Easter Festival in 1978. In 2007, the Old Boys traveled to the World Cup Rugby frenzy in France and completed their thirtieth annual tour with two matches in Provence. In 2008, Grand Cayman Island was the scene for rugby plays and stingrays. Other HBS ruggers have also toured the globe and play for various local sides throughout the world.Sponsorship
HBS Rugby is supported by The Boston Consulting Group, Harpoon BreweryHarpoon Brewery
Harpoon Brewery is an American microbrewery, with plants in Boston, Massachusetts and Windsor, Vermont. Founded in 1986, the brewery was the first company to obtain a permit to manufacture and sell alcohol in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in over 25 years. In 2000 it purchased the former...
, Flexpower
Flexpower
Flex-power is a topical analgesic cream that is intended to relieve muscle and joint pain associated with arthritis, backaches, knee pain, shoulder pain, tendinitis, strains, sprains, and bruises. Initially created for professional athletes to enhance performance, it is promoted as a daily topical...
, and Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub.
Notable HBS Rugby alumni
- Robin BuchananRobin BuchananRobin Buchanan is the former Dean and former President of London Business School. Under his leadership the School was, for the first time, ranked number one in the world for both its MBA and Executive MBA programmes. He is a director of the School's Corporate Governance Centre.Before joining...
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- Patrick FitzgeraldPatrick FitzgeraldPatrick J. Fitzgerald is the current United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel...
, lead prosecutor in Scooter Libby, Conrad BlackConrad BlackConrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
, and Rod BlagojevichRod BlagojevichRod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
trials - Thomas C. FoleyThomas C. FoleyThomas Coleman "Tom" Foley is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Connecticut businessman, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 gubernatorial election in Connecticut.-Early life and education:...
, former United State Ambassador to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... - Theodore Roosevelt IVTheodore Roosevelt IVTheodore Roosevelt IV , is a managing director at Barclays Capital Corporation. The son of Theodore Roosevelt III and great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, and the Foreign Policy Association....
, great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt - Sir Wilson WhinerayWilson WhineraySir Wilson James Whineray, KNZM, OBE is a former business executive and the longest-serving captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team. Rugby writer T.P. McLean considered him the All Blacks' greatest captain.He first played for the All Blacks in 1957...
, former captain of the All Blacks