Final Spring Match (05.29.08) Our last game of this glorious spring season is here. We play Equinox at 1pm on Saturday in Bennington, VT. We will be meeting at the Allendale McDonalds at 10:45am. If you are driving directly there let us know. Game Cancelled (05.09.08) Tomorrow's game versus the Boston Ironsides has been cancelled. Anybody who wants to take a short ride can play with Equinox in Bennington. Call Jerm at 870-930-4819 for details. Another Berkshire United Victory (05.03.08) Berkshire United remained undefeated in the Capital District Youth Rugby Assn. running it's record to 3-0 w/ a 34-10 victory over Schenectady at Osceola Park in Pittsfield on Friday evening. United has shown a tendency to start slow & friday was no different as Berkshire fell behind 5-0 in the first five minutes of the half, but it would be the last time Schenectady would see the try zone until the very last play of the game. Berkshire answered back with a tries by Craig Laraway and Nolan Fernandez and a penalty kick by Bernard Addy to make it 13-5 at the half. United played a strong aggressive at attacking defense led by the bone crushing hits of Jameson Handolwich and Captain Tyler Cowan. This attack led to many turnovers despite Schenectady's excellent ability to possess. An excellent weak side pass from scrum half Cole Billings allowed Craig Laraway to use some excellent cut backs to score it in the middle after a 40 yard run. Addy was true on the kick to make it 20-5. Berkshire carried the pace of the second half and after some excellent team passing & support Nolan Fernandez was able to score his second try of the game, while Addy added the conversion to make it 27-10. After another excellent stretch of support and passing Addy was able to scamper 30 yards cutting through 2 defenders to touch it down. Addy was true on the conversion making it 34-5. Schenectady scored on the last play of the game to make the final United 34-10. Thanks to Ryan Quinto for a great game as referee. Equinox Results (04.26.08) A great weekend of Rugby was had by the Berkshire Rugby Club this weekend. The weekend saw Berkshire United U19 play its first home game ever, a 16-10 win over the Albany Bulldogs to raise their record in the Capital District Association to 2-0 and also saw the Senior Side show a tremendous display of intensity & teamwork in an 86-7 beating of first year club Equinox (Arlington,VT). Berkshire kicked off their home season in style scoring 7 tries in the first half and 6 in the second to post the score of 86-7. Leading the scoring with three try's apiece were Man of the Match Luke Bloom & Mike Harmon. Tacking on his first two tries ever was Brian Harrington. Adding individual tries were Galen Mahoney, James Hurley, Matt Webster, Steve Bilodeau, Frank Spoja & David Colli. Colli led the team with 26 points wit a try, 9 conversions & a penalty kick. Having great games for Berkshire were Bloom, Bilodeau, Hurley, Harmon, Colli, Webster, Mahoney, Harrington, Spoja, Vinnie Reagan, George Malone, Dan Love, Ben Cummings, Greg Wyman, Greg Gilmore, Brandon Navom & Mike Dean. The under 19 results were: Berkshire United suprisingly remained undefeated in their first season in the Capital District Youth Rugby Association by defeating the more experienced Albany Bulldogs 16-10 raising their record to 2-0. Berkshire's strong team defense allowed the team to ride the foot of Man of the Match Bernard Addy's two second half penalty kicks. United came out flat at the very begining of the 1st half and quickly fell behind 5-0 on a Bulldog try in the first minutes of the Thank you to Ryan Quinto who did a tremendous job refereeing!
On a beautiful 70 degree Friday evening Berkshire Rugby Club Under 19 Berkshire United First Game Results (04.11.08) Under the lights on a Historic rainy Friday evening the Berkshire Rugby Football Club's U19 Youth Rugby Club, Berkshire United, took the pitch for the first time on a beautiful turf field at Simsbury (CT) HS. Simsbury HS fielding a side of A & B side players were able to hang on for 12-5 win. After falling behind 5-0 early in the first half on a pushover try, United fought off the first game jitters by playing a stingy swarming defense. Despite being pinned in their own end for most of the first half, United got better as every minute of the game went by displaying some bone crunching hits, hard running and growing team work. At the end of the first half the score was 5-0 Simsbury. Simsbury scored early in the second half on another push over try and the conversion made it 12-0. From that moment on United held the advantage, moving forward aggressively both offensively & defensively. Berkshire's hard running & support was rewarded as Man of the Match Josh King ran over & through the Simsbury defense to score the historic first try for United. The game ended with Berkshire pushing forward in the Simsbury end. United played a fine style of rugby for their first ever match. The future of Berkshire United looks extremely promising. Texas Hold Em Tournament Fundraiser Friday March 28th (02.29.08) We need everyone current & alumni to pitch in to help make this work. We have an opportunity to raise $4000 for the club and need everyones help to make this a success. Rocco & Hurley have worked hard to set this up, lets not let our team down. WE NEED 100 PLAYERS TO MEET OUR GOAL! This is a Texas Hold-Em Style Tournament that will be at Mazzeos in Pittsfield on Friday March 28 at 6PM. Entry fee is $110 and will include a buffet style We WILL ALSO NEED CURRENT & ALUMNI PLAYERS WHO DO NOT WISH TO PLAY TO HELP AT THE TOURNAMENT We will also be having a raffle, so if you know of anyone who can donate such things as gift certificates, booze, gift baskets or whatever please work on this asap.
Berkshire Rugby Winter Dinner (02.01.08) When: Friday 2-22-08 Where: Italian American Club Dinner Choice: NY Strip Steak or Chicken Marsala Cost: $25.00 per person Time: 6:30 – 7:30 Cocktails Please RSVP by Monday 2.18.08 To: Greg “Happy” Gilmore or Butch Ptak Berkshire to Field a County-Wide CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP! NERFU Tournament Results (11.04.07) Berkshire Rugby had a great weekend of rugby at the New England Rugby Football Unions D4 Champonships in Stowe, VT, placing 3rd in the inaugral D4 Championship. Berkshire faced the host Mad River Rugby Club in the first match of the day for a 10am kickoff on a brisk day that sported a frost covered pitch. In a fiercly contested match filled with heavy collisions & crashes in the pack Berkshire played tremendous defense and despite playing most of the half on their side of the field allowed only one try in the first half allowing Mad River a 7-0 halftime lead. Early in the game the ball gathered ice on it due to the frost ideal conditions could have been more condusive to Berkshire attacking back style. Berkshire came out strong in the second half forceing the play. Berkshire scrum half Steve Bilodeau off a scrum down took the ball off the back of the In the consolation final Berkshire faced the always tough Saratoga Stampede. Toga jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead as Berkshire looked asleep at the wheel for With the win Berkshire finished 3rd in the NERFU D4, which matched its regular season finish. It was also awesome to see Alumni player Rhett Amos out to cheer on Berkshire. Thanks Rhett for braving the cold & rooting us on and for many of us it was great meeting you. Berkshire would like to thank Mad River for hosting the tourney. It was run in excellent efficiency with good officiating. The after party was excellent. Again thanks to Mad Rivre Rugby for being awesome hosts and putting on an excellent weekend! A great day of rugby was had by Berkshire Rugby Club on Saturday at Osceola park in Pittsfield. Berkshire essentially clinched 2nd or 3rd place in the NERFU D4 Berkshire played great rugby 1-15, it was a total team effort that showed the heart and spirit of Berkshire. Saratoga got on the board first 20 minutes into the first half with a try and failed conversion to make the score 5-0. Berkshire was able to rally after a few strong phases directed by scrummie Steven "Doo Doo" Bilodeau at the Toga goal line allowing Brandon "Bunny" Navom to get a strong drive over try. The Colli conversion made it 7-5 BRFC. Later in the first half, Berkshire again was able capitalize near the Toga goal line. After a few strong phases by the pack members, Colli skipped the ball past Luke Bloom, who made an amazing dummy allowing the ball to go by him, into the waiting hands of isolated & speedy winger Mike "Flava Flav" Hersey who was able to touch it down for a 12-5 lead as the BRFC conversion failed. Saratoga answered back with a penalty kick right away to bring the score to 12-8. Right before the half BRFC's Colli was able to convert a penalty kick to make the score 15-7 at the half. Eight minutes into the second half saw two Toga players collide heads as they tried to tackle the fiery & elusive "superstar" Mike Dean. Unfortunately one of Also thanks to all the alums who were out to support us, it was nice to see you all there rooting us on. Great games were had by : Jamie Bernier, Bunny, George Malone, Andy Wood, Max Callahan, Greg "Happy" Gilmore, "Thumbsley" Justin Limoges, James Hurley, Steven "Doo Doo" Bilodeau, Justin "Hoff" Hoffman, "Doc" Mike Quetti, Colli, Kenny Card, Sean Broderick, "Physcho" Mike Harmon, "Flava Flav" Mike Hersey, "Superstar" Mike Dean, Galen Mahoney, Dan Walsh, & Tyler Cowan. We will have a Bye week on Saturday Oct. 20 and no practice this upcoming week. We will have practice at 5:15 pm Tuesday and Thursday October 23 & 25 at Osceola Field. Our Last home game of the season is our 30th Anniversary Celebration friendly w/ the Connecticut Old Greys on Saturday October 27 at Osceola Park at Again that is SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 at 1PM at Osceola Park in Pittsfield, MA. Harvard Business Results (09.30.07) BRFC suffered a tough loss 47-10 to Harvard Business School on Saturday in Boston. Brfc jumped out to a 3-0 lead early on a Colli penalty kick, but by the half Harvard was up 19-3. Berkshire was able to get on the score board after an early Harvard try in the second half on a nice pick and go on a penalty by Steven Berkshire played a strong team game & displayed some strong defense, despite the score at the end, this game was closer than the score. Playing great games were Jamie Bernier, Bunny Navom, George Malone, Galen Mahoney, Max Callahan, Greg Wyman, Dan Love, Tyler Cowan, Justin Hoffman, James Hurley, Doo Doo, Thumbsly Justin Limoges, Dan Walsh, Andy Wood, Kenny Card, Mike Dean, Flava Flav Mike Hersey & Mike Harmon. Keep an eye out for emails. We may schedule a home friendly for Saturday 10/6. Next league Game is Saturday 10/13 at home against Saratoga. A must win game to clinch a playoff birth. Reminder 10/27 we are playing the Ct Old Greys at Home & may have added Utica rugby club to the mix. We are hoping this will be an Alumni Day/30th Anniversary drink up at the Brew Works. we encourage all former Berkshire Rugby players to come out with kit in hand and play or with beer in hand to watch have fun and maybe hang out with some of the guys you used to play with. Berkshire Rugby took a huge step in making it to the NERFU Playoffs for the first since 2000 Saturday at Osceola Park in Pittsfield by claiming a 7-0 forfeit victory over Mad River Rugby Club. Mad River was only able to travel with 11 and thus forfeited but played an excellent officiated 14 on 14 friendly to allow both Berkshire plays next saturday at first place Harvard Business School. This will be our last road game of the season. We will have home games on 10/13 & We will have practice on Tuesday and Thursdayat Osceola Field at 6pm. A good day of rugby was had Saturday at Osceola Park in Pittsfield that saw Berkshire draw with visiting Monadnock (Keene, NH) 10-10. The game saw Berkshire take a 5-0 lead on a Colli try and that proved to be the only score of the first half. Berkshire extended its lead to 10-0 on Greg Wymans first try. Monadnock faught back making a penalty kick to make the score 10-3. With two minutes left in the game the NERFU referee awarded a penalty try to Monadnock for not being back ten on a penalty. Monadnock was able to make the centered conversion for the draw. It was awesome to see so many alums out for the game and the drink up, which was held at the Berkshire Brew Works. We thank the Brew works for being great hosts. Saturday early morning also saw Berkshire Rugby attend a Relay for Life pancake breakfast at Applebees. Berkshire scored two points for the NERFU Standings and now has a total of 9 points with its two toughest games ahead against Mad River at home on Saturday 9/22 at Osceola Field at 1pm & at Harvard Business School on 9/29. Berkshire suffered a gut-wrenching loss at Mt. Washington RFC in North Conway, NH on Saturday. After MTW took an early 5-0, Berkshire countered with a Colli penalty kick, a Flava Flav try w/ a Colli conversion, a Colli try w/ a Broderick conversion to make it 17-5 Berkshire at the half. The second half saw Berkshire trade trys and build a 27-10 lead on two tries by zulu warrior "Superstar" Mike Dean. The last twenty minutes were dominated by Mt Washington who was All in all Berkshire played a great game with some wonderful efforts by all, we just didn't play a full game. Good teams get better from their errors by learning what they did incorrectly, fixing that and never letting it happen again. We need to have the ability to play a full 90 minute game at a continuous intensity level. "Physcho" Mike Harmon was named man of the match due to his play at fullback including excellent counters on their kicks and his bone crushing hits on D. Co- We will be having practice this week at Osceola Park our new home pitch on tue & thur at 6pm. Be ready to start at 6pm. We will be playing a must win game this week at Home vs Monadnock. Game time is 11am everyone must be there at 9am to set up the field. A spectacular day on the pitch was had by Berkshire Rugby kicking off the 30th Anniversary season in style beating the Boston Ironsides 76-5 in Boston. Berkshire had to overcome the first 14 minutes of the game where they played 3 men down (players were late due to traffic). On a special note: One of the players who filled in while waiting for the team to gain full strength was "The Rooster" Dan Love. This was an EXTRAORDINARY show of courage and dedication to his brothers because he had a torn acl in his knee and is awaiting surgery. Dan proved his toughness and certainly earned the respect & Thanks of his brothers & teammates. Berkshire was able to hold the Ironsides scoreless despite being 3 men down. Then at full strength Berkshire jumped out to a 19-5 lead at the half on scores from Colli, Broderick and Kenny Card. Berkshire slowed down the pace to allow their forwards to set the tempo of the second half. Berks pack led by great games from Happy, Jamie Bernier, Hurley, DooDoo, George, Thumbsly, Bunny and Dan Walsh were able to crash and roll through great support move the ball up the field and then under the excellent command of scrum half Justin Hoffman were able to move the ball to the backs for some hard brutal running by Andy Wood & Kenny Card combined with the speed of Flava Flav & "Psycho" Mike Harmon at wings and the composure and All in all BRFC played an excellent team game showing excellent support and teamwork. At the drinkup, "Flava Flav" Mike Hersey edged out scrummie Justin Hoffman for "Man of the Match." The party also saw the christening of the new mascot The win allows BRFC at least a tie for 1st place in the NE D4 after the first week. Next week Saturday 9/8 we play Mt. Washington RFC at North Conway, NH. This will be our longest roadtrip of the season & we will need a full committment by Ironsides Match (08.31.07) The Game has been moved to a 2pm start & we will be playing on a turf field. We will be able to wear cleats, but EVERYONE AT LEAST BRING A PAIR OF We will be meeting at 10:30 at the Lee, MA McDonalds by the Mass pike. We all should be at the pitch for 1pm we need to go over lineouts and game calls & We will be playing at the same place we played them last time - by the water my UMass-Boston. This is our first game in our quest to honor the 30th year of Berkshire Rugby, by winning the first ever New England Div. 4 Championship. Lets be focused and sharp and ready to go when the whistle blows. We get four points for a win & if we score 4 tries or more we get a Bonus point....we should expext & demand nothing less than 5 points from this game. Berkshire Rugby 30th Anniversary Party To all past and present Berkshire rugby players - Clear July 28, 2007 on your calendar. We will be having a Lobster/Steak Bake to benefit The Berkshire Rugby Football Club on Saturday July 28, 2007 at Rocco's house. We will sell tickets to this event at $50/ticket. The fee we include a choice of lobster or steak as a main meal, beverages and entertainment. Hopefully all past & present members will take advantage of this opportunity to get reacquainted, share some old stories and all do their part in making this another memorable Berkshire event. Friends and family are welcome. Tickets must be purchased prior to the event. For Ticket Info Contact: Results & Upcoming (05.01.07) Last weekend BRFC lost a hard fought match to MIT by a score of 29-18. Scoring tries for Berkshire were Kenny Card and Doo Doo with Colli adding two penalty kicks and a conversion. A strong game was played by BRFC showing constant improvement (lost to MIT by 40 last year) as the season progresses. We have an excellent roadtrip and tourney planned for this weekend. We will be playing in the North Bay Cup in Aberdeen, MD (about 5 hour drive). Hotel room is like $69/night. We will be leaving Friday night from Pittsfield (spot yet to be determined) at 6:30-7pm. We will be staying Friday & Saturday night. The tourney's drink up will be held at the hotel we are staying. Results (04.22.07) Berkshire lost a hard fough match to Rutland on Saturday 7-3. Berkshires results have continued to get better as the season moves along. BRFC played great team defense and continued tio get better at support and ball possession. Steve "DooDoo" Bilodeau was man of the match for Berkshire. A ten's B side game saw Berkshire tie Rutland 5-5 with a try by Stevie Noodles. We will have a match Saturday at home against MIT. On Tuesday of this week we will be at Reid for practice at 5:30 attendance is required for we will have a guest coach running our practice. Practice (04.17.07) Practice Thursday (04.19) will be held at Reid Middle School at 5:30pm [directions] New London Results (04.16.07) Berkshire played a very strong game despite a 27-3 loss to an excellent New London team. Berkshire played great team defense and continually got better and stronger as the game went on despite a lack of fitness due to a lack of practice. Our smaller pack was using good form in stealing their puts and we got a little better in support, but that remains our biggest weakness. Berkshire also had a strong showing by some new players as well. Man of the match was Luke Bloom. We play Rutland at home this week. Practice Tuesday and Thursday. Mainly everyone possible show up this week on Thursday. If Everyone come out and support Berkshire in this season of growth. Also any alumni that can come to practice and help by being a body that would be great. Amoskeag 7's Results (03.04.07) A glorious and victorious weekend was had by Berkshire (w/ the help of some Roger Williams players) at the Amoskeag Indoor Sevens Tournament. Berkshire competed in the mens open division and was able to come away with hardware by winning the Plate Championship in the Hong Kong style tournament. BRFC started the day slow losing to Burlington in a close one 21-14 - tries by RW Mike "The Truth" Dibona & Sean Broderick. In the next game Berkshire played Charles River & won going away 39-26. The Truth and Flava Flav provided the speed with The Truth scoring multiple scores with tries added by the Flav, Dan Love & Colli.....The 1 & 1 record was enough to get BRFC into the Plate Finals in which they faced UVM. After falling behind BRFC was able to scratch its way back to 19-19 before The Truth scored on the last play of the game to clinch the hardware. Other scores were added by Flava & Dibona as well as a huge try on a loose ball in the back of the try zone by Brandon "Bunny" Navom to tie it at 19 with less than a minute left. Playing for berkshire were Colli, Bunny, Mike "Doc" Quetti, Flava, Broderick, Thumbsly, Dan "Americas Most Wanted" Walsh & Dan Love. RW guys were The Truth, The Reason, Fozzy, McGovern & one other player. Berkshire was able to finish strong due to the excellent play of the props D. Love, Bunny & Thumbsly winning all our puts as well as good tackling by the backs especially Doc who was constantly making tackles & coming away with the ball... as well as good teamwork & communication... Indoor 7's Tournament (02.19.07) If interested in playing indoor 7's on March 3rd in New Hampshire, please contact Sean Broderick. [ email ] Winter Practices Berkshire has begun winter practices! We are meeting every Tuesday at Berkshire South in Great Barrington. Practice is held in the gymnasium from 7pm - 8pm. Click here for directions. Berkshire Holiday Party The annual Holiday Party will be held at 6:30pm on January 27, 2006 at the Dalton Depot. The Party is $25 per person. Email Ken Card (card@nycap.rr.com) your choice of meal: prime rib, stuffed chicken or baked haddock.Winter AGM Announced (11.07.06) The Berkshire AGM Will be at Teo's Hotdogs (1410 East Street in Pittsfield) in the back room Friday Nov. 17th 7:00 pm. After the meeting We'll all go over to the Brew Works. People who still owe dues Bring them Friday. The 2nd batch of the polo shirts and same Berkshire Rugby Tee shirts will be in by the meeting and I'll bring them. (25/polo 15/tee shirt.)Saratoga Results (11.02.06) The soggy & muddy conditions over the weekend added to spirit of the weekend as the rugby Gods let the rain hold up for most of the game in Saratoga. The 2pm kickoff saw Berkshire play their finest game of the season and come away with a decisive 17-6 to run the unbeaten streak in the Brew Works jerseys to 2. The win also saw Berkshire finish the season on a 3 game winning streak and finish the season (including the Saratoga Tourney) with a winning record of 4-3. The last three wins were the result of tremendous team rugby by the BRFC squad. Saratoga scored first converting a penalty kick to make it 3-0. Berkshire answered right back when Sean Broderick offloaded to inside center Kenny Card who was able to break through a few tackles and scamper 50 yards down field until he was able to dish to Mike "Flava Flav" Hersey who also broke a few tackles for the try. David Colli added the conversion to make it 7-3 Berkshire. Towards the end of the 1st half Saratoga was able to convert another penalty kick to make it 7-6 at the half. Berkshire determined to have a strong second half tightened up the swarming line defense and began to come away with the ball. midway through the 2nd half Colli was able to convert a penalty kick to make it 10-6. As Berkshire continued to dominate the play with excellent support of each other. After an excellent play between "Man of the match" fly half Sean Broderick and Kenny Card, that saw Card bust straight up the middle for a long gain to the goal line and after 3 to 4 phases Brandon "Bunny" Nevom was able to score a push over try. The Colli Conversion made it a final score of 17-6. Great games were had by pack members Steve "Doo Doo"Bilodeau, Jamie "Flair" Bernier, Max, Bunny, Dan Love, Justin "Thumbsly" Limoges, Jimmy Hurley, Big Steve, & Happy who supported each other well and stole & secured the ball over & over The backs Fly half Sean Broderick, centers Kenny Card & Mike "Doc" Quetti, wingers Flava Flav, Galen Mahoney & Stevie Noodles and Fullback Marc "the Snake Charmer" Carnevale played exceptional defense stringing out Saratoga's back line continually and producing offensively despite the sloppy conditions. Notes (11.02.06) We could possibly play in the Deer & Beer Tourney in Cortland, NY next week. If anyone is interested in playing email me by tuesday. If we have 10 we can go. Also for some of the college age guys, Sean has a 7's tourney for you on 11/11. It is in RI, any interested respond asap. Dave COlli will be playing in New York 7's on Sat Nov 25 in NYC. Anyone interested in playing is welcome. If we have enough we could enter a team. TO ALL MEMBERS ... PRESENT AND PAST This is a very important off season for BRFC. We have some good plans for the upcoming year but we need to pull together and work hard. We would like our Alumni and Non playing members to step up and help in the structure amid the development of the club. We will be announcing an AGM date soon...IT IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE THAT EVERYONE ATTENDS..... THE YEAR 2007 IS THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF BERKSHIRE RUGBY ... EVERYONE COME TOGETHER TO HELP MAKE IT A SPECIAL YEAR. Saratoga Match (10.25.06) Match Results & News (10.18.06) A spectacular weekend was shared by all this weekend!!! Berkshire finished strong(with a righteous christening of the Brew Works jersey's) to beat an as usual tough CT Greys side 33-11. The game at Clapp Park saw an awesome turnout of alumni(as you will see in the pictures attached)....and a spirited an excellent played 2nd half by Berkshire. BRFC started off tentative and missed a few opportunities early and went down 5-0. Berkshire was able to tie it on a Luke Bloom try, Berkshire was unable to convert the kick. 5-5. The Greys were able to tack on a penalty kick to make it 8-5. Early in the second part of the match The Greys fly half made an awesome Drop Goal from over 30 yards (Sweeeeet) to make it 11-6. Berkshire then took control of the game and dominated the last 25 minutes with an excellently played defense and awesome support of one another to continually possess the ball. This team effort allowed Steve Bilodeau to score and w/ a David Colli conversion made it 12-11 and BRFC never looked back. BRFC was able to maintain possession with excellent pack play that allowed fly half Sean Broderick (Man of the Match) to take over the game, as he was set up multiple tries. The first coming to the speedy Mike "Flava Flav" Hershey. With Colli's kick to make it 19-12. Broderick then on a great dummy with inside center Kenny Card was able to feed Mike "Doc" Quetti, who broke a couple tackles and scored up the middle. The Colli kick made it 26-11. To finish the scoring, Broderick again set up a sweet play to get the ball once again in the hands of "The Flava" who was able to outrun the Greys and score his second try of the game. The kick made it a final of 33-11. Excellent contributions were made by Jimmy Hurley, who despite a bad back, made the switch to prop to solidify our front row ... Jamie, Max, Big Steve, Justin Limoges, Dan Love, Happy, Greg & John Nix stepped up and played a tremendous role in the possession of the ball in the 2nd half. DooDoo & Luke dominated in the Loose. The backline saw a great performance from Sean Broderick, fullback Marc "the Snake Charmer" Carnevale, Kenny Card, Doc Quetti, Mike "the Medic", Stevie Noodles, Flava Flav and Galen Mahoney. All in all it was an excellent day of rugby. BRFC was able to win due to great team work both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The after party at the Brew Works was highlighted by excellent food & BEER. The current players loved the support of the alumni at the game....it is the type of atmosphere we are striving for. If there is an alumni not on this list, please forward me there email so I can get them on it. We also urge the alumni players to become involved in the structure of the team. Now that you are not playing (much) maybe we kind find other ways for you all to help continue to make us a successful club. If you are in the picture please forward me your full name or how you would like it to appear in print. ASAP There will be no game this weekend 10/21. We are playing Saratoga on the 28th (I think away)(anyone know ).....with a win we will have a winning record for the season. KEEP COMING TO PRACTICE 5:30 Clapp Park Tue/Thurs. We also have the opportunity to play on Nov. 4 in the Cortland Deer & Beer Tourney. This sounds like a blast. I need to know how many are interested. Please respond if you want to play. There are a lot of college teams (womens too) at this event. If you would like to order one of the BRFC Golf shirts please contact Happy. At the end of the season meeting we will display the design & take orders for the BRFC Sevens Jersey. Match Results (09.23.06) On 9/16 Berkshire RFC played an experienced and talented MIT RFC and came out on the short end of a 42-22 score. MIT led 5-0 after a try and failed conversion. David Colli made it 5-3 with a converted penalty kick. MIT answered back w/ a score. 10-3. Berkshire answered again with a hard fought pushover try by Man of the Match Brandon Navom. Berkshire missed the conversion to make it 10-8. MIT got some breathing room sandwiching three tries & 2 conversions around a great run by Luke Bloom for a try try & a Colli conversion for Berkshire to make it 30-15 at the half. Berkshire, after a long kickoff that pinned MIT in their own end, scored another push over try with a one yard plunge by Colli who also made the conversion to close the score to 30-22. Berkshire would get no closer as MIT finished with 2 more tries and one conversion to make it 42-22. Luke Bloom said "Despite the scores the last two weeks, the results for us are very positive. We have had an excellent turnout and are playing with many first year players who are learning and getting better each game." Added Sean Broderick "You can see it starting to come together.....we are looking forward to a big week against the Boston Ironsides." On 9/23 Berkshire played the Boston Ironsides RFC in Boston. After a slow start and playing a man down for the 1st 15 minutes of the game Berkshire was able to ride the spark of spirit of the arrival of Jimmy Hurley to round out the side and come away with an impressive 36-10. BRFC got out to a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick by David Colli, but lost the lead for a moment after the Ironside scored a try 5-3. BRFC took the lead for good on a punishing Luke Bloom 8-man take and a Colli conversion to make it 10-5. Berkshire scored again on a great strip steal and 85 yard run by Kenny Card before he made an excellent pass to a wide open Luke Bloom for another try 15-5. The Ironsides added a try to make it 15-10 at the half. Berkshire came out strong in the second half and immediately used a great play by all three backline backs (each wing & fullback) to counter an Ironsides kick. N.A. Steve fielded the kick and after making a couple nifty moves reversed the field spinning it to Fullback Galen Mahoney who beat a defender and sprung "Flava" Mike Hershey for his second score of the season. A Colli conversion made it 22-10. Luke Bloom completed his hat trick with his 3rd score of the game and Man of the Match Dan Love scored the last punishing try of the game. Colli added both conversions to make the final 36-10. Rugby Imports (09.23.06) Rugby Imports has announced their Team Loyalty Program. Read more here. Match Results (09.12.06) Berkshire had a great week of rugby despite coming up short in a hard fought match against a fun New London Club 36-21. Berkshire got to great scores from Mike DeTruthe and a new Zulu in Mike "Flava Flav" Hershey touching down his first try. Clapp Park proved to be an excellent pitch. A good time was had by all at the Pittsfield Brew Works after the game where BRFC presented the Brew Works w/ a golf shirt for each of the owners in recognition of their sponsorship and support. Everyone should stop by and have dinner or a brew with family & friends and support our sponsors.New Merchandise (09.12.06) The first 15 golf shirts are in, contact Happy for availability and to set up an order for more. These are very nice shirts and everyone should purchase one with the purpose of wearing them at the drink up.7's Jerseys (09.12.06) O'Laughlins Pub Sponsored the club for our summer 7's jerseys. Design for these excellent lightweight jerseys are under way and will be ordered for the end of the fall season. MIT (09.12.06) This week we have a game at MIT. Directions can be found here, we will meet at a time to be announced Saturday morning at the McDonalds in Lee.First Practice Announced Our first practice will be held Tuesday, July 25th at 5:30. This will be held at the Pittsfield Common. Sponsorship Meeting Berkshire Rugby Sponsorship Meeting will be held Wednesday (7/12) at O'Laughlins in Pittsfield. All current and alumni players should attend. This is going to be an extremely important part of building a strong club, so we need everyone to work as a team and get it done! Springfield Sevens A great time was had by all this weekend at the Springfield
7's. Berkshire entered a strong side of 12 players and multiple supporting
players to cheer on the team. Berkshire played four strong ames, losing
to Springfield 28-23 on a last minute score... losing 41-0 to a tough
Boston squad in the 2nd Game... but finished strong by beating UMass Dartmouth
14-5 and then spanking Springfield 36-10 to finish off the day. Summer Sevens The Berkshire Sevens side is currently in action. Practice
is at Reid Middle School, every Thursday at 6pm. [directions]
AGM Meeting We will be meeting for the 1st Annual Spring AGM June 2nd at the Five Chairs in Lenox at 7:00 PM. We will discuss tournaments, Summer practice schedule, entry into a 7's league, entry into NERFU, sponsorship and other issues. Everyone should plan on attending this important meeting Saratoga Results What a way to end a great season! Berkshire came out in force to beat a tough Saratoga side. Everyone contributed to a victory that saw Berkshire rucking over the ball, running and tackling hard, and sticking together as a team. Season Wrap-Up Thank you to everyone who helped keep Berkshire Rugby alive. Glenn Lawson and his simple and effective coaching style The Old Boys who support us on the side lines, in the game, and at the bar! The solid core of the club that never gave up on the team. The rookies (without them the team would not exist) who have committed themselves to learning the game. All the Berkshire players who have played this game before us. The ones who taught us the game and wrote the unwritten code of Berkshire Rugby; to play hard and fair and enjoy the sport for what it is on the field and off. Saturday was a beautiful day for rugby and Berkshire was out in force. Twenty four active players and at least a half dozen old boys out to support the team. We squared off against the Boston Ironsides who came down a bit short but ready to play. Berkshire controlled the tempo of the game from the beginning, crashing the ball into the Ironsides defense and, thanks to much improved rucking and ball control, retained possession throughout the entire match. The Ironsides played with determination and never gave up despite being outnumbered and outgunned, but the match was all Berkshire. We continued to dominate the ball, attacking constantly, and quickly shut down any Ironsides offense. The game was full of great runs and tackles, and it was a resounding win in our first home match. Veterans and rookies alike contributed to the 87-0 rout! I'd like to extend a special thanks to the old boys who played this game before us, take the time to come out and cheer us on, and donate generously to the club. Thank you! Next week we play Saratoga Rugby at Home. They will be traveling with 2 full sides so we will need to bring out all available ruggers to meet the challenge. Please try and make practice this Tuesday and Thursday (5:30 PM at Reid Middle School)so we can continue to improve our play. The game will be Saturday 1 PM at Reid. Let's finish strong Berkshire. Stag Announcement Kenny Card's stag will be held on Friday June 9th at American Legion on Wendell Ave. in Pittsfield, at 6:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at practice or the game this Saturday. Come on out and support your fellow rugger. Spring Practices We are currently practicing every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 behind Reid Middle School in Pittsfield. [directions] BRFC Merchandise Now Available Check out the merch section for all of your Berkshire clothing needs. |