For those of you who are new to the Club, the Old Man of the Mountain Rugby Tournament was founded by  three members of the Boston Rugby Club as a way to continue to play rugby and have some fun in the dark days after turning 40… Things went along nicely for many years until those founders could no longer carry the burden of running the show and handed things off to Amoskeag…which has been doing a fine job since. I am happy to report that not only have the Boston fellows handed things off but the Boston Rugby Club has stopped showing up! An excellent turn of events since I hate Boston. But it was nice to see Mike Flynn, Joe Flynn and Tommy Acheson and various other hangers on.

Jay Chabot was not thrown out of a game this year… And when told that we would pay him $5.00 for each time he didn’t say anything to the referee he responded by Shutting TF Up! Who knew?  I sense a new Club policy developing.

Patty Brancard celebrated her 29th birthday…again … in fine form.

Chickie has returned to the dating pool after a long absence…. I used to write weekly updates on  his dating status when we a thing called a newsletter…there was much to write about ..and I expect there will be once more.

Daryl Garrison made his first trip down to the river for a moving ice bath…whinging all the way there and back about how far it was…. I plan on bringing a wheel chair for him next year.

Last year Kevin from the Toronto XL’s… one of our favorite clubs to play…we’ve NEVER lost to them…said that Andy Terry, their fearless leader,  was too old and fat to get into the car to drive down to NH…I guess the same can now be said of the rest of the team since they bailed at the last minute and were no shows…. A couple  of the slimmer guys pitched in and helped us out. Many thanks to those nice and polite Canadian fellows.

Ronco’s dog didn’t kill anything over the weekend…mostly because she wasn’t there.

Only two props made it to the Great North Country…Requiring us to play the entirety of both games. Please see below. This cannot continue.

This year’s tee shirt featured the following…. “Rehab is for Quitters”…. not sure if this was directed at our players…. but George Saul has a slogan for next year that will be forwarded to the committee as soon as he gets the necessary copyright in place.

A good time was had by all, but a better one might be had next year if I don’t have to play all of both games. President McNamara did a great job running the show with all his little helpers, Donny, Chickie, Lev  and Krusty the Clown.  Block Island is next. Details to follow.

We played two closely contested matches at the Old Man of the Mountain Rugby Tournament.  Thanks to our quest players from Montreal Barry Sullivan and Steve Ackle and Nigel from Toronto to give us a squad of nineteen.  Our first match was against Worcester and they came out sporting Quilts over their Rugby shorts. Worcester scored first on a long run after we mishandled the ball to take a 7-0 lead.  In the second half we scored in the left hand corner and Jay Chabot hit a tough conversion to tie the score.   We continued to attack but had problems with forward passes and knock-ons.  With two minutes left we got called for not releasing chatted at the referee got penalized ten more yards and Worcester toed it quick and went 50 meters to go up 14-7.  We came back in the last minute to score a try but the conversion was missed and we lost 14-12.  We had more possession and played well but handling errors stopped momentum that could have led to points.

We played Seacoast next and they scored a try in the first few minutes.  They had some good backs and were on the attack early in the match.  Kevin McNamara did a great job throwing the ball in the line out.  Ed Carr won our line outs and most of Seacoasts.  George Saul and Tom Flynn dominated in the front row allowing Mac to steal many of their hooks.  The possession we had got the score to 14-12 Seacoast.  Then we scored a try to go up 17-14 with about seven minutes left.  Seacoast scored a try and had the lead but with forwards dominating we got back in their end Jay Chabot put the last points on the board with a penalty kick for a 20-19 win.  John Kerr did a great job at Scrum Half with some quick toe penalties and some nice weak side attacks.  Jim Burke chased down kicks and was all over the pitch in support.  Darryl Garrison did a great job at Flanker and at times he took the ball at the first receiver position to link up with the backs.  MOTM honors go to Ed Carr for line out domination and Joe Bordieri for line breaks and off loads in the line.  It was a great day of rugby and an awesome team effort.–Lou

Also, please let Lou and Mike know if you will be able to attend the July 27th annual pilgrimage to Block Island.  We would like to travel with good numbers to claim our second victory in a row over the Cocks.

Finally, please contact the captains if you plan to play int he Can-Am Tournament in Saranac, NY on Aug 2-4.  Lou and Mike will be coordinating the over-45 side and Rene Abdalah is coordinating the over-35 side.  I have attached all emails below:

loupetruzzello10@sbcglobal.net

allthehales@comcast.net

rene.abdalah@yahoo.com

In 2 weeks (May 31-June 2) one of the best rugby weekends of the year-The Old Men of the Mountain Tournament will be upon us. With a significant number of new players on the team this year, we would like to fill you in on what we know will be a memorable time, and sincerely hope all can join us in this festive event. Come with your wife, your kids, or make it a boys only weekend. This is one of the few weekends (other than Saranac) where it all works.

For almost 30 years, The Old Men of The Mountain Tournament(about 3 1/2 hours from Hartford) has become an annual pilgrimage for aging ruggers with the beautiful While Mountains of New Hampshire set as the backdrop. Clubs from both New England, and Canada has been the steady participants, with close friendships always being renewed. There are no trophies, rather this a friendly(somewhat) one day tournament, each team playing 2 matches in the true spirit of what Old Boys rugby should be.

The matches are played directly across from the Franconia Inn(Grey HQ), on a glider airstrip closed for this one day to house the event, and the schedule is generally as follows:

Friday-May 31st

Most arrive late afternoon, early evening, and the Grey have a great, casual cookout poolside at the Franconia Inn to kick things off. After, we usually head inside to their historic bar to wind down the evening, or head into town to attend the Captains meeting, which aside from an excuse to drink, the tournament schedule is determined. Each respective team schedule will be announced then, not prior, so you may be playing early. Plan accordingly.

Saturday-June 1st

Saturday is rugby day! Those who are staying at the Franconia Inn simply have to mosey across the street to play. Games are played throughout the day, and last year the competition was quite good.

After the matches, the Grey have traditionally thrown was has become the standard for a first class feast(cost-about $25/per) and drink up (with a mandatory swig from the venerable Bucket)under Donnie’s tent.. Most tend to stick around and socialize long after, enjoying friendships old and new. If the weather is right, it’s a postcard setting.

Saturday night most head over to the local honky tonk, The Cannon Mountain View Restaurant, to enjoy the outdoor patio and some food and drink, or listen to live music(the band is usually….interesting).

Sunday-June 2nd-

Mimosa’s on the front porch of the Franconia Inn late morning  have been the tradition before heading back home. Feel free to linger, and watch the gliders take off and land on the pitch you played on the day before.

As a suggestion, a great place to stop off on the way back is the Town Docks, casual place, replete with man made beach, reasonably priced food, with requisite tiki bar, set right on the water on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, NH. It’s about an hour south of Franconia, and and only 10-15 minutes off of Route 93. Here’s the link for more specifics: www.thecman.com/restaurants-and-menus/town-docks.aspx

Lodging:

Please click on this links below to view your lodging options. Most stay right at the Franconia Inn, but there are plenty of other options.  I would recommend staying at the places in Franconia. One good option is: Best Western White Mountain Resort, or for the budget conscious: The Gale River Motel & Cottages,  The Hillwinds Lodge, or the Cannon Mountain View Motel. All of these places are a short distance to the pitches. For those wanting to rough it, check out the Lafayette Campground, it’s only about 10 minutes from the pitches and town, cost is $25, and they have bathrooms and showers, Reservations recommended:

www.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NH&parkId=270044

 www.cannonmt.com/lodging.html

Clear your schedules, be pro-active on your “honey-do” lists, bribe whoever you have to, but please make every effort to be there. It’s the epitome of what Old Boys rugby is about, and should not be missed! You’ll look forward to going back year after year! We look forward to seeing everyone then.

We played a great game of rugby against an excellent Amoskeag side.  We had seventeen players including Derek from the Hounds and Brad a Fullback.  These players helped to make the match competitive.  Thanks to Santiago and Kevin Mac for filling in at wing.  We scored four tries and they scored six with five conversions.  Chris Reed did a superb job reffing.  He talked to the players and the match flowed with a lot of ball movement from end to end.  Unfortunately a few times we turned the ball over Amoskeag turned it into a sixty or seventy meter score.  Good bunch of guys from Amoskeag who played hard and were great hosts.  We need to play these guys because they are a class act and hopefully in the future we can make better effort to travel there.

Jason Smith, Mike Powers and Andy Ives led the charge in the forwards.  We were on the attack early and Jeff Levinson scored for 5-0 lead.  Amoskeag put in three tries one right before half for a 19-5 lead.

In the second half each team scored three tries.  We raised our level of play and kept playing good hard Rugby.  Bill Bishop, Derek and Darrell Garrison had some great runs. Brad, the fullback, countered well with exceptional kicking and running.

MOTM honors go to Andy Ives who was all over the pitch getting involved in the back line attack as well.  It was an awesome day but it could have been better if a few more individuals made the effort to travel.  We are through nine weeks of playing every week.  The Memorial Day weekend is off and then we go to Franconia June 1.  We also have Saranac Lake on August 2-4 and we our entering a 35* and 45* teams.  We are asking everyone to communicate your intentions for these events.

Please let Lou know about your availability for Franconia.  Let Mike Hale know if you plan to play over-45 at Saranac.  Let Rene Abdalah know if you plan to play over- 35.  Please do this immediately because we need to get the rosters set.  If in doubt just let me know and I will communicate it to Mike or Rene.  Especially for Saranac, we will need to know who can play so we determine who will play with which bracket.  Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.  –Lou

The match will be at 1 pm at the Piscataquog River Park in Manchester, NH. Afterwards we will go to the Wild Rover Pub in Manchester.

Directions: from I-495 N in MA take route 3N this will turn into the Everett Turnpike then I-293 in Manchester. I-293 exit 5 turn left and go under the highway, go up the hill and turn left onto S. Main St. (There will be a dunkin donuts on the other side of the intersection) turn right onto Varney St. (There is a Walgreens at this intersection) turn right onto Precourt Ave (there is a single flashing yellow light on the rightbat this intersection) the pitch is at the end of Precourt.

Please contact Lou and Mike ASAP to let them know if you can play.

allthehales@comcast.net

loupetruzzello10@sbcglobal.net

We got our eighth win of the season against a solid Long Island squad.  They had some really good forward play but once we got the ball wide our backs put in five tries for great team win.  They will be keen for a hard match when we go down there in the fall.  Thanks to everyone for all of their efforts to make it an awesome Family Day.

We got in their end early and kept attacking the first fifteen minutes of the match.  We managed two tries and a penalty kick for a 15-0 lead.  The next fifteen minutes the action stayed in the middle of the pitch with both sides attacking but no points.  Long Island then got their forwards going and scored one minute before half.  We got the ball back in their end and after several penalties finished with a try to keep the fifteen point spread 22-7.  The second half LI was in our half but strong defense only allowed one try.  We scored two more tries; one from a beautiful rolling maul with Cleaveland Wilson, Santiago Cordova and Jason Smith and others leading the charge.  Jeff Snider MOTM quick toed a penalty to run fifty meters for the other try.  Victor Milani, Cordova, Rene Abdalah, Sean Sierra and Matt Leonard all had some good attacking runs. Bill Bishop and Jeff Snider ran back inside often for some good yardage.  Things then opened up for Beaver and Charles to deliver the ball to the wings.  All in all, it was a great day of rugby despite the little drizzle.

Next week we travel to Amoskeag.  Please let Mike or me know by Thursday if you can attend.  It will be a good hard challenging Match so please make the effort to travel.  –Lou