The Harvard Rugby Football Club Celebrates 150th Anniversary of McGill Rivalry

While everyone was getting ready for the Head of the Charles last weekend, the Harvard rugby football club, also known as the men’s club rugby team, was preparing for an historic trip to Montreal to compete in the 150th edition of the team’s rivalry game against McGill. Rugby aficionados credit the first game against McGill that took place roughly 150 years ago with the foundation of American football, delineating it from England’s “rugby football.” That game was also the first record of a rugby game being played in America, a fact that the HRFC celebrates as part of its legacy.

While the Crimson showed its prowess in the first game with a dominant victory, McGill has since taken the lead throughout most of the 20th century.The Canadian rugby powerhouse has won the last nine straight playings of the game, and has solidified its 25-14 lead over the Crimson in the overarching series.

While the duo do not celebrate their anniversary annually, the date of this year’s game, Oct. 19, was 50 years later to the day of McGill and Harvard’s centennial match in 1974. The latest rendition of the Covo cup took place at McGill’s Molson stadium, the school’s main venue for football and rugby events.

With a packed stadium holding hundreds of invested rugby fans, the game marked the second-most attended collegiate rugby event ever to occur in Quebec. Despite the decisive 57-0 slaughter in favor of the home team, the HRFC took it all in and celebrated its historical rematch against the Canadian team and the continuation of the relationship over its 150 year lifetime.

“They've got a Hogwarts theme on the end of the field. And there were tons of fans there, so it was unreal,” said senior scrum half Adrian Guzman, who currently serves as the president of the club. “It was an incredible show of hospitality from them, and it was a celebration of our brotherhood.”

The captain, senior eight man Robbie Owen admitted that the squad did not put up its best showing for the game because it had to send a majority of its players to an in-league contest rather than to the Canadian game.

“In the spirit of the first game 150 years ago. We had a bit of a rag tag squad, because we had to send one team to New York to play our league game,” the senior said. “We got together some rugby mercenaries, including some local Montreal guys, and pulled it all together at the last minute. It was an excellent game.”

While the game marked a centuries-old tradition, the festivities after the game were just as important as the game itself. The two teams shared a formal banquet, where they bonded over the sport that connected them.

“We forged our bond at night. Adrian and I both gave little speeches afterwards at this lovely banquet where we had alumni, going back generations,” Owen said.

Notably in attendance were the sons of Peter Covo, who bears the cup’s namesake. Their speech honoring Peter’s legacy of keeping the sport of rugby alive in Canada was just one of the many memorable moments that made the weekend so special.

A tradition that added to this feeling of camaraderie amongst both the Harvard and McGill rugby clubs are their songs. Forged across the last 150 years, these songs are integral to the foundations of the club. At the banquet, the two teams shared songs, sharing traditions from their respective brotherhoods. While Harvard's songs are limited to English, the Quebec-based university shared its songs in both English and French. “Picking up on those little things,” Owen said, “is really quite sweet.”

Despite not finding success while in Canda, the team will look to rebound this weekend in its game against Sienna. By Courtesy of Mike Perriello

Going to Montreal and traveling each week for competition takes commitment and buy-in from HRFC. And, over the last two years, this team has seen a complete overhaul of this commitment because of its newly-appointed Head Coach Colton Cariaga.

“The way that Colton approaches life and rugby is a direct response as to how positive the players have reacted in their commitment to the HRFC,” sophomore flanker Austin Lawerence said.

Colton and the team commit to going to two practices a week with an additional film session and two lifts in the Palmer Dixon weightlifting facility. While this might seem like an easy schedule compared to other collegiate programs, the dedication to the team is astounding due to the fact that rugby at Harvard is a club team, and that in fact, these practices are optional. But, over the summer and breaks Colton has made himself, and training sessions, available for all his athletes.

“Our Coach is building a team from a very raw group of talented guys who don't have that much rugby experience,” Owen said. “We are in a very tough League, especially playing against a bunch of teams who recruit while we can't. But, Colton has brought a dedication and professionalism and level of excellence that's really been awesome to have.”

For the Head Coach, who couldn’t make the game due to the trip’s visit to Iona, it’s all about repetition and exposure.

“This past weekend we sent two teams to go play other universities [top teams]. Playing these really quality programs is a part of exposing as many guys as we can as possible to a really high level of rugby,” Cariaga said. “These guys’ improvement has been tenfold this past year. It's been a very fun group to get to know and to coach outside of rugby, as well: to know what makes them tick off the rugby field, and why they do it. I am really looking forward to the future with this group.”

The squad will look to its next competition where the club will welcome Siena College to Mignone field on Saturday at 7:00 pm

—Staff writer Thomas Harris can be reached at thomas.harris@thecrimson.com