Smashmouth Rugby: 'The Way We Like It'

The New London County Rugby Football Club was defeated by Providence RFC on Saturday, the final score was somewhere around 36-25 but no one was certain at the end of the match. 

Kirk Bailey, a New London player said, "now we're heading out to the other rugby tradition," of the infamous nights of drinking and brawling at a local pub, but, he said, that's not what their club is about.   

"It used to be that guys would drink a lot and they just happened to play rugby," he said. "Now, guys just want to be good rugby players." 

The "drink-up" as it is called is where the teams, instead of fighting each other, now  share a pint together and talk about the match and each team awards the other team's best player, according to Rick Dickinson, one of New London's co-captains. 

The New London County Rugby Football Club was formed in 2003 by Dave Carlson after passing out "dozens and dozens of flyers," he said, because he wanted to continue playing the game he learned in college. He has since retired from playing rugby but two original members still play on the team, he said.

"After 35 (years old) you feel a little bit broken down," Dickinson said, of the sport's unofficial retirement age. He said the day's game was a success because everyone was able to walk off the field.

He said the team has a diverse set of members who may have played in college, or not. The team's youngest member is 17, according to Dickinson, who said that new members join the team with varying degrees of skill and experience. 

The club is part of the New England Rugby Football Union, a regional organization with adult and college teams for males and females. New London County RFC is a Division Three team. 

The spring is the team's practice season and the time is spent training new recruits and trying players in new positions before the regular fall season. Games are on Saturdays and the schedule is posted on the team's website.  

Two big events are coming up. Next Saturday, May 7, the team is playing Seacoast Rugby in Montville and the proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project. The following week is the New England Rugby Cup tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.