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Match Write-Ups

UT Grad Rugby Joins The Texas Rugby Union
September 5, 2001
Tim Koch
MBA 2002
TBW Publisher

Locked arm-in-arm, they take the field. Donned in nothing more than black mid-cut spiked cleats, heavy-duty shorts, and burnt-orange and black jerseys; these modern-day warriors belt out the “Eyes of Texas” to unsuspecting competitors. For much of the competition, this represents their first exposure to UT Grad Rugby team, which is comprised primarily of MBA students from the McCombs School of Business.

This year, however, will be different for the grad ruggers of Texas. Beginning this fall, the UT Grad Rugby Team joins the Texas Rugby Union at the Division III level. Joining the Texas Rugby Union offers several advantages for the team to include a regular season of matches and an increased level of competition. UT Grad Rugby will compete with men’s clubs throughout the Central Texas region to include the Corpus Christi Crabbers, the Bayou Outlaws, the Austin Huns, and many others. Despite the challenging “regular season” schedule in the Fall and Spring, the focus of the team remains to gear up and excel at the 2 international MBA rugby tournaments hosted by the Thunderbird School of Management in Phoenix, Arizona in the fall and Fuqua at Duke University in the spring. The tournaments include MBA teams from Ireland, France, England, Australia as well as a host of Ivy League teams. Alex Noffsinger, MBA ’02, the UT Grad Rugby Club president, describes the impact of the team’s performance at these tournaments, “One thing you can say for UT Grad Rugby is that we’re involved in every aspect of the tournaments we attend – including the physical side as well as the social aspects. I think this speaks volumes about the quality of students that come to UT and decide to play rugby. It’s interesting how many of our Ivy League competitors do not have the social skills that many of us [at Texas] take for granted.”

Despite losing key playmakers Andy Conver, MBA ’01, and Reid Bork, MBA ’01, to graduation and the private sector, the UT graduate rugby team returns several starters from last year who are poised to have one of their most successful seasons ever. This season, the team returns “in the pack” Bob Croker, MBA ’02, Jay Amin, MBA ‘02, Chris “Anchor Man” Porter, MBA ‘02, and Allan Dunne, MBA ’02. Also, the back line will witness the return of several key players who suffered minor injuries last season to include Spencer Alston, MBA ’02, who led the team to victory in several matches at Duke while playing in an air cast with a broken ankle and Ted Hamilton, MBA ’02, whose broken finger has received the green light to return to play.

Not surprising, key changes are likely to occur in the starting line up to accommodate the wealth of experience that the entering first-year class brings. New joins for the team include Matt Todd, MBA ’03, a former captain of the University of Southern California rugby team, and Troy Goldhammer, MBA ’03, a veteran of the US Army teams. Additionally, several international students joined the team straight off the boat including Geoff Martin, MBA ’03, and Stuart Stott, MBA ’03, whose extensive experience will benefit the team on the field as well as assist in coaching.

Although the team is comprised primarily of MBA students, a key success factor for the team has been the addition of engineer and law graduate students. In fact, engineering graduate student and co-captain, Greg “Wheels” Cohen, will lead the back line. Cohen, a veteran rugby player, admits that students from other programs bring a strength and diversity to the team. For example, he freely admits, “Without students from the other grad schools, our team would concentrate too much on marginal profits and not nearly enough on marginal women."

Last season, the team improved by leaps and bounds throughout the season. After sweeping the Central Charity Challenge rugby tournament in the Spring, the UT Grads came within one try of defeating an experienced INSEAD rugby squad at the International Rugby tournament at Duke and were able to narrowly defeat the UT Grad alumni team in sweltering heat at Burr Field. What the UT Grad Rugby Team has lacked traditionally in experience, they have made up with heart and a “smashmouth” rugby attitude that literally carried the team through several difficult games. Last season concluded with a closing ceremony and an informal court that found many of the first and second year students in gross violation of the codes of conduct established by the team. Many of the violations stemmed from unmanly acts such as eating ice cream cones before matches, putting ice in beer and bringing girlfriends on tour. The team expects that although mistakes do happen, they may be minimized this year.

The team began practice this past Friday and is open to all who would like to play. The team specifically caters to those who desire to engage in “elegant violence”, enjoy camaraderie, and seek to improve their level of physical fitness. No experience is required. In fact, for a majority of the team, the UT Grad Rugby program represents the first time on the rugby pitch. The team practices every Friday at 3:30 pm at the IM fields. For more information about the UT Grad Ruby team; contact the club president, Alex Noffsinger at alex.noffsinger@mba02.bus.utexas.edu.

Texas Ruggers Win 3rd Annual CCC Tourney
March 6, 2001
Andy Conver
Class of 2001
TBW Guest Writer

Go ugly early? Not only a common phrase used by frat guys on the UT campus but also the Texas Grad Ruggers approach to last Saturday’s CCC matches. While the style of play and flow of the matches weren’t pretty, UT came away with two wins over SMU’s Grad Club and the Corpus Christi Crabs to win the tournament. Texas used its solid back line to beat SMU 14-5 in the first match and fought off a late charge by Corpus Christi to win the second match 12-10. In the tournament’s third match, Corpus beat SMU 35-19.

The Texas Grad Ruggers were paced by first years Alex “Pretty Hair” Noffsinger who scored a crucial try against SMU, Tim Koch who led Texas’ forwards throughout the day, and second years Reid Bork and Arvis Nantz, both of whom enforced Texas’ physical style of play on the pitch. One hundred straight minutes of rugby proved to be a good start to a day that ended in some post-game barbeque and adult beverages. What Texas lacked in grace on the pitch they certainly made up for off the field. SMU’s squad and Corpus Christi joined UT after the day’s final match for some singing, “boat races” and other testosterone-induced revelry.

UT’s MBA crowd also made a strong showing, having purchased tickets in advance to attend the charity event. Many in the crowd seemed more interested in the adult beverages however, not sure what to make of their first scrums, mauls and rucks. No, these aren’t interview tactics used by recruiters on campus or new derivative products, but rather critical parts of any rugby match. All proceeds from the ticket sales will go to benefit CCC and their charities: InnerCity Games Foundation, Lifeworks and Children’s Hospital of Austin. Although the final tally of funds raised is not complete, we expect some good numbers. Special thanks to all CCC members for their efforts in putting together this great event, and in particular, Sona Chandwani, Katie George and Jason Richardson. The Texas Grad Rugby club would also like to thank its sponsors: Miller, Procter & Gamble, Deloitte Consulting and Ford Motor Company. Expect an even bigger and better event next spring.

Keep an eye out for your Texas Grad Rugby Club in late March. We’ll be in boots and hats again for the World MBA Rugby Championships at Duke University in Raleigh-Durham, NC, March 30 – April 1. Texas expects to have a great showing and plans on brining back the coveted Dean F. Keller trophy to the Lone Star State.

Ruggers Split with UT Undergrads and Baylor
October 17, 2000
Mike Czyz
Class of 2001
TBW Sports Writer

Texas Grad Ruggers have been busy and played three thirty minute periods with the UT undergrads Sept. 30th at the intramural fields. The undergrads got off to a quick 14-0 start, but the grad students were not phased by the youngsters. The old guys exhibited their stamina and scored twice to close the gap to 14-12 in the second period. Chris Panatier and Jared Johnson provided scores with Andrew Farquhar making a tough conversion practically from the sideline. The Grad club nearly took the lead as they had possession and were driving to the try line, but the ruck went out of bounds to end the period. The undergrads extended their lead to 19-12 in the third period. Undaunted, the grads came back with another try from Chris Panatier; however, the conversion proved too difficult and the score was 19-17 with five minutes left. The Grads students threatened and got within the 20 meter line several times but couldn’t get in, so the final was 19-17. However, the Grad Rugby Club had a lot of positives to take from the game as the new guys are picking up the rules quickly (these 2002 MBA students really are smart!), the forwards were physically winning a majority of the rucks and line-outs, and the backs scored points.

The rugby club also played September 7th against Baylor in Waco, and it was a perfect rugby day (raining and 40 degrees). The most bizarre play of the game had to be when Greg Cohen refused to let a Baylor rugger get by him. So he grabbed anything he could, and proved the elastic limit of a pair of Baylor rugby shorts to be somewhere around three and a half feet. Andrew Conver made two penalty kicks and exchange student Makkoto Akai provided a try, as Texas proved to be too much for Baylor, winning 11-5 and confirming Texas Grad Rugby to be a much more entertaining event than UT-Oklahoma.

Grad Rugby Club Returns From Duke With Battle Scars
April 11, 2000
Michael Czyz
Class of 2001
TBW Sports Writer

If you have seen Reid Bork (’01) and some other MBA students walking around with black eyes, let me assure you that the last think and drink did not end with a bar fight. It’s just a sign that the Grad Rugby Club has returned from the spring tournament at Duke.

The club started off the tournament Saturday morning against the defending champs, INSEAD. With the team playing some of its best rugby, the first half ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, a penalty kick put INSEAD up 3-0, but the Texas club came back strong and scored a try and conversion to take a 7-3 lead. INSEAD showed why they were the defending champs and scored their own try to take an 8-7 lead. Texas attempts to get the lead back ended up short as time ran out, but Texas had made a statement that they had come to play some tough and physical rugby and could compete with anyone. Later on Saturday, Andy Conver (’01) scored two trys and led the club to a 10-5 victory over John Hopkins. The last game on Saturday was a 26-0 blowout victory over SMU, which led Texas to a #6 seeding (out of 24 clubs) and a first round match with rival Kellogg on Sunday morning.

Saturday night included the traditional banquet dinner. Texas came dressed with boots, bolos, sport coats, and cowboy hats. Native Texan Patrick Hafey (’01) looked like he came straight from The Grand Ole Opry and “Wild” Bill Jones (’00) must have had the biggest bolo in the shape of Texas I’ve ever seen. Steve Lenard (’01) exceeded the ten gallon hat limit by at least fifty gallons, and Andy “Opie” Conver had a belt buckle that makes WWF championship belts look small. Greenpeace is still trying to figure out what type of feather Reid Bork had in his cowboy hat.

On Sunday morning, Kellogg jumped on the board first and took a 5-0 lead. Texas got within less than five yards of the try line numerous times over the next thirty minutes but just couldn’t quite get it across. So a late Kellogg try led to a 10-0 final score. The club was crushed from the first round spoil but showed their social spirit by watching some of the other matches and having some beers and singing songs with other teams. A team from Ireland reportedly loaded with undergrads won the tournament, but the Texas club has its eyes set on next year.

The last rugby article of the semester wouldn’t be complete without extending special thanks from everyone in the club to president Bill Jones, team captain Joe Stathmann, and coach Mark Comninos. We appreciate all the hard work that you have put into the club and into making this year a success. Next years officers look forward to keeping up the tradition you have established with the Texas Grad Rugby Club.

Ruggers Upset Blacks
March 21, 2000
Chris Shelton
Class of 2000
TBW Sports Writer

Not since Vanilla Ice’s promoter got him a gig on MTV has the entertainment world witnessed such a tireless effort with such startling success. Saturday, February 26, the Texas Grad Rugby team traveled to Burr field and upset the heavily favored Austin Blacks – Purple side 17-14. For those of you that don’t follow local rugby, and judging from recent attendance that’s all but about 5 of you, the Austin Blacks are considered the alpha male of the Central Texas rugby world. Granted, the purple side is more like the adolescent wolf that the alpha male regularly beats on for fun and practice, but we’re still throwing a victory party. A chronicle of the day’s events follows.

First, even getting to Burr Field requires laser-like focus and nerves of steel. A heavy morning rain had turned the half-mile Burr field driveway from its usual third-world quality into something that would have bested Lewis and Clark. Pickups and ’88 Honda Civic hatchbacks alike were sliding around like the guy that kept trying to walk up the slide in the “Banana Splits” show. No matter, everyone arrived safely and it was time to play a little rugby.

The majority of the first half was played in a scoreless tie. The Texas pack held up well against a Blacks pack that had at least 4 or 5 guys that eclipsed the 225-pound mark. We suspect not too high a percentage of that body weight was lean muscle mass, but the Grad Ruggers were still forced to work hard in the scrums. Late in the first half, superior passing from Hernan Santa Maria (Eng.) and Lt. Scott Sanders (Eng.) led to a Mike Passyn (’01) try. The kick failed and the grads led at halftime 5-0. (Interesting Fact: Burr Field is 3 fire ants away from being declared completely inhabitable. Legend has it that Stephen F. Austin left this parcel of land to the Indians, only the Indians didn’t want it either.)

Early in the second half, wing Brian Graybill (’00) received the ball deep in the Grads’ end and sprinted past everyone on the field for a try, slowing down only briefly to gently stroke a gazelle he was passing. Andy Conver (’01) made the kick and the Grads led 12-0. Graybill notched his second try of the game 15 minutes later to put the Grads up 17-7. The Blacks added a score, but it was of absolutely no consequence as Texas remained unbeaten in the young spring season.

Andy Conver was named man of the match for his ferocious tackling of large men with no necks and legs the size of his waist. Doug Bennett (’00) was honorable mention for his superb job of filling in at fly half as the two guys that usually play that position insisted on putting their schoolwork ahead of the team. A team meeting has been called to discuss the matter.

Ruggers Win First Match of the Millenium
February 22, 2000
Chris Shelton
Class of 2000
TBW Guest Writer

On Saturday, February 12th, UT hosted the 2nd Annual Graduate Rugby Club - Central Charity Challenge Rugby Match. This year, a group of Kellogg MBAs cleared interstate travel with their parole officers and left the Antarctica-like climate of their Chicago homes to travel south for some sun, Austin nightlife, and a little rugby action. There was plenty at stake for the Texas grad ruggers. UT was trying to make up for their two losses to Kellogg in the fall Thuderbird tournament, their loss to the Austin Huns in last year’s CCC rugby match and, who are we kidding, pretty much all of last season. There was also some bad blood between the Texas and Kellogg teams. In the quarterfinals of the Thunderbird tournament, Kellogg beat Texas 3-0, with the sole score of the match coming on a penalty kick that was, very questionably, called good by a Kellogg player acting as line judge.

In this semester’s match, the first 20-minute period was played to a scoreless tie. The grads moved the ball well, but a veritable plague of penalties kept them from putting it in the try zone. There was absolutely nothing noteworthy about this period except that it marked the 43rd consecutive period in which I did not score.

The second period was much more exciting. Great runs by Matt Tindall (’01) and Brian Graybill (’00) very nearly led to scores but were once again thwarted by penalties, proving once and for all that most rugby referees don’t know what they’re doing. One such penalty led to a Kellogg penalty kick that was, once again, very questionable, and, once again, called good by, once again, the very same Kellogg rugby player acting as a line judge. How that guy lives with himself I’ll never know. It is worth noting that this jack@$$ is a friend of our beloved captain and new papa Joe Strathman (’00), which studies have shown can lead to erratic behavior. (Interesting statistic: The rugby team has produced 4 babies this year and is considered by leading sociologists to be a significant contributor to the world’s overpopulation problem.)

That kick left the grads with some work to do in the third and final period. This was a period dominated by the Texas grads. Strong running by the backs and intense support by the pack led to a break away try by prop Julio Something-or-Other (Eng. – will never know that I forgot his last name). The kick-after was good by Andy Conver (’01) and Texas led 7-3.

The game ended with the same score, the Texas ruggers rejoiced, and plans to get the Kellogg players really drunk, steal their return plane tickets, and drop them off somewhere in Bastrop were abandoned. Many thanks to the scores of rugby players and CCC reps who sold tickets and helped with the event. We also wish to thank whoever it was that donated the beer, but that goes without saying.


Chris Shelton is a 2nd year MBA who still giggles when he tells people he ‘plays hooker.’

UT – Northwestern Face Off in Annual CCC Rugby Match 
February 1, 2000
Mike Czyz
Class of 2001
Special to the TBW

The calendar says it’s winter but it feels like spring and that means it’s time for rugby. Your Graduate Rugby Club looks forward to carrying the proud UT name again this season, with the first big game coming February 12th at 1 PM against Northwestern-Kellogg Business School. The match will be held in Austin at Zilker Park and will raise money for the Central Charity Challenge (CCC). Members from the rugby club and CCC will be collecting five dollar donations for local charities in exchange for an afternoon of UT rugby glory. Last fall, Northwestern beat UT 3-0 in the Thunderbird tournament on a questionable call made by a Northwestern line judge, so revenge is on the mind of each UT rugger. Rumor has it that team captains Wild Bill Jones and Big Joe Strathman are guaranteeing a win if 200 people come out to cheer. This event raised over $1,000 last year, and of course we are looking to do even better this year.

For those that have never seen a rugby match, it is a fast paced physical sport that is best experienced in person. Also, rugby is an international sport and will help round out that multi-cultural experience we all expect from UT. Come out early to watch the pre-game warm-ups and get a brief explanation of the rules for play. If further reason is needed to attend, food and beverages will be provided at the park and we all know grad students are undernourished.

Later this spring, over 20 of the top business schools will be in Durham, North Carolina when Duke holds its annual tournament. This means an opportunity to tackle, scrum, bite, shake hands, and drink a beer with grad students from around the world. Regardless of the outcome, the club will secure its reputation as one of the most sociable schools representatives in the world.

UT Grad Rugby is looking for a few good men to join the club. The first semester is over, so no more excuses of not knowing what to expect with grades. This is a great time to act on that New Year’s resolution to get into more activities and exercise. No previous experience is necessary (trust me I didn’t have any) so come out to practice and give it a try! Practice is every 3:30 Friday at the Intramural fields on Guadalupe.

Grads Show Heart in Loss to Defenders
February 6, 1999 

          I once attended a lecture by well-respected sports psychologist Jim Loehr.  In this lecture he proposed that you never really lose, you just run out of time to solve the problem of how to win.  Although I never appreciated this theory as a youth, I take comfort in it after Saturday’s match.  So, in the event one of your professors roll their eyes at something you say in class, or your grades are not as high as you had hoped, find solace with the knowledge that even a well-respected sports psychologist can be so very, very wrong.

            The Texas Grad Ruggers traveled to San Antonio Saturday to battle the Alamo City Defenders and enjoyed as much success as Davy Crockett and the boys did on their first visit.  NASA was kind enough to loan us one of their supercomputers to help tabulate the final score but reports that the calculations are a bit more complex than originally anticipated and results are not expected until the end of April.  Suffice it to say we weren’t doing a whole lot of end zone dancing.

            Fortunately for the grads, success is not measured by score alone.  The role of early season matches, especially against the more experienced local rugby clubs, is to prepare the team for its matches against other graduate programs later in the season, most notably the end of the year tournament at Duke.  The team showed noticeable improvement and the margin of defeat, though vast, was not so much a product of the talent differential but of the grads’ lack of conditioning, augmented by the oh-so-studious rugby scholars who failed to make the trip south. 

            Though tired, the grad ruggers, in the words of Jimmy Johnson, played with a lot of want to.  Leading the effort in the heart department was first-year wing Jesus Lopez who made tackle after tackle including one deep in the Texas end on a Defender the size of a Buick.  Unfortunately for the grads, the large, rather offensive smelling opponent was able to plow his way into the try zone anyway and Jesus was left on the ground thinking he was Batman.  Texas was also the benefactor of strong efforts from first-year fullback Marcus Piazzola and second-year team president Gar Herring.  Marcus consistently made open-field tackles with no consideration for his life, limb, or future offspring producing capabilities. My sources in San Antonio tell me the locals are singing songs about him.  Gar put in a strong effort despite a stomach virus and a bizarre display of facial hair.     

Next up for the grads is their Central Charity Challenge match against the Austin Huns on February 27.  Watch for future announcements on an opportunity to drink beer while supporting the CCC and your graduate rugby team.

Grad Ruggers Battle St. Edwards to a Tie
January 30, 1999

                     Some clown in the sports industry once said that a tie is like kissing your sister.  I admit that adherence to a minimal standard of conduct imposed by society and a nuclear family that includes only a brother have prevented me any first-hand experience of the former.  All the same, I submit that when your team ties the match in the waning seconds, a tie is a lot more like kissing somebody else’s sister.

                        The UT Grad Rugby team traveled to Burr Field Saturday to battle the undergrads from St. Edwards.  Scoring began early with an alert play by the St. Ed’s eight man.  Following a scrum, this sneaky SOB scooped up the ball and rushed by a certain article-writing flanker from UT who obviously had other things on his mind.  Fortunately for the good guys, the kick failed and the Rams of St. Ed’s led only 5-0. 

                        Scrum?  Eight man?  What in God’s green earth am I talking about?  It can be confusing.  Maybe a brief explanation of some rugby terminology would be helpful.

            PACK – The pack is a combination of eight positions, consisting of 2 props, 2 second-rows, 2 flankers, one eight-man and one hooker.  (Insert prostitution jokes here.)  With a propensity towards all-you-can-eat buffets, pack members can grow to be alarmingly large.  Although size may vary according to position, the one common thread linking all packies together is a complete lack of speed.

            BACKS – There are seven backs, for a total of fifteen people on the field per team.  The backs have positions, too, but I have no idea what they are.  As this article will be devoid of any back lingo, you need not concern yourself.

            SCRUM – A scrum is organized when either of two teams commits an infraction of some sort.  Typically only two or three people from each team have any idea what these rules are.  Each pack, after forming as a unit, collides with the other pack in an attempt to drive its opponent backwards and win the ball for its team.  The whole thing is really quite serene and most participants find inner peace at some point during the match.

            RUCK – When a player gets tackled, he must place the ball on the ground and let go of it.  If players from opposing teams arrive at the ball at approximately the same time, a ruck is formed.  A ruck is kind of like an unorganized scrum in that the basic idea is to knock your opponent backwards so that your team can gain possession of the ball.  This is highly unfortunate for the guy who was tackled and remains at the bottom of the pile, although he does get a close-up view of the latest in athletic footwear.

                        Now that we’re all rugby experts, back to the match.

                        The grads were quick to even the score.  Solid kicking pinned St. Ed’s deep into their half of the field.  Taking advantage of the good field position, Shawn Sullivan intercepted a lateral and sprinted into the try zone.  The kick-after was good, the grads led 7-5, and there was much rejoicing.  The remainder of the half was a scoreless, defensive battle.

                        The second half was extremely hard-hitting.  Tempers flared and things really could have gotten out of hand had it not been for the cooling influence of first-year flanker Joe Strathman, who demonstrated peace-keeping abilities the likes of which this country has not witnessed since the Carter Administration.  Midway through the half, St. Edwards, benefiting from a strong effort from their pack and some questionable officiating, was able to sustain a long drive and push into the try zone for a go-ahead score.  St Ed’s would remain in the lead until the final minute.  After a penalty gave the grads the ball around midfield, Strathman quickly put the ball into play, catching St. Ed’s off-guard.  This heads up play, combined with precision passing by Eric Schwager and Shawn Sullivan enabled Brian Graybill to tie the game with only seconds remaining.  The UT Grad Ruggers will try to sustain this momentum as they travel to San Antonio this weekend to take on a local men’s club team.

UT Grad Rugby Takes 4^th Place in Thunderbird Tournament
November 11, 1998
by Gar Herring
TBW Staff writer

WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE FACT that people hate playing us. While we may not have brought home the gold, we made sure that the other MBA programs gained some respect for Texas by just plain beating them up.

After gaining experience and refining our skills at Thunderbird, we have our sights on the gold trophy at the MBA Rugby World Championships at Duke next April.

At the Thunderbird Rugby Invitational on November 7^th and 8^th Texas learned what rugby is all about – toughness, skill, teamwork, singing, and of course drinking. Texas spent most of Friday night refining the last two skills by downing lots of beer and singing rugby songs with the team from INSEAD, who came all the way from Paris to compete.

We started the tournament on Saturday by lining up against Thunderbird. Consistent with our tradition, we dug ourselves a hole by giving up an early and easy score.

Rugby in the Lone Star State is about pounding your opponent, but the foreigners on T-Bird and other MBA teams love to kick the ball and pin you down deep in your own territory. Our lack of experience with kicking gave us fits against T-Bird all day, and cost us the game.

In our next match against Stanford, Texas took it to ‘em early. In the scrum, our pack gave these Californians boys a true hide tannin’. We drove them deep into their own territory until scrum-half Danny Piper (’00) picked up the ball and scored Texas’s first try of the day. (Unfortunately, we fell apart in the second half, and let Stanford back into the game.)

Our final match of the day came against INSEAD. These foreigners played like they were born with a rugby ball in their hands, but our defense was tough giving up only one try. However, INSEAD showed us that rugby is a game of possession – you can’t score if you don’t have the ball.

I guess you could say that luckily, Saturday’s matches were only meant to set the playoff seeds for the playoffs on Sunday.

In the first round of the playoffs, Texas was able to exact some revenge against Stanford. After dominating their scrum again, Brian "Rocket" Graybill (’00) put the ball in the endzone for Texas. We were able to make some late defensive stands and advanced to the second round after an 8-3 victory.

However, we now were rematched against the #1 seed of the tournament – INSEAD. Although the heart and soul were there, Texas was just plain out of gas, both mentally and physically.

Mentally, we shot ourselves in the foot by committing too many penalties. Physically, our lack of depth became apparent. Several ruggers had played every minute, and when their brain told their legs to go, their body said, "sorry."

After our defeat, INSEAD went on to win the tournament, while Texas went on to the beer tent. It was actually after the matches that Texas suffered its most shameful defeat.

In order to settle who would take home the third place trophy, Texas challenged Thunderbird to the traditional rugby beer drinking competition - a boat race. Proving that too many first-years have spent too much timing thinking instead of drinking, we were soundly defeated. We have taken a team oath to spend as much time as it takes until we are sure that this will never happen again.

The post-celebration was a total blast as all the teams enjoyed a few refreshments provided by the Budweiser beer truck that was present on the sidelines, and sang rugby songs together.

Some songs contained lyrics that were so rude, crude, and lewd that even this hardened rugger’s mouth was left gaping. Further post-match entertainment was provided when Rocket and Sully ran their zulus (a traditional sprint after a rugger scores his first try with a new team) and INSEAD gave a resounding rendition of Father Abraham much to the ladies in the audience amusement.

I would love to tell you about the exploits of several of our ruggers later that night, but as we say – what happens on tour, stays on tour. Heart, Soul, Rugby!

Gar Herring is a second year MBA and President of UT Grad Rugby. He can be reached at gherring.mail.utexas.edu

underbird 1998

(since the 'T' and 'h' were stolen by mischievous ruggers)

The team made the trip to Pheonix for the second annual tourney sponsored by the Thunderbird International School of Business. Once again, they were wonderful hosts, supplying great competition, wonderful refreshments, and even a full-contact womens' match.

The team got off to a slow start, but made much headway by upsetting Stanford in the final day's, single-elimination play.

As this year's team is extremely young, we were quite content in the improvement showed as the games went on and the overall experience gained in the trip. Up next is the grand prize at Duke, where we hope to continue the tradition of being the hardest-hitting rugby team in the tourney.

Results from Thunderbird:

SATURDAY:

(L)Texas vs. Thunderbird (warming up the engines)

(L)Texas vs. Stanford (we had them on the ropes and let up)

(L)Texas vs. INSEAD (close game, but too many damn penalties)

SUNDAY:

(W)Texas vs. Stanford (revenge, sweet and simple)

(L)Texas vs. INSEAD (ran out of gas to the eventual champions"

UT Grad Rugby Wins Second Half Against Southwest Texas
November 4, 1998
by Gar Herring
TBW Staff writer

NOW WE JUST NEED TO WIN THE FIRST HALF TOO. On Halloween UT Grad Rugby traveled to New Braunsfels to take on the Southwest Texas undergraduates.

This match was our final tune-up before our trip to the Thunderbird MBA Rugby Invitational last weekend, so we wanted to have a strong game and get out of there with our heads intact.

The Southwest Texas team was composed of about fifty young Future Farmers of America that appeared to be hitting the weights a lot more than the books. Combine these guys’ physique with the fact that they are all corn-fed Texas high school football players, and let’s just say that they didn’t need to put on Halloween costumes to look scary.

It seems that the grad squad is cursed in the first ten minutes of every game, as SW Texas scored a few easy and early tries. These guys pounded us back in the rucks and mauls, and then just plain outran us to the tryzone.

But the grad squad calmed down, and then the pack took over. With the force of Captain Chris Limerick (’99) and 2^nd Row Eric Schwager (’00), UT Grad Rugby dominated the scrums all day. It was obvious that these rough, Texan rednecks did not like being muscled over by a bunch of pencil-pushing MBAs.

The grads forced SW Texas deep into its own territory where they practically laid down the ball for us to score, but yours truly blew the opportunity when I kicked the ball out the back of the endzone, much to the dismay of my hustling teammates..

We had several chances to score, but managed to be our own worst enemy by throwing away chances with bad line outs, penalties, lost rucks, and several knock-ons.

However, this is a team that never quits, and even gets stronger as the game wears on. This team is definitely discovering the true meaning of "Heart, Soul, Rugby" by finding an extra gear when our backs are against the wall and there are only fumes left in the tank.

Two ruggers that epitomized Texas Rugby pride were our rookie flankers Will Tubb (’00) and Bill Jones (’00), who laid wood on people for 60 minutes despite playing new positions. Unfortunately, Bill’s also now sporting the imprints of some guy’s cleats on his chest.

Furthermore, after a forgetful first half, the backs starting putting it together. Fly-half Tony Neveling (’00) took over the wing, leading the backs deep into enemy territory. After the pack bulldozed the SW Texas pack into their own tryzone, fullback Brain "The Rocket" Graybill (’00) appeared to score, but the ref would not give us credit.

Finally, J. Hunter (’99) barreled through several defenders to score the only try of the second half. We like to think that UT Grad Rugby won the second game 7-0.

The difference in our team’s ages was apparent when after 60 minutes of beating the snot out of each other, Southwest Texas’ second team wanted to play a game of "We’ve got next." Although our heart was there, we had to decline a rematch, deciding instead to belly-up at "The Watering Hole" for a great UT-Nebraska contest.

In only seven days we would be taking on Stanford, Vanderbilt, Michigan, INSEAD (Paris), and Thunderbird in the Thunderbird MBA Rugby Invitational. We know deep down that we would have beaten those guys, but we wanted to save our energy to show the MBAs at Thunderbird what it means to say Heart, Soul, Rugby!

Gar Herring is a second year MBA and President of UT Grad Rugby. He can be reached at gherring.mail.utexas.edu

UT Grad Rugby Puts Up a Good Fight, But Falls
October 28, 1998
by Gar Herring
TBW Staff Writer

THAT WHICH DOES NOT KILL US MAKES US STRONGER. Although the UT Grad Rugby Team had a few close calls, we did not send anybody to the morgue, so we must be a stronger team today.

On Saturday, October 24, the UT Grad Rugby took on the Austin Blacks, which is the equivalent of a flag football squad lining up against the UT Football Team. The Blacks are the cream of the crop of Central Texas ruggers and it showed.

We got beat, but we made great strides in building the confidence that will allow us to bring back the gold when we travel to the Thunderbird MBA Rugby Invitational this weekend. This Saturday and Sunday we will take on the likes of Stanford, Michigan, Kellogg, Thunderbird, Vanderbilt, and INSEAD (from Paris) to compete for the title of the best MBA rugby team.

Although we are getting stronger, midterms have compromised our conditioning, and it was apparent versus the Blacks.

Rugby in a nutshell: It’s doing ten heavy squats, sprinting 40 yards, crashing into a brick wall, doing more squats and repeating this cycle for 40 minutes. Take a 5-minute break and do it for another 40 minutes. Any of you soccer wussies that think it’s "kinda the same" are welcome to come out and start hitting people and experience a real man’s sport.

Anyway, back to the match. The game started off on the wrong foot, as the grad team allowed a few quick scores when we tried to tackle the opposition around the shoulders instead of the legs. When the opponent is 6’2" and 240 pounds, this method is not recommended.

After a humbling first quarter, UT Grad Rugby caught a break when the ball bounced into Shawn Sullivan’s (’00) hands in the second quarter. Sully then took off down the field, outrunning several defenders over 80 yards to score our first try.

From there the game got physical, as the rucks became ugly and yours truly took about five stiff-arms to the face. However, Joe Strathmann (00’) proved that UT Grad Rugby can lay some hits of its own. At one point, Joe felt that he would "encourage" one of the Blacks to release the ball by justifiably giving him several jabs to the ribs.

The Blacks retaliated by giving Joe several blows to the head. After some more fun and games a few players were ejected and the game continued.

The grad team improved as the game wore on, as Captain Chris Limerick (’99) led the team in winning more rucks, mauls, and scrums. After some long runs by J. Hunter (99’) and Robin Rheinbolt (00’) we penetrated deep into the Blacks territory, but the lack of pursuit by UT ruggers kept us from putting it in several times.

UT displayed the true meaning of "Heart, Soul, Rugby" when we ended the game with two key goaline stands. After giving up too many easy scores all day, the team reached down for one final push and stopped the Blacks cold as the game ended.

Although this did not win the game for us, it will give us confidence going into Thunderbird this weekend. Wish all of the grad ruggers good luck, and remember - Heart, Soul, Rugby!

Gar Herring is a second year MBA and President of the UTGRFC. He can be reached at gherring.mail.utexas.edu

Grad Rugby Downed by Exiles
October 8, 1998
by Gar Herring
TBW Staff Writer

DAVID VS. GOLIATH – It is a famous story because it is more common that the "Goliath" laughs after the stone pelts him in the head and then pounds "David" into the dirt. Unfortunately this was the type of Goliath the UT Grad Rugby team encountered when we took on the Brazos Celtic Exiles on October 3.

When I saw the "Exiles" on our schedule, I thought we were playing a team from the penitentiary league. As it turns out, the Huntsville Correctional Facility Rugby Team might have been tamer than these guys.

The Grad Rugby Team played with a lot of heart and never gave up, but the Exiles’ experience combined with superior conditioning was just too much for us to handle. We were already missing several of our faster players when Brian "The Rocket" Graybill (’00) pulled a muscle early in the game. However, several ruggers made up for our lack of speed with increased intensity including flanker Robin Reihnbolt (’00), hooker Chris Shelton (’00), and eight-man Shawn Webster (’99).

The Grad Team received quite a spark from the return of last year’s Captain, Brad Conver (’98), and famous cheap-shot artist, John Fitzgerald (’98). Despite a deep penetration by Conver and some slick cheating by Fitz, consulting hours are not conducive to rugby training, so their appearance was short lived.

You would need to pull out your HP calculator to tally the final score, but anybody watching the match knew it was a whole lot for them and not much for our side.

However, rugby has three "halves," and there was no doubt who came out on top in the third and most important half – the one that involves downing beer after the match. Grad Rugby had polished off most of the keg before the Exiles even showed, and stayed until after a rendition of Father Abraham on the porch got us escorted out of College Station.

During this third half our scrum-half, Marcus Piazolla (’00), displayed the true heart and tolerance of pain that a Grad Rugger must possess by accepting the challenge of the Exiles to devour the hottest hot wings ever created by man. Just a whiff of these wings would singe off your nosehairs, but Marcus brought true pride to Grad Rugby by never flinching and will now have his name inscribed in infamy on the wall of Harvey Washbangers.

After this loss Grad Rugby has steeped up its conditioning program to prepare for the Thunderbird Rugby Invitational on November 7^th and 8^th, where we will compete against 8 of the top MBA Rugby Clubs from around the world including Kellogg, Stanford, INSEAD (Paris), Michigan and Vanderbilt. After some serious hours at Gregory and a few jars of creatine, UT Grad Rugby expects to take the field in Phoenix looking a lot more like Goliath than David.

Heart, Soul, Rugby!

Gar Herring is a seond year MBA and President of the UTGRFC. He can be reached at gherring.mail.utexas.edu

Grad Rugby Falls to Undergrads in Opener: 28-14
October 1, 1998
by Gar Herring
TBW Staff Writer

THE SCORE DID NOT MATTER (forever eternal optimist’s point of view). What was important was the fact that the UT Grad Rugby Team finally got some exposure to the game of rugby in preparation for our trek to Thunderbird in November, where we will compete against the world’s best MBA Rugby Clubs.

On September 29, UT Grad Rugby made its season debut against the UT Undergraduate Team. Despite the fact that several of our starters had never played the game, the graduates came out of the chute quickly and threatened to score, but turned the ball over deep in undergrad territory.

The veteran Undergrad Team (sounds like an oxymoron) gave us a quick clinic on how to play rugby by running up the score, 21-0, in the first period.

But this bunch of leather-neckers doesn’t quit. The defense stiffened, and only allowed one more score the rest of the game thanks to some ferocious tackling by fullback Marcus Piazolla (’00) and flanker Joe Strathmann (’00).

During the final period, Eric Schwager
(’00) stripped the ball out of a maul and poured into the endzone to score our first try of the year.

Only a few minutes later Captain Chris Limerick (’99) bowled over a few pesky undergrads and then dished the ball off to Brian "The Rocket" Graybill (’00) who danced and weaved his way into the endzone to put the Grad Team within one score of tying it up.

The Grad Team had several opportunities to score late in the game, but could not produce. Rookie second-year Croix Waage (’99) made an impressive bolt for the endzone only to botch (ouch!!) a pass at the goaline.

First-year Mike O’Shea appeared to bumble and stumble his way into the endzone for a score, only to have the ref call him down before he put the ball over the line.

UT Grad Rugby may have lost the match, but gained crucial experience in the process. The first-years learned that they are not 18 years-old anymore, and the second-years examined the effects of a full summer of donuts and golf – in other words, a few serious hours at Gregory and on the track are needed, but it looks that this year’s team may have the potential to come home with the gold from Thunderbird.

In less than five weeks we will be competing at the Thunderbird Rugby Invitational against 12 of the top MBA Rugby Clubs from around the world including Kellogg, Stern, Stanford, Harvard, INSEAD (Paris), and the London Business School.

While we may have lost this battle, we have gained some ground in the war, and we’ll be looking for a little vengeance in our rematch with the undergrads in the Spring.

It’s never too late to join the team, as we are constantly looking for new recruits. You can always find the UT Grad Rugby Team every Friday at 3pm at the IM Fields, or hunkered up next to the bar at MOHH directly afterwards.

Heart, Soul, Rugby!

Gar Herring is a seond year MBA and President of the UTGRFC. He can be reached at gherring.mail.utexas.edu

"Who’s our Hooker?"
(Duke Invitational 1998)
By "Dr. J" Hunter
TBW Social Editor

(GOD KNOWS I LOVE SENSATIONALISM.) No, this isn’t an article about bachelor parties. "Who’s our hooker?" wasn’t the most unflattering inquiry made towards a group of fellow MBAs at last week’s Casino Night. And I’m not talking about Abdul-Jabbar’s shot selection, Tyson’s best punch, or anything to do with fishing either.

This innocuous question will be (remember: this article was written a week in advance to utterly screw up the writer and reader) asked countless times over the upcoming weekend in the battlefields that will become Durham, North Carolina.

This article is devoted to the MBA program’s most awesome presence; it’s most feared but admired association – the Graduate Rugby Football Club. And the hooker is just one (currently filled by Joe "Mr. Atlas" Castro) of the fifteen positions on Texas’ team of blood-thirsty, tough-as-nails, chick magnets.

Since this week’s edition of the TBW is going out to the incoming class of 2000, I figured I might as well quickly initiate them about two of the basic tenets of any worthwhile MBA program: 1) shameless self-promotion (or your club’s promotion) is never a bad thing, and 2) always take advantage of any free press you can get.

Y’all (take it from a Bostonian: if you’re not used to this expression, get used to it) happen to have a bit of good fortune as well, as I’m writing on the eve of the International Business School Rugby (IBSR) Tournament, which is hosted by the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Each spring, teams from the world’s top business schools compete for bragging rights in this annual showdown. Eighteen teams will gather at Duke this weekend of April to decide once and for at least a year who really is "best-in-business". For you see, "there can be only one."

Throw Business Week and US News out the window, because when somebody’s stepping on your head, you’re not thinking what your current rank is.

The Texas graduate rugby team is undefeated this semester and rumored to be the favorite in the tournament. Captain Brad "the Incredible Hulk" Conver (’98) and President Stuart "Crazy Legs" Bodden (’98) have already promised not to return to Texas without the first-place trophy in hand, and having opened up a can of whoop-ass on all opponents.

If you see them walking around the b-school not holding the championship trophy above their heads like the Stanley Cup, throw a flying-body tackle at one of these panty-wearing, momma’s boys.

As with your potential employers, the recruitment process for players never ends. We’re looking for anyone (incoming first-years or soon-to-be second-years) who’s willing to give the game a try, regardless of previous experience. We have people of all nationalities, sizes, shapes, ages, and skill level on the team; there’s always room for one more delinquent.

We generally practice once a week during the Fall and twice during the Spring. Games are generally scheduled during the weekends and will not conflict with any U.T. home football games.

Check out our website at: www.bus.utexas.edu/~mbarugby/index.html if you’re interested. Or better yet, come and check out our booth during Orientation.

Perhaps you’ll find the game and potential friendships to be great complements to your harried life. And never forget: we throw the best parties! u

J. Hunter, a first year MBA, is the TBW Social Editor, and is the Class of 2000’s unofficial and uncensored advisor. All incoming students are greatly urged to seek his sage advice at hunter-@mail.utexas.edu.

1997-98 Team Photo (From T-Bird Tourney)

Top Row: Stuart Bodden, Sean Webster, TJ Radke, Ryan Callahan, Brad Conver, Aaron Strole, Chris Limerick, Jim Parker, Howard Edson, Eddie Moses, Chris Deringer

Bottom Row: Brandon Patterson, Dave Buesking, John Fitzgerald, John Arnold, Gar Herring, Joe Castro, Mike Taylor, Jim Keyt, Rich Amato, Luc Zangheiri

Cheerleader at bottom: J. Hunter

Missing in action: Gary Binyamin, Hernan Santa-Maria, Rio Minami, ???

1997 ThunderBird Tourney

The team made the trip to Pheonix for the first annual tourney sponsored by the ThunderBird Int'l school of Business. They were wonderful hosts, a good time was had by all, and they arranged for a great weekend of rucks, mauls, and trys.

The team got off to a slow start, but began playing superior rugby going into the final matches. Things are looking up for this spring's annual trip to Duke. The pack was pushing everybody around and held its own versus a very talented INSEAD team. Key injuries in the backline hampered our scoring efforts, but we had a great showing overall.

Results from Thunderbird

(L)Texas vs. Thunderbird (we were warming up)
(W)Texas vs. Thunderbird (feeling good)
(L)Texas vs. Kellogg (damn close game, the best we have played yet)
(L)Texas vs. INSEAD (From France - they won the big burrito there.)

Rugby in Phoenix
(Among Other Things)
November 13, 1997
By J. Hunter
TBW Social Editor

Originally this article was entitled, "A Man’s Guide to Business" in order to follow up on last week’s controversial, satirical article, and even up the gender score. However, at the last second I realized that as a columnist for the social page, it would be unconscionable to poke fun at any group of people who might watch Oprah; and so I offer the following story of school pride, hard work, and rooockin’ good times:

If you saw one of your classmates this week with various bumps, bruises, abrasions, nicks, etc., and asked yourself, "Who the hell beat the crap out of that guy?", I’m going to give you the skinny to set you straight.

Last weekend was end-of-the-year tournament time for your local GSB Rugby Club. This first-ever event was hosted by the Thunderbird International School of Business in Phoenix, Arizona, and was a huge success for all involved … and a damn good time.

This motley crew of 22 (please no hate mail, I was one of them) woke up bright and early Friday morning – some not feeling too well from Thursday night’s Spurs/Lakers game - for their flight; eventually landing down in the desert, hopeful for some sunshine and bone-crushing action.

While dining outside at one of Phoenix’s finest establishments, which for now will remain nameless, the club realized two things: 1) at night, even the desert is as cold as Austin has become recently, and 2) Phoenix shuts down at one (it was decided that this fact made Phoenix a 4^th rate drinking town by definition). Being the responsible troopers we are, most of the club were in the sack by 2:30am in order to be rested for our weekend games.

The following two days consisted of four extremely tight games in which the GSB, unfortunately, came out on top in only one of four games. Thankfully, the free beer, music, camaraderie, and barbecue at the field helped ease the disappointment.

On the positive side, the club showed tremendous improvement over its last performance (and a complete turnabout from its start a mere two months ago), making for what is sure to be an exciting and successful Spring season – meaning: we’ll be interviewing for rugby groupies come February.

The trip back was rather uneventful, except for one violation of Federal Aviation laws and one member being told, "You’ll never fly Southwest Airlines again!". Lesson to be learned: if you’re going to drink Crown Royal out a flask on an airline, do it in the bathroom (but heaven forbid, don’t smoke there!).

As always, anyone wanting to learn the game of rugby football in a pressure-free environment is more than welcome to come out to practice at the IM Fields on Fridays at 3:00pm. Perhaps you’ll find the game and potential friendships to be great complements to your harried life.

One final note: Take care, crush finals, happy holidays, beware of the dark side of the force (aka: bitterness), and live long and prosper. I hope to see you all fired up next semester.

J. Hunter is the Senior Editor for the Social Page, and found out first-hand last weekend, that a concussion is only a slightly different state-of-mind than what he usually operates with.