The Harvard Rugby Football Club team is not like any other Harvard sports team. They have their own song, their own poem. They wear toilet paper headbands when they go on road trips or tours. They have seasonal pig roasts, a tribal retreat evoking both the Lord of the Flies and Animal House. Self-governed, they operate with a kind of punk-rock anarchistic do-it-yourself edginess that even newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Tom Morello ’86 of Rage Against the Machine would appreciate.
Regardless of athleticism, all are welcome, and no one is ever cut. Despite their emphasis on culture, they’ve reached the national title game three times since 1981, and in 1984, they won the National Collegiate Rugby Championship. On October 4 and 5, many members of the team gathered in Cambridge to mark the fortieth anniversary of that monumental achievement.
The group has come a long way since it formed in 1872, the oldest rugby club in North America. It has also come a long way since members of that championship team first arrived on campus. In the fall of 1981, the team played on a couple of different pitches outside Harvard Stadium. The field was hardscrabble, with broken glass and standing water sometimes occupying the field. Members paid seasonal dues, bought their own kits, and were coached by a graduate student from the United Kingdom, Martyn Kingston, Ph.D. ’93. There were only three practices a week, with Thursday offering a full speed scrimmage.
The culture was fully established, and new members were introduced to it on their first Thursday, a keg of beer was tapped after the scrimmage ended: it was time for…singing. Bawdily. Favorites, including “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” were covered, and a realization dawned on the new players that this was a somewhat magical athletic experience. When members of the club gathered last weekend, a succession of stories from their undergraduate days poured out. As one member said during a dinner Saturday evening at the Russell House Tavern, “I’d do anything for any one of these guys. They’re all my brothers.” Those bonds and camaraderie make up the soul of Harvard rugby, which is about so much more than athletic ability; in 2016, when Mignone Field, a state-of-the-art turf rugby stadium, was dedicated, the lead “naming” donation came from a perennial C side player, Roberto A. Mignone ’92, M.B.A. ’96 and his wife, Allison Hughes Mignone ’94, M.B.A. ’99.
So, what delivered the on-field prowess that won the national championship? Culture wins, sure, but you've got to have the horses. A steady flow of athletes from various sports streamed to the team, some highly recruited, some with secure varsity spots, all leaving for the lure of the mud, the hitting, the beer, the songs. Second row Bob Zizka ’85, who had the physique of a bodybuilder, came because, while varsity football was out for his plagued ankle, rugby, with only three practices a week, was OK. He became an All-American. Prop Hassan Rifaat ’85, a two-time state champion wrestler, was hurtling through Harvard in three years, with a pre-med course load and a part time job. He had only so much time available. Forwards captain Kevin Lennon ‘84, a baseball recruit seeking greener pastures, describes his arrival this way: “Within the first hour or so, I saw a bunch of guys having fun but committed to what they were doing. I heard chatter around about last year’s team making it the national finals! And then after practice, I saw guys raising glasses, singing songs that were new to me. Smiles all around. Home.”
In the spring of ’84 the team gained a secret weapon, John Catliff ’86. Catliff was a glorious athlete, a three-time All Ivy soccer player for Harvard who would go on to play Olympic and World Cup soccer for Canada. He was six-foot-three, 200 pounds, ran like a deer, and could execute drop kicks through the goal posts from 60 yards away. He was a nightmare of a mismatch, a scoring machine, and is credited by teammates for the “greatest tackle ever made,” which helped secure a crucial regional tournament victory against Virginia Tech. He was lead scorer and MVP of the national tournament, and widely acknowledged as the best player in the country.
At the dinner on Saturday, respect was tendered to those who had laid the groundwork. The ’84 team’s culminating performance “stood on the shoulders of giants,” it was said, noting standard-setting players like Charlie Bott, Sabin Willett, Alec Montgomery, and Keith Oberg, as well as cultural and organizational icons like Keith Cooper, Roy Roberts, Mark Hissey, Charlie Weeks, and James Keller. All agreed that maintaining a strong culture is critical, and that the goal of the club is to return to national contention. Twenty undergraduate players soaked up the lessons, the stories, the support, and the love.
Forwards captain Jon Kennedy ’86 offered his analysis on what carried the team to the mountaintop: “I believe we won because we had a base of excellent athletes; we trained extremely hard at fitness, drills, set plays and skills; and Martyn’s coaching leadership was instrumental.”
Keith Cooper ’83, club president as an undergrad, and chairman of the Friends of Harvard Rugby alumni organization, which he founded 35 years ago, had this take: “It is amazing what extra strength, courage and perseverance a person can uncover when he is shoulder to shoulder with others who feel the same fight and passion and want to succeed.”
Backs captain John Beilenson ’84, spoke of the mixture of elements that produced the championship season: “We were rule-breakers, disruptors. We took rugby seriously, winning was important, but we were going to do it our way. And we were equally committed to having a lot of fun along the way. And of course, we created a strange and beautiful alchemy that somehow resulted in a national championship.”
The Championship Lineup: 1 Hassan Rifaat *, 2 Bill Cavanaugh *, 3 Fran Duggan, 4 Dave Heffernan, 5 Bob Zizka *, 6 Mark Bamford, 7 Jon Kennedy, 8 Kevin Lennon *, 9 Bobby Hackett *, 10 John Catliff *, 11 John Cammett, 12 John Beilenson *, 13 Gus Spanos, 14 George Askew, 15 Charlie Montgomery *.
* = Collegiate All-Americans
