Published: October 7, 2010

For the past few years, sports clubs at Fordham have enjoyed much athletic success. From the sailing team’s top 10 finish in 2007 to the hockey team’s league winning performance in 2010, club sports teams are making headlines at Fordham. One addition to the club sports conversation is the Fordham men’s rugby club.

Although they don’t draw the same amount of crowds as football and basketball games, the Fordham rugby club seeks more spectators with a breakout season this year. “We’ve been successful for the last few years, so I’m hopeful some of that will start to filter in, as far as the attendance of fans go,” said rugby head coach Andrew Gheraldi.

Having been around for almost 50 years, the Fordham rugby club not only hopes to promote Fordham through sports but also expects to nurture a culture of brotherhood and physical activity on campus “Guys really like it for the physical aspect of the sport and there is also that comradery aspect to it,” said rugby co-captain Jonathan Murphy, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’11. “From the spirit of the team we can see that it certainly forms a brotherhood. To be out there on the pitch with your fellow teammates gives you a sense of comradery,” Gheraldi said.

Just like the other club sports at Fordham, the rugby team has been having much success. Playing in the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union (METNY) D-1, the Rams were able to win the METNY championship three times (2003, 2004 and 2009). “Last year we went as far as any Fordham rugby team has gone,” Gheraldi said. “We won our regular division title outright and we were the number one seed out of the METNY.”

This season the Rams are aiming to equal, if not better, their performances from last year. “Last year we won our MET, got to the second round of the NCAA playoffs, and we are looking to get back their again this year,” Murphy said. Currently the Rams are on the right track. Coming off a victory over King’s Point on Oct. 3, Fordham currently has a winning of record of 2-1.

Although the Rams have been performing well, the club is always looking to improve with more talent. “It’s a club sport; we take whoever we can get, we don’t make cuts and if you keep showing up to practice, you’re going to play in one form or another,” Gheraldi said.

Gheraldi hopes more Lincoln Center students can make it to the rugby club practices. “I absolutely would like some more Lincoln Center students,” Gheraldi said. “If there is anyone who wants to learn the game, we are more than happy to teach them and bring them onboard.”

In spite of Gheraldi’s interest in bringing more Lincoln Center students to the rugby team, he admits it would take a bigger commitment from a Lincoln Center student to play rugby for Fordham.

“The problem is our timing and our schedule; it’s a little prohibited for a Lincoln Center student,”
Gheraldi said. “It is a much larger commitment for a Lincoln Center student to make.”

Nevertheless, there are a few Lincoln Center students who are interested in making that trip to the Bronx. “I did a lot of sports in high school,” said Mike Madden, FCLC ’13. “When you come to
Lincoln Center, there are obviously not as many sports clubs as Rose Hill. I wanted to get into rugby; I thought it was something different and something new to do.”