The Brown University men’s rugby team capped an undefeated season with a first-ever national championship title in Division I National Collegiate Rugby.
The players traveled to Houston for the championship game against Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Aveva Stadium. Head Coach Dave Laflamme, who has been coaching Brown rugby since 1997, credited the players’ top-notch defense and the team’s dedicated staff among the factors that helped lead the Bears to a national victory.
“In my 26 years here at Brown, this has been the strongest team we’ve been able to field,” Laflamme said. “I am incredibly proud of all the work these guys put in both on and off the field. I’m also grateful for the support the University and Brown Athletics have provided to help make all this possible.”
Part of Brown’s club sports lineup, the men’s rugby team was originally founded in 1960 by three Brown students and an alumnus. Today, Brown competes in the Liberty Rugby Conference, one of nine D-I conferences, against schools including Colgate, Fordham and Syracuse universities.
“Brown is historically a smaller team than many of the higher ranked teams,” Laflamme said. “However, our dominance in the scrum this year has turned some heads.”
On Nov. 5, Brown won the Liberty Rugby Conference championship against American International College, before proceeding to defeat Wheeling University from the Allegheny Rugby Union Men’s Collegiate Conference on Nov. 19. The Bears bested St. Bonaventure University from the Rugby East Conference on Dec. 3, prevailing over last year’s national champions. From there, they advanced to Houston to take on Queens.
“The significance of this is monumental,” Laflamme said. “Ivy League teams have historically been known as decent rugby-playing schools but not ones that could compete at the highest level. This places Brown on the map.”
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