In an attempt to bring rugby to the Heart of Massachusetts, Rob Anderson and Peter Coz recruited player-coach Mike Minty and founded the Worcester Rugby Football Club in the Spring of 1979. The Club took the field in white shorts, black socks with white tops, and black shirts with a gold upright lion emblazoned on the left breast.  The kit was changed to all black in 1984, but the lion is still there. Recently the Club has adopted the nickname "Wormtown" and sports the logo of a feisty, rugby-playing worm emerging from a rugby ball.

The Club posted a 4-7 record in its inaugural season under the leadership of Captain Tony Poti and President Kevin O'Sullivan.  Worcester RFC became an official member of the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) in 1980.  Dennis Irish formed the Faded Blacks, the Club's Old Boys side, in 1982.  Worcester was recognized by the NERFU Referee's Society in 1982 with the Society Award for dedication, hospitality, organization, and pitch quality.

The WRFC, a recognized member of the United States Rugby Football Union (USARFU), currently competes in the New England Rugby Football Union Division I League.  Worcester was invited to join this Division I USARFU league after their very successful 1999 Fall Season.  Worcester won the Division I NERFU Cup Championship in Newport, Rhode Island in May of 2001, almost a year to the day after losing in the first round of the same tournament in their inaugural Division 1 season.  Worcester's most successful season to date was a NERFU Division II Maxwell League Championship in 1997 followed up by two wins in the USARFU Sweet 16 thus leading to a USARFU Final Four appearance in 1998.  Worcester made a repeat visit to the Sweet 16 in the Spring of 2000 after the above mentioned Fall 1999 season but was eliminated in the first round by the eventual Division II National Runner-up.  The Club was co-champion of the Maxwell League in 1989 and 1991 and earned a wild card berth in the USA Rugby East (USARE) Playoffs each of those years. Despite a 5th place finish in NERFU in 1993 (with one league loss! - it's a long story), Worcester once again made it to the USARE Playoffs as a wild card and reached the quarterfinals only to lose a close match to NERFU rival and eventual USARE runner-up Burlington (VT) RFC.   The fall 1993 season proved to be the best ever for Worcester's B-side as they went undefeated.  The B-side earned a NERFU Championship in 1998. Worcester reached the quarterfinals of the inaugural Northeast Rugby Union championships in 1995. The WRFC also fields a very successful 7's side.  The 1997 team represented the Northeast Rugby Union in the USARFU 7's Championships.  The WRFC has also hosted very sucessful 7's National Qualifyer Tournaments in their Worcester 7's Tournament during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Quinsigamond State Park on Lake Avenue in Worcester has been the home pitch for most of the Club's history. Other notable home pitches include Phil O'Connell Field, adjacent to the Fire Station on Grove St.; and a cow pasture-turned rugby pitch in Uxbridge, MA used during the Blackstone Valley Heritage Homecoming festivities.  Venues for post-match activities have changed frequently over the years.  The Marine Corps League, Tweed's, LaScala, Leitrim's Pub, and Deke's Sports Palace have all been the home of the Worcester Rugby Club at one time or another. The Club finally found a real home at Stoney O'Brien's in 1989 and has been there ever since. O'Connor's Restaurant & Pub has served as a popular spot for weekday touring sides and Club Executive Committee meetings over the past few years.  The Club is currently building a relationship with a newcomer to Worcester, the Irish Times.

Worcester RFC has crossed the Atlantic on four separate occasions and has posted an overseas record of 3-9 with wins over Aer Lingus RFC in 1987; Machen (Wales) RFC and Bournemouth (England) RFC in 1994. The WRFC did not fair so well on the pitch during our tour of Ireland in 1999 for the Rugby World Cup. Worcester has proudly hosted touring sides since 1981, playing such clubs as Sollihull, the Royal Marines, Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Royal Engineers, the Old Laurentians, and of course, Machen. Worcester's first win over a touring side came in 1986 against a team from the French Destroyer Tourville.   Manchester visited Worcester in the Spring of 1999 and enjoyed a victory over our beloved Club.

The Club hosted many tournaments in its history. An annual 15-a-side tournament was held every fall from 1982-1985. The tournament featured the three Worcester area teams of the time, Worcester, Holy Cross College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, along with an invited guest. A 7-a-side tournament was started in August of 1987 in conjunction with the Shamrock Games. The Shamrock Games are no longer held in Worcester, but the 7's tournament is still going strong - acting as a Northeast Rugby Union Qualifier in 1997, 1999 & 2000. The WRFC hosted Division I, II, and III NERFU Collegiate Championship tournaments and a Central Massachusetts Collegiate Invitational Tournament.

Members of the WRFC have served in many capacities in rugby outside of the club. Tom Willett founded the Worcester Wolverines, an Under-19 side, in 1990 and served as their coach until Jeff Turgeon took the program over with help from the Greater Worcester YMCA in 1997. Brian Hampsch founded and coached a team at St. Bernard High School in 1993 and did the same for Wachusett High School in 1997. Worcester RFC members also coach/have coached at Holy Cross College, Clark University, Worcester State College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the Worcester Shamrocks (a women's club). Tom Willett and Keith MacNeal have served as NERFU administrators. Fred Greenaway, Bill Muench, Herb Beall, Phil Wettengel, Keith MacNeal and George Yang are/were members of the NERFU Referee's Society. Brian Foster, Mark Lavigne, Mike Mullen, Steve Nault, Frank Lupafya, and Pat Kennedy played on the NERFU select side. Pat and Mike also earned spots on the Northeast Territorial select side. Steve Nault was an All-American while at Framingham State University and has also played for the USARE Under-25 sidewhile at Worcester. Mike Mullen has played for Atlantis, an invitational 7's side. Gary Brackett, a former Eagle, joined the Faded Blacks in 1987after a stellar career with Holy Cross and Boston RFCs.

Worcester RFC established a scholarship fund in memory of Michael Minty to benefit children of WRFC members. Mike was an integral member of the Club in its early years and left us much too early after losing a bout with cancer. The Worcester Rugby Foundation was established in 1995 in order to promote rugby in Central Massachusetts. Worcester Rugby is also very active in the community. The Club has marched in Worcester's St. Patrick's Day Parade since the Parade's inception in 1983, missing only once or twice due to weather and scheduling conflicts with the annual Spring Road Trip. The club raises money for local programs such as Sports Alive, the Greenhill Park Barnyard Zoo, the PT Badjo Memorial Fund, the Autism Resource Center and programs at UMass Medical Center supporting families of patients. Contributions of toys and food are gathered at the annual Christmas Party for distribution within the community. Club members help clean up and service City and State parks. Blood drives have been organized with the Red Cross throughout the Club's history. Worcester has finished in 2nd place in several of Morris RFC's nationwide "Give Blood, Play Rugby" Challenges.

Keith MacNeal
Worcester RFC