Inez Chuidian, Contributing Photographer

The men’s rugby team took on the University of Connecticut in Mansfield for their season opener Saturday. 

Both the Bulldogs, the rugby club’s first team, and the Bluedogs, their development team, took home wins in a promising start for the team.

The Bulldogs, captained by Falco Emery ’26 and Jack Stemerman ’26, opened the 80-minute game with a strong start. Aggressive offense from Bulldog forwards and backs challenged the Huskies. 

By halftime, the Bulldogs were up 17-0. 

Circulating the ball through the backline and conceding just two tries in the second half, the full time whistle blew with a final score of 24-12. Tobi Bamisaye ’29 scored the final try with a successful conversion kick by Declan Ratchford ’28.

The Bluedogs came home with a decisive 26-5 win over UConn. Last weekend, the Bluedogs had similar success with a 24-22 victory in a scrimmage over Vassar.

“The Bluedogs earned their win by stepping up and playing how they practice,” Bluedogs player Peter Burns ’28 wrote to the News. “They practiced our gameplan, fundamentals, and just wanted to play.”

In the fall, collegiate rugby teams traditionally play games with 15 players on each side. In the spring, they typically play faster-paced games with seven players on each side. 

“Our men concentrate on 15-a-side rugby throughout both the fall and spring,” Craig Wilson, the director of rugby at Yale, wrote. “This allows us to keep all 40+ players engaged, develop our younger athletes and prepare them for the next fall season.”

With five seniors rostered this fall, this year’s team is significantly younger than the last. In the spring, 16 players graduated. 

“That youth doesn’t dampen our expectations,” Wilson said. “We’re aiming for a winning season and want to make a serious run at the Liberty Conference title.”

The Liberty Conference operates under National Collegiate Rugby, a governing body for collegiate rugby programs in the United States. 

This year, 2025, is also the 150th anniversary of Yale rugby. In the lead-up to this milestone, alumni events have been held across the country, and players have been presented with a commemorative uniform to mark the occasion. The celebrations will culminate in a Hall of Fame gala to honor distinguished figures in Yale rugby’s history.

“Rugby has a storied legacy at Yale, and we’re immensely proud of that tradition, but we also see it as inspiration to create our own legacy for the future,” Wilson said.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs will take on Brown at home in their first official non-conference match of the season.