UMF ruggers best in Maine

PORTLAND – On Saturday, under a brilliant blue sky at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds, the University of Maine at Farmington men’s rugby team topped U-Maine Orono 20-7 in the final match to earn the Maine Collegiate Championship title.

In its first match, UMF bested Colby 10-7 to book its date in the final and then thoroughly controlled the championship match by out tackling and out rucking its larger sister school to the north to claim UMF’s third Maine Championship in the past four years.

So complete was UMF’s domination that nine UMF players earned spots on the tournament’s 15-member all-star team, and several others easily could have.

For a whole slew of UMF seniors, the day was bittersweet in that it marked the end of college rugby careers that saw them as a team win a New England Championship, three Maine Cups, a Spring Shorties tournament title and other assorted hardware as well. As a group, they have set the bar very high for UMF rugby teams of the future, but rugby players returning to Farmington in the fall are already committed to maintaining this tradition of excellence.