Faded Red Rugby

Alumni Weekend 2012 – Details Coming Soon

We’re still working on the logistics for alumni weekend 2012, so stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, to join our mailing list and receive regular updates on the planning process, please click here.

Alumni Weekend 2011 Recap – Another Z-Side Victory

Breaking with past tradition, this year’s rugby alumni weekend coincided with Cornell’s regular homecoming weekend. It was a bold move to go head-to-head with the football team, but we still managed to gather a sizable crowd for a beautiful day of rugby. In all, three games were played, featuring the current Cornell A and B-Sides, the Johnson School squad and the always formidable Cornell Rugby Alumni Z-Side. In total, nearly 150 players, alumni, friends and family took part in alumni weekend, by far the largest turnout to date.

In the game of the day, the Cornell A-Side took on the old men of the Z-Side. It was a fierce match, but ultimately, the Z-Side would not be denied. After a slow (possibly hangover-induced) start, the Z-Side was down by 20. Like 2010, the A-Side took advantage of disorganized Z-Side back play to attack the wings and charged ahead with several long trys. With the game threatening to spiral out of control, the Z-Side resorted to it’s larger (fatter?) pack to slow the game down and grind down the A-Side defense. The strategy worked, and a string of trys quickly followed. By the end of the day, the Z-Side had secured a 55-27 victory, eerily similar to the 54-25 final in 2010.

The festivities continued beyond the field of play, as the Cornell A, B and Z-Sides all retreated to a buffet dinner and drink-up. Man of the match awards were handed out, donations were collected and the entire group received a stirring and heartfelt pep-talk from Cornell Rugby’s new head coach. For a taste of the weekend activities, please enjoy the match photos below:

Z-Side Post-Game Photos

Game Faces

Scrumming Down

The Class of ’86

Post-Game Handshake

Alumni Weekend 2010 Recap – After Slow Start, Alumni Z-Side Takes Care of Business

After spending a little too much time at the Palms on Friday night, the alumni Z-side came out flat against a young, but game, Cornell A-side. The result was a fast and devastating attack by the A-side backs and a 20-0 lead for the youngsters after only 20 minutes. The Z-side eventually got onto the board in the 25th minute, making the score 20-5. However, the response from the A-side was quick, and in the 27th minute, they scored again to bring the match to 25-5. With 53 minutes of rugby still left to play, the Z-side looked to be in for a long and painful afternoon.

At this point, the pace of the action was slowed as the Z-side focused on ball control, using a series of rolling mauls and forward crashes to stop the momentum of the A-side. The new strategy worked brilliantly, and with 17 seconds left in the first half, the Z-side scored a try and conversion to bring the score to 25-12. Going into halftime, the Z-side was now in striking distance for a comeback and the A-Side attack was now nonexistent.

In the second half, the match turned in favor of the Z-side in stunning fashion. Led by three trys from JoJo Bucci (’05) and strong runs from eventual man-of-the-match Tim Powers (’05), the alumni scored 42 unanswered points – leaving no doubt who was actually in charge. Those scoring trys included Avi Giladi (’04), Alex Cwirko-Godycki (’04), Eamon Molloy (’05), and Randall “The Goose” Luce (‘??). The Z-side was also boosted by strong kicking from Dan O’Connor (’05) and a much needed 2nd half appearance from John Friedman (’07) who flew in from Singapore to shore up the back line.

After the game, both the A-Side and Z-Side enjoyed a healthy chicken wing lunch provided by game sponsor Wings Over Ithaca. As they ate, the second game of the day kicked off. In game two, the alumni Double Z-side took down the Cornell B-Side by a score of 17-5. The event then wrapped-up with a raucous banquet at the “always classy” Chinese Buffet.