Tag: MBA Rugby

MBA Rugby World Cup 2015

Carysfort Celts flying the Irish Flag at The MBA Rugby World Cup
Carysfort Celts flying the Irish Flag at The MBA Rugby World Cup

Last week, the MBA Rugby Team travelled to the United States to take part in the 35th Annual MBA Rugby World Cup.

Our team finished a creditable fourth out of 15 men’s teams, placing just behind Harvard’s A Team and ahead of fifth-placed Duke.Action Shot 3 - World Cup

Other teams that competed include Columbia, Yale and Stanford. An elite competition, in more ways than one. Well done to all involved!

Founded in 1999, the UCD Smurfit Rugby Football Club has grown from humble beginnings into one of the most successful business school rugby football clubs in the world.

Action Shot 2 - World Cup

On 25 September 1999, UCD Smurfit played its first ever game against the then reigning MBA World Champions, INSEAD of France. Determined to prove themselves against the best, the team attacked relentlessly and stormed home to a comprehensive 31 – 0 victory.

Buoyed on by this result, the members of the Club set themselves the goal of competing in the 2000 MBA Rugby World Championships. Achieving this required months of hard work and endeavour and, in April 2000, their efforts were rewarded. By defeating Duke University 8 – 0 in the final, the ‘Carysfort Celts’ won the Club’s first ever World Championship title.

In the years since, the Club has continuously strived to expand and improve on the efforts of its founders. This determination to succeed has resulted in the club winning the MBA Rugby World Championship on a further 11 occasions, the most recent being on April 2013.

In addition to having a successful men’s team, the Club also has a successful women’s team. In 2006, the Club won its first World Championship title.

Aside from its on-field activities, UCD Smurfit RFC is also extremely committed to assisting causes less well off than it. For the 2014/15 season, the Club has continued its partnership with World Sports Team and assisting our community through sponsorship and other fundraising events put on by the MBA Class.

Avril Donohue ~ MBA Senior Programme Coordinator

Time flies with rugby

Well here we are in December. Where has the time gone? It seems like it was only yesterday that I was walking into orientation wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into. Now I have fully immersed myself in the Full time MBA and the opportunities that come with it.

The most fun I have had thus far has been with the Rugby Club. I have met so many wonderful people through the connections I have made within the club. When I took over the club as President in September I was worried that nothing would get done because I would be the only FT MBA actively in the club and had no clue how it would work with bringing in MSc students to fill in the rest. The previous boards had full involvement from the MBA class so it was unnerving to change that. However the MSc students that have stepped up to take part have been a great asset to the club.

The previous year had done a great job with setting up a dinner to fundraise for the world cup trip, but since I did not have any connections with hotels or pubs I decided to go with the connections I was making and choose a fun event. This year the rugby club will be hosting a Networking and Rugby event on Friday, February 6th from 6 to 9 pm at Old Wesley Rugby Football Club and the Donnybrook Rugby Pitches. There will be food, drinks, prizes and of course rugby. We have invited local graduate schools and businesses to put teams in the tournament and have started inviting business professionals from all over Ireland. The hope is that we will have 1500 people attend the event to grow networks and help Smurfit Rugby attend the World Cup this April.

The event has been lots of fun to organize and from it I have meet so many wonderful people. I have even been fortunate enough to meet the minister for sport when I was invited to attend the grand opening of the Donnybrook pitches in November. The planning of this event has gotten me working directly with Leinster Rugby and from that I have been able to gain the honor of working with the RDS Match Day team in February for a Leinster Rugby match. These have all been opportunities I would have never gained if I was not leading the rugby club this year. It truly has been a blessing.

As exams near and I take a fortnight reprieve from rugby for my exams I just would like to ask anyone who reads this blog to mark their calendars for February 6th for our Networking event. Please head over to ucdsmurfitrugbyfc.ie or follow UCD Smurfit Rugby FC on Facebook or Twitter to get updates on the event and find out how to order tickets. You can also email me directly at nickolas.boyle@ucdconnect.ie to reserve your tickets. With the help of you and everyone else who has ties to UCD Smurfit we can make this a fun annual event for years to come.

Merry Christmas from the Smurfit MBA Rugby FC Family to yours.

Nickolas Boyle

Full-time MBA Class