Hall of Fame
One of the first things Rufus Boyett did upon moving his family to Northfield in 1970 was offer to start a rugby club on the Norwich University campus. Rugby was virtually unknown in Vermont at that time, but 23 players turned out for the new sport in its first year. Within three years, the club boasted more than 70 members and the 1973 team produced one of the finest seasons ever in Norwich University athletic history.
The Cadet ruggers had finished the 1972 season with victories in their last five matches and opened the '73 campaign with high expectations. Those hopes proved well-founded as NU went on to compile a 10-1 record. It was a season that established Norwich as one of the premier college rugby sides in the East.
The Cadets opened the year by becoming the first American Rugby club to ever win the prestigious Montreal Irish Seven A Side Tournament. They followed that with an easy victory over Williams College (30-3) and began preparing to host Dartmouth College on Parents' Weekend.
The Big Green were a perennial power in New England rugby, but the Cadets shut them out en route to a 12-0 win. It was Norwich's first win over Dartmouth and signaled the arrival of the Cadet rugby programs.
Wins over the University of Massachusetts (36-7), Tufts (54-0), College Militaire Royale (38-0) and MacDonald College (75-0) followed and the Cadets found themselves 7-0 heading into their next big test, a meeting with Army at West Point.
In a battle of unbeaten teams, Norwich took a 12-0 lead into the intermission behind the play of captain Duncan Hoge. NU withstood a furious second half attack from Army to take home a 15-3 victory. As with Dartmouth, the win was NU's first ever against Army.
Victories over the Vermont All-Stars (26-4) and Springfield College (14-0) would help the Cadets improve to 10-0 while extending the program's winning streak to 15 games. NU suffered its only loss of the season in its final match, dropping a 16-10 decision to a strong Holy Cross team.
Despite the season-ending loss, Norwich still finished 10-1 overall, the best record ever by a rugby squad in school history. For the season, NU outscored its opponents by an average score of 31-3. Seven players from that nationally-ranked squad; Bob Chilson '73, Alan DeForest '75, Randy Gaetz '75, Duncan Hoge '74, Russ MacDonald '75, John Panarelli '75 and Dave Williamson '75 were named to the New England Rugby Union's All New England College XV. In addition, Gaetz and Hof were two of the three college players selected by the New England Rugby Union to its select side.
