Press Release: 2006 MBA World Rugby Championships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Bill Jakobowski, Duke Grad RFC Co-President, e-mail: gradrugbyadmin@duke.edu
UCD SMURFIT SCHOOL OF BUSINESS WINS 2006 MBA RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Durham, NC -- April 9, 2006 -- 620 MBA students from around the world gathered in Durham, NC and Danville, VA for the 26th annual MBA Rugby World Championships. Teams came from as far away as Sydney, Australia (AGSM) and Fontainebleau, France (INSEAD) for this year's tournament. Participants had a wide array of rugby experience ranging from a couple months to over 20 years. Teams practiced hard throughout the year to form cohesive units that could compete at the high level demanded by the World Championships.
“What started as a motley crew of characters, many whom had never seen a pitch, became a team of rugby players.”
- Tom Pawelkiewicz, Ivey School of Business, Univ. of Western Ontario
Smurfit (UCD Dublin, Ireland) took this year's title in a hard fought final match against Ivey (Univ. of Western Ontario, Canada). The teams battled from the beginning with Smurfit scoring first to take a 5-0 lead. Ivey came back and found their energy to score on a brilliant piece of running. The successful conversion made the score 5-7. The momentum appeared to be shifting back in Smurfit’s favor when Ivey’s #10 found himself staring down at a yellow card... and then a red for "creative differences" with the referee. With only 14 men, Ivey held strong, but the reigning champions rallied to push deep into Ivey territory. A successful penalty kick at the mid-way point of the second half gave Smurfit the lead, 8-7. In the final minutes of play, Ivey had one final chance to retake the lead with a 40-meter penalty kick. However, an upset was not to be had; the kick missed left. Smurfit held on to the narrow 8-7 victory, the smallest margin of victory in World Championship history.
In the women's bracket, Smurfit also took home the title, defeating Columbia by a score of 3-0. Winner's in the Men’s consolation brackets included McGill (Montreal, Canada) and Kellogg (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL).
The MBA Rugby World Championships is an annual tournament hosted each year by the Duke Grad RFC. Each April, teams from around the world come to compete in the premier rugby tournament for MBA students. Teams participate in group play on Saturday (3 games) and advance to the knock-out round on Sunday. The weekend includes not only high-quality rugby, but also social events to give the participants a chance to meet other students. If your team is interested in participating in next year’s tournament please contact the organizers (gradrugbyadmin@duke.edu).
Special thanks to Cam Demmerle, Dave Nakashian, the Doug, the City of Danville, Johnson & Johnson, Shorty's Grill & Bar, Satisfaction Restaurant & Bar, Devines Restaurant & Sports Bar, and Federal Lounge. And thanks also to our participating teams: Australian Graduate School of Management, U. of Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, INSEAD, Ivey (Western Ontario), Johnson School (Cornell), Kellogg (Northwestern U.), Kenan-Flagler (UNC), London Business School, McGill, U. of Michigan, Smurfit (UCD Dublin), Stanford, Stern (NYU), Thunderbird, U. of Texas, Wharton (U. of Pennsylvania), Yale.
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STATISTICS:
Players: 620
Matches: 70 (48 men, 22 women)
Schools: 20
Men's Teams: 22
Women's Teams: 9
Countries: Seven (Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Singapore, USA)
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For information:
http://mbaa.fuqua.duke.edu/rugby/mba_world_championship.htm or contact: gradrugbyadmin@duke.edu
