Mystic Legend Bobby Fowler's Recent Passing

It's with a heavy heart that we share the recently-received, sad news of long-time Mystic legend Bobby Fowler's passing. A 1970s-era Mystic, Bobby lost his battle to cancer on May 6th, 2021.   Bobby was primarily a flyhalf but also filled in at fullback, and he played many matches in blue, starting in 1974, the birth year of Mystic River Rugby Club. Bobby went on a tour to Wales with Mystic in 1976 and he played a number of Old Boys matches in Saranac at the Can-Am Tournament. "He was a hard runner, a ferocious tackler, and had a great boot."   We appreciate some Mystic Old Boys letting us know of the unfortunate news, and we know that his legacy, along with the other Mystics that are no longer with us, will live on forever with this club.   The club sends condolences to the Fowler family. Here is the obituary, where you can send flowers or add a memory you might have of Bobby.   GO BLUE! #TogetherWeFly  

2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Results

Mystic River Rugby Club recently held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, May 19^th. Thanks to all those who held positions during challenging times. The club is grateful to come out on the other side of this global pandemic in better shape than could have been expected.   Although club members were unable to meet face-to-face, marking the 2^nd consecutive year we’ve resorted to Zoom, thanks to everyone that joined to let their voices be heard and their votes counted. Here are the results of the AGM, with a few vacant positions still available.   President – David Rudzinsky Vice President – Nicholas St. Germain Treasurer – Ben Wallace Secretary – Ken Fagan Club Development Director – Michael Rudzinsky Social Secretary – TBD* Fixture Secretary – Jon Fonvielle Equipment Secretary – Joseph Kimemiah Field Secretary – Jon Gurczak Marketing Director – John Daly Social Media Officer – TBD* Player Development Director – Kayne Bubb Youth Director – Craig Weeks Charitable Director – TBD* Recruiting Officer – Phil Baker-Coe Ombudsman – Nick Fujiwara Old Boy Captain – Ken Fagan Board of Trustees – Fran Russell (joins incumbents Kevin Lyons & Brett Willis)   If there is any interest in the vacant positions, please reach out to Buzz at drudzinsky@gmail.comGO BLUE!! #TogetherWeFly

Mystic River Continues Undefeated Spring ‘21 Season

Hope you all had an excellent Memorial Day Weekend celebrating and remembering those that have served the United States of America. On Saturday, Mystic River Rugby Club played two matches to open up the New England Free Jacks’ Military Appreciation Day, where the Free Jacks would ultimately win their match, over the Toronto Arrows, 14-12.   But before that, with kickoff at 11am at Free Jacks Stadium in Weymouth, Mystic River’s Developmental side fought through the blustery New England weather and came away with a gritty 14-12 victory over the New England Independents, the Free Jacks Academy. From the start of the match, Mystic applied heavy pressure on the Independents with the wind at their backs, and it paid off when center Matt Kaltenbach intercepted an Independents pass from a scrum near their own 22 and trotted under the posts untouched for a converted try. The Independents managed to get on the scoreboard, so going into the half, Mystic led, 7-5.   The second half started out slow and conditions did not improve, as scrums were a recurring theme. The Independents went up 12-7 after scoring a converted try with a few minutes remaining. Mystic regathered their restart, and after all the hard work done by the forwards to get it to the goal line, knocked on with enough time for only one more scrum. The Mystic forwards gave a massive push up front and scrumhalf Nate Jakaitis forced the Independents’ scrumhalf to drop the ball while passing into his in-goal area, where Jakaitis’ quickness got him to the loose ball just in time to touch it down and tie it up 12-12. With no time left for a restart, Jakaitis lined the kick up from the right-side 15-meter hash, just inside the 22, and with confidence, slotted the game-winning conversion for Mystic River, making the final score 14-12.   Mystic River’s Premier side followed up by playing the Connecticut Selects (CT). The scoring opened with a try from fullback Nick Fujiwara after a perfect pass from wing Vini Daley. Then, the Cambridge boys connected again, this time Fujiwara finding Daley with space. After a CT yellow card, number 8 Cam Davidowicz beat two defenders off a 5-meter scrum as he centered a try, setting up an easy conversion. With the score 17-0, Mystic was awarded a penalty try and CT was shown another yellow card, making the score 24-0. Mystic was able to force one more turnover in CT territory, and after impressive hands in tough weather, wing Brian Patterson was there to finish and make it 31-0 at half.   Several minutes into the second half, Daley got downward pressure on a loose ball on CT’s goal line for another Mystic try, his second of the day, making it 36-0. Adnan Kawuma, co-captain center, didn’t waste any time before picking one from the base of a ruck deep in CT territory to make it 43-0. Center George Kokkalis put the finishing touches on the day with a crash line up the middle off of a scrum, sliding between the uprights to make the final score 50-0,Mystic. Mystic’s Premier side scored 8 tries on the day and converted 5 of them, including a penalty try.   This Saturday, 6/5, Mystic River is entering a side into a friendly NERFU tournament being hosted at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton. Mystic will play Boston Rugby Club at 10:15am (Field 2) and Providence Rugby Club at 11:15am (Field 2) in pool play, and depending on pool play results, their final match will take place at 1:30pm or 2:30pm. This will close out Mystic River’s spring 15s season as they look to maintain their undefeated record by going 3-0 across 120 minutes of rugby (40 minute matches).   The men are also preparing for their annual sevens season, which will feature three Mystic teams (Premier, Developmental, Open) this summer, with more details coming soon. Sevens trainings areevery Tuesday & Thursday, beginningnext Tuesday, 6/8. Stay tuned for more updates!   Lastly, there will be more information coming out shortly regarding the Collegiate Select Side and their summer schedule, as well as the Mystic Youth Rugby Program and its upcoming start date of Monday, 6/21. Spread the word as we enter another decade of Mystic Youth Rugby, picking up right where we left off in 2019!   GO BLUE!! #TogetherWeFly