Columbia 2010 Tour of Paris and Milan

CURFC first arrived in Paris on Friday March 12th. The team settled into its hostel and then took to the Parisian streets. The first team practice consisted of a 5-mile run between many of the famous landmarks in the downtown area. On just the first night alone, the team was able to see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, La Invalides, and many other famous sites.

The next morning, Columbia took to the pitch for the first time in an all-day tournament of 30-min games hosted by Sceinces Po of Paris. CURFC’s A-side battled the jet lag and the stiff muscles from the day before and finished the day with one win, one loss, and one draw. The win was a hard-fought 25-22 victory over one of the university teams entered into the tournament. The draw was a 0-0 finish in the first game of the day against one of the other university teams entered into the tournament, and the loss was against a very experienced Sciences Po men’s side. CURFC’s B-side had a tough day playing together for the first time against some experienced French universities’ first squads. All in all, it was a great day of rugby. It was exactly what the team needed to work out the stiffness and dust off the cobwebs.

The club was hosted for a social event later that night and a club in Paris. Players from all of the other teams were present at the gathering. The following day, on Sunday 14th, CURFC had an early morning practice on the fields in front of Les Invalides. Following this practice, the team quickly shifted gears from rugby to… rugby, and made its way to the Stade de France to watch Italy take on the home-team, France, in a packed stadium.

As many of you know, France held down the fort and dominated Italy with a final score of 46-20. It was an incredible experience for all of the players. For many of us it was our first attended professional rugby event, and what a first it was! After the 6 Nations event, CURFC packed up its gear, and left by train for Milan. The team finally got a little bit of rest during its overnight train ride through Switzerland before continuing the fun in Italy. Upon arriving at the Hotel Demo in downtown Milan, the team suited up and made its way to Castello Sforzesco, also known as the Milan Castel. The garden in front of the castle is where CURFC practiced at 9am every morning while in Milan. The field can be seen in the image to the right with the castle in the background.

On Tuesday, March 16th, CURFC faced its first Italian opponents. After 3 great days of training, the A-side took the field against Liuc University in the first round of a 4 team tournament hosted by Bocconi University. The squad established dominance from the first whistle and never gave Liuc a chance to breathe once the game was underway. The match ended with a final score of 53-5 in CURFC’s favor. The team finished the game with 9 tries; five of them coming from junior flanker, Derek Lipscomb. It was a terrific morale booster for the squad, as it instilled a new swagger and sense of confidence that has been missing in the team for some time. The B-side, comprised of primarily rookies (freshman and sophomores), then took to the pitch against Bocconi University. Nobody was expecting much from a group of guys that had barely ever played the sport; for many of them, it was their first full 80-minute match. The squad came out with intensity and confidence. Though the final result of the game was a loss for CURFC’s B-side, the team held its own against what the A-side would soon learn was a very formidable opponent. The final score of the match was a hard-fought 28-12. The following day, the A-side suited up against A.S. Milano, a men’s club centralized in Milan. A.S. Milano opened up the match with three quick tries putting CURFC back on its heels. The Lions rallied, however, and fought back tying the game back up at 17-17. The game ended with a 34-22 score in favor of A.S. Milano, but CURFC put forth a valiant effort against a club with year-round intense training schedule, and a lot of experience.

On Thursday, March 18th, the final round of the tournament hosted by Bocconi took place. The B-side took on Liuc for 3rd place in the first event of the day. It was a great defensive battle where CURFC proved itself as a team of great depth. The B-side managed to hold onto a 14-8 victory as the final whistle blew. It came down to the final play, where sophomore match secretary, Joe Artuso, made a try-saving, game-winning tackle (pictured in the image to the right). Afterwards, CURFC’s A-side lined up against University of Bocconi in the tournament championship. Once again, the match was a physical battle. The game came to a strange halt when the ref who was scheduled for the game walked off the field saying that the match was “too physical” and that he didn’t want to be responsible for it any more. Luckily one of the Bocconi coaches stepped forward and agreed to continue to ref the match and play continued. Despite a hard-fought match, CURFC could not manage to muster what it needed to beat Bocconi. The game ended with a final score of 33-15 in favor of Bocconi.

After both matches ended, all of the teams were gathered and trophies were presented. Although the Bocconi match is one that the players of CURFC will want back for the rest of their lives, the team still accomplished a lot in taking home 2nd and 3rd place from the tournament.

The following morning the team had a light practice and then boarded an overnight train to head back to Paris for its final days in Europe. In Paris, the team was able to squeeze in one last practice at Les Invalides, watch the France/England 6 Nations match from the comfort of a local pub, and do a little bit of site-seeing before returning home to The States. In all, the tour was an incredible experience, where the players of CURFC were surrounded by the game and culture of rugby for 10 straight days. In a matter of a week, CURFC’s youngest members developed into a powerful B-side squad with many players competing for a spot on the A-side. Many of the wrinkles were ironed out, and CURFC came back to the USA with a new sense of confidence and camaraderie that is hard to find in any team. In addition, CURFC got to experience the international brotherhood of the sport of rugby. It is an amazing feeling to know that wherever you go, you will be embraced with open arms by somebody else that plays rugby.

Conor Russomanno (SEAS ’11)
2010 CURFC President