The Inaugural Match

On Friday, November 7th, 1969, the Gators hosted the University of Georgia (UGA) Bulldogs in its very first rugby matches with both an A Side and B Side matches played.  Part of UF Rugby’s early success and the quick growth of rugby awareness on campus, was the result of a fortuitous happening on the pitch shortly before the first match.  The first UF Rugby pitch was located on the Gator Practice Field (also referred to as the Upper Drill Field) adjacent to Florida Field.  Arriving for the match, the players were horrified to find several hundred cars parked on the pitch.  Across the road at Florida Field, there were thousands of spectators enjoying the Florida vs Georgia freshman football game, many of whom had parked on the pitch. Over the next 30 minutes, the spectators inside Florida Field heard several messages broadcast from the press box, in a distinct and strange Australian accent “At the end of this Freshman game, would those people who have parked on the adjacent practice field, please move your cars because a rugby game, Florida vs Georgia, is about to commence.”  These spectators moved their cars, but no one left.  The rugby match began and spectators were 5 people deep along the sidelines, watching the birth of a brand-new sport – cheering, applauding, groaning at some of the contact…and loving it!  The match result was Florida 15, Georgia 3.  Maybe even more important that the on-pitch victory was the winning over of the university crowd that day, which helped propel rugby as an established sport at the University of Florida.