This Saturday, April 21st Battle Rugby begins it’s spring campaign with a match against Old Gold B’s.  Kick off is at 1pm at the Beech St pitch.  People are invited to bring their families for a great day of rugby.  With only two home games this Spring, it would be a shame to miss it.  Battle has added some great new talent and with returning vets training harder than ever, this will prove to be an exciting match up.  A social will follow at Ryan’s Pub, at the end of Beech St. on Main.  See ya there, rain or shine!

Bennington Rugby continues to forge strong ties with the community as they recently participated in both local St. Patrick’s Day Parades.  With a float furnished by Daniel Harvey the owner/operator of Arlington Roofing and a strong showing by both players and their families, Battle Rugby was very popular with the spectators.

“We want to let people know that Saturday is not only a Rugby Day, but a Family Day”.  spoke President Josh Bull.

Battle Rugby has already started training for the spring season and has had a tremendous boost in attendance by both returning veterans and new members to the team.  Practices continue to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30pm at their Beech St. pitch.

For the next week, when you buy a Battle Rugby Club Sandwich at the Elm Street Market, a portion of the profits will be donated to the Bennington Rugby Football Club. The club has turkey, ham, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo on a fresh sub roll. Treat yourself to a delicious lunch and help support a local business, and your local rugby club.

This Saturday March 10th at 4pm, Battle Rugby will have a team meeting at the home of Josh Bull.  The items of the Agenda are the results of the NERFU AGM, plans for the St. Patrick’s Day parades and overall preparation for our upcoming season.  A team social will be held at the conclusion of the meeting.  All current officers are required to attend and all team members and prospective team members are invited.

Team training will start on Tuesday March 13th at 530pm.  The training schedule will be Tuesdays and Thursdays for the months of March and April, with three Saturday practices.  Starting the week of April 16th we will go to only Thursday and Friday practices.  All practices will be held at the Beech St. pitch unless otherwise designated.  Any questions please contact President Josh Bull at 518-598-4161 or through e-mail at blljoshua@aol.com.

By Austin Danforth of the Bennington Banner

BENNINGTON — Flanker John Ulrich pounced on a fumbled ball in the Berkshire try zone late in the second half Saturday to lift the Bennington Battle Rugby Football Club to a 15-14 comeback win on Saturday at the Beech Street Field.

Bennington (4-2) led 10-7 at halftime after Matt Willey scored a try and converted two kicks. Berkshire answered with two straight tries to go ahead, 14-10, setting up Ulrich’s late score.

The loss dropped Berkshire, the Battle’s main rival, to 2-4 on the year and avenged a 17-3 loss earlier this month.

“This is how rugby is suppose to be played,” Willey said. “Eighty minutes of rugby. No one giving up and everyone focused on the goal — to win.”

“This was a good game. Both sides played hard and we were able to come out on top,” said Bennington coach Jeremiah Madison.

It was the Battle’s second straight win heading into the Division-IV tournament hosted by Berkshire on Oct. 22. Bennington outgunned Black River, 36-29, in Chester on Oct. 8.

Center Josh Weldon led the way with three tries, while Willey added another and converted 4-of-5 extra point kicks and 1-of-2 penalty kicks.