The Fairfield Rugby Club didn’t really know what to expect in the Rugby Connecticut HS club final June 13 - after a 5-2 regular season they knew they could be beaten, and their opposition, Cheshire, was undefeated.

Photos by Patrick Philpott. Click images to enlarge.

But the North and the South teams in Connecticut don’t play each other much, so who knew what would happen? In the end, Fairfield, whose only losses were to the top two single-school teams in the state, Greenwich and Fairfield Prep, won convincingly, 57-10.

“We meshed well after the Fairfield Prep game,” said Fairfield Coach Bob Ehlers. “We played in a good, competitive division and we were competitive with Fairfield Prep and Greenwich. We like the tough competition and we felt we were getting better each week.”

 In addition, the Fairfield club made some key personnel changes, switching flyhalf and fullback, and moving their inside center to tighthead prop.  

Fullback (and previous flyhalf) Evan Surrick flourished in the new role, unleashing his tackling skills and sliding into the line. Loosehead prop George Harris continued to play superbly, especially as an offensive weapon busting through the line. 

“Our team has been known for having big forward packs, and we still do, but we’re more mobile now,” said Ehlers.

And so Fairfield is the Connecticut state club champion, and looks to be in the future. Ehlers said several key players are young - his scrumhalf-flyhalf combination of Eric Naposki (injured in the semis and didn’t play in the final), and Ben Ehlers are both sophomores. Inside center Will Parisi is a sophomore, too.

“We have a good group of underclassmen, and what’s really helped the club get stronger is that a bunch of older former players have decided they want to coach, and they’re working with 1st-to-5th-graders in Rookie Rugby, and then Middle School. We have Minis, U12s and U14s building toward the high school team. The future looks good.”