History

In 1973, the Charles River Rugby Football Club, affectionately dubbed "The Rats", was founded by a group of ruggers from Tufts University

Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

 and Boston Rugby Football Club

Boston RFC

Boston Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The club competes in, and is governed by, the New England Rugby Football Union , the Northeast Rugby Union , and USA Rugby....

. In striking green and orange jerseys that quickly became the club’s trademark, the Rats achieved many early successes, including winning the Portland RFC Invitational and advancing to the Annual New England Tournament semi-finals. The Rats continued to attract new players and build on each year’s accomplishments over the next decade, thus solidifying themselves as a fixture in the New England rugby community.

In 1980, the Rats earned promotion to New England Division I thanks to a staggering defeat of the renowned Berlin Strollers. The early eighties were busy for the club, as the men concentrated on augmenting club membership via a merger with the Old North Bridge RFC of Concord, MA. Highlights of the eighties include continual success both in New England and in international tournament play. In the fall of 1986, the club defeated Boston 12-9, eliminating them from the playoffs for the first time in 5 years.

The Club settled into a restructured Division II in 1992 and proceeded to hold the top seed in that division from 1993 to 1994, running three winning seasons in a row.

The club failed to post a winning season again until the fall of 2005 when the men's side, under coach Fergal Hehir, made it to the playoffs. They defeated Rockaway RFC in the first playoff game in the spring of 2006 and lost to Montauk RFC in the second game. Under Hehir's tenure, Charles River's men's side ran four winning seasons in a row. In 2008, Hehir stepped down and the following January, the club came under the direction of Anthony Adams former player with the Boston Irish Wolfhounds RFC.

After going winless in Adams' first league season (fall 2009), the Rat's men's side was almost relegated down to Division III, but managed to argue their case to stay in Division II. They were put in the new Daly Conference of Division II. In 2010, another South African, Hylton Haynes, took over as Men's coach.

2005 also marked the first season of the Lady Rats, a women's team to compliment the men's team. The women had a successful winning first season, fielding a competitive side in all of their matches. In 2007, they went undefeated in Division III and were promoted to Division II. In the NERFU realignment in 2009, they were placed in Division III. In May of 2011, they won the Division III championship. In August of 2011, the Lady Rats welcomed new coach, Jessica Balogh.
The Rats men's side has been running about 50 active players per season and the women's side has been running about 40 players.

Division

The Charles River Lady Rats are a part of the New England Rugby Football Union

New England Rugby Football Union

The New England Rugby Football Union is a stand-alone union for rugby union teams in New England.NERFU had been a local area union , and part of the Northeast Rugby Union , which is the governing body for three LAU's The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a stand-alone union for rugby...

, Senior Women's Division III. In this division, they compete with:

• Amoskeag Women's RFC
• Middlesex
  Middlesex
  Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
  
  Women's RFC
• North Shore Monsoons RFC
• Worcester Shamrocks RFC

The Charles River Rats are a part of the New England Rugby Football Union

New England Rugby Football Union

The New England Rugby Football Union is a stand-alone union for rugby union teams in New England.NERFU had been a local area union , and part of the Northeast Rugby Union , which is the governing body for three LAU's The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a stand-alone union for rugby...

, Senior Men's Division II in the Daly Conference. In this division, they compete with:

• ALbany
  Albany, New York
  Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
  
   RFC
• Boston Irish Wolfhounds
  Boston Irish Wolfhounds
  The Boston Irish Wolfhounds Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The club competes in, and is governed by, the New England Rugby Football Union , the Northeast Rugby Union , and USA Rugby.The club was established in the late 1980s as a social touring side,...
  
   Third XV
• Newport
  Newport, Rhode Island
  Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
  
   RFC
• Portland
  Portland, Maine
  Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
  
   RFC
• Providence
  Providence, Rhode Island
  Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
  
   RFC

During their history, they have merged with the following clubs while retaining the name Charles River:

• Old North Bridge RFC (1981)(based in Concord, MA)
• Hanscom Hawks RFC (1987) (based on Hanscom AFB)
• Dracut RFC (1995)