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The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) ended its 15s regular season last weekend, solidifying standings and thus the semifinal matchups for Division II and Division III. This Saturday’s Round of 4 matches will occur at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, Mass., and will serve as the NERFU championship site the following Saturday, Nov. 7.
Division II expanded to nine teams (see standings) this year after the addition of former Empire GU teams New Haven and Danbury. The Connecticut sides had outgrown the New York metro/northern New Jersey league, and DII NERFU has been a good shift in terms of competition. The regular season was limited to six DII opponents, so not all of the teams have played each other, which makes playoffs even more interesting.
That’s the case with Worcester and Beantown. The Shamrocks went undefeated this fall to finish with the No. 1 seed, while Beantown secured the fourth seed after a 6-2 season. The teams did not play each other in the regular season so there is intrigue there. Worcester also fielded a second side in NERFU’s DIII and Beantown is gaining momentum behind new head coach Josie Ziluca.
New Haven also ended its regular season 4-2 and with 20 points standings points, like Beantown, but its point differential afforded the five-time reigning Empire champ with the third seed. New Haven will face second-ranked Albany in Saturday’s semifinals. When the teams met of Sept. 26, the game occurred at the Knicks’ home pitch and Albany triumphed 37-24. The highly anticipated rematch will be on neutral ground.
Saturday’s victors will then advance to the NERFU championships, which occur Nov. 7 in Canton, Mass., once again. The champion will then secure its spot in the springtime Atlantic Super Regional Championship (SRC), the final stage before nationals.
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The same setup and scenarios exist for Division III (see standings), although the SRC is the final stop for this USA Club Rugby competition. The South Shore Sirens went undefeated this fall and will face fourth-ranked Upper Valley in Saturday’s semifinals. Amoskeag (#2) and North Shore (#3) are on the other side of the bracket. This, too, is a highly anticipated rematch, as they played each other last Saturday to a 31-24 decision to Amoskeag.
Stay tuned for kickoff times and live-stream info from NERFU, which should be posted shortly via @newenglandrugby.
NERFU SEMIFINALS
Saturday, Oct. 31 @ Irish Cultural Centre, Canton, Mass.
More venue detail
DIVISION II
#1 Worcester v #4 Beantown
#2 Albany v #3 New Haven
DIVISION III
#1 South Shore v #4 Upper Valley
#2 Amoskeag v #3 North Shore