On a hot summer night in 1973, six men (Peter Maud, Bob Urann, Tom Crosby, Lawrence Williams, Charlie Monnot and Stan Smith) gathered under the influence of Peter Maud and Bob Urann to form the first non-collegiate rugby club in Louisiana – the New Orleans Rugby Club. Concurrent with the meeting was a huge hotel fire that formed sort of a star in the east and lent some sanctity to the birth of the club.

And indeed the club was rooted on the deity. Not only did those six souls manage to think out a framework and a constitution for the club, but they also managed to recruit ten more players so they would not have to begin their first official season playing short. And, believe it or not, 15 of those 16 players (Father Maud didn’t make it) showed up for and won their very first game against LSU Rugby Club “B” side. Convinced then that they were special, they undertook playing teams comparably blessed and managed to lose most of their games for the balance of the season.

Rugby reality had set in. Most of those early games were played either short or with some poor sucker who happened to be passing by the game and didn’t have the nerve to say that he knew nothing about the game. Nine players attended practices on a good night and the person who seemed to know what was going on at the time did coaching. The job of the selection committee was to decide who played where and how to fill the vacancies instead of today’s job of who plays and who doesn’t (and I chuckle to think that the bitching then was the same as it is now).

The next season (Spring 1974) saw the roster grow to 24 – almost a guarantee that we could field a team every Saturday. One of the additions was Mike Porter – a grisly, bearded rugby stalwart from Maine – who took the club by the horns (we had turned into devils by this time) and proceeded to coach the un-coach able into a fine-tuned, precision Rugby Club. The club began to win a few of its matches and the sport actually became fun again.

Under the administrative of Peter Maud, the coaching leadership of Mike Porter, and the captainery of Bob Urann, the club became very well established and more ambitious over the next couple of years. Bye the 1975-76 season, the club was playing clubs like Memphis Olde No.7, Houston Old Boys, in addition to local competition, and attending tournaments like the Lone Star Tournament in Houston. The club even began scheduling “B” side games and winning most of them (nothing has changed). Season results for that year was an impressive 15-win / 3-loss for the “A” side and 12-win / 3-loss for the “B” side.

Also during the 1975-76 season, the club saw the birth (via immaculate conception) of Spilfters and Smulchkins Rugger Pub. The three club players who were immaculately screwed in the ownership of the Pub were Bob Urann, Tom Crosby and Dave Farrar; however, their contribution to the club was immeasurable. The Pub provided a place for club members to socialize, and the esprit de corps that was generated showed up on the pitch. In 1978, the immaculate three could stand the pain of ownership no longer – they boarded up the doors and the club was back on the street again.

Nonetheless, the club continued to grow and mature over the years (however the players didn’t). The roster steadily increased from 45 in 1976 to 60 or 70 in 1981. Although the win-loss record was hot and cold over the years, the club managed to win the Louisiana State Championship in 1977 and 1981, and the Mobile Battleship Tournament in 1980. the club has played international touring sides from Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, South America, Bermuda and Trinidad. The club even put together a tour of its own in the spring of 1979 to the Grand Cayman Island where they managed to play a little rugby in spite of themselves.

Today the club is very strong – in number, administration, play, and reputation. The club plays “A” and “B” games every week of the season. The club continually seeks stronger and stronger competition and is hosting more and more international touring sides. The club set up a corporation and purchased its own clubhouse (one of two in the country) and is rebuilding the Spilfters and Smulchkins tradition of promoting esprit de corps.

That hot fire in 1973 must have been an impressive sight. But compared to the New Orleans Rugby Club of today, it was just a glimmer.