Recruiting was the key to growth for BURC in this second full year of existence.  Having graduated a number of key players in the spring, the roster needed some adjustments.  Spots were filled by existing players and rookies who demonstrated the ability to step up to the level of play necessary. With an early count of 35 players, BURC ranks swelled to over 50 as word got out.  While that number moderated to around 40 after a few weeks, it was repeated again in the spring and necessitated a ‘C’ game to field all those who wanted to play.

Ever the competitor, Tim DeMello lined up a tough season that included matches against Ivy and Small Ivy clubs in New England.  Tim’s goal was to compete for the NERFU Championship in the spring and he knew we needed to beat the best to do so.  The season started strong with A and B-side shutout romps over St. Anselm’s that provided a good warm up for the following week.  Brown University ended up the victors in the hard-fought A-Side match by a score of 11-0, but the BURC’s B’s pulled out a 3-3 tie.  The following week, we traveled to Amherst College to face last year’s NERFU #2 team.  BURC’s A-Side stunned Amherst at its own field by a score of 20-18, while the B’s gave up a tough match by a score of  3-10.  In a rematch at St. Anselms the following week, BURC A’s faced a much improved squad but still emerged victorious on the A’s.  The B’s once again put up a tough fight but couldn’t hold back the tide.

For Homecoming weekend, Colby traveled to Babson and put up two tough matches.  However, BURC emerged victorious in both accounts to please the hometown crowd.  One week later, BURC traveled to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine for two more shutout victories.  The A-Side match was highlighted by an injury to senior Chuck Fitzsimmons, and the strategic decision by DeMello to not substitute for him, thereby allowing Fitzsimmons to rejoin the match when he was able.  Babson played a man down for much of the first half but held tight under pressure.

In the final week of play for the fall, BURC played at Tufts on a cold wintry day, with snow and sleet pelting the field.  At one point in the match when the weather was harsh and teams were preparing for a scrum, a Tufts rugger exclaimed ‘this aint no party’, to which a BURC rugger replied ‘this aint no disco’, to which anyone in earshot replied ‘this aint no foolin’ around’, in a reprisal of the Talking Heads lyrics from Life During Wartime.  A good laugh was had by all.

And while Tufts carried the day in both matches, the social was a memorable one.  BURC’s combined record for the season was 9-5-1 and by most accounts, it was a huge success once again to be winning and competing well with the best teams in New England after just 15 months of existence.

The Spring of 1981 was a time of change as DeMello orchestrated the first orderly transition of Club Management.  While he and George Mandt remained captains on the field, the business of the club was handed over to new officers for the first time.  As for the schedule, we were still playing DeMello’s picks that he lined up in the fall, but BURC’s reputation had rapidly grown and we were getting calls from numerous teams to get on their schedule.

The first two sets of matches were played in March that year and BURC fielded A, B and C teams each time.  Against Providence College and St. Anselms, BURC quickly amassed a 5-1 club record.  Experienced players had great fun watching the C games as recruiting had drawn in some great players who were showing unbelieveable skills in these first few matches.

The following two weeks were tough to take as we lost both A and B-Side matches to a dominant Harvard club (NERFU #1 Rank) on Parents Weekend in front of a considerable home town crowd.  Throwing salt on the wound, we gave up a qualifying match against Coast Guard the following week, which dropped us into the NERFU 2^nd division for the spring tournament.  The match against Coast Guard was especially disappointing due to BURC’s flat performance.  It was an easily winnable game but Coast Guard took the day.

The following two weeks saw shutout victories against WPI and consecutive wins against Colby.  That left us 9-4 going into the NERFU tournament, where we met Bridgewater State College in the first round.  In a scary-tight game, BURC won 9-8 and later that day, BURC beat Central Connecticut 12-4.  On Sunday we met Wesleyan and lost in the final match by a score of 7-4, finishing the season at 11-5.

DeMello put together a squad for the Harvard 7’s tournament a week later but results from that effort are not readily available.  All in all, it was a great season and an exciting first two years of BURC.