Essex Rugby began in 1998 as the first high school rugby team in Vermont. It began as a co-ed team of excited and motivated young athletes from Essex High School, led by head coach Tom Bochanski. Two young women, Megan Palatino and Kivy Weeks, played the entire season with the boys and laid the foundation for the start of the all-girls team the following year. The spring of 1999 was the second year of rugby at EHS, the first year of an all-boys and an all-girls team. The boys continued to be coached by Coach Bochanski and Amanda Eldridge took over responsibility of the girl's team while finishing her student teaching at the high school. The program has been going strong ever since.
Having come a long way from our humble beginnings, the 2017 state champion and 2018 and 2019 league champion Essex Women's Rugby Football Club (EWRFC) now has four New England Championship titles ('98,'99,'00,'01) and holds the record as being the first team to win the first Vermont State Championship match ('06).
Essex Women are currently coached by Emily Morgan with Assistant Coaches Gary Sturgis and Melissa Nealy. Many alum also return to assist throughout the season, and we have formed a budding relationship with local rugby clubs such as St. Michael's WRFC and Burlington RFC. These amazing coaches have been providing a safe and encouraging environment for women to pass through high school in for years, and have been teaching countless eager teens the rules and regulations of rugby.
Please explore our site to learn more about our team and our sport. Want to help out a great cause? Contact us for information about how you can be a part of our rugby family!