Just like a rainy Tuesday practice the turnout was modest at last night’s AGM, with all the usual suspects being present. Now that Will & Grace is in syndication it appears that it is even harder for some of you to pry yourselves off the couch, so it was left to those stalwarts present to continue the task of keeping the club out of bankruptcy and off the bottom of Division II.

Thanks to the streamlined numbers the incumbent President, James Hendrix, was able to move quickly on to New Business, although soon hit a snag when he brought up a proposal to amend the By-Laws to expand the size of the Club’s Executive Committee. Since a quorum of (paid up) members is required to amend the By-Laws, the motion was tabled until such a rare alignment of the planets should occur. Some alcoholic inducements may be required to pull this off.

Moving on, and demonstrating uncharacteristic geniality towards its fellow man, the Club agreed to closer ties to both the Maine Quad Rugby Team and the Portland Youth Rugby Team. Although details of what this would actually entail were a little sketchy, it was felt neither group could possibly be doing this to get their hands on our money (or lack of), and that both relationships could only strengthen the organization as a whole. As I said, details of next steps were a little vague, but there was some talk about writing down “how we do this in Ireland” and offering that up for review.

Mad props go to Matt Winch for handlin’ tha scratch. Our income statement showed modest progress in the right direction, and while our coffers aren’t exactly swelling, some minor puffiness has been observed. Of course things could have been a lot rosier but for the wealth of dues that are still unpaid. Ah well, as they say in Lewiston, plus ce change, plus ce même chose.

On the subject of scratch, an update of our non-profit status was given, which didn’t take all that long. Our two pronged strategy of hitting up rich people and holding fundraisers has stalled on both fronts, and much wailing and gnashing of teeth followed. Nuff said about that, we’re all hoping that an injection of new blood can get this rolling again, and we’ll all be rolling in it by this time next year. Or rolling in something, anyway.

Last, but by no means least, came the election of new officers, which was again made simpler by the meager numbers. While at times it took a while to find a willing victim, all votes went through uncontested, and there was pretty much a job for anyone who wanted one. True democracy in action – those Iraqis could learn a thing or two from us. New officers were as follows:

Club President – Jim Gooch
Secretary – Tom Lovering
Treasurer – Matt Winch
Captain – Jason Willey
Vice-Captain – Andy Nelson
Coach – Mike Quinlan
Social Chairman – Mark Fournier
Match Secretary – CB Brady
Recruitment Nazi – Fred Haymen
Fred’s Henchmen – Bernie & Marcos
Non-Profit Committee Director – Jimmy Hendrix
Fundraising Director – Mike DeSalle

Big ups go to those departing officers for all their hard work this year. Jimmy Hendrix has suffered his duties manfully, and Al “Proxy” Parks has even made a few meetings, or so I heard. Andy Nelson aged 15 years and is looking forward to his retirement, Matt Winch kept a tight fist on his purse strings, and ours (oh, it’s a “man wallet”), and CB Brady gave us something to do each weekend. If I’ve missed anyone, I apologize. Get used to it.

The next Club meeting will be held on Thursday, March 4th, hopefully after some kind of practice. All hail the New Order, long may they reign!

Yer everlovin' sec.

New Pics

There are a couple of great pictures from the Attitash Tournament this past June that Tractor has decided to finally come forward with. Check out Gallery 6.

2003 Awards Ceremony

This year's Awards Ceremony will be held at the Hilton Garden Hotel on Commercial St. in Portland on Saturday, Nov. 22nd. The event starts at 7:00 and the price is $30 per person, which includes hors d'oeuvres throughout the event and free Gritty's beer compliments of Richard Pfeffer.

There will be another annual "Pre-party" at the home of Al and Sherri Parks starting at 5:00. The dress for the event is semi-formal, so get your suits and ties out of the closet!

On the same note we need to vote as a team for the following:

1. Team MVP
2. Most Improved Player
3. Largest Contributor to the Club

Please get your votes to Jimmy Hendricks asap along with your rsvp for the banquet. Also, please pass on the word to your teammates and other rugby-types who might not be on the e-mail distribution list. The awards banquet is for everyone - active and inactive players, social members and Old Boys. It was nice to see a few Old Boys at the banquet last year, so let's make sure to get the word out!

11/1 Final Home Win Against Charles River

Portland wrapped up its season in dramatic fashion with a blowout win against Charles River of Boston. With a large contingent of older players, Old Boys and new faces, Portland turned in its most complete game of the season and ends at 3-5 after starting 0-3.

From the outset, Portland was determined to pound the ball inside on the guests. As it turned out, Portland's backs were as productive as the forwards have been all season with strong running by Fred Hayman, superb kicking and some nifty cutbacks moves from English Evan, and Joey D'Andrea having his best game of the season with excellent tackling and breakaway runs.

The forwards were no slouches, either, with Big Jim, Tom Lovering and Marco "Diesel" DeSalle punishing Charles River tacklers and the pick-and-go working very well. Portland also makes sure to take care of its own. Marc Fournier was deliberately head-butted by Charles River's loose-head prop, breaking his nose and sending him from the game. The prop was inexplicably given a yellow card only. Both props suffered the consequences, however, with one leaving the field soon after and both continuing to talk about the issues they encountered in the rucks and scrums throughout the Social.

All in all, 8 Portland players scored and Andy had a field day kicking points-after, with the final score: Portland 50 - Charles River 5.

10/25 Win at Springfield

After a bye week that helped Portland nurse injuries to many starters, Portland scored a convincing win against a Springfield side playing their last game of the season. Things got ugly quickly, and stayed that way throughout the game. After an obvious try that wasn't scored by the ref, some harsh words between the teams and a lack of composure on the part of some Portland lads, Willey and Tractor were sent off for infractions. Despite the tough play, Portland took this win as a late turning point in the season and looks forward to their final home game next week against Charles River.

Final score: Portland 29- Springfield 3

10/11 Loss to Hartford

The boys from Portland went down to Hartford looking for another win, but after a valiant effort narrowly missed their goal. The game was another slugfest, with Portland losing by a try 28-20.