Rugby has been played at Princeton University since as early as the 1860's with some of its team members adapting the game's rules (most notably by permitting "blocking") for a match against Rutgers University in 1869, and thereby inventing the game of American Football. As football (or "gridiron football" in most of the world) became popular, the rugby program at Princeton largely disappeared, only to be revived by a handful of undergraduates and an international law professor during the early years of The Great Depression.
The Princeton Rugby Club dates its "official founding" from 1931 and has been playing continuously since then.
Today
2011 Fall Ivy League season saw Princeton place third in the conference, a second-place tie having been decided by Brown's narrow 7-point victory over Princeton when the teams met, and the team scored over 268 points in seven games to finish with the league's second highest point differential.
As a result of the very successful Fall Season, Princeton is looking toward the Ivy League Playoffs in April, where the top four Ivy teams will compete for a single berth at the D1-AA National Tournament.
The team roster is over 40 strong, and the club's depth can be seen in the Second XV's performance this season, going 6-1.
To build towards success in the Spring and a spot in the National Sweet Sixteen, a strong development tour has been planned for Ireland, one of the rugby heartlands, which the team knows will be enormously constructive for its overall quality as a team.
