History
Team History
Metropolis Rugby Club was founded in 1992 through the merger of two established Minneapolis rugby organizations: Minneapolis RFC and Metro RFC. This union brought together decades of rugby tradition and experience. Minneapolis RFC traced its roots back to 1960, when it was originally founded as Minnetonka RFC, making it one of the oldest rugby clubs in the region. Metro RFC, the younger of the two clubs, was formed in 1980 and quickly established itself as a competitive force in Twin Cities rugby.
The club continued to grow and evolve over the years. In 2017, Metropolis welcomed the Valkyries women's team, marking an important milestone in the club's commitment to supporting rugby across all genders. The Valkyries brought their own impressive legacy to Metropolis, having been originally formed in 1978 as the University of Minnesota women's rugby team. After leaving the university in 1990, they became Minnesota Women's Rugby and adopted the Valkyries name in 1993, building a strong reputation in women's rugby throughout the Midwest.
Today, Metropolis Rugby Club stands as a testament to over six decades of rugby tradition in Minneapolis, uniting multiple generations of players and teams under one banner. From our earliest days as Minnetonka RFC to our current status as a comprehensive rugby organization fielding multiple competitive sides, we remain dedicated to growing the sport and fostering community through rugby.
Metro Man
The Metro man evolved from Metro 7s. When it was discovered the team only had a set of heavy cotton jerseys to wear, a couple dozen camo tees were purchased from a military surplus store to serve as a stand in set of 7’s jerseys, and the Metro Man was born. Soon, the small green plastic army men became a standard accessory at all Metro nights out, and players will leave a Metro man behind at a famous location (Twickenham stadium for example!) as a way to commemorate the team’s travels and exploits.
The Cows
The first Metropolis Aspen Tour had a Bavarian theme for going out. In true rugby fashion, finding Bavarian costumes was left for the night before tour. After several unsuccessful attempts to secure costumes, several full length cow costumes were purchased as “there must be cows in Bavaria.” The cow costumes were of course a hit, and in addition to some great rugby, the team enjoyed some extracurricular running of the cows and cow tipping that weekend as well. After that weekend, the magic of the cows has been part of Metropolis.
