Rugby at Trent was born in the fall of 1966, when Trent University athletic director Paul Wilson invited a few young men to come out and "toss" a ball around. The first recorded rugby match at Trent took place in mid-October of 1966 and was an intercollegiate game between Champlain College and Peter Robinson College (P.R.C.) in which P.R.C. won 14 to 6. What began as an informal match between students quickly became one of the cornerstones of sports at Trent University.

On September 30, 2016, during Trent’s homecoming weekend, players from all generations of the rugby program gathered for a 50^th anniversary reunion. The event began on the Friday evening with a men’s rugby 50^th reception and coaches’ panel, and concluded with the Men’s Rugby game on Saturday.

The event was hosted by former Men’s Rugby team captain, Garret Hart ’92, and former coaches including Paul Wilson, Tony Sherman '69, Bob Keay '69, Ed Holton '83, Fergal O'Hagan, Kevin Breese, David McCully, Tom McLeod, and Richard Clarke '88 were all in attendance.

"It was a fabulous time in my life that shaped and influenced me," remarked Patrick Walsh, one of Trent’s first rugby players. "Because you don't have set positions in rugby, a back-row forward can also be a flyhalf, on occasion could also be a lot of other things. This is very much the Trent experience, learning to be more then you are."

This season will mark the return of the Trent men’s rugby program to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), and though the program has grown exponentially in the last 50 years, the tradition of camaraderie and school spirit remains.

"It was so wonderful to socialize with former players from five different decades. They all took the same path I did as a student and we have that common ground. To renew friendships with guys I have not seen in almost twenty years was glorious," said Caleb Smith, ’93.