Head Coach MaryBeth Mathews has been coaching Bowdoin Women's Rugby since 1994, after playing the sport at its inception in the USA in 1976. She holds a Masters Degree in Higher Education and an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Southern Maine. In addition to her coaching duties in Athletics, Mathews is an Assistant Dean of First-Year Students.

Coach Mathews and her husband, Bob (Assistant Coach) enjoyed stellar results in their first two undefeated seasons, capturing two New England Division 2 Championships in 1994 and 1995. The D2 club team was elevated to Division 1 status for 4 years, having early success against the likes of Dartmouth, UConn and Yale, then graduated a class of 20 and dropped back to Division 2 in 2000 where they have remained a quality, high-performing team. They field a competitive A-side and a developmental B-side. Winning their third New England championship in 2006, Bowdoin advanced to the Final Four of Collegiate Division 2 Nationals in Spring 2007, losing in the semi-finals to eventual National Champion University of California – Santa Cruz.

A native of northeastern Massachusetts, Mathews was a 3-sport athlete at USM playing field hockey, basketball and lacrosse and helped capture 2 state titles in field hockey. Following graduation and the passage of Title IX, she was instrumental in the advancement of girls and women’s sports across southern Maine. She coached girls’ teams in Little League, basketball, and high school softball and she pioneered and played on club teams in women’s soccer, basketball, rugby and fast-pitch softball.

In the fall of 1976 Mathews (Staid) played in the inaugural women's rugby game on the East Coast, for Beantown, in Boston. The following spring, she co-founded the Portland Women's RFC and went on to win four consecutive New England Championships and a National Title in 1978. She played Select Side rugby for the ERU (Eastern Rugby Union) and toured England, Wales, Ireland and Bermuda. Returning to Beantown RFC in 1988 following the birth of her first daughter, she helped capture another National Championship in 1990. Her Portland, Maine team will be recognized as part of a Gala 30 Year Celebration of Women’s Rugby in the United States this fall during the National Club Championships in Orlando, FL sponsored by USA Rugby and the Women’s Sports Foundation. When not playing or coaching, Mathews spent her time raising her family and pursuing a career in Product Development of active sports apparel at L.L.Bean.

The Bowdoin College Women’s Rugby Club was elevated from club sport to Varsity status in fall 2003. One of just five Varsity programs in the country, Mathews is proud of the culture and traditions so important to her and the early players that prevail today: camaraderie, support, diversity, inclusiveness, great fun, and mutual respect for each other and the challenges that face women playing a contact sport.

In addition to coaching the women’s team, MaryBeth coaches the Maine Collegiate U-23 All Star and the New England U-23 All Star teams. Two former players at Bowdoin, Farrah Douglass and Christina Hobson, are currently on the USA Women’s National Team. Other alumni are playing and coaching across the country. Coach Mathews is a certified U.S.A.R.F.U. Level II Coach as well as a certified referee.

Mathews also serves on the Women’s Strategic Committee, the College Management Council and the Women’s NCAA Committee for USA Rugby, the national governing board for the sport and is working towards improving the experience for all collegiate women who play rugby. 

"The most diverse, interesting and amazing women choose to play rugby, whether they played varsity sports in high school or never played a team sport before. I am lucky enough to coach them here at Bowdoin, get to know these intelligent, vibrant young women and watch as they’re rewarded in unexpected ways." says Mathews. "I absolutely loved playing the game because of the teamwork and friendships, but also the tactical awareness and fitness required. I love coaching it because women's rugby is the ultimate team game. Like many sports, the lessons learned and benefits gained from setting goals, staying with your commitments, overcoming challenges, and learning to lead on and off the field carry over into life long after college. I am proud of the inclusive, diverse and supportive atmosphere we have created here at Bowdoin where women can develop greater self-awareness and find new strengths while learning to play a really fun, new sport!"

Bob Mathews has been an invaluable part of the coaching program ever since he quietly attended a Bowdoin Women’s Rugby game in 1994.  Realizing there were over 60 women at his wife’s first practice with the team, he gradually started coming and sharing his formidable expertise to the forward pack. 

Mathews began playing rugby at the University of Maine-Orono in 1975.  After graduating in 1978 he joined the Portland RFC and played lock and #8 until 1990, captaining the team during several seasons, and five times winning the team’s MVP award.    Bob retired in 1990 excludiing a brief one-season comeback in 1994 and tour of Ireland, after which he joined MaryBeth to help coach the Bowdoin Women.  Some highlights of his playing days are a 1978 tour to Ireland, hosting several international teams, New England Div I Champion in 1979, New England Div II Champion in 1985 and ‘86 and winning the 1987 ERU (Eastern Rugby Union) Div II Championship.

In addition to his coaching certification from USA Rugby, Bob is also a certified referee, and has learned much from being an avid reader of any coaching material he can find.  He has attended coaching clinics and learned from some of the best, including David Shaw, (England RFU), Blair Larson (New Zealand RFU), and Jonathan Griffin (Stanford).  

Bob owns his own business, is married to head coach MaryBeth, and has two daughters, Jessica and Katie.  He is happy focusing all his time on his family, his business and Bowdoin rugby.

Bob specializes in coaching the forwards and the overall fitness protocol for the team.  “I’ve been watching the women’s game since 1978.  The game has changed over time and is far more skillful and athletic than in the early days, but the women who choose to play this sport are still an amazing group of women, willing to take on the challenges and reap the many rewards of playing a women’s contact sport that requires both physical and mental toughness.”

Elisabeth “Bit” Dustin developed her passion for rugby at Mount Holyoke College where she captained the inaugural MHC women’s club side.   Wherever her career took her after graduation, she always sought out the local rugby club, playing first fifteen’s for Portland, Maine, Chicago Lakeshore, St. Louis and Beantown. 

It was playing for Portland in 1982 that Bit first met BWRFC Head Coach MaryBeth Mathews. In the 90’s, they met again on the Beantown pitch and in the fall of 2003, MaryBeth asked her to join the Polar Bear coaching staff.

A USA Rugby certified level 1 coach and referee, Bit enjoys working with the BWRFC backs and in particular, the rookies. Off the pitch, Bit works for a start-up tech company that is experimenting with using social media and gamification as a means of encouraging consumers to adopt healthier lifestyles.    She also spends time ferrying her son, Daniel, to various chess venues across New England.