2007 Ivy League Rugby Tournament

On Saturday, 14th April, Yale traveled to Newport, Rhode Island, to compete at the 2007 Ivy League Rugby Tournament hosted by Brown University.

Final Results:

1) Harvard

2) Dartmouth

3) Princeton

4) Yale

5) Brown

6) Upenn

7) Columbia

8) Cornell

Yale vs. Brown

As the tournament host, the Brown rugby team was very fired-up and looking to put on a good performance for its home crowd. Brown managed to keep most of the possession in the first half and capitalized on defensive mistakes in the Yale backline that awarded them two tries in the first half. While Yale's pack was dominating their opposition, the backline was struggling to find their rhythm and gave away a number of scoring opportunities. Half-time score: Brown 14 - Yale 0.

By the second half, Yale realized that they needed to improve their attacking game to prevent being dismissed to the consolation bracket. Yale's first try came from a well executed backline play that placed Sean Walbridge '08 in a gap in Brown's defense, allowing him to beat the Brown full-back in a one-on-one and dive over the try-line for Yale's first try of the tournament. In the last few minutes of the match, Brown still led by 5 points. In an incredible solo effort, Matthew Finkelstein '07 charged down a kick in Brown's 22, recovered the ball, and placed it down in the corner of the try-zone. Thomas Kidd '08 then kicked the vital conversion-an extremely challenging kick due to both the sharp angle and the wind-to put Yale in the lead.

Final Score: Yale 21 - Brown 19

Yale vs. Dartmouth

Yale's second game of the day was played against Dartmouth, the defending Ivy League Champions. Yale failed to maintain any sort of possession for much longer than 3 phases, which put them on the defense for most of the match. To make matters worse for the Yale side, a number of key players got injured early in the game. In the first half, Yale's defense seemed to be holding strong and its offense showed the ability to break the Dartmouth line. However, Dartmouth capitalized on a mistake made by Yale's back three, and scored the first try of the match.

Half-time score: Dartmouth 8 - Yale 0

In the second half, the toll of playing defense for most of the match began to show. Dartmouth, with a very well structured pattern of play and good runners, found it easier and easier to break Yale's defensive line.

Final Score: Dartmouth 37 - Yale 0

Yale vs. Princeton

Sunday brought with it cold temperatures, wind and pouring rain. The weather conditions made handling the ball in the back-line very difficult and the game was full of knock-ons from both sides. Despite still carrying the injuries from the previous day, Yale's forward pack managed to dominate the Princeton forwards at the set-phases, however, the team was not able to capitalize on their possession.

Yale's first try came from a well formed maul near Princeton's try-line that sucked in the defense, allowing the Yale backline to swing the ball wide for a comfortable overlap try. Brown played a good tactical kicking game, taking advantage of the slippery ball to put pressure on Yale's back three. On offense, Princeton's crash-ball game plan was more fitting given the weather conditions. With the bad weather and numerous injuries-which forced players to play out of their regular positions-Yale was unable match Princeton's scoring rate.

Final Score: Princeton 19 - Yale 7