The Yale University Rugby Football Club

Yale Once Again Unable to Hold Lead Against Much Improved Harvard Side

A Side

Inside Harvard Stadium, on a pristine field turf pitch, with weather fit for only penguins and polar bears (temperatures including wind chill in the single digits), Yale took the field versus its archrival, Harvard. Before I start, I should mention that it was way too cold to take notes of the match and I haven't had time to view the video, so this report is entirely from memory. Yale started the match strong. We were able to gain good field position and keep the pressure on Harvard during the match's first 10 minutes. After a good maul off a lineout and several phases of quick recycled ball, flyhalf Arturo Zindel '11 pulled a great dummy and darted through the Harvard line to score from about 15 meters out in the right corner. This gave Yale the lead by a score of 5-0. Yale seemed to have the momentum now and in the cold, momentum is what keeps a team warm and going forward. But a huge mistake on the ensuing kickoff (a silly accidental obstruction call) cost Yale possession as well as momentum. Shortly after the mishap, Harvard scored a converted try to take the lead 7-5. The rest of the first half was a battle, with possession and momentum seesawing back and forth between the two squads. The conditions didn't allow for any real flow to the game, leading to many knock-ons and keeping the ball in fairly tight. Both teams exchanged penalty kicks to leave the score at 10-8 Harvard at the half.

In the second half, Harvard was able to use the strong wind at their back to keep Yale pinned in its own end. Within the first 15 minutes, Harvard scored two good multiple phase tries to extend the lead to 22-8. Yale was able to battle back, and flanker and captain Andy Beck '09 was able to finish a nice sequence and score a nice try under the posts to shrink Harvard's lead to 22-15. Yale had it chances throughout the rest of the half, but untimely penalties, bad decisions and mishandled passes (in part due to the frigid conditions) prevented Yale from converting. Harvard continued to keep Yale pinned deep and scored another 11 points by the end of the half to make the final score 33-15.

Yale played hard but in the cold conditions, the team with team lead was able keep the pressure on, and let the game and weather take its toll. Yale lost a few key players throughout the game to fairly substantial injuries. To their credit, Harvard was a much improved team, since the last match up, and ended up on top.

B Side

The B side was intent on redeeming the A side's loss and redemption they got. Harvard decided to shorten the halves of the game to 25 minutes (they originally wanted to play only 15 minute halves, because they said they had a reception for us, but by the time Yale showed up, the reception was nothing but a few empty pizza boxes and a few empty boxes of coffee. Is any one really surprised????) Yale simply dominated the game. The B-side played with tremendous heart, ran hard, attacked and dominated the rucks and Harvard did not see more than a few minutes of time on Yale's side of the pitch. Excellent play by scrumhalf "Irish" Sam Power '12, flyhalf Matt Shipsey '11 (a welcome sight on the pitch after recovering from a knee injury), lock Leo "Van Poppel" Wallo '11 and fullback Harvey "Wallbanger" Johnson-Black '12 allowed Yale to post a dominating victory by a score of 35-0. Other notables who had very good games were loosehead prop Noah "Castro" Warren '11, flanker Phil Constantinou '11 and flanker Etkin "The Barbarian" Tekin '12. No one played poorly, indicating that the future of Yale rugby is bright. Sooner rather than later, a few of these B-side players will see more and more A-side action.

Final Notes

Overall, the level of Yale rugby is MUCH improved from last year. Practice attendance as a whole and team fitness have been much improved. Having more coaches with a common goal and a great freshman class (both in quantity and quality) has also helped. A special thanks to the GREAT work of the club administrators, excellent work by captain Andrew Beck and the coaching staff (Frank Heaven, Brendan Leahy, John Broker, and "Crazy" Dave Fischer) for making this a positive season. The Friends of Yale Rugby also did a great job in raising some additional and needed funding to pay for more equipment to accomodate the 30+ players routinely attending practice, coaching and a team trainer, the fantastic Trish Meegan. FYR also helped to get better support from the Yale administration. Finally, thanks to the team parents who took the initiative to pressure clubs sports for better support and helping us to get home matches during football games.

Though I am not pleased with Yale's overall record this season, I am very pleased with our level of play, the direction we are headed and increased administrative organization. As always, its an honor to coach this team, and I am confident that our best days are ahead of us.