The Yale University Rugby Football Club

Yale Dominates Middlebury

Yale started its spring season off right on Saturday by dominating defending Division II National Champions Middlebury by a margin of 46-10, which could have easily been much larger if not for the swirling winds which led to many inadvertent knock-ons and forward pass calls. Yale turned in a complete team effort, with the forwards tackling and rucking well, keeping the defense on the back foot and creating quick ball for the back line, who exploited and attacked the gaps in Middlebury's defenses, particularly out wide. Yale struck first in the match in the 8th minute when center Garrett Spitzer '09 did a good job of drawing his defender on a two-on-one outside and dishing to winger Sam White '08, who outpaced the Middlebury pursuit to the tryline. Yale struck again in the 15th minute, when winger Ryan Salinas '09 received a great pass out wide and touched it down in the opposite corner. Middlebury then registered its first points of the game in the 19th minute when their # 6 opportunistically charged down an errant kick and went the distance for the try. Rather than putting their heads down, Yale quickly responded in the 25th minute with another try from Spitzer to White, almost identical to the first. Middlebury, however, responded again, exploiting some poor post defense by Yale to bang in a short try off a goal-line ruck in the 30th minute.

From this point on, however, it was all Yale. In the 38th minute, center Tom Kidd '08 showed that he is now 100% after a nagging hamstring injury by breaking the line and outmaneuvering several defenders on a 60-meter try. Kidd converted his own score to make the tally 22-10 Yale at halftime.

Yale poured it on in the second half, getting a spark from some of the younger reserves brought in. Center Pat Madden '08 finished a brilliant display of outside passing to notch a try in the 54th minute. In the 60th minute, Garrett Spitzer finally registered a try of his own after setting up many others on the afternoon, capitalizing off a nice pass from Sean Walbridge '08. In the 72nd minute, fullback Taylor Giffen '08 touched down a pretty try off a Madden pass to make the tally 41-10 in favor of Yale after a conversion. Pat Madden '08 put an exclamation point on the Yale victory by bulldozing through the Middlebury line near the goal line for his second of the try of the day, and a conversion gave the final score of the game, 46-10 Yale. Aside from those already mentioned, #8 Cameron Maloney '08 had a standout performance in the pack, dominating in loose play and integrating himself in the backline well. Rookie lock Tim Shriver '11 also ran well in his first A-side action. Flyhalf Evan Edwards '09 had perhaps his best game as an Eli, providing accurate passes to the backline and kicking tactically with great accuracy despite gusting winds that made his job extremely difficult. Garrett Spitzer '09 was named man of the match, with his great passing and movement in the backline standing out as much as his try.

It was a good day for Yale rugby top to bottom, as the Yale B-side also turned in a dominating performance, downing the Middlebury Bs 41-0. The Yale pack demolished the overmatched opposition, with #8 Warren Floyd '11 putting in the first try of the match on a pick off a 5-meter scrum. Fullback Arturo Zindel '11 put in the next try (and conversion) after the Yale backline did a good job of getting the ball wide. Lock Noah Warren '11 then touched down another try after a series of good rucking and driving by the forwards. Floyd put in his second try of the day off yet another scrum pick. Not to be outdone, Zindel notched his second try of the game on a galloping 60-meter run. A final score before the whistle brought the halftime score to 31-0 Yale.

The Yale Bs continued to dominate in the second half. Center Ross Brendel '11 put in an impressive try after good movement by the backline, and scrumhalf Aaron Fuchs '10, hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, made a nifty move near the try line to sneak in for the final try, giving the final margin of 41-0. Prop Justin Baker '08 and #8 Andy Detty '09 also put forth outstanding performances in what proved to be a successful weekend for Yale Rugby.

The dominating performances by the Yale men give the club momentum heading into this weekend's Cherry Blossom tournament in Washington, D.C., where Yale hopes to defend its crown after winning the tournament championship last year.