The Yale University Rugby Football Club

Slow Start Hurts Yale Against Harvard

After a strong performance over the double weekend, with big wins against Cornell and Columbia, Yale was excited to take on rival Harvard at home. Although poor weather was expected, with hard rain all week prior to the game, it stayed dry during the match, although the field was soggy from the week's weather. Yale came out to a rather frustrating start. Yale kicked off and forced Harvard to kick back. Poor posting by Yale allowed the ball to squirt out the side of the ruck, where an alert Harvard player was in position to scoop up the ball and race down the sideline for a soft try under the posts. Harvard led 7-0 less than a minute in. Disheartened by this try, Yale kicked off and played timidly, allowing Harvard to get on the front foot and put in another quick try. After ten minutes, Harvard was up 14-0. Fortunately, the men of Yale decided they were tired of getting run over, and decided to fight back. The rest of the first half was an absolute dog fight, featuring crushing hits, fast recycling, blistering offensive attacks, and back and forth rugby. Center Will Alexander '10 was able to break the Harvard line and race down the home sideline, with a home crowd cheering him on to the try. Fullback Ryan Vandersloot hit a beautiful conversion from the 5 meter line to put Yale within striking distance, 14-7. The teams fought back and forth for the rest of the half, with neither able to score.

Frustratingly, Yale made several mistakes early in the second half. Harvard established possession near the Yale line due to Yale's inability to clear their zone, and despite some furious goal line defense by Yale, Harvard put in a try out wide after quick tapping a penalty to put the score to 19-7. Once again, Yale was energized by the score. The half resumed the furious pace of the first, with countless bone-crunching tackles and powerful rucks. Lock Tim Shriver '11 dominated the Harvard lineout, and the Crimson were unable to adjust. Despite battling fiercely, Yale was unable to put points on the board. Harvard scored a converted try to put the final margin at 26-7. Despite the disappointing performance, the match was extremely well-contested by the men of Yale. In the words of referee Nick Priscott, "One of the most enjoyable matches that I've had the pleasure of refereeing, the players always had positive intentions out there, the athletic skills were high, and everyone gave 100% the whole time. As a ref you can't ask for any more."

Final Score: Yale 7 - Harvard 26

Unfortunately, the B side fell to Harvard as well. Further match details are unavailable.