Harvard Rugby Football Club

After a 4.5 hour bus ride, the men of Harvard stepped off the bus, kitted up, and were ushered into a five minute warm up to kick off against a very warmed up Norwich squad. On a well-manicured green field surrounded by scenic Vermont fall foliage, the Crimson kicked off with the wind at their backs.

During the first few phases, Harvard appeared sharp and quick. Despite accurate penalty kicking from Dan Deighton ’10, Harvard struggled to win important line outs in the Norwich half. With bobbled balls, failed scrums, and some poor rugby, Harvard struggled to dominate the cadet ruggers. After thirty minutes of warm-up play, however, winger Max De la Cal ’11 strode in for a try to put Harvard on the board.

Norwich opened up the second half with a commanding drive down the field that yielded a momentum-building try. With the game tied at 7-7, the Crimson knew the task at hand. Despite a lacking performance, the leadership of scrum half Nick Rizzo ’08 helped drive the Crimson pack down the field. Giving up a penalty, Jonny Miller ’10 properly slotted for three points and the lead. Following four quick phases, Teddy Barron ’11 and Brock Corbett ’10 put together some blitzkrieg attack running and helped support Rizzo in his bid for the winning try. With confidence, Miller converted the try and put Harvard up 15-7.

Late in the half, Northeastern rallied and touched down for yet another try and missed conversion. In the final moments Harvard held Northeastern at the five-meter line, determined not to give up the lead in the final moments. The sir blew the whistle, the match ended, and the men shook hands, discouraged with their win. Heading into training, the Crimson will work to focus on hard running, tackling, rucking, and playing with heart. Next on the circuit: Harvard at Yale, 10/18/08