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The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Men's rugby clinches spot in April national tournament

Big Green rugby will compete in the national tournament come April.
Big Green rugby will compete in the national tournament come April.

The Dartmouth rugby football club concluded its successful fall campaign with a second-place finish in the Northeast Final Four, clinching one of the two spots from the Northeast for the national tournament to be held in April. In the first game, the ruggers ran all over Brockport 46-7, but in the second game the team lost a tough, physical battle to rival Army 3-16.

In the first game versus Brockport, Dartmouth got off to a blistering start, putting up 34 unanswered points in the first half against an outmatched Brockport squad.

In the second half, Brockport was able to play more evenly with Dartmouth, but could not find a way to climb back into the game. Although maintaining leads had been an issue for the team throughout the season, Dartmouth was determined to hold onto the lead and punch its ticket to nationals.

Sam Edandison '10 commented on Dartmouth's dominance.

"It was never really a game; we dominated physically, athletically, everything," Edandison said.

In the championship match, Dartmouth faced off with Army, one of the premier clubs in the northeast. The Big Green was able to match the physicality and even outplay a bigger Army squad, but mistakes proved to be the undoing for the team.

Dartmouth got off to a 3-0 lead from a Jeff Kovolson '09 kick-off of an Army penalty. The Big Green had several more opportunities to score tries but failed to capitalize, and before the half, Army evened the score by capitalizing on a kick of its own.

Tough, physical play continued throughout the second half, with both sides refusing to lose ground. However, Army was able to get its first try of the game about 50 minutes into the half. The try was not converted, but Army earned an 8-3 lead. Army would never give up the lead, as the team withstood the Big Green's attack and tacked on insurance points off of a pick-and-go and a kick to arrive at the final score of 16-3.

"Our ball handling in the open field and quick play is what we are known for, since we are not as big as some other teams," Edandison said. "Our weakness is in the set plays, and that hurt us against Army, but it's something that we want to keep working on."

Co-captain Conlan O'Leary '09 lamented the fact that his team played like the better team, yet came out on the losing side.

"The game against Army was a battle, we were evenly matched and it was a great game to be a part of," O'Leary said. "It just came down to us not capitalizing on our opportunities and Army capitalizing. Our defense was unbelievable and hitting hard, it was a disappointing loss because if we played that ten times, we probably would have won six or seven."

Dartmouth's successful fall campaign was attributed to team chemistry.

"The strength this year was the team culture," O'Leary said. "We had a lot of guys buy into our system, we kept improving every week and the team peaked at the right time. Our team defense was unbelievable. Against Army, we didn't allow a single clean line-break, which is unprecedented against a team like Army."

Dartmouth also garnered significant production from new members to the A-side, and their contributions should increase after spending more time practicing in the winter.

Edandison talked about the challenge he faced adjusting to A-side.

"Every aspect of the game is different; everyone is bigger, faster, and stronger," Edandison said. "I got to play with the A-side in the spring when the seniors left, so that helped me get adjusted, but I was amazed with how skilled they were."

The Big Green ruggers will now train through Winter term to prepare for nationals.

"Obviously, our ultimate goal will be to win nationals, but a big stepping stone would be to make it into the final four, which we haven't done since 1988," O'Leary said.

Dartmouth will be the 15th seed at nationals. The site for the national tournament has not yet been publicized. Since the tournament's format mirrors that of the NCAA's basketball championship, the Big Green will take on the second seed, which will likely be either Utah or Brigham Young University.