Facing the most formidable challenge of the season thus far, the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club defeated the University of Connecticut 25-13 at Sachem on Sunday. Dartmouth turned in a determined effort against a much larger UConn squad.
Sending their larger forwards on hard runs off the scrum- and fly-halves off every breakdown, the Huskies stuck with a game plan that had obtained them success throughout the first half of the season.
Dartmouth's hard tackling and determined poaching, however, thwarted the Huskies' efforts, sending UConn home as losers for the first time since 1998.
Entering the game, Dartmouth knew the key to success would be to thwart the powerful and skilled UConn scrum. Employing a rapid wheeling technique, UConn had manhandled each of the previous packs it had faced. This trend came to a rapid halt in Hanover, however, as the Dartmouth forwards stood their ground, establishing early in the game their refusal to succumb.
In fact, as the match wore on, Dartmouth seized the mental edge in the scrums, and by halftime, the DRFC were pushing the Huskies off the ball.
"Their pack didn't intimidate us, despite their size," lock Kyle Smith '04 said.
"I didn't shave the night before, so my whiskers were sharp as a cactus. I think I chafed a few guys in the tackle, and it gave them the hee-bee gee-bees."
The match was played to a draw for the first 20 minutes, as action maintained around mid-field. Early in the game, it was evident each point scored would be of tremendous value.
True to form, Dartmouth drew first blood. The DRFC started the drive by poaching a UConn ball, then drawing a penalty. The ball then traveled through back-line hands, winger Andrew Lusk '03 slashing 10 meters through the defense on the left sideline for the try. Fullback Kyle Chambers '03 converted the kick to make the score 7-0.
Dave Hodapp '04 praised the back-line efforts: "I never had to rumble back to get to a ruck. Those backs, they [ran] hard."
Ten minutes later, UConn pushed forward to the Dartmouth 22-m. In an unfortunate reversal of fortune, Dartmouth once again poached the ball, but possession was returned to UConn due to a careless Dartmouth penalty.
UConn, aware of the stingy Dartmouth defense, opted to kick for points, making the score 7-3. The half arrived with the DRFC clinging to a precarious four-point lead.
Coach Alex Magleby '00 outlined the halftime speech that rallied his troops.
"I told the guys the story of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, a freight ship that sunk during a storm on Lake Superior. It's no coincidence Gordon Lightfoot created a classic song, one of my all-time favorites, from that story. We were so close to victory, yet so far," Magleby said.
The second half opened with an escalated intensity on both sides. Dartmouth scored first, initiated off of a successful lineout at the UConn 40-m. Center Ayo Kuyinu '03, in trademark form, rumbled a tough 15 meters and the forwards cleared out the ruck for a quick ball.
Sent rapidly through back-line hands, the ball once again settled in the hands of a streaking Lusk, who in a tackle, bulled his way to the try-zone floor to make it 12-3.
Through a series of careless obstruction calls on Dartmouth, UConn found itself with possession at the Dartmouth 30-m. Once again, feeling the presence of a hard-hitting Dartmouth defense, UConn opted to kick for points, making the tally 12-6.
With the momentum shifting dangerously in the visitors' favor, UConn drove to the Dartmouth 5-m. For 10 minutes, UConn pounded the ball at the Dartmouth defense.
On the brink of its first deficit of the season, Dartmouth buckled down with low, hard tackling and UConn struggled to maintain the gain-line.
On a sweeping run to the right, a UConn forward seemed poised to score. Center Mike Linchitz '02 thought otherwise. Just as the opponent crossed the try-line, Linchitz lowered his shoulder into the racing forward, buckling him and crushing him back 5-m and into the turf.
UConn maintained possession, however, and finally punched the ball in for the try. The successful kick gave Dartmouth its first deficit in five games, with the score standing at 12-13.
With 20 minutes left, the DRFC had plenty of fight left. Gaining territory through timely and well-placed kicking, Dartmouth, off a UConn penalty, kicked for points from the UConn 15-m to regain the lead, 15-13. Chambers coolly split the uprights with the kick.
Ferocious rucking and tackling continued for the next five minutes, neither team able to gain significant progress. In a similar fashion as the previous score, Dartmouth expanded its lead an uncomfortable three points with another Chambers kick. An 18-13 advantage over UConn, however, was far from safe with still 15 minutes left to play.
UConn once again tested the might of the Dartmouth defense, putting together several phases of solid forward running. Dartmouth did not buckle, smelling victory.
Poaching a UConn ball, Dartmouth put together several of its own phases, crossing midfield on a hard run by center Mike Martinez '04. Dartmouth then won an important scrum, and spread the attack to the right side of the field. Prop Travis Escobedo '03 took the ball 10 meters to the UConn 10-m, and good rucking and presentation maintained DRFC possession.
Changing fields, Dartmouth sent the ball from Linchitz to Chambers who, displaying a good burst of speed, broke UConn's spirit with a hard-earned, game-clinching try. Chambers converted the kick with only two minutes left in the match to make the final score 25-13. The 12-point victory was no indication of a tight and hard-won contest against a strong Connecticut side.
"Playing rugby with these guys is a heck of a rush, everybody gets so pumped," Chambers said after his star performance on Sunday.
"Me, I listen to my favorite album, Diecast's Day of Reckoning before games. Whenever I get the ball, my running pumps to the rhythm of the double-bass pedals. It's gnarly."
The DRFC travels to Cambridge, Mass., this Saturday, Oct. 12 to play undefeated Harvard in a battle for the top spot in the white league.
Ben Annino is a senior prop for the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club.
