On Saturday, the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club exacted revenge on a strong BC team, 39-20. BC defeated the Big Green at the end of last season and significantly hurt Dartmouth's chances of going to the national championships. The team's record now stands at 5-1-1 for the season.
"We played the best game of the season by far yesterday," co-captain Drew Jennings '08 said. "Everyone played really well and we stuck together. It was just a great game."
Jennings led the Big Green with four tries, making up over half of Dartmouth's total points.
The Dartmouth men came out of the gate strong and dominated throughout. The Big Green established an early 14-0 lead in the first half on tries from Jennings and Conlan O'Leary '08.
"We came out with such intensity and fire that they really didn't know what had hit them," O'Leary said. "Despite their size, we were driving them back. Their fear was palpable."
In the second half, BC began to play better and Dartmouth had to adjust its strategy.
"In the second half, the match evened out a bit more and we relied on our game plan to get us the win," O'Leary said. "We used our tactical kicking game to put them under pressure and took advantage of running opportunities when we had them."
It was a significant victory for the Dartmouth men as four teams out of the New England Division make the playoffs from the Northeast Rugby Union. Three teams come from the upstate New York region, one from the New York City region and four from the New England region. By beating BC, the Big Green earned the second seed in the playoffs.
Gaining the second seed is crucial because only two teams from the northeast league make it to nationals. The seeding exponentially increases the likelihood that Dartmouth will make it to nationals.
"The New England league has been really competitive," O'Leary said. "There are a lot of really big teams this year."
Both the team and its coach feel that the Big Green is poised for a long run in the playoffs.
"They are now on the verge of really becoming a good rugby team," Head Coach Alexander Magleby '00 said. "One or two more quality weeks of training and they may get there."
Over Homecoming weekend, the Big Green played a solid game against a strong Harvard team and tied 6-6. This was a relatively positive outcome for Dartmouth, however, because Harvard eliminated the Big Green from playoff contention on homecoming weekend last season.
Dartmouth also had a strong showing during its 30-12 rout of the perennially strong University of Connecticut Huskies over UConn's homecoming weekend in front of a rowdy crowd.
"We were very pleased with beating UConn because they are a really big and strong team," O'Leary said.
O'Leary attributes a lot of the team's success this season to its depth.
"There are a lot of guys on this year's team that are really solid and we have a lot of guys on the same level that can step up and help the team," O'Leary said. "Our depth is really our strength."
O'Leary also feels that Magleby has helped the team immensely this season.
"Coach Magleby has done a great job with us and we're really lucky to have him," O'Leary said. "He's worked us hard this year and really prepared us for every game."
Big Green Rugby looks forward to getting on the pitch for its Northeastern Rugby Union postseason opener at home next Saturday, Nov. 3.
