The team had a rocky start in preseason, getting shut out against a pair of Canadian universities, Queens and McGill, by scores of 35-0 and 17-0, respectively. However, the team bounced back to take the Granite Cup over in-state rivals Plymouth State and New Hampshire and gained momentum heading into the regular season.
In the regular season, the DRFC is currently 2-1. So far, the ruggers have defeated Ivy League rival Yale by the score of 32-10, dropped a rough game against perennial power Army 28-12 and ground out a well-earned 32-25 win against Northeastern.
"We had a really tough loss to Army where we dominated huge portions of the game so, that was rough, but this past weekend we were able to grind out a huge win against Northeastern, in a game where we surrendered a big lead," DRFC co-captain Conlan O'Leary '09 said. "We had a hostile and raucous crowd on hand for that game, so that was great."
O'Leary is the team's try leader with four. Jeff Kolovson '09 is next with two tries.
While the team has been largely satisfied with the way that they have performed, co-captain Drew Jennings '08 has noted that the quality of the team's play should get better in the coming weeks.
"Each week we've gotten better, we definitely haven't peaked yet," Jennings said. "Our team has been watching film and correcting mistakes, because with each coming week we want to be that much better."
The team has gotten better in part due to the emergence of the underclassmen, who have stepped up to take on the roles vacated by members of the Class of 2007.
"People have stepped up to do whatever it takes," Jennings said. "Unlike past years, there are no superstars, so there aren't people looking to that one guy to do something."
While there are some kinks that still need to be worked out, the team is looking good.
"Physically, the team looks very good," O'Leary said. "There have been some problems in executing set pieces and stuff, but the heart and desire have always been there."
Jennings added that the team has also been able to avoid the injury bug, a key aspect to building a strong squad.
That heart and desire will be tested on homecoming, when Harvard visits in what is always an intense match. Both O'Leary and Jennings have marked the Harvard game on homecoming on their calendars, as well as the showdown against Boston College.
"The Harvard game on homecoming is going to be huge, because they eliminated us from the playoffs in this game last year," O'Leary said. "Also, the Boston College game will be huge because they are the best team that we will go up against."
However, Jennings warned against overlooking what may be perceived as lesser teams.
"As much as those match-ups are big, we've been doing a good job taking it one week at a time," Jennings said. "There's so much parity in the league right now that you can't overlook anyone, especially when one loss can ruin the year."
O'Leary finished by saying that he has high hopes for the team.
"There's no reason why we can't win every game from here on in," O'Leary said.
The DRFC will next be in action on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Brophy Field where they will host Norwich University. Norwich is currently 1-4-1 overall and is 0-3 in the regular season. They are coming off of a tough 29-22 loss against Yale.
