Traveling to Delaware, the Big Green jumped to a strong start and led at halftime, 15-7. Despite a constant struggle to keep the lead, Dartmouth managed to hold on for the slim win, largely thanks to the efforts of center Derek Fish '12, who scored 15 of the team's 25 points.
"We put a lot of focus on the Delaware game because they are in the National Championships this weekend, and we felt that we were as good as those teams," head coach Alex Magleby said. "We wanted to prove that to the rest of the country, and we did, and we dominated the game in that aspect."
The Big Green got onto the scoreboard 10 minutes into the first half after a long-contested opening play at midfield for possession.
After receiving a pass and sprinting down the sideline, co-captain Chris Downer '11 secured the match's first try following a ruck.
A subsequent miss of the two-point goal kick conversion put Dartmouth up, 5-0, but Delaware nabbed a try after a lineout and pushed ahead with its two-point conversion just four minutes later.
The Big Green did not let up and came back soon after, as it was awarded a penalty that Fish converted.
Fish contributed again seven minutes later, as a diving try and his own conversion pushed Dartmouth to a clear lead for the first time in the game. The second half saw one last try for the Big Green, courtesy of Paul Jarvis '12, as well as another penalty from Fish, but the most action came from Delaware, who almost made a full comeback with two tries and one conversion.
"When we were on tour, we had a lot of close games and came through, and that was good to see [against Deleware]," captain Tommy Brothers '11 said. "This is the first college side team that we have had a close game against, and even though they came back, it was good to see us buckle down and finish and win."
Following the close victory, Dartmouth traveled to New Brunswick, N.J., where it met with Rutgers.
"It is rare that you play two games on the same weekend, but the National Championships does that, so we have to prepare for that," Magleby said.
Ten minutes into play, Downer again opened up scoring with a try into the corner, but the positioning of the try created an added challenge for Fish, who missed the point conversion attempt.
The low-scoring half saw Rutgers respond with a try of its own, in addition to the two-point conversion, causing Rutgers to end the half up by two points.
"They had a particular style of short possession after short possession and keeping it tight with the really big guys, and it took a long time for us to adjust," Brothers said. "Their game was to try to grind us out and maybe that's why it was low-scoring."
Any attempt to quickly catch up quickly failed when Rutgers produced another try and conversion just a minute into the second period after sequential scrums pushed the Scarlet Knights ahead in field gain.
"Rutgers was a very physical team, and while we had aspects that we want to repeat, there were certain emotional and mental aspects of the game that we want to improve on," Magleby said.
The Big Green was the last team to change the scoreboard, as an offload to flanker Tim Harsch '11 resulted in a try.
Dartmouth returned home Wednesday, where it met with the University of Toulouse from Toulouse, France.
Despite Dartmouth's storied history with playing foreign competitors, such as when the Big Green was the first American team to tour England, it has not hosted international competition in over a decade. The last time it hosted an international team was when it took on the French-side Sorbonne on Sept. 1, 1997, winning by a score of 43-5, Magleby said.
Wednesday's game proved to be a success for the Big Green, as the French surrendered again. The home team held on in the hard-fought battle against the University of Toulouse, escaping with a narrow 20-17 win.
Early on, it looked as if the game wouldn't even be close. The Big Green looked unstoppable in the first half, scoring two penalties and two tries and conversions, allowing the team to enter halftime up 20-0.
Toulouse took the better of the second half, however, as it attempted a daunting comeback with three tries and one conversion.
The Big Green was able to hold off the French team's attacks, however, protecting its narrow lead and emerging victorious.
Facing these international competitors was a change for Dartmouth, as the game required a slightly different game-plan than when the team plays American teams, according to Magleby.
"It's a friendly match, but it will be fast, and each team will want to throw the ball around, and it will be very entertaining rugby," he said. "The weather will help, because it won't be rainy or wet, so it won't be as physical."
The Big Green will have a break this weekend as it continues to develop a new team without seniors, in preparation for qualifying for nationals in the fall. The team squares off next against Mystic River on April 24.
