Volume CXXXIII, Number 8 November 2, 2001 f

Rugby advances to regionals
HUGH HILL
STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, Bowdoin College's premiere club sport, the Rugby Football Club, advanced to the Northeast Regional Championships in a dual series of showdowns at the New England Championship Tournament.

In a scene reminiscent of Braveheart, heads were broken and gallons of blood were spilled as the boys in black prevailed over the opposition. The Bowdoin ruggers assembled on the rolling hills of the New Haven Rugby Club pitch, ready to do battle with Yale.

Senior Dennis Kiley shows a Providence rugger exactly what's up, while Jim Miller '03 darts in the background. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient)

Senior back Nick Miller, renowned for his imposing stature and gruff demeanor, captured the scene well: "This is the biggest game of our lives," he said. "We are so fired up right now I actually had to be restrained from breaking cinder blocks over my head. Roadkill (brain-damaged sophomore Warren Dubitsky) and I plan to dole out at least ten concussions apiece."
The gory test of will that ensued allowed Miller to keep his promise. Yale and Bowdoin got down to business in a game reminiscent of rugby's earlier "hamburger" days.

"Hamburger" described the game, not only because it accurately expressed the odor of junior Dave McDonald, but also referred to the bloody ground meat that many a Yale lad looked like after the massive struggle up front.
Both packs warred back and forth across the middle of the pitch, a brutal brawl in which Bowdoin had the slight edge.

Junior forward Dave Kirkland, who skipped his Ebonics honors project presentation to be present, had insightful commentary on the nature of the two rival packs' conflict. "They thoughts dat weez punk-a** biznitches. Now they knowz dat theyz skillz be frivolous cuz we wrecked der f%*#ing sh*t."

As the battle up front consumed countless lives, events in the back were more troublesome. With the forwards sucked into the struggle up front, the backs were unable to consistently work the ball out to Bowdoin's lethal wings.

In addition, the backs were handicapped by the absence of the back row's resident Canuck, Ryan Chisholm '04. He was forced to join the forward pack as a result of the hole left by wing forward Truc Huynh '05, reportedly absent because he was delivering a keynote address at "some inauguration" that "could not go ahead without his presence."

Instead, the backs had to rely on the kicking ability of Club President Rob "Capt. Brown Star" Mandle. Capt. Brown Star's kicking managed to keep Bowdoin in the lead, albeit narrowly, well into the second half.

Unfortunately, disaster struck in the last minutes of the game when Yale managed to sneak in a last-minute try, taking the game 18-12.

The ruggers were disheartened by the unexpected loss, but immediately set their eyes on the next target. "We just didn't play our A-game today," said Jason "D'Nunzio" Pietraffita '02. "We were a little nervous and cramped from the trip (the team was forced to make the entire six-hour journey in cattle car-like vans) and just couldn't bring it together.

"Instead of focusing on the team and how we can work together, we focused on ourselves and didn't bring the united smackdown that we usually bring. Some guys like [senior Kris] Bosse and Wallaby [first year antipodean Nick Reid] had amazing games, but we didn't get it up for the win. Tomorrow will be different," he said.

D'Nunzio couldn't have been more accurate if he'd used a magic eight-ball. The next day, Bowdoin faced off against last year's northeast regional champion, Providence College. This big, striped team tasted Bowdoin's wrath from the first hit.

In an uncharacteristic burst of speed, senior eight-man and team ogre Shane O'Neill blasted Providence's forwards off the ball, setting the tone for the match.

This was followed by excellent displays of rugby prowess by the entire team. The ball was effectively worked out to the wings, where lightning-fast backs like Capt. Brown Star and senior Torrey "Attention Ladies: Still Single!" Liddell squeezed through the Providence's defenses, leaving only skid marks and dazed Providence backs in their wake.

Special note must also be made of two other outstanding backs, juniors Jed "Rambo" Miller and Dennis "Firepants" Kiley.

Rambo, shedding previous fears of chipped nails, played a brutal game that astounded friend and foe alike with its ferocity. Kiley was pure fire below the waist, running through every opponent who dared to defy him.

Everyone got in on the action as the points piled up. Mikey Balulescu '03 described the game as "more fun than my diminutive person-art videos" after he clawed through many a Providence player.

The only unfortunate absence was senior Ari "Flabio" Jasper, who was sidelined by the sudden appearance of a bucket of buffalo wings.

Forward captain Billy Soares '02, reclining after the match during a sumptuous feast at the D'Nunzio Family compound (location: classified), had this to say: "We came out today and played the way we should play. If we come out like this against Marist, they'll have no chance."

Tomorrow afternoon, in the hinterlands of Poughkeepsie, New York, Bowdoin will go toe-to-toe with Marist College, the New York Metropolitan League champions. Only one team will go on to compete for the Northeast Regional Championship, a challenge the ruggers grimly welcome.

Team Head Coach Rick "I Have to Sleep on the Couch Because You Guys Keep Winning" Scala echoed Soares' earlier sentiments: "I am fully confident of our imminent victory," he said. "We want this so bad we're practicing by our car headlights. Marist is going down."

Watch the ruggers teach those punks from New York who's more hardcore as Bowdoin faces off against Marist tomorrow in the Northeast Regional Championships. GO BLACK!