|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 10 |
 |
Rugby season ends at hands of Middlebury
HUGH HILL
STAFF WRITER
After a season that seemed destined for greatness from its very outset,
the Bowdoin Men's Rugby Team fell 20-5 to Middlebury in the Northeast
Division II championship last weekend.
 |
| Matt Stanton '02, foreground, eludes the grasp of an opponent at last weekend's New England Rugby Tournament. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
Despite the hard-fought defeat, Bowdoin finished its year ranked number
two in the Northeast. This is no small accomplishment considering that
just four years ago, Bowdoin Rugby considered a winning season to be a
call for celebration.
"We've come a long way," explained longtime head coach Rick
Scala as he reflected upon the season from his spacious offices at the
Pickard Field Rugby Complex. "A little over ten years ago, we were
at this level. That was before nationals came into being, so all you could
win was New Englands [a reference to the New England Tournament, in which
Bowdoin had a dramatic and victorious performance this year].
"It seemed we just didn't have the talent for a while," he
continued. "But I knew things were going to change. Our current group
of seniors, who are about a dozen of the finest rugby players I've ever
had the privilege to know, coupled with our lightning-fast backs, have
put us back on top. I see a future paved with more championship seasons
for us."
The players seemed to know that the fall 2001 season was destined for
greatness. "We took on our division (the Downeast Division) head-on,"
said back captain Jason "D'Nunzio" Pietrafitta '02. "We
charged over every team we encountered. There was never a doubt in anyone's
mind of our victory. Sure, we were a little undisciplined, but we made
up for that with unbridled fire and energy. Not even a brick wall could've
stopped us.
"For New Englands, we slowed it down a bit," he continued.
"We steadily punched holes in the opposition until they couldn't
stand it anymore. For the Northeast, we combined that discipline with
our earlier fire to play at our peak."
D'Nunzio's reflection was an accurate one. After Bowdoin crushed the
other five teams in its division (which includes Bates, the University
of Maine, and Colby Polytechnic Institute), the ruggers triumphantly advanced
through three postseason tests to land in the Northeast Final Four.
Joining Bowdoin in this elite tournament were Yale, the State University
of New York at Plattsburg, and Middlebury. It is a testament to the level
of competition that Bowdoin enjoys in its home union (the New England
Union) that three out of the four Northeast Championship teams were from
New England.
On Saturday afternoon, Bowdoin faced Plattsburg while Middlebury beat
up on Yale. The two packs collided in a series of crunches and audible
smacks in the game's opening seconds. Bowdoin's superior discipline shined
as the black pack was able to quickly master the ball and assert its dominance
over Plattsburg.
Senior Kris "Bucking Bronco Buster" Bosse and junior Dave "Tomb
Raider" Kirkland delivered powerful hits that sent their opponents
reeling. This allowed the ball to be moved out to Bowdon's legendary and
lethal backs. As hundreds of raucous Bowdoin fans shrieked and yelled
(a fleet of buses had left Bowdoin earlier in the day, provided by the
always-supportive Athletic Department in recognition of rugby as the school's
premier sporting team), the lightning quickness of scrumhalf Matty "The
Patriarch" Stanton '02, Nick "Greaseball" Reid '05, and
Rob "Capt. Brown Star" Mandle '02 came to the fore.
They ran right through every Plattsburg defender with amazing dexterity.
Coupled with the destructive hits of D'Nunzio, there was no stopping the
backs.
Plattsburg managed rally in the second half, however. Not to be outdone,
and claiming that some Plattsburg players had "messed with his hair,
and no one is allowed to do that," Dennis "Leo" Kiley '03
slammed through the Plattsburg defenders to win the game for Bowdoin,
17-13.
That night, the grateful people of Springfield, Massachusetts, gave a
feast in honor of Bowdoin. Though details are sketchy as to the debauchery
that flowed within, a clandestine report has surfaced regarding the behavior
of the family of Shane "Head" O'Neill '02.
Shane's kid brother, Rory "The Tea-Totaling Leprechaun" livened
up the evening with his maturity and wit. In a speech to the team, the
Leprechaun closed with these stirring words:
"I know you can win, boys. But you must give your heart. You must
give your soul. You must die. Die!"
Upon hearing these inspiring words, Shane's cousin Ryan immediately decided
to join the team. It was also rumored that Bosse's little brother, Whit
Schrader '05, awoke the next morning looking like "someone had attacked
his neck with a vacuum cleaner." This can neither be confirmed nor
denied, as Schrader has been sporting a turtleneck all week.
The next day, as snow clouds menaced over the Berkshires, the men assembled
to face Middlebury for the championship. No one expected an easy match,
but the team didn't know just how much of a struggle it would face.
Not only would the icy, up-to-40mph wind gusts neutralize a key component
of Bowdoin's offense (Capt. Brown Star's kicking), but there were other
handicaps as well. Middlebury's active international recruitment program
has filled its back row with boys who have played rugby their whole lives,
meaning that Bowdoin faced a backline of comparable quality.
The game started out well. As senior forward captain Billy "Cold
Intensity" Soares's pack laid into the Middlebury boys, Bowdoin established
a firm setting on the field. The first half was a constant battle as the
two sides warred back and forth across the pitch.
In the second half, however, things took a turn for the worse. The referee's
seeing-eye dog ran away, leading to an almost comical series of calls
against Bowdoin.
A Boston Irish Wolfhounds coach, who was at the tournament to scout for
talent, said it best. "I've played rugby for thirty-five years, and
I've played in and coached international matches," he said. "That
has to be some of the most piss-poor officiating I've ever seen."
Don D'Nunzio's Consuleri recorded 7 penalties called on Bowdoin for every
one against Middlebury.
"That ref will never walk again," D'Nunzio vowed from the sidelines.
"Nobody messes with my boy."
This officiating disadvantage, coupled with the skill of Middlebury's
backs, made it only a matter of time before the Panthers broke through.
Late in the second half, they did just that, scoring a quick succession
of tries. After an hour and a half of brutal, tight, back-and-forth rugby,
Middlebury managed to edge out the lads in black, 20-5.
Though disappointed with a finished season, the ruggers are still upbeat,
and rightly so. "Look, we're number two in the Northeast," said
an exhausted Soares after the match. "That's pretty damn good. All
I can say is that Middlebury better be careful, because we're coming back
here next year and we'll beat them. Heck, we'll beat whoever comes out
against us." GO BLACK