HBS Rugby defeated Wharton 12-3 in a home game on Saturday. HBS Rugby played its most coordinated and solid Rugby of the season against East Coast rival Wharton this weekend at home. A number of fans came out on a crisp fall day to cheer HBS on the pitch overlooking the river. The Wharton-HBS rugby rivalry has been hard-fought and bitter, spanning many seasons with the teams meeting in London, Duke, Thunderbird, and other tournaments.
HBS came out hard and spent much of the first half inside the Wharton half. But it was Wharton who first put points on the board with a penalty kick from directly in front of the Harvard twenty-two meter line. HBS came back quickly with coordinated backs and forwards play driving the ball down the field. The forwards rucked well, maintaining possession, and then kicking it out to the backs, who utilized their superior speed to full advantage. The first tri of the game was by Sean “Meatstick” Eldridge (OE) who plowed through his opposite number, and then carried several Wharton players over the tri line. Alan “Twinkle Toes” Ricks (HSD) converted the kick for two more points.
The rest of the game was a hard fought slog, finally broken when Doug “Wheels on Fire” Haber (NE) juked several Wharton players out of their cleats on a long run. The final for the A game was 12-3.
The B game was a fine exhibition of the improved skills of a number of new players, with solid performances by HBS Rugby veterans Brenden “Double B” Bentley and Jonathan “Blonds Have More Fun” Wyler. The game went back and forth many times, although it was still scoreless at the end of regulation time.
Afterwards, HBS hosted their Wharton compatriots to a memorable evening of wine and song at that fine Harvard Square fixture: Tommy Doyle’s.
As always, HBS Rugby would like to thank their sponsors BCG and Tommy Doyle’s for making this season possible.
