Rugby's road to nationals runs through Middlebury

The men's rugby team not only has a great forward pack; this season, it is also the leader of the pack. Two weekends ago the team won the New England Championship, going undefeated despite stiff competition and nasty weather, edging Middlebury, one of their toughest competitors, 8-5. Now the Bulldogs turn their attention to a spot in the National Tournament, with foe Middle-bury posed to potentially stand in their way.

COURTESY YALE MEN'S RUGBY The men's rugby team must go undefeated this weekend to advance to the National Tournament.

Back on their own turf this past Sat., Nov. 4, the players didn't just edge out the competition, they crushed it. The Elis obliterated the Sacred Heart X-Men 62-10, thus advancing to the semifinals of the Northeast Regional Championships, which will be held this weekend.

In Yale's opening possession of the game, center Jeff Eliason, DC '02, ran through the defense to put Yale's first points on the board.He was followed by Collin May, SY '02, who successfully made the conversion, giving Yale a 7-0 lead. In their next try, the X-men quickly scored to tie the game up at 7-7. But that would be the only suspenseful moment in the match; unfortunately for Sacred Heart, this was the closest they would be to the Bulldogs for the rest of the game. Yale replied with a second try in the 20th minute and never looked back. With standout play from the wings, searing runs, and contributions from every player on the field, the Bulldogs were completely dominant, leaving Sacred Heart stunned. Flanker Ed Woi-teshek, PC '02, prop Steven Petrie, CC '02, wings Shawn Fields, CC '03, and Aaron Zahn, TC '01, lock Alex Stegall, MC '02, outside center Dara Mac Caba, MC '02, and utility back Jules Maltz, SY '01, all picked up five-pointers as Yale proceeded to outscore the X-Men 48-3 throughout the remainder of the game. The squad wasn't surprised by this win, though. As rugby President Alex Kallmann, MC '01, said, "Sacred Heart doesn't come from a very strong conference. If we hadn't beaten them by a lot it would have made us nervous."

Men's rugby faces one final hurdle on the way to the National Tournament. This weekend, the squad will once again have to go undefeated, this time at the Northeast Regional Championships, in order to advance to Nationals. Adding to the pressure, the men will have to face Middlebury in their semi-final this Saturday, the team they just barely beat merely two weeks ago. In fact, one of the reasons that the Middlebury squad believed they lost to the Bulldogs in their last encounter was because of the terrible wea-ther conditions. The game was played in over an inch of snow, with a howling wind blowing straight down the field and temperatures which were well below freezing. Kallmann admitted the wea-ther might have played a role in the Bulldogs win. "The last game was really interesting because it was played in such adverse conditions," he said. "It'll be interesting to see how the game goes this weekend. We want to silence all doubts about whether or not our previous win was attributable to bad weather."

M. Rugby

Recent Results: Won vs. Sacred Heart, 62-7; Won vs. Middlebury, 8-5. Coming Up: Sat., Nov. 11 vs. Middlebury at Northeast Championships.

What's more, when the Bulldogs take on Middlebury this weekend, they'll have to do without star back Damien Brown, SY '02, who went down with an injury against Sacred Heart. Fortunately, though, the team has proven its depth and believes that nothing will stop it from getting to Nationals. One of the hardest runners on the team, Brown will be missed for his strong midfield crashes and crushing defense, but the Elis are confident that they have the depth to be competitive nonetheless. "I'm not sure if Yale has ever before had a team this strong, with this much depth," scrum-half Micah Block, JE '03, said. "We've got what it takes to cover for injuries, which are always going to occur in a game like rugby."

This week's training has been intense leading up to the championships, and the Elis are happy with their physical preparation. The key may now rest in the mental aspects of the game. Captain and hooker David Dickson, DC '01, will need a strong, vocal game up front, and fullback May will need to continue to marshal the back lin on both offense and defense if rugby hopes to turn their hard work into a Northeast Championship title.

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