Dartmouth Defeats Harvard for Ivy Championship

This past weekend, the Dartmouth Rugby Club hosted Harvard in the Ivy Championship game. Both teams had been unbeaten in their Ivy rugby match ups, thus setting the stage for a big showdown between the two teams. Both teams fought bravely with Dartmouth ending up the victors, winning by a score of 51-19.

Coach Hickie offered his season-ending remarks, saying, “We designed our season to hit the ground running once the Ivy Rugby Conference commenced and we continued to work hard each week to build on our individual skills and team processes. The result is our 9th consecutive Ivy Rugby Conference Championship”.

Dartmouth vs Harvard: Game Summary

Dartmouth were quick to set the pace in the first half with Co-Captain Ryan Maguire ’16 claiming the first points of the game with an explosive burst down the wing after weaving backs’ play created a narrow lane on the outside. Shortly thereafter, Captain Jack Braun ’16 powered through the Harvard defense in the middle of the field as he ran a line that cut against the grain of the play shifting across the field. John Abraham ’16 claimed a hat-trick of tries against Harvard through his characteristic use of his immense speed and evasive skills while Phil Sheridan ’16 scored after breaking tackles before diving into the try zone. 

The second half saw the Big Green slow the rate of scoring as Harvard managed to take advantage of lapses in concentration, scoring three tries throughout the second half. Just before time was called and the Ivy League title was declared Dartmouth’s, Julien Johnson ’18 scored his first 1st XV try on his debut in his first touches of the game as he picked off a pass in the midfield before sprinting under the posts.

Looking Ahead to Spring

Big Green now has a few months to recover over the winter break before returning to Hanover in January to start their preparation for spring competitions such as the Varsity Cup and the CRCs.

Source: Press Release

About

The DRFC (6-0) will host Harvard (6-0) this weekend in the 2015 Ivy League Championship. The first XV game will kickoff at 1 PM on Saturday, Nov. 14, followed by a second XV game at 2:30 PM. Host Dartmouth invites all to join them at Corey Ford for a great day of rugby. Fans at home can follow along on the Dartmouth Rugby twitter account (https://twitter.com/dartmouthrugby), which will announce a streaming link for the game closer to kickoff.

On the second-to-last weekend of men's fall rugby competition, all eyes will be on Hanover as Dartmouth takes on Harvard. A win for the Crimson would shake Big Green's throne and could propel Harvard to a first-place finish.