Dartmouth College 1st XV 36 @ Brown University 15 1st XV

In a season that has seen Dartmouth only rarely not in complete control of a match, the nationally‐ranked Big Green were put to the test by a physical and well‐coached Brown side to finish out the Ivy League play. Trailing Dartmouth by 12-5 in the first half, Brown was unable to upset the undefeated Dartmouth.

The Big Green beat Brown 36-15 in the mud in round 7 of the Ivy League Rugby Championship Series to end with unblemished regular season record. Visiting Providence in the hopes of wrapping up an undefeated Ivy League regular season, the Men in Green faced cold, muddy conditions on a day defined by mistakes rather than positive play.

Dartmouth College (1st XV) @ Brown University (1st XV) Referee: Phil Griffiths Kick-off Time: 2:00 PM “Dartmouth is a skilled side,” said Brown co‐captain Andrew Alvarez ’10, “[We] tried to bring our level up to [Dartmouth’s] and were successful at things… We just made some mental mistakes.” Both sides handicapped themselves with mistakes. Dartmouth was heavily penalized at the breakdown and, at times, had difficulty handling the slick ball and finding proper depth for running lines on the muddy field. Brown, however, limited its ability to capitalize on Dartmouth miscues with a number of ill‐advised kicks. Brown’s organization and pattern seemed to catch Dartmouth by surprise and Brown spent a good deal of time in the Dartmouth end but couldn’t finish off their moves either through sloppy handling or poor decisions. Dartmouth, however capitalized on a couple of Brown mistakes in coverage and missed tackles and scored one unconverted and one converted try in the first 20 minutes of the first half. The Big Green held a 12‐0 lead. Brown’s defensive determination and pressure caused some uncharacteristic Dartmouth turnovers and the match settled into a defensive battle for the rest of the half. At the end of the first half, Brown, in control, won a series of rucks, and spun the ball wide to left wing Dow Travers’11 who drew his defender and passed inside to fullback Sam Rabb who scored a try to cut the Dartmouth lead to 12‐5 at the half. “We came out slow, which is an issue we need to continue to work on in training over the upcoming week,” said Dartmouth sophomore Will Lehmann.

Dartmouth would, however, come out firing in the second half, scoring quickly to extend the lead to 19‐5 within the first five minutes. Brown fought back deep into the Dartmouth end and from a lineout put scrum half Taylor Peak’11 over the line to lower the margin to 19-10 only 8 minutes into the half. At this point Brown’s scrummaging, lineouts, rucks and tackling were all less effective than the first half. As well Brown gave Dartmouth too many counter attack opportunities by not finding touch with its kicks. Dartmouth stepped up the pressure, but however, did not run away with the match at all. Brown conceded three tries (one converted) over the ensuing 28 minutes to provide Dartmouth with an insurmountable 36-10 lead. “Despite [our slow start], the side responded well after the half,” Lehmann added, “I am proud of how the side continued to improve, particularly with less experienced guys coming off the bench.” With five minutes left in the match, an errant clearing kick by Dartmouth was taken by Rabb at fullback and passed to outside center James McGinn’12. McGinn broke through and ran to the five meter line where left wing Travers stripped the ball from McGinn and went over the line for Brown’s final 5 points bringing the final score to 36‐15.

“It was good to see Brown play to their pattern to decent effect,” commented Dartmouth Head Coach Alex Magleby ‘00, “[They are] a well coached team. We were also challenged in a few personnel areas that we look forward to improving on this week.” Brown was quick to look forward to the rematch against Harvard in next week’s Ivy League playoffs. “We are excited for another shot at Harvard,” remarked Laflamme. Brown co‐captian Hao Li ’10 added, “We know what we need to work on… This was good prep for both sides going into the playoffs.” Harvard beat Yale 26‐7 to secure the second seed in the Ivy League and will host Brown next weekend. Harvard beat Brown 69‐11 at home in late September. Reflecting on the close of the regular season, Lehmann added, “The 7‐0 Ivy League record reflects the hard work we have put in this season. We can commend the hard work and commitment the entire squad has put in this season… Our team is made up of far more than the players whose names ended up on the score report this year.”

Yale’s loss gives them the fourth seed and a trip to Hanover next weekend to take on Dartmouth. Should Dartmouth win, the Big Green will be crowned the Ivy League champions and will receive the top Ivy League seed going into the Northeastern Territorial Playoffs. A Dartmouth loss would mean the winner of the Harvard‐Brown match would win the Ivy League title and receive the top Ivy League seed. In addition to its unblemished season record, Dartmouth also managed to capture a perfect 35 points in league play, while also not giving up a single league point to any of its opponents.

Dartmouth will host Yale on October 24 with an 11:00 a.m. kick‐off time scheduled. This weekend also coincides with Dartmouth’s homecoming festivities.

Brown First XV Squad 1. Bob Forrester ’10, replaced by Mohammed Abdallah’11 at 70 minutes 2. Jay Smith’10, replaced by Dan Levine-Spound’12 at 65 minutes of the match 3. Andrew Alvarez’11 4. Ben Mossbarger’10 5. Rall Walsh’10, replaced by Forrester at 70 minutes 6. Gabe Heiderich’10, replaced by Zach Long’13 at 65 minutes 7. David Dean’10, preplaced by Walsh at 70 minutes 8. Chaney Harrison’11 9. Taylor Peak’12 10. Brad Arlington’10 11. Dow Travers’11 12. Hao Li’10 13. James McGinn’12 14. Ben Baker’10 15. Sam Rabb’10 ### Taylor Stevenson

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BROWN • COLUMBIA • CORNELL • DARTMOUTH • HARVARD • PENN • PRINCETON • YALE