Dartmouth Remains Unbeaten, Beats Brown 55-0

Providence, RI – Dartmouth traveled to Providence this weekend for its final match of the fall XVs season.  Brown had been a tough opponent in the past, climbing up the ranks of the Ivy North to give Dartmouth a run for their money in the 2012 campaign. Knowing the Bears to be a worthy foe, Dartmouth went into the match looking to put into play the systems they’d worked on over the course of the fall and finish the Ivy XVs season on a strong note.  The Big Green established control in the first half and never looked back on their way to a 55-3 victory.

Senior Tyler Moragne made an impact early, taking a nifty pass from wing Rex Littlefield ’14 and dotting down in the try zone.  It was at about the 20-minute mark that the Madison Hughes show began with the captain first setting up lock Dylan Jones ’14 who then hit Brendan Cronin ’15 on the wing for a great opportunity that led to a Cronin try.  And before the halftime whistle could sound, Hughes picked up an errant Brown pass and marched 60 meters for a try of his own.  The Collegiate All-American would go on to score four more tries in the second half and total 35 points on the day, contributing from his foot as well. 

Hughes remarked postgame, “Rugby is always the most fun when the whole team is interacting and the game is free-flowing. On several occasions we had great passages of play where people were playing give-and-go rugby, which is exactly what we were looking for from the final XVs game of the season. Now we'll be turning our attention to 7s, looking to continue on the momentum we've built so far in this fall season."

Strong efforts and high work-rate from veterans Wil Chockley and Pat Flynn, who each punched in second half tries, and burly center Zack Fowler, among others, wore the opposing defense down and created several scoring chances.  The Big Green defense was staunch on this day as well, holding Brown to three points.

Dartmouth Coach Gavin Hickie was pleased with his team’s performance, but still sees work to be done. “We have won 6 out of 6 games with 6 bonus points. All in all, I am happy with our progression throughout the fall season. Out next XVs game is not until March but our opponents are Cal. We have a lot of work to do between now and then.”

Hickie continued, “However, for the next few weeks we shift our focus to 7s as we attempt to retain our Ivy 7s Champions title.” 

Dartmouth’s first 7s test comes next weekend in New Haven with the first round of the Ivy North 7s.