Sports

Men’s rugby starts spring with 2nd place finish at Blue Balls

By Andee Bucciarelli '14

On April 12, the Men’s Rugby team attended the Blue Balls Rugby Tournament two hours north of Clinton in Fort Drum, NY, and returned with an impressive report. The Exiles, who came in second overall, won games against Le Moyne College, Clarkson University and the SUNY Plattsburgh B teams. They were finally stopped by the SUNY Plattsburgh A team. Will Marsden ’14 said of the weekend, “[The winning team] played intelligently, but despite the loss, everyone really enjoyed the tournament.” Taylor Davis ’15 said that the Exiles “had great support surrounding the ball and showed our speed this weekend.” Speed and support are crucial in rugby, offensively and defensively, and having both skills helped the Hamilton team to win almost every game they played.

The Exiles attend the Blue Balls tournament every spring and usually play three to four matches in a weekend, which is no small accomplishment in its own right. This year’s tournament helped the team gain confidence for the rest of the spring season, said Marsden, despite going through some changes with new players. Several key members of the junior class are currently studying abroad, but in their absence, others have stepped up.

Over the weekend, Dan Farina ’17, who joined the team this fall and plays prop, had some particularly stunning plays and proved himself an intimidating player. “There’s nothing quite like seeing Dan drag three defenders down the field with him,” said Marsden. A new addition to the team this season, Andrew Leopold ’16, has seen success as fly half, learning the basics of the game quickly, even scoring a few tries over the weekend. Other honorable mentions went to captains Bryce Timm ’15 and Osaruese Odeh ’16, as well as Davis.

In general, spring rugby seasons are not as competitive as fall seasons. In spring, there isn’t any structural competition, and established leagues do not organize matches. Instead, collegiate club teams schedule matches autonomously and attend either large tournaments with multiple teams or smaller round-robin games with a few teams on one hosting campus. Because teams are often missing players who are studying abroad and may have an influx of rookies, the spring is a great time for new players to get “more game time, and experience, [which] is going to improve them drastically,” explained Davis.

This year, the Exiles also welcomed working with a new coach, John Joseph. The team has shown a very positive response to his organization and discipline and has improved under his leadership. This fall, the team showed clear signs of their improvement when the men ended Colgate University’s famous three-year winning streak in home match on Minor Field in October. Team members have said the new coach is “just as committed as we are, which is great to see,” and have expressed wishes to see Coach Joseph stay long-term.

Looking forward to next fall, the Exiles are optimistic. Davis said the team is entering into a newly structured league, which will involve matches against “a combination of new and old opponents.” Davis looks forward to seeing how the team works together this season, and how that team chemistry will transfer next semester in a more competitive league setting.

Marsden, who will graduate in May, looks back on his time with the Exiles fondly: “Being a member of the rugby team has defined my time at Hamilton.” Marsden called rugby “a wonderful sport…[and] an international language —I was able to play when I was abroad in Hong Kong last year.” For Marsden, a rewarding part of playing for the Exiles has been “working with the younger players and passing on bits and pieces of knowledge.”

The Exiles will be playing Vassar College this weekend, April 19.  Although Vassar’s impressive track record makes them a challenging match, last weekend’s success is encouraging, and the Exiles are hopeful.

No comments yet.

All Sports