Ruggers Open Spring Competition

Fresh off a 7000-mile spring tour through Great Britain, the Harvard rugby club takes to the road again tomorrow to face Brown in the first round of the Ivy League Tournament in Providence.

Due to the unusual pairing method-teams are seeded on the basis of performance in the previous year's meet, rather than on current strength - the opening round may well determine the eventual winner. Harvard won the League title last fall by edging the previously-unbeaten Bruins, 3-0, on a sloppy, rain-soaked Cambridge field.

Other teams, however, could challenge the two favorites for the top spot. Penn, a perennially tough tournament team, and Yale, which spoiled a perfect season for Harvard last fall with a season-ending scoreless draw, are looking for upsets.

Harvard has not played up to its capacity in previous Ivy Tournaments, and the format of tourney games is slightly irregular. Instead of the normal 40-minute halves, squads play only 25-minute periods, but compete three times in two days. This encourages a fast start and then sitting on the lead, which is not the Crimson style.

Harvard's lineup will be substantially the same as the one that saw the bulk of the action in Scotland and England. Forwards will be hooker Lynn Coe, props Lee Sheehy and Spencer Dreischarf, second row Eric Henrikson and Bill Framen, lock Alec Wiggin and wing forwards John Stranger and Paul Reppun.

The backs will include scrum half Gary Latz, fly half Greg Sandomirsky, centers Hal Clark and Jamie Plunkett, wings Dick Barrett and Ken Otto and fullback Tim Finn.

John O'Grady, Dougal Menelaus, Kyle Gee and Mike Mahan will make the trip as substitutes.

In Scotland, the squad ran into a class of rugby far stronger than any found in America. Six matches produced a dismal 0-5-1 record, but as co-captain Sandomirsky put it. "We learned a hell of a lot, and we feel it's got to help us through the rest of the season."

Opener

The opening match of the tour, played in London against Aberdeen University, produced a surprising 3-3 tie, as the Crimson defense and a try by Henrikson opened the tour on an encouraging note.

After a 14-hour train journey to Aberdeen, in the north of Scotland, the Americans were demolished 43-0 by a club of Aberdeen Grammar School former pupils. The Gordonians, another local club, whipped the visitors 39-3 two days later.

The purpose of the tour was as much educational and recreational as competitive, however, and the hosts were generous with advice to the Harvard squad.

"We're playing a different brand of rugby now," explained Sandomirsky. "Before we left, we knew we had a pretty good defense, by American standards, but now we've picked up an offense that will be able to take the initiative more often. The forwards have also learned the rudiments of reeking and stronger play in the loose."

The team then traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, for three more contests, which-found the Crimson starting to apply some newly-learned techniques and open up more scoring.

Against Hariot-Watt University. Harvard fell 16-8 and dropped two other matches to Edinburgh fifteens. In the final game, against Edinburgh Wednesday Club, the underdogs tallied six tries, eventually falling 37-27, after leading 19-18 at halftime. Clark and O'Grady scored twice each, with Reppun and Stranger adding one apiece. Finn converted three times and added a penalty kick.

After the Ivy Tourney, the spring season continues, with matches scheduled for "A". "B", and "C" squads. The televised Farmington Cup match against Princeton and "seven-a-side" tournament featuring teams from all over New England will highlight the rest of the year.