Verdict for Ruggers at Brown: One Win, One Loss, One Tie

The Harvard rugby club travelled to Brown for a three game series on Saturday, and came away with an even slate: one win, one tie and one loss.

The A team played their Brown opponents to a scoreless tie in a fiercely defensive contest, while the B squad dropped a 9-4 decision and the C team turned in the lone Crimson victory with an exciting 6-4 triumph.

In the A game, Brown applied constant pressure during the first 20 minutes of the opening half, only to be continually foiled at the goal line by outstanding Crimson tackling.

During the last part of the first half, play evened out. The Crimson came as close to scoring as they would all day when John Williams crossed the goal line, only to have the ball slip out of his hands and through the endzone before he could put the pigskin down for the try.

Outstanding defensive play on the part of both sides characterized the second half. The only scoring threats were three penalty kicks awarded the Bruins early in the period, but all three went wide.

Harvard team captain Peter Hilton said the game was so close because the Crimson dominated the loose play, even though Brown won most of the set play.

The B team was not so fortunate. The Bruins controlled the first half, taking a 3-0 lead on a 15 yard penalty kick early in the period.

Play evened out during the second half, and with six minutes to go in the game Crimson back Sid Anderson scored on an extra-man situation off a set serum at the Brown 40 yard line. Anderson missed the conversion, leaving Harvard with a tenuous 4-3 advantage.

With just minutes remaining in the contest the Crimson went into a defensive shell, hanging back in their own territory and kicking the ball away.

The strategy backfired. After several minutes of continuous pressure, Brown blocked a Kip McKenzie kick and recovered the ball in the endzone, giving the Bruins a try and the game.

Pattern

During the first half of the C contest things followed much the same pattern--good defense, not much offense, no scoring. But early in the second half Brown took a 4-0 lead on a 25 yard run for a try off a maul.

The score stood that way until Mike Kennedy made a spectacular 75 yard run late in the game, dodging no less than five Bruins and putting the ball down for the try right smack in the middle of the uprights. With the score deadlocked at 4-4, Walter Herbert had an easy time with the conversion, giving Harvard its only victory of the day.

Now sporting a 3-2-1 record, the A team will host Montreal's McGill University next week, and the following weekend they travel to New Haven for The Game, their season finale.