Ruggers Win Ninth, Destroy B.U., 36-4

Two years ago, the Harvard rugby football club crushed Boston University, 32-0. Yet after the Crimson routed the Terriers, 36-4, for its ninth consecutive victory Saturday afternoon at Soliders Field, Rod "Stick" Walters '80, said, "We've wanted them for about a year now." Why such a big deal?

Last March, the B.U. ruggers won a Mardi Gras tournament in New Orleans. Boston media played the event up, including a Globe feature on the team and a promotion at an area department store where the Terriers modeled sportswear and signed autographs. Since that extravaganza, Harvard has wanted to put B.U. in its place.

The Crimson did just that, running up its second-highest point total of the season and blanking the big but unpolished Terriers for the first 65 minutes of play. With captain Keith Oberg back at scrum half after two games at hooker, the squad registered its second consecutive stellar performance.

Seventeen minutes into the game, Oberg displayed the type of heads-up play which makes him so valuable. With Harvard leading 3-0 on Charlie Bott's first of two field goals, the ref called a penalty on B.U. deep in Terrier territory along the right sideline but let play continue until B.U. controlled the ball on the other side of the field. As the Terriers sauntered back, the ref put the ball in play and Oberg alertly picked it up and ran over the endline untouched for his first try of the season.

Speedy Kip McKenzie and aggressive Greg "Animal" Carey added two tries each as the backs had a fine day controlling loose balls and passing cleanly.

The Crimson pack performed the ultimate in rugby, a scrum try, powering Ed Montgomery over for his first try of the season after an awesome ten-yd. scrum drive, to finish the scoring.

THE NOTEBOOK: The ruggers didn't have to press to convince Walters to don his old jersey. The 6-ft., 6-in. second lineman dominates lineouts. With Carey back at wing forward and the possible return of "Doc" Halliday and Keith Whatling, look for the Crimson to finish its second consecutive undefeated fall season Saturday morning against Yale.