Ruggers Tackle Babson; Look For Tourney Berth

The Harvard rugby club will tangle with Babson College tomorrow at Soldiers Field with a qualifying berth for the New England Championships on the line.

The Crimson (1-1 overall, 1-0 in the New England Union) overwhelmed Framingham State, 32-4, last week and is tied for first place with Boston College, which knocked off Babson last week.

Harvard must finish first or second in the four-team New England Union to be eligible for the NCAA tournament--an event the ruggers captured in 1984.

By losing to both Babson and BC a year ago, Harvard was knocked down to the losers bracket of the New England Championships, thus making the squad ineligible for NCAA competition.

"All we have to do is win," Coach Martyn Kingston said of this year's Babson contest, "so it is a very, very big game."

Babson has what Kingston called "a tenacious forward pack" but added that "we are quietly confident."

Showdown?

If both Harvard and BC triumph this weekend--as they are expected to--they will square off October 11 at BC with first place up for grabs.

Harvard shellacked the Eagles, 19-0, in a scrimmage earlier this year.

The ruggers host the New England Championships at Soldiers Field, October 25 and 26.