Rugby

The Harvard Rugby Football Club's contest with MIT Saturday was not as easy as it was expected to be, but under the circumstances Coach Martyn Kingston could not have been more pleased.

The ruggers expected to open their Metro region league schedule by whalloping perennially weak MIT Harvard did emerge with a 13-0 victory over the Engineers at Soldiers Field in front of 300 spectators, but MIT caught Harvard a bit off-guard.

Surprise number one: The Engineers sent over a squad which included 13 graduate students. That violated New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) rules, which prohibits graduate students from competing on an undergraduate squad, causing Harvard to play the game under protest.

Surprise number two: MIT senior Rachel Berman played on MIT's "B"-side. Berman is the captain of the women's rugby club at MIT, and has played in several contests with the men's team.

While some of the Crimson players were a bit reluctant to play against the woman rugger, she was actually one of the better Engineer players.

Harvard's "A", "B" and "C" sides combined to shut out MIT, 53-0.

"Those guys should really be ashamed of themselves," Kingston said. "They turn up at the last minute with an illegal team. The NERFU is developing a policy of undergraduates only, and here they are playing a team with 13 graduates."

Kingston said he was happy that his club was up to the unexpected challenge.

"It was a good all-around performance," Kingston said. "I'm really proud of our guys and the way they kept their cool. We beat a graduate student team with quite some years of experience. Many of them have played abroad, but we were more than their equals, and the pack really outmuscled them in the scrum."

Harvard Co-Captain Scott Roberts scored both trys, first picking up the loose ball and running five meters to score. The second try was set up after two MIT players collided and fumbled a short Nathan Koenig kick.

An alert Chris Arbery burst through to snatch the ball away as the Engineers haplessly scrambled for it. Arbery ran about 20 meters before being hit, and then pitched to the trailing Roberts, who rambled through three defenders for the score.

Hero of the Day

While Roberts said the two try were "more luck than anything," Kingston was not so bashful * praise of Roberts.

"Scott was exceptional. He called a really good game, led the side well, and really kept the team under control," Kingston said.

Harvard (3-0 overall, 1-0 Metro Region) hosts Babson--a team it defeated 31-6 last season--Saturday afternoon at Soldiers Field.