Ruggers Heading For N.E. Championships

The Harvard rugby club was not supposed to be this good. After seven of its eight forward pack members graduated, the Crimson expected to struggle through a rebuilding year.

Instead, the Crimson's ruggers are standing mighty tall after capturing the Metro Boston Region Championship last weekend with an 18-4 victory over Boston University. Harvard--the top-ranked team in New England--is currently riding a five-game winning streak during which it has outscored its opponents, 115-19, and scored 18 trys while yielding only two.

Harvard now stands at the crossroads of its season this weekend when it participates in the New England Championships in Worcester.

"This is our whole season in one weekend," said volunteer Coach Martyn Kingston. "We have a good shot at going a long way, and it all depends on this weekend."

Harvard, which captured the national championship in 1984, must finish in first or second place this weekend to advance to the Northeast Regionals to be held in the spring. Otherwise, the squad will be eliminated from national competition.

The team credits Kingston, a sociology graduate student who coaches on a volunteer basis, for much of its surprising success this year.

"Marty puts so much time into coaching us," senior Annor Ackah said. "He also coaches for the national team, and he doesn't have to do anything for us. I know there are migrant workers who get paid more than he does."

Harvard, which expected to be the top seed in the N.E. Championships because of its dominance in Metro play, is actually seeded second behind Dartmouth. The Big Green received six votes while the Crimson got two.

"It was a political battle," Kingston said. "The seeding was not based on this season's play, but on what Dartmouth has done in the last few years. Some of the voters were talking out of both sides of their mouths. They told me one thing, and voted another way."

The Big Green has advanced to the national championship three of the last four years. This year, they are unbeaten in their region (4-0), but have had several close calls.

"It may be a blessing in disguise," Kingston says. "They have a beatable team this year. We have had a tougher schedule, and this should light a fire under us, if we need it."

Southern Connecticut, also undefeated in its division play, is seeded third, followed by UMass. The Crimson meets Springfield, a Division II team seeded seventh, in the first round Saturday.