Women’s Rugby Places Third in Sevens Opening at Home Tournament

The Harvard women’s rugby team opened up its sevens season this weekend by placing third in its home tournament, Crimson 7s, after a grueling Saturday full of games.

The Crimson are coming off a domineering 15s season lifting the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Championship with a battling victory over Dartmouth in the final this fall.

Last year’s sevens season saw Harvard sweep victories at the Crimson 7s, and Tropical 7s, and ended the season capturing the College Rugby Association of America 7s National Championship in Houston.

This year, the Crimson's A team faced a more serious challenge — struggling against Army and having to settle for third.

The Crimson 7s tournament featured three pools: Pool A, Pool B, and Pool D. The Crimson went into the competition fielding two teams. Harvard A went in Pool A and Harvard B in Pool D.

Harvard A vs Brown B

In Harvard’s most dominant performance of the day, the team faced familiar Ivy opponent, Brown, for the opening game. The team was hoping to replicate its win against them in 15s play this fall where they defeated the Bears 18-12.

This game also marked a return to Mignone Field for junior outside back Cameron Fields, after a knee surgery forced her to miss out on the fall's 15 seasons. Fields — won the 2024 Prusmack 7s Award, given to the best collegiate sevens player in the country — was greeted with excitement by the Crimson fans in the stands.

“It was so much fun to finally be back with the team. We have so much depth this year and I was really excited to get to play with everyone again,” said Fields.

Harvard junior outside back Victoria Stanley opened scoring early, getting points on the board in under 20 seconds of kick-off, with sophomore scrum-half Ava Ference completing the conversion. Ference continued to cause Brown problems, splitting the defense for the second try of the day.

Freshman back Dana Greer got her first try of the day at the halfway point of the first half, assisted by senior scrum-half Reece Morgan.

Sophomore flyhalf Maya Hilger added to the point tally on the cusp of the buzzer for halftime. The Bears were unable to find a way to respond to Crimson’s nullifying defense.

A smoothly executed passing play saw Harvard open the second half where it left off, with senior center PK Vincze finding an open gap. The Crimson followed up almost immediately again from the kick. The flood of tries continued to come with captain Nafanua Malietoa Fitisemanu putting seven points onto Harvard’s tally with a couple of minutes to go. Harvard ended the game with a decisive 43-0 victory.

Harvard B vs Northeastern

Harvard B kicked off their campaign against Northeastern. With the team including new walk-ons, the tournament proved an opportunity for players to get some minutes under their belts.

It was a challenging start for the Crimson with Northeastern scoring two tries on the Harvard defense. With the Crimson unable to find a way to respond, Harvard B was handed its first loss of the day with the game ending 10-0.

“I think Harvard B is such a great opportunity to develop and learn the game. I think there is a mix of players that have played sevens for a long time and new players,” said Greer, on the learning opportunities with Harvard B.

“This combination creates a good opportunity to ask questions and give clarification for the many complicated aspects of rugby,” she added.

Harvard A vs Sacred Heart University

Harvard A next faced Sacred Heart University. Senior fullback Chloe Headland opened her account for the day with two tries early. Her aggressive drives at the Pioneers’ defensive line saw the Crimson pull ahead early.

Vincze then added to the Crimson’s lead.

With a minute to go Sacred Heart drew the game back to 22-12 with tries in quick succession. But this was too little too late, with Headland completing her hat trick for Harvard to secure the game, ending 27-12. This took the Crimson to 2-0 for the day.

Harvard B vs Bowdoin

Harvard B went into its second game against Bowdoin hoping to better their performance from the start of the day. Although the Polar Bears got off the mark first, the Crimson was able to find a way back into the game.

Senior Jessica Lee got Harvard B’s first try of the day. This was significant both for the team and Lee as she debuted on Mignone Field after returning from an ACL surgery. Senior hooker Carly Lehman completed the conversion to tie the game.

Lehman was dominating across the pitch, putting in two last-ditch tackles to keep the score line level going into the second half, 7- 7.

A full pitch drive from Bowdoin opened the second half, putting them in the lead once again. But not for long with a rip of pace from Greer to deadlock the game once again, 12-12.

Although Harvard lost the game 17-12, it was a valiant performance from the team.

Harvard A vs Army A

Harvard’s next opponent was familiar rival Army — a team the Crimson defeated in the 15s season in a tense NIRA semi-final game.

The Black Knights got off the mark first and converted to make it 7-0. They doubled down quickly but failed to convert with the score at 12-0. Army’s burst of pace exposed gaps and Harvard struggled to overturn the momentum going into halftime.

A stronger start in the second half with some possession play was still not able to put points on the scoreboard. While the Crimson dominated possession, the Black Knights’ fast start put Harvard in a difficult place and ultimately they were unable to break the Army defense. The game ended 24-0.

Fitisemanu maintained a positive outlook and a growth mindset despite the result.

“With sevens being a different game than 15s, you can say that we have a different team out there,” Fitisemanu said. “With that in mind, our team focused on building, making sure to take advantage of this opportunity to have multiple reps against competitive teams and to build our chemistry.”

Harvard B vs Army B

Harvard B’s final game was against Army B. They faced a similarly aggressive Black Knight team that came flying out from the first whistle. A pattern emerged, with Harvard going quickly down 12-0 in the first half.

A stroke of speed from the halfway line saw senior Kayley Crawford score her first-ever try for the Crimson. The game was her first time out for Harvard on Mignone Field as a senior walk-on. Crawford has swapped her skates for cleats this season, having previously represented Harvard for four seasons on the women’s ice hockey team.

Early in the second half, Greer was able to again lead the side out with a try and conversion to tie up the game 12-12.

“I think the high paced and technical aspect of the game shines through so much in sevens and it’s such a great opportunity to be creative in how your team plays,” said Greer, on Harvard’s style of play.

This was not enough, however, with Army responding with one more try to end the game 17-12 and ending Harvard B’s run in the tournament.

Harvard A vs American International College

The Crimson’s last game of the day — a battle for third place in the tournament — saw Headland continue her streak at the tournament, with a full field try to put the Crimson ahead early, 5-0.

She followed this up shortly after with an ingenious kick breaking the Yellow Jacket’s line for Stanley to collect, bursting towards the try line. Stanley fended off a defender and offloaded to junior back row Lennox London to carry the team effort across the line. This gave Harvard a safe lead going into the break.

In the second half, with the win in sight, Morgan capped off the assertive team performance with the Crimson’s final try of the day. With the game ending 15-0, Harvard was rewarded with a third-place finish in their opening tournament of the season.

Reflecting on the events of the day, Fitisemanu expressed optimism despite not finishing first.

“A lot of strengths and wins to celebrate and a lot of learnings to apply,” she said. “Our team hopes that we can retain the strengths already attained and improve in the areas that we can grow in, with all built on the foundation of chemistry and connection.”

– Staff Writer Rhiannon Stewart can be reached at rhiannon.stewart@thecrimson.com.