Crimson Rugby A's Edge Old Maroon

Harvard's Rugby A team rallied from a 6-0 first half deficit to defeat the non-collegiate Old Maroon club of New York City, 7-6, last Saturday on a soggy Soldiers Field.

The Crimson found itself trailing after just ten minutes of play. when Maroon blocked a drop kick and ran the ball back 25 yards for the try. The New Yorkers added the two point conversion and took a six-point lead at halftime.

Ten minutes into the second half. Adrian Tew blasted a 35-yard penalty kick through the uprights to narrow the Maroon lead to three. Crimson forward Tom McKinley came up with the key play of the game when he blocked a punt on the Maroon ten. The ball rolled into the end zone and Tew pounced on it to give Harvard the lead and the eventual victory.

Out of Shape

Despite the score, the first half play was fairly even, with the Crimson getting a slight edge in the rocking and the line outs. The second half, according to McKinley, was the difference. "They the Old Maroon were out of shape. We just mowed over them," he said.

Maroon had several chances to win the game in the last quarter but their kicker missed three penalty kicks, one coming with just five minutes remaining in the game.

It was the best game the team as a whole played all year--a really great team effort," said club president Sandy Robertson He singled out Tew however, for playing an outstanding game.

Slippers Ball

It was a wet day and the ball was slippery. Robertson said. In conditions like this it becomes a game for the forwards and the kickers. Adrian did an excellent job for us kicking.

The win brought the Crimson's record up to two and five. The other victory came against the Portsmouth rugby club, 16-0, early in the season. Of the losses, only two teams beat them badly, Drogheda and Cornell by scores of 35-0. The others were decided by five points of less.

So, with Saturday's victory, the Crimson has a chance to even its record with three games remaining in the season. The club travels to Princeton next Friday, and then hosts Brown on November 18 and Yale on the 25th