Undersized but Undefeated: M. Ruggers Set Sights High

Watching the Harvard rugby club warm up for its big game against Connecticut last Saturday, co-captain Andrew Howard shook his head.

"To be honest, we had no expectations coming into this season," he said. "It was looking like a sort of hangover year. We graduated half our team from last year--some really good, committed athletes--and we were going with an unproven group of guys."

He paused.

"We've really come together, though."

That's how it's gone for this team, a small, quick, crisp-passing bunch. This fall, the rugby team surprised a lot of observers by just reaching the Connecticut match with a 4-0 record. With a 28-21 win over the Huskies, that record now stands at 5-0.

For the third time in the last four years, the regional title is once again in sight.

A New Cohesiveness

This story, though, goes beyond wins and losses. The ruggers, as they sometimes call themselves, already have a long history of that: Since their last national championship in 1984, the Harvard rugby club has emerged as a perennial contender for the nation's crown.

Last season's squad came within one win of the title game, losing to eventual champion California in the national semifinals in Houston, Tex.

The rugby club's reputation derives as much from its off-the-field exploits as those on it. Through the years, the squad has cultivated an image of Team Bacchanalia, showing up for its games aching from the previous night's excesses but still managing to win a lot more often than it loses.

Last spring, for instance, the team toured the Bahamas ("there's tremendous rugby competition down there," Match Secretary sophomore Chris Matarese said) and won all of its exhibitions despite nightly jaunts through the island bars. But this year's club, while carrying on the traditions of rowdiness and of winning, has set new standards of cohesiveness.

"This season, it's not just about whether we're ahead on the scoreboard," Coach Al Baker said. "It seems like there's more effort and togetherness as a team out there. And we need it, too, because we're not as big or experienced as we have been before."

Against Connecticut--one of Harvard's prime rivals for the New England Rugby Union title--the Crimson players looked 20 pounds lighter at every position across the starting lineup, and at the game's start it looked as if that size advantage would be too much for Harvard to overcome.

Connecticut quickly scored on penalty kick for a 3-0 lead and upped it to 8-0 after an effortless try (equivalent to a touchdown in football).

"After they got up in the first five minutes, I thought we were in real trouble," Matarese said.

But with Howard disrupting the Connecticut offense from his scrum half position (often compared to the quarterback position in football) and setting up his teammates with fakes, Harvard finally got its offense on track. Junior Mark Puckett struck first with a try after a Connecticut penalty, and shortly after halftime, the Crimson seized the lead for good.

Consecutive tries by Matarese and junior Chike Nwanko ran the score to 21-13.

Nwanko's score exemplified Harvard's effort throughout the contest. After taking a sharp pass from senior Mark Kozek, Nwanko broke two tackles and dragged a third player into the try zone with him on a tough 10-yard run. Connecticut came back with a try, but the Crimson answered almost immediately with another Matarese score. That margin held for the rest of the game; the final score read Harvard, 28-21.

For another day, at least, speed and teamwork had triumphed over brute size.

"The key today was that we played with a lot of heart and didn't give up, even when we were down," co-captain Steve Rasor said.

Rasor himself serves as a point of inspiration for the club. In early October he replaced fellow senior and then co-captain John Hoffman, who broke his cheekbone in an intense game against Boston University.

Hoffman--out for the season--was supposed to be one of the key players on this year's squad, but the transition to the new co-captain has been smooth.

"That [BU game] was the first time I thought we might be really good," Howard said of the 47-18, October 9 win. "We have a pretty serious rivalry with them, going back to my freshman year at least, so it was encouraging when we went out there and basically destroyed them."

Looking Ahead

So, what now? None of the players is ready to call this one of the greatest Harvard clubs ever. It may not even compare to last year's edition. But that doesn't mean it'll give up and roll over, either.

With the win over Connecticut, Harvard maintained its lead over the other New England teams. A win over Yale this weekend or Dartmouth next weekend will clinch the regional title for the Crimson, and the players don't intend to lose in New Haven this Saturday.

"Apparently, from what we've heard, Yale is quite weak," Howard said. "So we're pretty confident right now."

The Crimson's first concern this weekend, besides winning, will be to avoid injuries. Even the brashest of the brash must admit their mortality, after all, and with several Harvard players already nursing injuries, the club can ill afford more losses.

If and when Harvard clinches the regional championship, it will qualify for the next round of national competition, the Northeastern championship.

The Northeastern tournament will take place on November 20, in Philadelphia. Assuming the Crimson can beat out the other three regional qualifiers, it will then advance to the Eastern Championships, where it will contest another three teams for the right to advance to the national semifinals next May.

Obviously, winning the national championship will require a long and arduous struggle. Whether the Crimson can survive it remains uncertain.

When asked, point blank, what the team's chances were for winning the title, Howard answered, "slim. We haven't seen some of the really good teams yet, so it's hard to tell. But don't count us out."

Those are words to live by, if you're talking about this gritty team. It's easy to look at its lack of size or of proven All-Americans and dismiss their chances on the national stage.

But that's what their opponents have been doing all season. And Harvard is 5-0.