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A beautiful day at Edgewood Park (which has not seen the Old Blacks since 2003) had two fierce rivals Dartmouth and New Haven going head to head. Actually we have never played them, but I am sure they were pretty pissed off when the game started. I know I would have been if coach had told me to have a 2 hour practice before the kickoff.
A contrast in styles and look was the theme of the day.
The New Haven boys showed up mostly unshaven, some beaten up by babysitting and some strolling down to the field smoking a wake up cigarette. In contrast the College boys were shaven (those that have to) looking crisp in their standard practice uniforms, I am sure none of them have kids (that they know of) and probably not a smoker amongst them.
On the pitch New Haven is more of a running team in the men's division, but running with Dartmouth would not be a smart decision. The Dartmouth boys tended to play a sevens style fringe defense and with so many forwards and backs in the line that not even the accountant couldn't count them. (I believe he busted out a calculator at one point, but to no avail)
So what did the guys from New Haven decide to do, good guess, we threw the ball around a bit tried to play running rugby (as the physical nature of the game was not present) and basically let Dartmouth play with us for 40 minutes.
The actual action saw Dartmouth jump out to an early 7-0 lead following a 50-meter intercept try by the flyhalf. A series of Dartmouth penalties put the Old Blacks inside Dartmouth's territory. Dartmouth's defense held up for a few minutes at the goal line until an infringement gave New Haven a quick tap from five meters out, which was promptly converted into a try by....someone, I am sure of that. Later in the half Ewan decided he needed a try and peeled off the back of a scrum in the final minute to set up a late half try and give New Haven 12-7 halftime lead.
Not to take anything away from Dartmouth as they are a top Collegiate contender this year and had just come off of a successful campaign in Argentina, but New Haven decided they were 22 again and were not in tune with what makes them a top side men's club.
The boys from up north had a number of weapons. A Really big physical fast #7, who trains with Barry Bonds in the off season (kidding), who is a former tight end for Dartmouth football proceeded to take on 2 or 3 of us at a time.
They had a great lineout with one tall, quick, and light jumper with good hands. It ended up being pretty much unstoppable when they were running their 4 or 5 man lineout. They'd toss to the jumper, tap, and then hit the big #7 on the run. Good kicking game too. You definitely do not want to take penalties against them, they will punish you. Unfortunately outside the #11 (who was subbed at the half) their backs did not possess a ton of skill, but were hard runners and tacklers.
Once we regrouped at halftime and the game plan was reiterated the team seemed to remember that we are not 22 anymore (more like 42) and started using Dartmouth's strengths against them They were a great team at fringing so we decided to take most of the tackles on our feet and maul the ball with backs and forwards down the field. Less 50/50 passes and more ball security deprived the running green team of opportunities.
The second half saw a series of trys using the driving forward game giving Ewan another couple of tries (makes 980 on the season for him) and man of the match Matt Picarello another as he smashed through a man at the goal line. The game finished with a brilliant run from comeback player of the year Pablo Perez.
In some ways Dartmouth was a better team on the day than New Haven, but the boys in black were coming off two very physical games and were handcuffed a bit before the start of the day by some college rules and playing a friendly. However the guys did extremely well at dictating the pace of the game and keeping calm under pressure. I am sure this Dartmouth team is going to make some national noise and we wish them the best of luck and hope to see them after the Ivy League Championships this Weekend in New Haven.
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Match Results
