Monday, April 26, 2010

Jersey Boys Down Darien Rugby

-By: Dan Pidgeon-

DHS Rugby team went down to the Delbarton Rugby Club from Delbarton, NJ on Saturday. (4/24) Darien went into the game with high hopes, but quickly fell to the superior talent of the New Jersey boys. The Delbarton squad, which was extremely well trained and made a lot of improvement from last year had the obvious size and strength advantage, which showed in the outcome. Ultimately, Delbarton won the match 56-3. Several DHS Rugby players including seniors’ James Payne and Andy Brewer agreed that this was the best team they have faced all year, with the exception of Greenwich who is nationally ranked. The absences of juniors’ Stockton McMullin, Kevin Keller, and Will Weinstock didn’t help the situation.
The only points of the first game came from a converted penalty kick by junior Sam McCarthy, which came midway through the first half. The first half ended with the score 37-3 in Delbarton’s favor. Although Darien did not have any points in the second half, several times Darien came very close to scoring. This included a solid run from sophomore Max Kiplinger that got the team near the opposing try line, as well as a pass that lead junior Ashwin Basu a bit too far and went out of bounds, and a loose ball that was recovered by Delbarton near their try line. For the most part, the team played well, and was just outmanned. Senior Sebastian Kopp played an extremely good game and battled with a cramp for most of the second half.
The second match featured more Delbarton vs. Darien rugby. Darien took their anger from the previous game and put it into action in the second game. Sophomore Christian Watson scored two tries for Darien in the second game leading them to victory in a 12-0 win. Junior José Corte-Real converted the first try for the extra two points, but failed to convert the second try. The team played extremely well and rarely allowed Delbarton into their own 22. Come support the Darien Rugby team in its next match at Randall’s Island in New York at 4pm next Sunday. (5/1) Photo: The second half starters huddle up at the end of half

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