Rugby Team Wounded but Winners

-By: Daniel Campbell-

The DHS rugby team’s last home game was full of injuries, including three hospital visits, but the Blue Wave still came out on top and beat St. Peter’s Prep from Jersey City, NJ on Sunday. (5/16) The game kicked off at 2:30pm at Royle Elementary School, and 80 minutes later the final score was 31-19. Darien struck first when senior Niclas Rasmussen scored in the corner to put the Wave up 5-0. A score and two-point conversion a few minutes later by St. Peter’s put them up 7-5, but Darien took the lead soon after on a kick by senior captain Connor McCarthy that was run in by his brother, junior Sam. Another score by senior Henry Glavin, whom Connor said did a “supa job,” as well as one by St. Peter’s after several minutes of goal line defense by the Blue Wave made the halftime score 17-14.
Both teams buckled down in the second half, when tempers rose after a few dirty plays and arguments. The elder McCarthy ran in a try of his own after juking at least four out of the seven players on St. Peter’s backline, but St. Peter’s struck back and pulled within five. An extra ten minutes were due to a number of injuries for both sides and both teams kept trying for one last score, which Darien got with a run by senior Grant Scott to secure the victory as time ran out.
“It was good,” said the terse captain Connor. In more detail, there was stellar tackling and rucking by the Blue Wave, as well as a nice job by some of the back-ups after injuries. In the end, three members of the team were taken to the hospital: Glavin and sophomore Max Kiplinger for head injuries and sophomore Kasper Rasmussen for a finger injury. Additionally, the DHS B side won its game as well against the St. Peter B team, marking the first time this season the A and B teams won on the same day.
The next outing is against Greenwich High School in Greenwich at 4pm this Friday. (5/21)