Arkansas Heat and Unprecedented Feat Await in Ruggers' Spring

Author: Dan Russel

The Middlebury College Men's Rugby Club achieved unparalleled success this season after winning the New England Championship, the Northeastern Championship and qualifying for the National Championship quarterfinals for the first time in the Club's 30 year history. They dominated nearly every game, going undefeated(10-0) and outscoring all opponents 415-19, including two complete shutouts of hated rival Yale, 24-0 and 22-0.

According to Coach Ward Patterson, "The best team we played all year was was our own 'B' side." In preparation for nationals, the Middlebury ruggers (who play in Division II) will play two games at home against Division I opponents, the first against a very formidable Harvard University team on April 6, as well as a more evenly matched game against Amherst College the following week on April 13. The Panthers will then fly down to Jonesboro, Ark., to play the winner of the Pacific Coast Championship on the field of Arkansas State University on April 20 in the Final Eight (a tournament consisting of eight teams representing the eight different rugby territories in the United States). Should they win their first match, they will advance to play the winner of the match between the South and the Mid-Atlantic champion on the following day with a chance to advance to the national championship game held in Virginia Beach.

Due to the complications posed by winter in the Northeast and the quirky, idiosyncratic nature of college rugby in general, the winner of the Northeastern Championship is determined in late October and November, while the majority of the rugby clubs across the country play out their seasons during the course of eight weeks in late February, March and April. It is perhaps partly as a result of this lack of momentum that no team from the Northeast region has won the National Championship in the past five years. Another curious feature of college rugby is that the different divisions are structured in terms of talent, rather than size, meaning that the Panthers might play massive institutions nearly 10 or 20 times their size (Washington State, Baylor or Auburn). Another factor to contend with is the stifling Arkansas heat, where the winner of the South Championship should hold a decided advantage.

Still the Panthers cannot be counted out. This year's team boasts undoubtedly the most talented group of players Middlebury College has ever seen. The team is going through a grueling training regimen and practicing over two and a half hours a day, and the players are so commited to achieving their dream of a National Championship that three of the players who were so vital to the team's success this year will be returning temporarily from studying abroad: Angus Birchall '03.5 and Jody Kramer '03 will return from New Zealand, while Ulises Zanello '03 will return from Spain. Birchall will return as the Scrum Captain, replacing Nick Dutton-Swain '02, who filled in admirably, while the Backs will once again be led by Captain Averill Withers '02. For a team in which 11 of the top 16 players are seniors, the players understand that this may very well be their best and last opportunity to win a National Championship; a fitting parting gift to the players who were so instrumental in helping them reach this point.

"If we win the second game, it'll be a huge achievement. We'll be in uncharted waters, as no team from the Northeast has made it in five years," said Patterson. "If we play the best rugby we can, I have no problem losing. But if we play our best rugby I believe we can win it."