BCRFC improves to 3-0

The Boston College Men’s Rugby team played Yale University this Saturday at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, MA. They entered their third game of the regular season undefeated, but they still looked hungry for another victory. And a victory they got, defeating Yale 23-0.

The match kicked off at 2 p.m. with partly cloudy skies and a great playing temperature. However, the Eagles started off slowly. They pushed the ball down the field and deep into Yale’s territory several times early on, but they could not manage to get the ball into the try zone. Runs from Sean Hanel, ’07, and Jon Jordan, ’07, came within inches of the try zone, but they simply could not force it through. Finally, 20 minutes in, Mike Hunnewell, ’08, made a 30 meter penalty kick to put the eagles up 3-0. From there, BC continued to dominate possession of the ball. Jared Long, ’08, and Jon Jordan stopped any and all offensive attempts put forth by the Yale pack, and Phil Albanese, ’08, made sure that no one slipped through the backline. Several penalties slowed up the pace of the game and led to a slow, boring period late in the first half. Consequently, the Eagles’ offense continued to struggle, and the half ended with a 3-0 BC lead.

BC came out hot in the second half. Wing Mike McGovern, ’09, led the eagles up the field with hard running and sharp cuts. Justin Bolebruch, ’08, punished Yale’s pack with his powerful crashes, and fullback Jon Gore, ’09, successfully countered Yale’s kicks. Eventually, the eagles moved the ball deep into Yale’s territory, and scrum half Kyle Ramachandran, ’07, dove into the try zone for his first try of the fall, putting BC up 8-0. Hunnewell’s conversion made it 10-0.

BC continued to put the pressure on Yale. Yale fought back, though, and on a few occasions made successful runs down into BC’s territory. BC was able to recover quickly, though, preventing any Yale scores.

Yale attempted a comeback, but their attempt was met with stiff resistance by the Eagles’ defense. Yale did have a few nice runs down the field, but penalties hurt them, sacrificing possession and any chance of scoring. BC capitalized on the penalties, moving the ball back into Yale’s territory. Phil Albanese ran the backline efficiently, and they pushed it within 15 meters of the try zone. From there, Patrick Twardak, ’09, took over, slashing through Yale’s defense putting BC up 15-0.

BC went back on the offensive with the help of Phil Albanese and his backline. They ran a series of plays that moved the ball down the field. Once into Yale’s territory, the pack took over. In one of the most impressive plays to memory, nearly every member of the pack touched the ball in a 35 meter march into the try zone which was finished by prop Steve Walsh, ’09. Hunnewell was good on the conversion making the score 22-0. The game ended shortly thereafter. This was a great win for BC, and it puts them at the top of the NERFU White League with a record of 3-0. BCRFC will face Harvard at Harvard next week in a long awaited face off.

Following the first side match, BC’s second side improved to 3-0 in its defeat of Yale’s second side. Earlier in the day, BC’s third side had a fantastic showing in its defeat of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Top of page