This past Saturday, a group of Bowdoin ruggers left Ivies Weekend behind for a day and made their way down to Boston to take part in the New England Rugby Union Cup. As part of an All-Maine squad including players from Colby, University of Maine Farmington, and UMaine Orono, they played against other amalgamated collegiate teams hailing from Boston and New Hampshire.
Of the ten Bowdoin ruggers to be invited to play with the All-Maine team, two were selected to represent New England in the next round of games against New York?Brian Durant '05 and Nick Reid '05. The dynamic duo, playing together as fly-half and inside-center for Bowdoin this spring, are the two most experienced players on the team and well known for their skill and cleverness. They have been dubbed, jointly, Dur-Reid-O (pronounced Dorito) by a local scout for their spicy offensive play as well as their bone-crunching tackling abilities.
Bowdoin was also represented at the NERFU Cup by scrumhalves Tom Hazel '05, Dan Jaffe '07, and loose forward Morgan "Dances with Bears" Connelly '07. While Hazel was originally pegged as a center for the All-Maine team, he returned to his familiar spot alongside the scrum, shifting Jaffe to a backup role, despite playing as an exceptional "tight little scrumhalf" last week. Expecting to be in a utility role, Connelly experienced the reverse as he ended up playing in two games.
Though always full of intensity, Connelly did seem a bit dazed after one particularly nasty hit. "I couldn't even tell you who took me down there, they had me unaware," he said.
To cap off their Ivies Weekend last Sunday, the Bowdoin ruggers took to the pitch in an impromptu bout of Sevens as a tune-up for their intersquad game, taking place later today. The spirited match was for practice and pride only, and thus even some of the team's previously wounded were able to take part, just to get the feeling back. Louis-David Lord '08, who has been on the disabled list since being attacked by a Babson rugger three weeks ago, hammered the opposition, despite not having exercised his arm since the injury.
LD explained, "I work out the other one twice as much, just to carry the slack."
Eric Robinson '07 also took part, even as he has not played due to an extreme snowboarding incident, he showed little rust. "I felt good out there, although they caught me with my pants down a couple of times."
Brandon "Timmy" Waxman '08 also joined the fray, perhaps having the most impressive game, especially as he has been out of commission since the fall with dual ankle complications.
"I just had to clap for him," said John "Twinkerbell" Winterkorn '07. "He just burned me out there."
Brandon, ever modest, clammed up when asked about his own performance, but he did note that Dan "The Nuggets" Duarte '07, the opposing hooker, had a great game as well: "I felt like he had an eye on me the whole time, like I was a marked man or something."
As usual, there was a lot of impressive play from Bowdoin's forwards, the trio of Jesse "Baumer" Butterfield '06, Dave "Columbus" Friedlander '06, and Aaron "Sloppy Joe" Scott '06. With Tibetan solemnity, Butterfield was the catalyst for the team, the initial motivating force, which was especially true in the case of Friedlander.
While Dave appeared ready to sleep his way through the game, Butterfield would have none of it and soon drove Friedlander into an unrivaled berserker's rage which, lasting throughout the game, the opposition came to fear. Scott also had a solid day back in the forward back, but he needed no encouragement from anyone else.
"As soon as I got that golden PowerAde in me before the game, there was a fire in my belly that would not be quenched by anyone or anything," he said after the match.
The backs were impressive as well, though none performed as well as John "Roadblock" Greene '07, who had the game on the line as the seconds ran down. Wearing down the opposition was Greene's strategy all game, which he executed to a T.
Unfortunately, after evading numerous tackles, most notably from LD Lord and "Cheddar" Jack Clancy '07, Greene was just about to score when a feisty Tom Hazel swept with an unscrupulous play, and, although a penalty was called, the time ran out on the game at that moment, sealing the tie between the two sides of Bowdoin ruggers.
This only served to add fuel to the fire as both teams are even more determined to take today's match.
It is sure to be a classic, so come out behind Farley Field House at 4:00 p.m. and take in some rugby!