Match Report - Brown Vs Boston College
27 Oct 2006
The Boston College Eagles defeated Brown 46-5 in a match lowlighted by poor handling on the slick surface, occasional and costly Brown mistakes and some missed calls by the referee.
For starters, our field simply does not drain very well, thus the warm sunny day could not dry the field from the rain that fell the previous two days. Handling on both sides was sometimes difficult and more so for BC which likes to move the ball wide.
Following Brown’s defeat of PC, hopes were high for a good league match against BC. However, within the first four minutes, a major backline defensive breakdown allowed BC’s inside center to run in a try virtually untouched from 20 meters out. The kick was good and Brown was quickly down 7-0.
Brown then settled and for the next 30 minutes, playing BC quite even, but conceding one unconverted try to their inside center. Costly Brown errors, poor lineout throws and missed opportunities kept Brown off the board. Brown scrummaging lead by locks Alan Gabel’08 and Ted Brown’07 was solid. The back row, lead by Joe Elliott’08 provided good pressure and forced poor passes by BC’s talented backs. Although backline breaks were infrequent, captain and fullback Jeff Margulies’07 and wings Adam D’Alba’08 and Hugh Livengood’07 broke through the BC defense for significant runs. Brown’s lack of continuity was entirely due to inadequate rucking and support. In the slick conditions, the superiority of BC’s forward support was evident and, in the end, was the difference on the day.
With Brown down 12-0 and 10 minutes left in the half, Brown’s bubble burst as the Bruins gave up one unconverted try and then a converted try for a 24-0 BC lead. Both tries unfortunately included BC knock-ons not seen by the referee. In injury time, BC launched a long kick as the half ended, which was mishandled by the Brown backs at the goal line, allowing yet another try and gifting BC 17 of its total 29 halftime score.
As the second half began, Brown knocked on the kick-off giving BC a scrum at the Brown 22. BC worked the ball down to the goal line and scored an unconverted try for a 34-0 lead, all due to Brown miscues.
A penalty was awarded to Brown off the ensuing kick-off.
18 minutes into the second half, several Brown offside penalties and resulting BC driving mauls allowed BC’s inside center to add a converted try for a 41 to 5 lead, and removing any doubt of the result. In the 74th minute of the match, BC’s right wing scored a final try to conclude the scoring.
Although the result was not pretty, the Bruins gave up only two good tries to BC in the first half, and the second half score of 17-5 is more reflective of the competitive level of the match. If we can shore up our support, improve lineout possession and defense and make better backline decisions, we can make big strides this week.
Brown’s Forward of the match is lock Ted Brown and the Back of the match is wing Adam D’Alba.
Match referee was Don Jennings.
1st XV
1. Han Hui Ling’09 (replaced by Patrick Curran’06G for second half)
2. Simon Salgado’07 (replaced by Chris Dwight’07 in second half)
3. Ryan Couto”07
4. Alan Gabel’08
5. Ted Brown’09
6. Jim Smith’08
7. Joe Elliott’08
8. Robert Neville’08
9. David Yeh’07 (replaced by Tom Flaherty’08 in second half)
10. Gus Crothers’07
11. Hugh Livengood’07(replaced by Jon Michael Divirro’07 in second half)
12. Ethan Brown”07 (Replaced by Winston Li’09 in second half)
13. Nick Stoker’09
14. Adam D’Alba’08
15. Jeff Margulies”07
SECOND XV
The Brown B side, without their inspirational forward leader, senior Jeff Stasz, suffiered their first B team loss in some time, losing to BC 10-0. BC scored an unconverted try in each half and held the Bruins in check for the match. The Brown forwards, as in the first XV match, held their own against BC but the backline was unable to break free. The problem of support at rucks was a major contributor to the Brown failure to score in this match. A new player, Winston Li, joined the Club this week. He has experience and will be a big help in the skilled back positions.
2nd XV
1. Caleb Miller’09
2. Zach Whitenr’09
3. Han Hui Ling’09 (replaced by Chris Dwight for second half)
4. Matt Bubley’09
5. Mark Fuller’09
6. Ben Mosbarger’10
7. Dave Meisner’07
8. Dan Levitt’08
9. Tom Flaherty’08
10. Winston Li’09
11. Jon Michael Divirro’07 (replaced by Win Bennett’09 in the second half)
12. Nick Logan’09
13. Ben Lux’09
14. Josh Lehman’09 (replaced by Adam Emrich’09 in second half)
15. Cody Campanie’09
THIRD XV
Saturday marked the rookie team’s debut. This group does have three experienced players but the majority were playing their very first rugby match. BC won the match with three unconverted tries in two 20 minute periods for a 15-0 victory, but the enthusiasm and comraderie of this group of mostly First Years was great to watch. We expect several of these players to be able to move up over the season as they learn the game.
Due to BC’s experience, Brown was defending more than attacking. Some aggressive Brown defense was evident, but team defensive positioning was lacking. As with the First and Seconds, the rookies struggled in rucking and support. A few more weeks of practice, and we’ll see major improvement. Apologies for not having the last names of Tomas and Max.
3rd XV
1. Jay Smith’10
2. John Wang’10 (Replaced by Rick Plasencia’10 ifor second half)
3. Troy Shapiro’10 (Replaced by John Wang for second half)
4. Gabe Heidrich’10 (Replaced by Alex Hanson’10 for second half)
5. Brandon Warner’09
6. Marco Steinsieck’08
7. Jason Harris’10
8. George George’10
9. Alex Dobrenko’10 (Replaced by Alex Prout’10 for second half)
10. Jeff Boyd’10
11. Chris Hartman’10 (Replaced by Eli Fine’10 for second half)
12. Tomas”10 (Replaced by Sam Rabb for second half)
13. Sam Rabb’10 (Replaced by Chris Hartman for second half)
14. Will Jackson’10 Replaced by Chas Crandon’10 for second half)
15. Hao Li’10 (Replaced by Max’10 for second half)
