Men’s Rugby Crushed by Babson

Finally the Plymouth State Men’s Rugby Team got to play their first match, which unfortunately ended in a 31-0 loss. Weather struck the team again while they were at the annual Beast of the East tournament in Portsmouth, RI. About 8 inches of rain fell in Rhode Island on Saturday, April 26, and the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to horrific and sloppy, wet field conditions. Apparently, the owners of the ten fields that the tourney was being played on got a bit upset with the amount of wear and tear on the field and they decided that 80 rugby teams ripping up the grass wasn’t such a good idea. Mudslides and puddles were the talk of the tourney.

The men kicked off their season against Babson College cougars, the third ranked team in the northeast for division two. It was a tough first game for the inexperienced Plymouth State Norsemen, but the teams intensity and aggression made up for their lack of experience.

Babson came out quickly and struck first with a quick try off a scrum-down that left Plymouth in the dust, but from there on out, the Norsemen played with heart and intensity. Plymouth had three try line defensive stances that left the Babson coaching staff and players in shock. Big ravaging hits from John “Savage” Behrens, Tyler Swett, and Josh Lagerval, prevented the Babson back line from scoring. Hard rucking forwards Pat Hastings, Bill Dorgan, and Brian Luce helped Plymouth win some rucks and get out of trouble inside their own 22. Two more long sustained possessions by the men from Babson in the first half wore down the ruggers from Plymouth and the first half ended with Plymouth State down 0-19.

The second half was more offensive for the men because of the trio of back liners, Chris Cenate, Swett, and Dan Jones. All three had great penetrating runs that kept the Babson defense on their heels. The magical use of the “Grandma” play helped keep the defense honest and move the ball down the pitch. The hardworking forwards kept possession for Plymouth, which alleviated some of the pressure from the Babson forwards on the Plymouth backs. The offense ran smoothly and the all around play of the entire team was elevated. Even though Plymouth didn’t score, they learned a lot from the game. The men played an excellent team from Babson and they came out with a lot of experience and had a ton of fun. The man of the match went to Tyler Swett because of his big hits, hard runs, and overall play on the field.

The Plymouth State men will travel to Castleton State this weekend for the Scorpion Bowl, which they won in the 2001.