Spring Break
HBS Rugby Backs Up #1 Ranking
HBS Shows McGill What Rugby is all Aboot
Derek Mendez (ODB), Not-so-Special Contributor
Issue date: 10/14/03 Section: Sports
But I digress...there is a rugby match to recount! Starting for HBS were:
01 Derek "DD" Mendez (ODB)
02 Will "The Thrill" Swint (NI)
03 Charles "Commando" Macdonald (OD)
04 Michael "Sergio" Hernandez-Soria (OH)
05 John "Bet you can't handle TWO flankers" Sheppard (OI)
06 Brendan "Grenade" Rauw (OF)
07 Jay "VisionQuest" Klug (NE)
08 "Red" Baron Hanson (FAS)
09 Luke "Skywalker" Herbert (NE)
10 Spence "Riverdance" Kympton (OD)
11 Brian "Old Man" Connell (OOOK)
12 Dan "Bucket of Beers" Shapero (OE)
13 Morgan "Spoofmaster" Duke (NJ)
14 Jamil "Wrath of" Khan (NJ)
15 Adrien "Zulu Warrior" de Chaisemartin (FAS)
The match was played in front of a large crowd of McGill supporters, who, despite the cold and rainy conditions, refused to give up hope for the home team. Although the rain let up a bit near the start of the match, the field had definitely seen better days after an earlier lacrosse match had turned the green grass into sticky pits of brown mud. This did not, however, bother the #1-ranked HBS side, who are used to playing on a home pitch which has been known to stay underwater for weeks following a light shower.
HBS won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick, which McGill pursued with force. In the recent history of the two teams, McGill had never scored on HBS in Montreal, with their only points vs. HBS coming in a losing effort in tournament play at the MBA World Rugby Championships. Perhaps this was the reason why McGill was so fired up early on, as Jay Klug remembers "seeing Luke [Herbert] get destroyed in front of me on the opening kick-off" by the opposition." Herbert would stand right back up, however, and play a fantastic match at scrumhalf, feeding excellent passes all around and making big hits on the boys from McGill.
Herbert was just one of several HBS players making their first A-side starts, including several who had not played rugby prior to joining the team this year: Sergio, Klug, Swint, Khan, and Duke are all newcomers to the sport, and all made huge contributions during the game. While on occasion their unfamiliarity with the rules of rugby resulted in unintentional penalties, the best way to learn the game is to play it, and each of these rookies played with all their heart. Newcomers were not the only team members to contribute, as Mendez (HBS '03) and Connell (HBS '02) flew around the pitch making big tackles and taking the ball up the field at pace.
01 Derek "DD" Mendez (ODB)
02 Will "The Thrill" Swint (NI)
03 Charles "Commando" Macdonald (OD)
04 Michael "Sergio" Hernandez-Soria (OH)
05 John "Bet you can't handle TWO flankers" Sheppard (OI)
06 Brendan "Grenade" Rauw (OF)
07 Jay "VisionQuest" Klug (NE)
08 "Red" Baron Hanson (FAS)
09 Luke "Skywalker" Herbert (NE)
10 Spence "Riverdance" Kympton (OD)
11 Brian "Old Man" Connell (OOOK)
12 Dan "Bucket of Beers" Shapero (OE)
13 Morgan "Spoofmaster" Duke (NJ)
14 Jamil "Wrath of" Khan (NJ)
15 Adrien "Zulu Warrior" de Chaisemartin (FAS)
The match was played in front of a large crowd of McGill supporters, who, despite the cold and rainy conditions, refused to give up hope for the home team. Although the rain let up a bit near the start of the match, the field had definitely seen better days after an earlier lacrosse match had turned the green grass into sticky pits of brown mud. This did not, however, bother the #1-ranked HBS side, who are used to playing on a home pitch which has been known to stay underwater for weeks following a light shower.
HBS won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick, which McGill pursued with force. In the recent history of the two teams, McGill had never scored on HBS in Montreal, with their only points vs. HBS coming in a losing effort in tournament play at the MBA World Rugby Championships. Perhaps this was the reason why McGill was so fired up early on, as Jay Klug remembers "seeing Luke [Herbert] get destroyed in front of me on the opening kick-off" by the opposition." Herbert would stand right back up, however, and play a fantastic match at scrumhalf, feeding excellent passes all around and making big hits on the boys from McGill.
Herbert was just one of several HBS players making their first A-side starts, including several who had not played rugby prior to joining the team this year: Sergio, Klug, Swint, Khan, and Duke are all newcomers to the sport, and all made huge contributions during the game. While on occasion their unfamiliarity with the rules of rugby resulted in unintentional penalties, the best way to learn the game is to play it, and each of these rookies played with all their heart. Newcomers were not the only team members to contribute, as Mendez (HBS '03) and Connell (HBS '02) flew around the pitch making big tackles and taking the ball up the field at pace.
