Rugby Club Tramples Princeton, 28-4

The Harvard rugby club dumbfounded the traditionally powerful Princeton Tigers with a dazzling display of classic rugby plays Sunday in a walk-away, 28-4, victory.

The two teams met in Farmington, Conn., for their annual battle over the Farmington Cup, which Princeton has held since its easy victory over the Crimson last year.

Princeton put its first and only points on the board when it pushed across the end line for a hard-fought try early in the first half. The conversion kick failed, and from then on it was all downhill for the hapless Tigers.

Crimson prop Rich Whiting primed Harvard's pump with four points when he fell on a blocked kick in Princeton's end zone.

After Whiting's try, Harvard's offense exploded with strong work in the scrum and brilliant backfield passing combinations.

Captain Adrien Tew ran the ball in from five yards out at the end of a smoothly executed play that had originated at mid field.

Wings Mike Page and Joel McClafferty added four points each in picture-perfect rugby plays that saw the ball zip out to the end of the backline before the Princeton defenders knew it was out of the scrum.

Wing forward Doug Quimby broke Princeton's back with an 80-yard sprint down the sideline, scrum-half Henry Nurenberg buried the Tigers with Harvard's final try, and fullback Gary Bond sealed the tomb with four more points from his two conversion kicks.

"It was the best offensive game we've put together this year," club president Mike Noble said Sunday. "I haven't seen our backs work so well together in years. And the forwards followed well, so we had plenty of overloads."

The Crimson's record stands at 4-3 with three games remaining. If it can keep up the impressive offense and stubborn defense it showed against Princeton, the rugby club will give a highly-touted team from New Brunswick, Canada, a run for the money in a game here Wednesday.