Harvard Rugby Mauls the Brown Bears

Harvard’s rugby team proved why it is the defending national champion after it followed up a narrow win at Sacred Heart last weekend with a commanding performance against one of its Ivy League rivals, Brown (1-1). The Crimson (2-0) put on a stellar show in front of a large crowd at Mignone Field, beating the Bears 76-0 in its highest-scoring game since 2024.

Harvard controlled the game from the very beginning. Within the first six minutes, the Crimson was able to snatch possession from Brown, swatting the ball off the opposing lineout to send the Bears back into their defensive half.

A successful kick for touch by Harvard gave the team the necessary space to swing the ball across the field and drive toward the try line. Sophomore Gemma Ogoke found the line, and then a successful conversion by junior Josephine Mignone put the Crimson up 7-0.

Less than five minutes later, sophomore Sophie Hayes added another try to Harvard’s tally. Unstoppable as she drove through the lines, Hayes found space directly under the uprights, making it an easy conversion for Mignone and earning the home team another seven points.

After sophomore Sana’a Lunon forced a turnover, the Crimson regained possession. Mignone, capitalizing on this, slipped through the Brown defense and dished the ball off to Ogoke. The Bears were no match for Ogoke’s stiff arm, as the sophomore fended off the defenders to find the try line for the second time in the match.

Notably, the entire squad looked much more settled than the week prior in its win over the Pioneers.

“We had talked about possession, wanting to make sure we were taking care of the ball and building momentum through phases,” said Harvard’s head coach Mel Denham.

The solidity of the Harvard defense truly allowed the attack to shine. With 24 minutes played, the Crimson tipped the ball away from the Brown lineout and handed it off to sophomore Morgan Gibson. Gibson was unbeatable as she dodged around four Bruno defenders and raced half the length of the field to score her first try of the season.

Ogoke and Lunon, proving themselves to be offensive powerhouses, added two final tries to Harvard’s historic scoreline, rounding out the first half at a commanding 36-0.

The Crimson’s dominance continued as the second half opened. Just seven minutes in, Mignone faked out her defender, giving her a straight shot at the try line. The conversion came from captain Ava Ference, who recently won the FISU World Championship in Rugby Sevens with Team Canada.

Less than three minutes later, Lunon put down her second try of the game. Her explosive dodges enabled her to soar right past the Brown defense to the try line, putting the Crimson up by 50 points.

“I loved watching our girls just go out and kill it. It was beautiful,” said sophomore Molly Young.

Young scored her debut try for Harvard in the 55th minute of the game, marking the start of a promising career in crimson.

Harvard didn’t stop striving for more, highlighting the depth of its squad as Denham rotated through new players.

“We had this thing that we were like a Tempest,” explained freshman Jayelle Jones. “We were like a storm that was going to keep crashing and crashing.”

Unrelenting in its attack, the Crimson put up four more tries, all of which Brown was unable to answer.

“That was our focus in the second half,” said Denham. “We were taking care of it, but looking for the best space to attack.”

As the clock counted down, there was no stopping Harvard. With two minutes left to play, senior Maya Hilger, assisted by Lunon, scored her second try of the game, putting the hosts up 76-0.

“My captain, Courtney Taylor, said it best: going out there and being proud of what we do, no matter the outcome, having fun, loving rugby, loving the people that we are playing with – that’s always our intention,” summed up Young after the game.

Harvard will take a weekend off to rest before playing Dartmouth at home on Saturday, September 26th. Last time these two met was in the 2025 NIRA semifinals last November, when Harvard beat Dartmouth handily to advance to the championship. The hosting team will strive to repeat this performance on its upcoming Alumni Weekend.

—Staff writer Matilda C. Genieser can be reached at [email protected].