Old Methodist Rugby Football Club ends rousing season 3-1

The turn of winter to spring brought with it another successful season for the Old Methodist Rugby Football Club. With a short schedule, including matches against Eastern and Central Connecticut and the annual Beast of the East Tournament, the club quickly came together to once again proudly represent University. Battling through injuries, poor conditions and hangovers, the club finished the season at a strong 3-1.

Led by tri-captains Luke Woollard ’09, Bram Verdoes ’09 and Cam Maloni ’09, the program developed a dynamic style of play that capitalized on a wealth of experience and the seamless integration of aggressive attacking rugby by both forwards and backs. The result was a number of lop-sided scores that emphasized the clubs general dominance of Connecticut rugby over the last few seasons.

Old Methodist began its season against Eastern Connecticut on a beautiful April day. Though the first XV had new players filling new positions, the team battled through a slow first half and a devastating knee injury to fly-half David Skinner ’08 to dominate in a 24-7 victory. First time scorers Andrew Warner ’08 and Tom Lovett ’09 produced in the clutch, proving that old-man guile and neophyte excitement can both have a profound impact on the course of a long match.

“[Warner] had been trying to score that way for the last four years, and it made me so happy that he finally got it in,” said James Rosenthal ’08. “It was a cheeky try. A heads-up play. But his second try was pure selfishness.”

The lone tally in the loss column came in Old Methodist’s first match at the Beast of the East Tournament. Scheduled to play early in the morning in Portsmouth, R.I., the team arrived late and ill and was unable to overcome its initial lethargy and so was derailed by the College of New Jersey in a 12-5 slugfest. Though the club had high expectations for the tournament, it was able to battle back from its initial disappointment to exert dominance over Vermont Tech.

The second match, literally played on a hill, displayed a degree of grit by the forwards overshadowed only by the masterful tactics of a back line whose only destiny is greatness. Ross Coates ’08 managed one of the more beautiful scores in recent history when he received a short pass and sliced through the VM Tech defensive line without a grubby hand touching him.

This match also saw huge contributions from 27-years-young Will Larson ’08, resident sage and relic from the past, and Sam Broadaway ’11, two players representing the bookends of a college career. It was almost as if a torch had been passed.

Old Methodist’s final match came on April 26 against an enormous side sent from Central Connecticut State University. Confident in the face of such girth, the Wesleyan side produced with a level of prestige befitting the University.

Led by the golden foot of Kenta Nitahara ’11, the CCSU squad had no answers for the Wesleyan attack. Scores by Tyler Byrne ’09, Nitahara, Tim “Tweak” Devane ’09 and Andrew ’Tex’ Burger ’09 were more then enough to seal a 33-0 victory.

This last match was also an occasion for seniors to reflect on their time with the club. Though some had played for a full four years and some had only a season behind them, all felt the profound sense of being indebted to one another for nothing other then the opportunity to take the pitch together.