Saturday BU made the trip to Vermont to play National Division 2 champions Middlebury. The match would prove a stern test of exactly how much progress had been made by BU during three weeks of quite intensive pre-season preparation. Upon meeting early Saturday morning we encountered the unprecedented problem of having too many players to fit on the 55 seater bus. We therefore had to grab a University mini bus and the 58 boys plus coaches and physios headed for Vermont. The A side kicked off first. The first twenty minutes were very well balanced, with BU shading the territorial advantage although neither team were able to convert the pressure into points. A couple of offsides against BU presented the home side with the opportunity to kick for the posts and gain a 6-0 half-time lead. As the game wore on, Middlebury’s greater experience began to tell as they took command of both scrum and lineout. Two missed tackles in an otherwise rock solid defense was all Middlebury needed to score two tries and put the game beyond our reach. With BU pressing hard, and stringing together phase after phase in the closing stages, Middlebury broke out to score a well-worked team try. Although it was pleasing to match a team for 50 minutes who have gone six years undefeated in the conference and hold the National title, it was disappointing to come away without scoring. The game helped us identify key areas that need improvement if we are to beat teams of Middlebury’s quality.

The B-side was again a hard fought battle but some mesmerizing running from Mark Massimi gave BU two tries to lead at half-time. Middlebury, as expected from a team who we have not beaten at any level for number of years, came back strongly in the second half to cut the deficit to 12-8. However, BU responded magnificently and 3 further tries gave us a well deserved 29-8 victory.

A rookie game followed for the 22 freshmen whose rugby experience totaled about 3 hours. A seesaw game produced some hard tackling and great endeavor, with BU holding out to win 3 tries to 2. Ultimately it was a mixed day for BU. Very encouraging to match Middlebury play for play for 50 minutes but disappointing to fall short at the end. On the positive side, wins for the B-side and rookies against a team with such strength in depth bodes well for the future.

Yours respectfully,
Justin Evans