Dartmouth hosted rival Harvard on the bucolic Brophy Field to kick off the 2012-13 Ivy Rugby 15s season. It proved to be an excellent start to the season for the Big Green, who did well on both sides of the ball, shutting out the Crimson while putting up 60 points on attack.

“Our pack did a good job, particularly on defense where we were able to shut them down for a full 80 minutes,” observed Co-Captain Quinn Connell ’13 when asked about the Dartmouth performance. “Also our backs executed well; we came out firing and maintained high intensity throughout the game.”

Dartmouth came out firing at the start with Madison Hughes ’15 putting away Justin Ciambella ’13 in the corner to take the early 5-0 lead. Following the try, Dartmouth began to struggle, giving away penalties and lacking the final pass to put more points on the board, credit to a productive Harvard defense. But soon the Dartmouth backline found their stride, connecting well on another try for Ciambella. Hughes added another 3 points off a penalty before the half, bringing the score to 15-0 after 40 minutes.

The second half is really where the Big Green showed their class, controlling possession, pinning Harvard deep in their own zone with an impressive kicking game, and dominating both lineouts and scrums. Dartmouth did well to exploit the holes in the Harvard defense, with Ciambella getting around the edge of the defensive wall for two more tries to start off the second half, bringing the score to 29-0. Possession continued to be all Big Green, and Dartmouth eventually found another hole with Parker Gilbert ’16 putting away center Rex Littlefield ’14 after a skillful step from the freshman back.

After regaining possession off the kickoff, Dartmouth showcased their relentless kick chase, with Co-Captain Quinn Connell ’13 sending it deep and Wilson Chockley ’15 chasing down the kick from his own half, beating the Harvard players to the ball in the try-zone, putting the Big Green up 41-0. Dartmouth was able to put in three more tries from Kevin Clark ’14, Gilbert, and Tyler Moragne ’14 to bring the Dartmouth point total to 60. An impressive goal line stand in the final minutes helped the Big Green preserve the shutout, leaving the 1st XV with a 60-0 victory over their rivals from Cambridge.

Connell went on to say, “we still haven't hit our ceiling as a team, but we are meshing well and becoming much more fluid on the field.  We conceded some unnecessary penalties today, something we'll be looking to improve upon next weekend at Yale.”

The 2nd XV also found success against the Harvard B-side, controlling the flow of the game and putting up 28 points. The Dartmouth tries came from Moragne, freshmen standouts Max Hannam ’16, Will DeChatellus ’16 and Thomas Steventon ’16. Final score: Dartmouth 28-Harvard 7.

Dartmouth continues their Ivy campaign next Saturday at 1 PM as they take on Yale in New Haven, CT.