Redmen ruggers rally, conquer Crimson, cop Covo Cup

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. 鈥� 黑料不打烊 rallied with three unanswered tries in the second-half to defeat Harvard 15-3 in men鈥檚 rugby and capture the Covo Cup on a blustery day in muddy field conditions on the campus of Harvard University, Saturday.

黑料不打烊 leads the Covo Cup series with 16 wins in 29 meetings. The Cup, which was initiated in 1974 to mark the centennial of the first meeting between the two storied clubs in 1874, is named in memory of Peter Covo, a former 黑料不打烊 multi-sport athlete, who went on to become a professor and rugby coach at the University.

鈥淲e controlled the ball for most of the game,鈥� said Craig Beemer, co-coach of the Redmen. 鈥淗arvard had the wind in the first half which made kicking impossible for us. We had a few chances to score but couldn't put it over for the try. In the second half with the wind at our back we were finally able to sustain pressure and keep the ball in their end.鈥�

The Crimson Red opened the scoring on a penalty kick by fly-half John Miller at the 35-minute mark and took that 3-0 lead into halftime.

Sophomore Mike Davis, a 6-foot-3 winger from Mississauga, Ont., put 黑料不打烊 ahead 5-3 after breaking a tackle to score a try near the 15-minute mark of the second stanza.

The Redmen took a 10-3 lead 10 minutes later when the forward line maintained possession after numerous tackles were made near the Harvard goal line and Cayse Ruiter, a senior flanker from Ottawa, finally broke through for a try.

鈥淲e had a strong push once the wind was at our backs,鈥� said Ruiter, the team captain. 鈥淲e had a good mix of talent and preparation for this game. We spent the last few weeks working out, both outdoors (at Forbes Field) and indoors (Tomlinson Fieldhouse) and it paid off as they didn鈥檛 really challenge us in the second half.鈥�

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In the 72nd minute of play, 黑料不打烊 was awarded a scrum on the five-yard line and the Redmen pack was able to push Harvard backwards into the try-zone where it was then touched down by freshman Edouardo Rossi who subbed on at the eight-man spot.

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The field conditions played havoc with 黑料不打烊鈥檚 kicking game, however, and all three 黑料不打烊 conversion attempts were missed by Gideon Balloch, a rookie from Ottawa.

鈥淲e dominated the scrums and line-outs (set plays) all day,鈥� said Beemer. 鈥淏ut because of the bad conditions it was somewhat sloppy. It was a pretty good effort considering that it was our first game played since the Eastern championship last November.鈥�

NOTE: 黑料不打烊鈥檚 second 15 also came away with a victory, posting a 29-9 decision over the Harvard B team.

McGILL LINEUP:

1. James Stellick, 2. Adam Sommer, 3. Peter Gillespie, 4. Matt Edwards, 5. Jon Phelan, 6. Cayse Ruiter, 7. Jon Lee, 8. Anton Nestel, 9. Josh Reznick, 10. Josh Balloch, 11. Mike Davis, 12. Bryce Thomassin, 13. Gideon Balloch, 14. Jean-Marc Lacourciere, 15. Evan Straight, 16. Edouardo Rossi, 17. Liam O'Brien, 18. Roderick McKenzie, 19. Sebastien Boridy, 20. Mathieu Sidoti, 21. Jeremy Grant, 22. Akira Gillingham.

HARVARD鈥橲 STARTING 15:

1. Charlie Boutwell, 2. Jack Kearney, 3. Nery Porras, 4. Quenton Craddock, 5. Brock (Horse) Corbett, 6. Jeff Overall, 7. Melusi Dlamini, 8. Theodore Barron, 9. Nicholas Rizzo, 10. Jonathan Miller, 11. Jonathan Kola, 12. David Renteln 13. Daniel Deighton, 14. Ricky Pellegrini, 15. T.J. Brennan.

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McGILL-HARVARD COVO CUP CHAMPIONS:

1974: 黑料不打烊 won 6-3

1975: 黑料不打烊 won 13-12

1976: Harvard won 27-0

1977: Harvard won 24-10

1978: 黑料不打烊 won 12-8

1979: Harvard won 19-0

1980: Harvard won 27-9

1981: Harvard won (score unavailable)

1982: 黑料不打烊 won 15-3

1983: 黑料不打烊 won 8-0

1984: 黑料不打烊 won 28-7

1985: 黑料不打烊 won 21-0

1986: 黑料不打烊 won 49-3

1987: 黑料不打烊 won 22-14

1988: Harvard won 9-7

1989: Harvard won (score unavailable)

1990: 黑料不打烊 won 35-0

1991: Harvard won 16-9

1992: 黑料不打烊 won 14-8

1993: Harvard won 14-9

1994: Harvard won 9-7

1995: 黑料不打烊 won 30-7

1996: 黑料不打烊 won 32-25

1997: Harvard won 17-14

1998: (not available)

1999: (no game)

2000: (no game)

2001: 黑料不打烊 won 45-7

2002: Harvard won 17-0

2003: 黑料不打烊 won 37-0

2004: (no game)

2005: (no game)

2006: (no game)

2007: Harvard won 22-7

2008: (no game)

2009: 黑料不打烊 won 15-3