GMC ruggers bolster their ranks

By Larry Dressel

Boots tied, moments from kickoff, you rise from a knee. Your breath is grey. The frozen autumn air curdles the adrenaline boiling in your guts. Then the ball is in the air, and everything on this tortured planet disappears but the ball in your hands and the fifteen rabid men seeking to grind your face into the turf. This greatest of all contests between men is called rugby.

Cheers to the Men’s Green Mountain College Rugby Football Club for their passion and hard work. The club certainly needed it. The 2003 fall season saw a disheartening turnout of players, totaling 3 returning veterans and just 2 new recruits. For a rugger as hopelessly consumed by the game as I am, that season broke my heart. We poor five had to take to the streets of Rutland as harlots, whoring ourselves out to the Rutland Rats Men’s RFC. It was a bleak time for the proud tradition of rugby at GMC. And yet, as the face of GMC changes with each incoming classes, the underclassmen of 2004 rallied together, proving their class to be anything but a crop of sallies. It took just one glorious season to bolster the GMCRFC roster from 5 ruggers to 25, and we owe it all to the underclassmen.

In their ‘freshman’ appearance on the pitch during parents weekend, the newest recruits performed like veterans, defeating experienced Lyndon State RFC 22-8. Highlights included a fantastic, hardnosed try (touchdown) scored by senior 8-man (a position in the scrum) Sjoerd ‘Flyinaag Dutchman’ Solleveld, and deadly punts from junior scrumhalf (like the quarterback) Dave ‘Yogi’ Lewis who also scored a textbook breakaway try. Senior hooker (ask him about this one) Derek “Surly Gnome” Holden also threw around his rotund presence, winning many scrums for GMC. Junior Andrew “The Walking Man / Blackout / Where Am I?” Larson also came through with some Sportcenter plays, running hard with the ball. Play in general was intense from the first whistle, and the GMCRFC truly established a smashmouth reputation for themselves. However, Lyndon State conducted themselves as less than gentlemen, resorting to dirty play and trash talk in the second half, frustrated by our dominance. So red in the face were they at their loss, an experienced club losing to a bunch of newcomers, that they filed a slew of complaints to the NERFU league about the game. This reply they received, “Hush your whining you sorry lot of a**clowns.”

The GMCRFC would come off of their victory with perhaps too much zeal. Practice the next week was lax and spirits were overly confident. This would set up a rude awakening against Southern Vermont College. Though freshman flyhalf (a key running back) “Guido” Joe scored our (and his) first try early in our second home game over fall break, we would only to have our spirits broken by the insatiable play of the SVCRFC. Hurting us was the absence of several veterans due to prior commitments. The tempo of the game was hammered out by the boots of the fullbacks (like a free safety), trading punts back and forth, vying for field position. Junior Rob ‘Norm’ Marino, normally a winger (a running back) filled in handsomely at fullback, though inexperienced in the role he was. SVC caught some lucky bounces on the punts and ran a couple tries up on the board. A poor attitude crept into GMC play, which haunted the second half. Though we played hard on the pitch and SVC capitalized upon some key advantages, we simply did not want the win enough.

Yet, a solid week of practice following this first loss led the stalwart band to the sodden highlands of the Colby-Sawyer in the White Mountains. From the past two weeks, injuries and substitutions played a role in the loss to come, though a valiant effort was given. I reiterate, while we did lose to the #1 ranked team in our division, we played beautiful, glorious, blood and guts rugby. Not a soul on the roster should hang his head low for their efforts that Saturday. CoSCRFC was the first to score on the slippery pitch, though our defense held them strong at the tryline. Cold and wet conditions contributed to the difficulty our wing experienced in advancing the ball. Also, veterans Rob ‘Norm’ Marino and ‘Crazy’ Larry Dressell took injury time, for a broken nose and a blown shoulder, respectively. I was allowed back in the game, though my play suffered. Excellent play came again from Sjoerd ‘Flying Dutchman’ Solleveld and junior scrumhalf Paulo ‘Scrunchy’ Vitiello, a surrogate for the red-shirted Dave ‘Yogi’ Lewis. A successful field goal put in by Derek “Surly Gnome” Holden also helped bolster the confidence of the hungry GMCRFC, really turning on the desire in the second half. Instead of lying down 22-3, the GMC posse gave everything they had to score a try late into the half, also keeping CoSCRFC from scoring again. Sophomore 2nd Row (a workhorse in the scrum) Oliver “Village People” Love and newcomer winger Senior James “Me Want Honeycomb” Eger played well in the clutch as did everyone else on the pitch that day.

I cannot stress enough how crucial the contribution of the incoming class has been to this utterly successful season. Due to their heart and pride, we will be the first GMCRFC team in history to go to the playoffs. Furthermore, because we’ve had such a turnout this year, not everyone has been able to play in every game, a first for this team. To these people I extend a special thank you for coming out to practice every day as motivated as ever. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.