Redmen ruggers rally, conquer Crimson, cop Covo Cup
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – McGill rallied with three unanswered tries in the second-half to defeat Harvard 15-3 in men’s rugby and capture the Covo Cup on a blustery day in muddy field conditions on the campus of Harvard University, Saturday.
McGill 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 McGill multi-sport athlete, who went
on to become a professor and rugby coach at the University.
“We controlled the ball for most of the game,” said Craig
Beemer, co-coach of the Redmen. “Harvard 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.”
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
McGill 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.
“We had a strong push once the wind was at our backs,” said Ruiter,
the team captain. “We 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’t really challenge us in the second half.”
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In the 72nd minute of play, McGill 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 McGill’s kicking game,
however, and all three McGill conversion attempts were missed by
Gideon Balloch, a rookie from Ottawa.
“We dominated the scrums and line-outs (set plays) all day,”
said Beemer. “But 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.”
NOTE: McGill’s 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’S 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: McGill won 6-3
1975: McGill won 13-12
1976: Harvard won 27-0
1977: Harvard won 24-10
1978: McGill won 12-8
1979: Harvard won 19-0
1980: Harvard won 27-9
1981: Harvard won (score unavailable)
1982: McGill won 15-3
1983: McGill won 8-0
1984: McGill won 28-7
1985: McGill won 21-0
1986: McGill won 49-3
1987: McGill won 22-14
1988: Harvard won 9-7
1989: Harvard won (score unavailable)
1990: McGill won 35-0
1991: Harvard won 16-9
1992: McGill won 14-8
1993: Harvard won 14-9
1994: Harvard won 9-7
1995: McGill won 30-7
1996: McGill won 32-25
1997: Harvard won 17-14
1998: (not available)
1999: (no game)
2000: (no game)
2001: McGill won 45-7
2002: Harvard won 17-0
2003: McGill won 37-0
2004: (no game)
2005: (no game)
2006: (no game)
2007: Harvard won 22-7
2008: (no game)
2009: McGill won 15-3