Rugby: Confusing But Fun
FOR PLAYERS as well as spectators, rugby is undoubtedly one of the most confusing and fascinating sports played here at Dartmouth. Its popularity can be attributed to the aura of confusion which surrounds the sport and its hardhitting action. Actually, rugby is basically a simple sport in which one team attempts to ground the ball behind the opposing team's goal line. As Derek Robinson so aptly put it: "Nothing could be simpler: no pussyfooting about, as in soccer, no World-War-III-plus-committee-organization, as in American football, no bludgeoning your way to victory, as in field hockey, lacrosse, or hurling. Rugby is a simple, man-to-man contest for a blownup pigskin."
A historical survey of the game reveals that rugby had its primitive roots in the ancient Roman sport of Harpastum. This was one of the earliest forms of outdoor recreation for the Romans, and through gradual change it became very similar to what we know as rugby today. Julius Pollux (A.D. 180) describes Harpastum as follows: "The players divided themselves into two bands, and the ball was thrown upon the line in the middle. At the two ends behind the places where the players were stationed there were two lines beyond which they tried to carry it, a feat that could not be done without pushing one another backwards or forwards."
For anyone who has watched or played the game, this description is not an unlikely observation on modern play. The early matches were played with the rules agreed upon just prior to the match. Actually, the only rules concerned the number of players per team and agreement as to what exactly constituted a win. Before 1841 a "notch," or "try" as it is called today, could be achieved only by kicking the ball through the uprights, while running full speed. One can imagine how difficult this feat was when there were as many as 100 players on a side and the play lasted several hours.
The game got its real start in 1823 at the Rugby School in England when a memorable penalty was committed by one William Ellis during a soccer match. Now, a plaque honors this penalty with the words: "This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis, who, with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originated the distinctive feature of the Rugby game. A.D. 1823." Thus the sport was conceived.
Following its creation in 1823, rugby was played without any standard set of regulations until 1871. In that year, 18 clubs and three schools agreed to play under the rules formulated by the Cambridge school. Also in this year, the Rugby Union began to flourish as the national organization designed to settle disputes concerning rules of play and to maintain this amateur sport. It is important to note that teams who compete under the aegis of the Rugby Union do not engage in any type of professionalism as do the teams who make up the Rugby League. Today the Dartmouth College Rugby Football Club is a member of the Eastern Rugby Union of the United States and all our matches are played with Rugby Union rules as well as under the auspices of approved Rugby Union referees.
The founding of the Rugby Union was the turning point in the history of the sport, for it became increasingly popular in both England and on the Continent, although it was not introduced into this country until 1929. This popularity was the reason why rugby was played with such vehemence in its early years. There are many stories of matches becoming all-out brawls in which the spectators gladly joined in. One particular family feud was settled on the field when one of the spectators killed two players with a dagger. Because of these dangers and the hot-tempered flavor of the sport, Windham declared that a successful player must be a "good runner, boxer, and wrestler."
Despite these threats to its development, however, rugby thrived and became a sport destined to be the American football of England, Ireland, and New Zealand. Standardization of rules, including possession after being tackled and reduced barbarism in certain play situations, especially the scrummage, helped to perpetuate the sport. Thus, the Rugby Union kept the sport of Rugby Football free from the incubus of professionalism and maintained its image as a "noble and manly sport" for amateur athletes only.
Rugby was not played in the States until 1929, first in the western part of the country. Even as late as 1961 there were only 18 recognized clubs in the eastern United States. Dartmouth rugby has been in existence only 17 years but lays claim to more titles and honors than any other club in the United States. There were several futile attempts as early as 1949 to organize rugby on this campus, yet not until 1951 was the Club founded when Jack Skewes '51 thought that Dartmouth should be represented in the Bermuda Tourney. Let it be said that the Club took the island by storm and garnered wins against M.I.T. and Harvard. Debuting in Hanover in May of 1951, the Club beat Harvard for the second time, went on to beat Yale, and finished its first season with a 4-1 record, the only loss being to Princeton.
The Club maintained its winning streak through the early years and between 1954 and 1957 won 28 matches and lost only two. This is undoubtedly one of the finest records for any club, especially one that had been in existence only six years. In 1958 the Club made yet another record when it traveled to England, becoming the first American team to do so. Surprisingly enough, the Green ruggers showed the English that they too could play, winning five of seven matches. Apparently, this trip to England gave the Club wanderlust, and it became the most traveled club in the United States.
Other travels included a trip to Ireland in 1962 and a memorable visit to Hannover, Germany, in 1964. The ruggers were welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Hannover with "all the ceremony usually afforded only to top-ranking diplomats: they were the first American team ever to play on the Continent. Following its brief sojourn in Germany, the Club flew to Scotland and played seven matches with the top universities — another first in American rugby history.
But no season was like the spring season of 1965 when the Dartmouth College Rugby Football Club laid claim to an unofficial national title. The season opened with the Bahamas Rugby Festival where the Big Green soundly trounced all the opposition and received the Festival trophy as the best team during the week of play. Yet the streak did not end there.
The spring season went like clockwork; Dartmouth continued with wins over Boston, Williams, Holy Cross, Yale, Amherst, and Harvard. The Dartmouth ruggers had an unblemished record in Nassau as well as the regular season. They won the Hartford Cup from Yale for the first time in four years and the Manchester Cup from Harvard. This was one of the very few unbeaten, untied teams in Dartmouth's athletic history.
Hence, Dartmouth in 1965 laid claim to the unofficial title (none is formally recognized) of national champions in rugby - and deserved it. The Club was the champion of the Ivy League as well as the Eastern Rugby Union League. Both the "A" and "C" teams were undefeated and untied in 1965, and the only "B" team loss was to an M.I.T. "A" squad. Their record speaks for itself.
The important thing, however, about Dartmouth rugby, win or lose, is that we represent Dartmouth College as "ambassadors without portfolio." The Club has made friends not only for Dartmouth but the U.S.A. in its travels in this country and abroad. The Right Honourable Lord MacDermott, Senior Pro-Chancellor of Queen's University in Ireland, wrote in a letter to President Dickey: "I can truthfully say that these have been the best Ambassadors that Dartmouth and the U.S.A. could have sent. It is young men such as these who make and cement international friendship." The members of the Club are genuinely proud of their record and of representing Dartmouth, wherever they go.
Today, the faces are different but the spirit is the same. Elections were held last spring for the 1967-68 season, with the following being elected on the basis of their rugby skills and leadership ability: Al Raymond '6B, president; Mike O'Brien '6B, captain; Jeff Hinman '68, student director; Steve Robinson '68, secretary; Tom Gray '70, undersecretary; Paul Ladenson '70, manager; and John Morse '70, scribe. As in its first season here at Dartmouth, this year's Club is planning its annual spring trip to Bermuda for the Rugby Tourney there. Tentative plans call for the Dartmouth Club to be accompanied on this trip by Amherst and Holy Cross. Many experienced players have returned from the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program and everyone is anxiously awaiting the spring season. From all indications, the Club will be very strong with a depth it lacked last fall. Also, the Club has been invited to tour with the Norfolk Rugby Club of Virginia and may play some matches with the St. Louis Club. A big turnout is expected from the lower classes.
The Dartmouth Rugby Club is a selfsupported student organization with an active membership of approximately 75 students. All team expenses, including equipment, travel, uniforms, and referees' fees are paid from the Club dues and contributions from loyal alumni through an organization known as The Friends of Dartmouth Rugby. Each year the Club finds it increasingly difficult to meet expenses, the biggest of which is the annual spring trip. Because of its independent nature, the Club relies upon contributions to augment its budget and defray the costs of the players who pay for the privilege of representing Dartmouth College.
Needless to say, the history of the Club has been a proud and eventful one and will continue to be. The "rugby experience" at Dartmouth, has meant a great deal to the men associated with it. It represents an opportunity to make friends you will have for life and to become involved in a sport which has some very interesting followers. If you would like to share in this "experience" in the name of Dartmouth, we promise you a warm welcome. Our address is: Friends of Dartmouth Rugby, Box 966, Hanover, N. H. 03755.
Back for this season are most of the players in this "A" team picture taken last Mayafter the Green Key game. Standing (l to r): Geoff Church '68, Dick Lahey '69, BobAjello '69, Kem McConnochie '67, Tom Flannery '67, Steve Robinson '68, MikeVasey '69, Jeff Hinman '68. Front row: Bryson Ley '68, Captain Mike O'Brien '68,Gary Blaich '68, John Howard '70, Tom Russian '68, Terry Jacobs '69, GordonHughes '70.
A Dartmouth-Cornell match on the Club's field off the West Lebanon Road.
