Harvard take a hammering

As the ICURFC 1st XV arrived for their first match of tour against Harvard it was clear that things in America were going to be a bit different. We were first informed that we would be playing on an artificial rubber crumb pitch rather than grass, and then that the Harvard team were only willing to play 35 minute halves in the match. To make matters worse, the pitch was marked out with lines that were barely visible and the posts were declared unsafe by the referee minutes before kickoff and moved behind the dead ball line. Despite these setbacks, the team was determined to put in a big performance and a strong start from the Imperial forwards saw a classic IC rolling maul go 22m for second row Chris McGeough to crash over for his first try in over a year. Fly half James Cox then slotted the conversion to take the score to 7-0 on the 5 minute mark.

From the resultant kickoff, captain Jack Flanagan received the ball and a strong carry saw him break 3 tackles before being brought to ground. Good work at the breakdown from the IC forwards ensured quick ball from the ruck, and after some fast hands in the backline, outside centre Caolan Cotter recieved the ball and ran 50m to score IC’s second try. Just minutes later, a well placed kick to the corner saw the IC forwards in perfect position to execute another driving maul, leading to McGeough’s second try of the day. Some squad members were intrigued to notice that the ‘best lineout jumper in the club’ seemed to never call the ball to himself, and instead made several calls that coincidentally involved McGeough receiving the ball at the back of the maul and scoring. On the 20 minute mark, it was the turn of Imperial’s deadly backline to get involved. More slick handling saw the ball reach fullback Freddie White who showed great pace to take the Harvard defenders on the outside and score in the corner. James Cox was unsuccessful with the conversion as a result of a gentle breeze across the field, leaving the score at 22-0 with only 20 minutes played. After another strong period of possession, quick ruck ball and some great hands from forwards Chris McGeough and Sean Baker saw prop James Scaife burst through a gap in mid field to score. Another successful conversion from Cox saw the score at 29-0. From the kickoff, McGeough was again in the thick of the action but was injured in a crunching midair collision. Despite his injuries he played on in the hope of inflicting some payback.

Some good play from the Harvard team then saw them enter the Imperial 22 for the first time in the match after half an hour of play, however IC managed to win a turnover to stamp out any hopes of Harvard scoring. After a scrappy period of play, a well executed move from the base of the scrum involving number 8 Sean Baker and scrum half Ed Durkin saw winger Nathan Fitzpatrick score in the corner to make the score 34-0. Just minutes later another strong carry from Baker from the base of the scrum and an excellent offload in contact saw Cox score under the posts and convert his own try to make the score 41-0.

On the 35 minute mark a nice move involving Caolan Cotter’s first pass of the game saw George Lane take the ball and offload to winger Olisa Ufodiama to score and take the scoreline to 46-0 at half time. Despite the scoreline Captain Jack Flanagan was keen to emphasise the need for improvement in several areas, and the team took to the field determined to put in a good second half performance. From the kickoff another IC lineout and rolling maul saw second row Mike O’Connell score thanks to more pinpoint accurate throwing from hooker Rob Kyle. Seeing that he was unlikely to complete a hatrick of tries due to his earler injuriies, McGeough then left the field to be replaced by frenchman Pierre L’Bour.

In the next few minutes the game became somewhat scrappier as IC took their foot off the gas and began playing without the structure and accuracy that saw them through their most successful season ever. The only action of any note was a standard big hit from Sean Baker on an unsuspecting Harvard player and some more strong defence by the entire IC team – with flankers John Hardisty and Jack Flanagan to the fore as usual. With the Harvard players beginning to pile on the pressure, they were awarded a penalty in the IC 22 for infringements at the breakdown, but were unable to make anything come of their opportunity.

After 50 minutes, the IC team finally began to find some continuity, with further scores from Cotter and Fitzpatrick in quick succession taking the score to 63-0. With Cotter’s pass count now at a staggering total of 3, the backline were really beginning to come into their own and minutes later Fitzpatrick was put in the corner again after some great interplay from the IC forwards and backs. Much to the surprise of all watching, prop Toby Spittle scored a try (via an outrageous dummy pass that even managed to fool some IC players including the usually astute Mike O’Connell) and sealed a memorable win with his second just minutes later. Some bystanders went as far as to liken Spittle’s brace of tries to seeing Emile Heskey scoring for England.

With the final score reading 73-0 in a match that only lasted 70 minutes, the Imperial team (controversially named ‘the colonials’ by several squad members) was able to leave Harvard full of confidence for the remainder of the tour and safe in the knowledge that their physicality, skill and passion for the game could not be matched on the day.