The Harvard Rugby club, a supposedly amateurish organization, looked surprisingly professional on their Spring trip in Bermuda last week. The Crimson swept through four games undefeated, and appears to be the distinct favorite in their Ivy League opener against Dartmouth tomorrow.
Harvard looked so impressive during their trip that the Bermuda press, by the end of the week, simply glowed with superlatives in describing the Crimson performance. Many spectators, calling the visitors the "best college team they had ever seen," suggested that Harvard travel to England to find some stronger opposition.
Unfortunately, the team won't be financially able to make such a junket. To make the trip to Bermuda, the players had to pay about $80 of their own money. Twenty-one club members went along, but despite this additional bench strength the team was near collapse at the end of the week.
Harvard's first game was on Sunday, the day after they arrived, with an amateur club called the "Renegades." The powerful Crimson forwards pushed the local team all over the field, and Harvard won quite easily, 11-0.
On Tuesday Harvard played a contingent from the Royal Canadian Navy, who had come to Bermuda expressly to meet the Crimson. Against the somewhat feeble Canadians Harvard's backs ran better than at any time during the fall season, and scored five relatively easy tries.
On Thursday, the club won its third straight against the Bermuda Athletic Association, 9-6. This was the toughest match of the trip.
In the fourth game, the local "Teachers," the weakest team on the island, recruited eight stars from the other clubs, and were able to press Harvard. After a relatively close but somewhat less inspired match, the Crimson emerged with a 16-9 win and their undefeated record.
The Crimson now seems very likely to go through the season undefeated. This Saturday's match with perennial powerhouse Dartmouth, to be held at 3:15 p.m. on the rugby field, will be the first real domestic test for the fifteen.
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