A crash program to improve conditioning and precision paid off for Harvard's rugby team last Saturday, as it outplayed favored Brown for the entire first half and most of the second.

But two costly mistakes in the second half gave the Bruins six points on penalty kicks, and a freak miscue in the Crimson end zone added three more. So instead of pulling off a surprising upset. Harvard lost 9-3.

Holy Cross had outhustled the tiring Crimson ruggers a week earlier, so practices last week were geared to building stamina and an increased sense of timing and teamwork in the backfield. as well as cross-field coverage in the scrum. In the first half of the Brown game, the extra work paid off richly.

Broken Passes

Harvard maneuvered play towards the Brown goal almost immediately. and only several broken passes within the Bruin five-yard line kept the Crimson from a try. A Brown violation gave the Crimson a penalty kick from the twenty-five, which Joe Daly narrowly missed, and Harvard began controlling play for the remainder of the half.

The Crimson backfield was impressive. Its crisp passing and superb running from a steep formation kept Brown in defensive trouble, and even when scrum-half Phil Ordway was forced out of the game with a lacerated chin. it remained cohesive.

Ordway left the field with only a few minutes remaining in the first half. and fly-half Greg Sandomirsky filled in superbly. playing a most difficult position with more than adequate effectiveness. He directed Harvard to within the Brown twenty-five, and when the Crimson was awarded another penalty kick, Daly put it ahead 3-0 just before the half ended.

Return

Ordway returned just after the second half kickoff, and Harvard stayed in command. But Brown kicked deep into the Crimson end zone, and when a Harvard back reached to touch it down and rescue the squad from trouble, it slithered out of his grasp along the spongy turf. A Bruin rugger fell on it, and suddenly it was 3-3.

The flukish try seemed to take the momentum away from the Crimson, and when Brown added six more points on penalty kicks later in the half. Harvard was beaten.

The Crimson "B" squad, unfortunately, never had a chance to get moving. Playing the first match on a field inundated with water in several spots, the Crimson had trouble organizing, and the heavier Bruins pushed it into trouble throughout the match. An inexperienced fullback cost Harvard yardage with several dropped kicks, and the Bruins pushed across each time for tries. The final score was 17-0.

A surprising Harvard "C" team provided the only victory of the morning, a 3-0 triumph over M.I.T. Composed primarily of freshmen and newcomers to rugby, the squad played quite solidly, with fine backfield coordination and good coverage in the scrum.