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Drogheda Triumphs, 35-0

Irish Rugby Club Sparkles

The Drogheda Rugby Football Club of Drogheda, Ireland, trounched the Harvard Rugby Club's A team 35-0 yesterday at Soldiers Field.

The Drogheda team scored six fourpoint tries and four two-point conversions in a game they completely dominated. A try is similar to a touchdown in football, and conversions correspond to the point after touchdown kick in football games.

Drogheda picked up three points on a free kick by Pat Walsh. The kick was awarded because a Harvard player committed a foul comparable to an interference penalty in football.

Sandy Robertson, president of Harvard's Rugy Club and member of the A team described the Drogheda team as "quicker, with a great deal more technical ability, and playing much better as a team than Harvard did."

The Drogheda squad dominated the action for most of the game, and "controlled the ball like we've never seen," a Harvard player said.

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Drogheda took possession of the ball after almost every scrum and line-out, which is comparable to a throw-in in soccer.

The Harvard squad was on the defensive most of the game, and full backs Ken Otto, Adrian Tew and Tim Finn made several good defensive efforts that kept the Drogheda score down.

Frank Buckley and Brendon Tucker led the Drogheda team with two tries each. Pat Walsh, Kicker for the Irishmen, accounted for all their conversions and the one penalty kick.

Many Drogheda players said that the score was somewhat misleading since they were ahead by only ten points at halftime. However, their superior showing in the second half indicates that they were a stronger and betterconditioned team.

The Drogheda team has sponsored its own tour of the United States, scheduling matches against eastern clubs including Yale, from October 2 through October 23.

Forty players travel with the team, which has an average age of 25. Many have played since they were schoolchildren, and play now mostly for fun.

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