Dartmouth Goes Down Fighting to Navy

Hanover, NH – The nationally ranked #12 Dartmouth Big Green had their hopes dashed this weekend for one of the coveted Rugby East bids to the Collegiate Premier Division Championship in a heartbreaker versus the U.S. Naval Academy.   Although Dartmouth led at the half 10 to 5, the Navy Midshipmen, ranked #7 nationally, were able to grind out four second half tries to come away with their fifth consecutive CPD victory.

Dartmouth kicked off the game amid high winds.   The Green charged right up the field and put great pressure on the Navy offense, forcing a turnover and keeping the ball securely in Navy’s end for the opening minutes of the first half.   Navy retook possession of the ball, but Dartmouth’s defense forced a penalty within kicking range of the posts.  Derek Fish ’12 took aim and after a great kick the Big Green were up 3-0.  Navy kicked off to Dartmouth afterwards, and as before Dartmouth’s offense was relentless.  Navy turned the ball over and attempted to use their forward pack to gain territory, but faced an equally determined Dartmouth tight-five, who held them at the midfield.   Turning over possession, Dartmouth was able to re-establish their offensive platform in the midfield, and coming off the back of a ruck Will Lehmann ’12 was able to spring senior prop Charlie Grant through a gap in the Navy defense for Dartmouth’s first try of the game.   The kick by Fish was good, and Dartmouth led Navy 10-0 with roughly 15 minutes to play in the first half.  The Green kept up their energy for the half’s remaining minutes, stifling the Navy offense for several grinding phases before a penalty kick gave Navy their first scoring opportunity.  However, the kick went wide and Dartmouth was able to clear the ball from their end with a kick at the 22-meter.  Navy remounted the attack and was able to score their first try with forwards drive-in from the 5-meter.  However, the kick went wide and Navy trailed Dartmouth 10-5 at the close of the half.

After halftime, the Big Green came out strong in the opening minutes of the second half.  Heading into stiff wind, Dartmouth received the kickoff and drove into Navy territory.  However, with several fresh subs, the Midshipmen put up a determined challenge to Dartmouth’s phase play and forced several Dartmouth turnovers.   With the ball again squarely at midfield, one of the Navy locks was able to punch through the Dartmouth defensive wall and drive deep into Green territory.  A goal-line stand by Dartmouth’s defense could not stop a diving try for Navy.  Once again, Navy had considerable difficulty putting up the kick, and Dartmouth and Navy sat squarely tied at fifteen minutes in.   After a similar attempt by Green to find some offensive traction in Navy’s end, the Midshipmen were able to repeat their earlier feat and score yet another try, which meant the Green trailed for the first time all game at 20 minutes into the second half. The kick went wide again, and Dartmouth trailed 10-15.   Feeling the momentum shifting their way, the Midshipmen took control of possession as the minutes ticked down in the game’s last quarter.  The Dartmouth defense kept them honest, challenging Navy’s phase play and generating several turnovers and opportunities in the open field; however, the Green had difficulty finding width against Navy’s defense, and possession went both ways for most of the second half.  The first break in the action was a line break by one of Navy’s backs, which took the ball down the sideline and set up a nice platform for attacking deep in Green territory.  Navy was able to convert this to yet another try, although the ball’s corner placement once again made life difficult for the conversion kicker.  Trailing by only two unconverted tries, Dartmouth desperately sought a way to establish an attacking platform in Navy territory, with several chip kicks over Navy’s defensive wall and forwards drives almost doing the job.   However, Navy put up terrific resistance to these efforts, and was able to find yet another gap in the Dartmouth defensive wall.  After a chase, Dartmouth held Navy back deep within their own end, but Navy was able to pound the ball in for their fifth and final try.  This conversion was good, and Navy led Dartmouth 27-10 with only minutes to play in the half.  Determined to go down fighting, Dartmouth went on the offensive, driving deep into Navy territory before being pushed back to the midfield by a turnover, where Navy was able to find touch and end the game. 

After the match, Co-Captain Chris Downer ’11 congratulated Navy’s strong performance “Navy was a very athletic and strong team. They put us under a lot of pressure in the rucks”.  Captain Tommy Brothers ’11 echoed Downer’s assessment.  “Navy was a very good team, no question”, he said.  “But after another game that was ours to lose, we've got to find a way to get the job done. The boys are looking forward to Ohio State's visit next week to do just that.”