Club Corner
Rugby team upsets Purdue

In a tournament at Wittenberg University, the Oberlin Rhinos lost their first game of the day to Purdue University by a score of 36-5. Purdue played superior rugby, running in five tries, converting four and slotting one penalty all to one consolation try by Oberlin. Few would have envisioned the rest of the day’s results after this first appearance on the pitch.

Oberlin spirits remained excited, however, as they beat Muskingum College 19-10 in their second game of the day. At the same time, Wittenberg secured a place in the final with a closely contested match against Purdue that ended in a 15-10 victory.

With the results of these games in, Oberlin was matched up against Purdue again in hopes of claiming a spot in the final. Thinking back to their first game against Purdue, one doubtful Oberlin assistant coach made a careless bet that he would streak around the pitch if the Rhinos came out with a win.

Purdue came out strong, scoring two tries early in the first half, but the flamboyance of the Oberlin center combination quickly answered back.

After receiving a great pass from sophomore fly-half Elana Harris, junior inside center Magdalen Dale quickly moved it up the field with one of her frequent incisive bursts and handed the ball off to senior outside center Reba Jones who was flying in on a perfectly-timed run. Jones finished the combination slickly, finding her space in the try.

With Oberlin trailing Purdue 10-5 at the half, an emotionally charged halftime huddle laid a firm foundation for what would happen in the next twenty minutes.

Purdue quickly found themselves in scoring position, but the Oberlin scrum stayed strong and held them off through a series of scrum downs and failed drives.

Eventually, the outside center for Purdue, after feigning an injury, took the ball up the side and squeaked through.

Five minutes later, sophomore Oberlin prop Hannah Rechtschaffen quickly answered with a trademark bull-dozing run, breaking tackle after tackle to score in the corner.

Ceding the kick at goal, for time’s sake, setting the stage for an Oberlin comeback trailing by only 5.

From the restart, the Rhinos came up with a quickly recycled ball to Dale who danced her way through four defenders, sprinting half the length of the pitch, before collapsing under the posts to tie the score — all to the unbelieving elation of the rest of the team and those on the side line.

With a nervous smile and a calm cleat, Dale converted the much-needed two points, giving the Rhinos their finest win of their season with a final tally of 17-15.

Though the team was spent emotionally and physically, the championship against Wittenberg was not entirely unexciting. Both teams had given all they had to beat Indiana champions.

Wittenberg ended up running in four tries to Oberlin’s two, finishing the game with a 22-12 victory, and each of the teams shared a common respect for having downed the brawny girls from Purdue.

The Rhino Ruggers will finish out their fall season at home with games at noon and 2 p.m. tomorrow against Hiram and Allegheny respectively

Laurie Meiring is the assistant coach of Oberlin’s rugby team.