POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 5, 2014) – So the headline might seem more appropriate for a labor dispute, but it tells the tale as the Vassar College Men's Rugby team first absorbed pressure and then dominated the second half against Union College to earn a solid win.

Vassar College Men 40 v 12 Union College Men
Tries: Seamus Taylor (2), Nich Johnson (2), Steven Juca (1), 
& Karl Foley (1).
Cons: Nich Graham (2).
Pens: Nich Graham (2).

While the final score line might suggest an easy win that was certainly not the case. At the half it was Vassar 15, Union College 7 and Vassar had lost flanker Erik Quinson and would later lose their other flanker Kenta Hasui. The tackling was fierce and referee Rich Leonard did a good job keeping control of what was essentially a derby match with both Union and Vassar being Liberty League schools. In fact Union will be joining the Tri-State Conference next semester so this was a chance for the teams to see how they measured up.

Vassar is using the spring to develop players for next fall so the starting scrumhalf and captain Karl Foley was switched to outside center. This allowed Jake Sheehy to get a run out at 9 and he did not disappoint. One should note that his tackling was exemplary. Vassar co-captain, Andrew Jdaydani, is out injured so Geoff Matthes is getting an opportunity to play at Number 8. He usually plays loosehead so it was quite a change for the big fella and he did well.

Injury to wing Jesse Myhill gave Nich Johnson his first start and the latter usually plays 12. Meanwhile Steven Juca came into the team on the other wing because other players are either injured, opted to participate in another sport this spring, or have gone JYA. Vassar only had a bench of 3 all front row eligible.

Every player threw their heart and soul into this contest and without that total commitment the high quality of play and the win would not have been possible. A huge amount of credit is due to Nich Graham who ran things very smoothly at flyhalf. This was despite 3 or 4 thumping tackles that looked more than a tad late. He did have a kick charged down but otherwise he brought others into play, kicked his goals, and ran without being turned over.

So with Graham making good decisions the runners were punching through the Union defense. Both centers, Vargas and Foley, had multiple line breaks. Foley's try at the end going a full 40 meters and he looked like he was running out of gas! At fullback Seamus Taylor's performance might have turned a few NFL scouts heads. He made long runs as well as tackling like his life depended on making them. One has to assume he knows the incoming freshman from Santa Monica is going to push him for his spot!

Up front, Vassar had a few shaky scrums and was out-weighed but they settled in the second half and gave a decent platform. The lineouts did not go as well as one would have hoped but it was a very windy day and neither team was 100% on the money. You have to love a pack where you can't really single out any one player yet they kept winning rucks and making ground.

Defensively in the first half Vassar was guilty of not defending the fringes properly. One on one tackles were poor and only when they tightened up and made the double tackle taking away the runners legs did Union falter.

And so with the machine well oiled the ball found it's way to the novice wings. Nich Johnson smartly ran around his opposite number twice fending him off to score tries and Steven Juca was put away after a well worked deep pass to Taylor found the fullback in space.

A 15-7 halftime lead went up to 28-7, with 2 tries plus a penalty, before Union snatched a try to make it 28-12. But then Juca and Foley's tries sealed the deal, 40-12.

The Brewers are at home again next Sunday, April 13th and face NJIT. They will need the same total commitment and with it they have every chance of another spring win.

Team: 15 Seamus Taylor 14 Nich Johnson 13 Karl Foley 12 Eli Vargas 11 Steven Juca 10 Nich Graham 9 Jake Sheehy 1 Adam D'Agostino 2 Alex Voynow  3 John Winton 4 Louis Khourey 5 Zach Rippe 6 Kenta Hasui 7 Erik Quinson 8 Geoff Matthes. Subs: Sean O'Connell for Erik Quinson, David Wallach for Kenta Hasui.

Overall record: 9-3-1.

Next:  Tomorrow, Sunday April 6th, 2014 Vassar College Men's 7s Team at the Tri-State Conference 7s Tournament hosted by Hofstra University (games at 10:30 am, 12:00 pm, and 2:30 pm).

Next weekend: Sunday April 13th, 2014 versus New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) at Vassar College Farm Kick-off 11:00 am