Men's Rugby Shows Promise in Season Opening Victory

Brewers cruise to 52-0 triumph over Albany

ALBANY, NY - It may be Labor Day weekend but the Vassar College Men's Rugby team went to work on the road visiting the University at Albany to compete with the U. at Albany Men's B-side. The Brewers showed some early nerves but in the second half of the contest took control and opened their Fall 2024 Season with an encouraging win.

Vassar College Men 52 v 0 University at Albany B XV
Tries: Kaiden Tocher (2), TJ Usher (4) & Jack Gibberd (2).
Cons: Mark Gislason (6).

After all the preseason practice sessions the Vassar men finally got to put into action their tactics and patterns. While there was some experience from last year the team started with some rookies and new combinations so initially the performance was a tad clunky.

Even before the whistle blew to start the game, Vassar's Finn Smith was tackled in the warmup and Ki'tsai Zangpo was promoted from the bench and the Brewers didn't miss a beat.

The first big question mark was whether or not the team would front up physically to the challenge of the Great Danes. In the first 20 minutes Vassar had the lion's share of possession and they hit the rucks well and when Albany runners had the ball the space was closed down relatively quickly.

Number 8 Kaiden Tocher scored the first try of the 2024-25 season when he alertly took a penalty kick and sprinted over from 10 yards out. The penalty was a result of a deliberate knock-on by an Albany defender and was clear and obvious. Albany did field a lot of novice players and throughout the game it cost them as the penalty count grew. Vassar was able to get good field position with the boot of flyhalf Mark Gislason. The number 10 was playing his first ever 15s game at the key position and only his second 15s game ever. He did tend to be far too lateral at times but he has good hands and the right temperament.

Despite Vassar dominating the first 40 minutes there were quite a few errors that kept the home team in the match. Another feature of the game was the open field running of Martrel "TJ" Usher. It was he who scored the second try after gathering a bouncing ball and Vassar led 12-0. The good news is that defenses will key on him and it should allow for others to make good plays in the future.

Vassar lost the services of flanker Mariano Decarvalho with a cut to his eyelid that looked like it would need stitches. He had tackled and run well but a stray knee put him out of the game.

The emphasis in the second 40 minutes was to maintain the physical commitment to the loose play and cut down on the errors. For a first game of the year there were quite a number of multiple phase attacks which bodes well for the future.

Tocher scored Vassar's thrd try and a further hattrick from Usher left Albany players knowing his number. The lineouts were something of a mixed bag but all the components are there so it'll be a matter of consistency to make this a reliable weapon.

First year student Ted Twit was calm and ran well from fullback but he was not really tested today. Tougher opponents lie ahead. Equally, rookies Gene Waddy and Rajveer Singh did well given it was their first time on a rugby field under fire.

Co-captain Jack Gibberd playing his first game after a long term injury collected 2 tries. Matheo Dwyer showed that he is comfortable running the show and Owen McManus barely put a foot wrong.

The unsung heros were Dimitrios Tzepos, Luca Pereira Frears and Ki'tsai Zangpo along with Ezra Potts, Samia Jaman, Owen McManus and rookie Ken Kabeya didn't get an opportunity to shine but he filled in when Decarvalho went out.

The team must not get carried away with this result given the inexperience of the opposition. But at the same time it's clear that there is a foundation upon which to build and with a lot of effort and enthusiasm greater heights can be achieved.

Roll on Tuesday and the practice field work.

Team: 15 Ted Twit 13 Ezra Potts 12 TJ Usher 11 Owen McManus 10 Mark Gislason 9 Matheo Dwyer 1 Luca Pereira Frears 2 Jack Gibberd 3 Dimitrios Tzepos 4 Gene Waddy 5 Ki'tsai Zangpo 6 Samia Jaman 7 Mariano Decarvalho 8 Kaiden Tocher.
Subs: Peniel Kabeya for Mariano Decarvalho, Rajveer Singh for Luca Pereira Frears.
Unavailable: Caleb DiBartolo, Benjamin Remy, Ahmed Hashim.
Injured: Finn Smith, Justin Lederer, Zhongia Hou.

Record: 1-0-0
Next: Sunday September 8, 2024 versus Marist College Men B XV at Vassar Farm KO 1:00 pm

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Players Mentioned

Ki'tsai Zangpo: Junior

Ahmed Hashim: First Year

Mariano Decarvalho: Senior

Matheo Dwyer: Senior

Jack Gibberd: 5' 9"; Senior

Justin Lederer: Senior

Owen McManus: Sophomore

Ezra Potts: Senior

Dimitrios Tzepos: 6' 0"; Senior

Rajveer Singh: First Year

Players Mentioned

Ki'tsai Zangpo
: Junior

Ahmed Hashim
: First Year

Mariano Decarvalho
: Senior

Matheo Dwyer
: Senior

Jack Gibberd
: 5' 9"; Senior

Justin Lederer
: Senior

Owen McManus
: Sophomore

Ezra Potts
: Senior

Dimitrios Tzepos
: 6' 0"; Senior

Rajveer Singh
: First Year

Vassar College Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned