BY TARIQ FISCHER

In print | Published March 24, 2005

They came out of the Cunningham locker room as a single unit, an intimidating force clad in red and black.

The mere entrance of Swarthmore’s men’s rugby squad struck fear into the hearts of onlookers. The team opened with a 30-22 loss against Widener University.

The squad opened the spring season last Saturday on Cunningham Field in dominating fashion, executing plays with Terminator-at-a-Calc-test precision. “We played flawlessly for the first 20 minutes,” co-captain Randy Goldstein ‘05 said. The Buzzards jumped to an early lead as Jonathan Augat ’07 sprinted to the left sideline, turned the corner and broke a tackle to score Swat’s first try of the match.

“Augat was definitely the man of the match,” Coach Brian Sloman said. “I need [the team] to run hard and straight up the middle,” Sloman said, elaborating on the team’s tactics this season. After establishing a physical inside game, the squad expects to provide a scoring threat using Augat’s speed on the outside. “When you’ve got a footrace [on the outside] I’ll put my money on Augat every time,” Sloman said. “That’s the style of rugby that we want.”

Tevye Kelman ‘06 and Nate Allen ’08 also came up big for the Buzzards. “Tev is a crucial player,” Goldstein said. "He’s one of the best fullbacks in the [East Penn Rugby Union]." Kelman made an essential tackle in the first half as the last man, stopping what would have been a definite Widener try. Allen started his first game as scrum half — a position he had never played before. “Nate did extremely well,” co-captain Jon Fombonne ’05 said. “I thought it was an outstanding performance from a new first-year,” Sloman said.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers wore down the Buzzards physically, eventually coming back to win the game 30-22. “We always come back to the same thing: fitness, fitness, fitness,” Sloman said. “If you don’t have the right level of fitness, fatigue keeps you from fulfilling your responsibilities.”

“I think the team could definitely improve on the conditioning side,” Goldstein agreed. “[The game] was disappointing only because we showed so much promise — Widener didn’t change, we just didn’t maintain our impetus,” Sloman said. “When we put it together, we look like a well-oiled machine.”

The team’s pure talent is proving to be a valuable tool this season. “One of the joys of coaching Swarthmore is the team’s innate rugby knowledge,” Sloman said. “The team is the most talented it has been for the last four years,” Goldstein agreed.

That immense talent is fueling great expectations for the squad. “This should and will be a winning season,” Goldstein said. Fombonne shared his counterpart’s sentiments. “We are capable of beating everyone that we will play.”

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