The RPI men’s rugby team was the victim of two cancellations this weekend. The team was originally scheduled to play Southern Connecticut, who cancelled early last week, and Fairfield, who cancelled Thursday night. As a result, the team played longtime rival Siena College at Dick Green Memorial Field as the curtain raiser for the Albany Knicks vs. Newport match.
Having defeated Siena soundly on March 3, the Red Hawks came out
flat. Siena was seeking redemption from their loss and came out firing on all cylinders. RPI missed a scoring opportunity early in the match, giving Siena a huge break. Siena under 19 All-American Tom Burns took a quick penalty and rambled for a 40-meter score, the conversion failed and Siena led 5-0. This seemed to wake up the RPI side, who went on to control the game from this point forward. Senior Bryce Fortran, playing outside center, broke through the Siena defense for a try outrunning all the Siena backs. The unconverted try tied the score at 5-5. Now the RPI pack took over, controlling the ball. The forwards punished Siena, until Bill Ryan punched through. Fortran’s conversion made the score 12-5.
The conditioning of RPI proved out in the second half, as RPI held Siena scoreless and took the game to them. The physical play of RPI and Siena’s frustration led to a couple of blow-ups between the two rivals, but a spectacular try by Fortran took any hopes of a Siena comeback away. A conversion by Greg Dileo provided the final margin, 19-5. RPI has given up only 8 points so far this season as they continue to make a commitment to solid defense. RPI has run its record to 11-1, and 10 in a row against Siena since 1995. Excellent matches were played by all. Mike Arthur stood out after returning from a weekend of All-Star play in Washington, D.C. Chris Wright called a solid match as captain, and Mike Card ran the solid defense from fullback. Next up for the Red Hawks is a match against Division II finalist Yale University in New Haven on March 31.
