The tournament was only for the top two teams in each division. WPI, who was the second seed in the Eastern division, was slated to face Springfield, who was the top seed in the West. The rest of the field was rounded out by UMass Lowell (first seed in the East), and Johnston State (second seed in the West).
The first game pitted Lowell and Johnston St. It was a close game at first, but Johnston St. got it going and ended up blowing out Lowell. Our game started after noon, but the temperatures never got above freezing for the whole day. The game started off with the forwards having most of the action. The momentum of the game shifted toward WPI when Ed Roberts kicked a highball toward Springfield's try line.
After the Springfield defender misplayed the ball, Bjorn Ryden picked the ball up and scored the first try of his illustrious career. From then on, the game was in WPI's favor. We scored again when WPI gained control of their lineout, and passed it out to Isaiah Plante who passed the ball to Scott MacLauchlin for an easy try. From there WPI put it in cruise control, and after containing a late Springfield rally won 14-10.
The final game was a hard fought battle between two evenly matched teams. The forwards carried most of the play in the first half. Johnston St. came close to scoring many times, but WPI held off every challenge until the whistle sounded ending the first half. The second half started out just how the first half ended. Neither team was able to take control of the game. Both sides had good scoring opportunities, but neither team could capitalize. The game was ultimately decided when Johnston St. was able to push the ball into the try zone giving them a 5-0 lead.
WPI gave it their all trying to get back into the game, but ultimately failed. The final score was 10-0 when Johnston St. was able to put in a late score. This gave WPI a Second place finish in New England. It was a very good day for the Rugby Team who had never won a game in the playoffs, and the First time ever that we placed in the top three. The final record was 5-2-1, and after a Third place finish in the Division Two Providence Tournament in the spring, should bump the team up to division two. Ed Roberts was named "Man of the Tournament" for WPI for his leadership and tremendous play.
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