The Yale women’s rugby team would rather forget last Saturday’s Dartmouth loss.
Yale (1-4, 0-3 New England) fell to Dartmouth (4-1), three-time reigning champion, 75-0. Team members hope their Oct. 12 home game against Boston University will prove different.
“That was really good preparation for our game this week,” backs captain Marjorie Friedman ’03 said. “Boston University has played most of the same teams we have, with comparable results. So it should be a pretty competitive game, but it is one we definitely expect to win.”
Boston is Yale’s fourth league opponent this fall. The Elis are a member of the New England Rugby Football Union.
Despite Yale’s losing record, scrumhalf Miriam Seifter ’03 said the team has improved with every game and is finally due for its first league win.
“We have spent our first few games with bigger programs and more experience,” Seifter said. “Despite our losses and a few key injuries, we have been stepping up our level of play each game.”
The key to Yale’s success lies in ball retention, forwards captain Emily Lehrer ’03 said.
“Offensively, we plan to destroy their forward pack in the scrums, and then get the ball out to our backs for a wide running game with good ball retention and continuity,” Lehrer said.
Forwards focus on maintaining possession of the ball, moving it forward, and distributing it to the backs. Backs are expected to run, pass, kick and score and are usually the faster members of a rugby team. Scrumhalfs fall between forwards and backs.
On defense, Yale needs to reduce its opponent’s scoring.
“Defensively, we hope to eliminate the breakaway scoring that has been a problem for us this season,” Lehrer said.
Yale’s only win came in the Beantown Tournament Sept. 15 when the Elis snuck past the University of Connecticut 15-5. Team members said Boston offers the best chance for a league win this season.
“This weekend, we are up against a team that is totally beatable, and we have every intention of winning,” Seifter said. “We are going to go out there, set the tone, and play our game for all 80 minutes.”