KINSALE, IRELAND (March 16, 2010) -- A strong Kinsale Rugby Club defeated the Vassar College men's rugby team, 59-14, on Tuesday in the Brewers' second contest of their Spring Break trip to Ireland.

Kinsale Rugby Club is situated in a lovely picturesque location with rolling green hills in the background. There is a flood-lit field and a nice clubhouse and the welcome was warm and friendly. But by the time the game kicked-off the weather had turned nasty with driving rain and cold wind making conditions miserable. Kinsale, with a mix of "A" and "B" side players starting, scored almost immediately and in the first scrum they drove the Brewers back unceremoniously. It was a portent of things to come but to both sides credit the ball was kept in hand and an entertaining game of rugby was played.

Vassar College Men 14 v Kinsale Men 59
Tries: James Purtle(1) & Connor O'Neill (1).
Cons: Jake London (2).

Vassar made 5 changes in the backs, one positional, and 6 changes in the forwards from their opening game so it was a new look Brewer XV that took the field against Kinsale.

Midway through the first half Kinsale led 21-0 having scored 3 converted tries using good handling, sharp play, and their forward power. Vassar was playing into the wind and rain and it was a case of damage control for if they could limit the scores in the first 40 minutes they would have the elements in their favor in the second half. Every Brewer strove to contain the Kinsale men and it was a more than commendable effort but with a plethora of possession the dam could only hold for so long. To Vassar's credit the dam never really broke although the cracks became bigger and Kinsale ran out winners by 59-14.

After that first scrum the Vassar pack settled in and held their own, although their improvement might have had something to do with the Kinsale forwards easing off a bit. Kinsale did not ease off in their overall pace and maintained a strong tempo. The Kinsale backs ran some good lines and had multiple decoy runners that gave the Vassar centers headaches all day. But it was interesting to note that the Vassar combination of number 10 Connor O'Neill, 12 James Purtle, and 13 Jake London had a great game with the ball in hand. They made numerous line breaks and handled very well in the treacherous slippery conditions against their far more experienced opponents.

Purtle and O'Neill were rewarded with tries as they showed a clean pair of heels both picking off passes to get in behind the Kinsale defense. At scrumhalf Conor Boylan played his first full game in that position and he too was sharp around the fringes. He needs to be more disciplined with his put-in at the scrummage and might have used the elements to better advantage but that will come in time. Out wide Rahul Kanade made good tackles even though he broke his nose and will be out for a few weeks now. He has had the worst luck this first year at Vassar but it's clear he could be a quality player. Brett Anker played 15 - the former Vassar soccer player was in his first full game and has pace, good catching skills, and although embarassed initially made some good tackles as well.

Up front is where the rubber hits the road and every former Vassar rugby player would have apprecaited the Herculian effort by the Vassar pack. Generally, the ball carrying was good and the rucking solid. The skills practiced with Trinity coach Tony Smeeth last week have been a huge help and were in evidence. The main problem was the cohesion and experience of the Kinsale forwards, not to mention the massive weight advantage! Iain Gordon was up high and secured lineout ball but Vassar's drive was held so that area of potential gain was nullified. At the scrums the Kinsale blindside flanker was renting an apartment in the Vassar second row as he slipped his bind and was all over any number 8 pick-up like a rash!

Vassar players one and all deserve praise for playing right to the final whistle and it was good to see everyone play. Lessons were learnt the hard way and to some degree that is why we are here.

Team: 15 Brett Anker 14 Jerry Dieudonne 13 Jake London 12 James Purtle 11 Rahul Kanade 10 Connor O'Neill 9 Conor Boylan 1 Dan Zabar 2 Hal Moore 3 Barrington Archer 4 Nik Goldberg 5 Andrew Massey 6 Aaron Colton 7 Sam Thomas 8 Iain Gordon Subs: Tyler Blake for Barrington Archer, Brian Carvajal for Hal Moore, Nick Campbell-Seremetis for Aaron Colton, Matt Elisofan for Sam Thomas, Alan Kenney for Nik Goldberg, Brandon Greene for Jerry Dieudonne.

Next: Thursday March 18, 2010 at Fermoy Men KO 7:30 p.m.
Overall record 2009-10: 2-7-1.