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April 7, 2007
Men's Rugby: Cherry Blossom Recap
Match I: Norwich 5 Northeastern 5 (In the Snow)
The match began at 8:45 am with two inches of snow on the ground and no lines were visible on the pitch. Norwich scored first ten minutes in on an excellent forward surge by flanker Brad Panasiti. Norwich dominated the rest of the first half but the conditions prevented further scoring.
Northeastern came alive at the end and scored on a penalty kick at the final whistle for the 5-5 deadlock.
Match II: Norwich 24 Salisbury 5
Bad news: the temperature was 31 degrees for the 7:45 am kickoff on Easter morning. Good news: there was no snow on the ground. Salisbury scored four minutes in from its forward play for a 5-0 lead. NU's Todd Howe made good a penalty kick at the final whistle of the first half to cut the lead to 5-3.
In the second half, Norwich made adjustments and scored three unanswered converted tries, with Howe making scoring all three. Panasiti made his second try of the weekend at the eight-minute mark, followed by a picture-perfect try by Randy Bielski a few minutes later. Then, under a tough wind, a number of Norwich players contributed to a successful try. Will Rose threw in to first jumper Peter Beamer at the lineout. Beamer placed the ball down to Howe, who distributed to flyhalf Milton Rehbein. Bielski then caught the skip pass and broke through the defense for the try. Fifteen minutes in, Norwich built a 17-5 lead.
Howe punched in the third try from the forward maul at the final whistle and the Cadets won their bracket with the 24-5 victory over Salisbury. The win put Norwich in the first match of the Cup Championships against Yale A-side.
Match III: Yale 21 Norwich 10
The Bulldogs were well-rested thanks to an early-morning forfeit by Towson State. 17 minutes into the first half, Yale’s #4 scores in the corner, followed by a conversion amid gusty winds from the corner for a 7-0 lead. Norwich avoided a first-half shutout as Howe booted a penalty kick to make the score 7-3.
In the second half, Yale scored five minutes in from excellent back-line movement, followed by another challenging conversion kick. The Bulldogs led 14-3.
Norwich scored next as Bielski mauled himself in between the posts for the points. Howe then converted, cutting the Yale lead to 14-10.
The Bulldogs closed out the scoring with five minutes to play as their fly half dummied and broke through the Norwich defense for a try between the posts. The match ended with Yale triumphant, 21-10.
The Cadets took away many positives from the 41st Annual Cherry Blossom Tournament, primarily by winning their bracket and losing in the Cup Championship round in a hard fought match to Yale.
Norwich's next match is Tuesday April 17th at UVM.
