Ruggers Head For Bermuda, Bolstered by Football Stars

Rugby coach Roger Bennett yesterday picked from a squad of 65 the 19 players who will fly to Bermuda on March 30 for a week of social obligations, interrupted only by four or five matches.

Teams from Yale, Princeton, M.I.T., Dartmouth, the Bermuda Athletic Association, and Harvard will sandwich in a few games between the dances and beach parties. The various opponents are determined by an elimination process, with four composite teams playing two final games.

Business School student George Sella, captain of Princeton's 1949 football team, and senior Sam Butler of the Crimson eleven will head the team. Football players or converts from other sports make up the majority of the 15 Crimson starters.

Graduate Students Compete

Several graduate students round out the 19 squad members, since this is the only sport where non-undergraduates may compete for the University.

A good football player does not necessarily make a good rugger, according to Bennett. "There is not a single thing that you learn in football that you can apply to rugby," he warns. "It is more of a team game than football; there aren't any stars."

An oversimplified explanation of the difference between rugby and football is that in the former, one's primary intention is to get the ball rather than the player. In rugby each side starts the game with 15 players, no one wears any padding, and there are no substitutions.

A convert from football essentially has to forget all that he has learned. There is no interference in rugby, no blocking no time-outs, and no forward passing-only laterals. Points are scored by running the ball over the goal line or by drop kicking through a football-style goal post.

Since the Crimson team is organized as a club and is independent of the Athletic Association, the players themselves will help finance the trip. In honor of the Island's celebration of Rugby Week, the Bermuda Trade Association pays for about a quarter of the students' travel expenses and will provide their breakfasts.

Awarded Ties

Scotsman Colin McIntyre is president of the club. Each member pays $5 yearly dues and the team practices three times a week. Out of the dues the club supplies the uniforms, while the H.A.A. lends the shoes. Instead of major and minor letters, the Ruggers are awarded ties in full or half colors.

Under the rules of the Rugby Union, Bennett is the only unpaid coach at Harvard. If he were to accept any salary, the club would automatically become professional. Bennett played on the team, until he suffered a concussion in the 1950 Yale game.

In the vacation matches the Crimson will first meet Yale; then a joint Harvard-Bermuda Athletic Association group will play a Yale-Princeton combination. Harvard's third game will be against either Dartmouth or M.I.T., while the fourth opponent is still undetermined.

Last year the club returned from Bermuda with three losses and one win, but they later revenged their defeats by beating both Yale and Princeton. In view of the "very good turnout," Bennett predicts the ruggers will win, "if they play as a team."