Men's Rugby: Princeton falls to Yale at home in annual Koranda Cup

Rugby players and coaches often talk about the importance of playing with intensity for the full 80 minutes of a match. As everyone in attendance can likely attest, the men’s rugby team did exactly that on Saturday in the Koranda Cup match against Yale, but it still came up short in a 19-9 loss despite a 6-5 halftime lead.

The Koranda Cup is given to the winner of the annual spring game between Princeton and Yale and is named in honor of Rob Koranda ’02, who died in 2003 after a balcony collapse in Chicago. Koranda played flanker on the 2000 men’s rugby team that made the round of 16 in the NCAA Division I national tournament.

After hearing words of advice and encouragement from some of Koranda’s former teammates, Princeton began the game playing with intensity.

The Tigers lost 36-10 to Yale in September, but they kept the Bulldogs scoreless for the first 17 minutes of this game and seemed able to handle anything the Bulldogs tried offensively. That was at least the case until Yale’s star fullback Ryan Vandersloot broke through the Tiger defensive line for a long try run. Yale missed the conversion kick, leaving the score at 5-0.

Just a few minutes after Yale’s score, Princeton earned a line-out in Yale territory. In the last match against Yale, Princeton scored the first try of the game with a driving maul play off a line-out. Now in a similar situation, the Tigers used the same play to advance the ball into Yale’s try zone only to have it stolen just before they could record the try.

Untimely knock-ons, penalties and illegal line-out throws kept the Tigers out of the try zone for the rest of the first half. But their domination of the possession and field position battles did not go unrewarded. Sophomore wing Ben Tsui scored two penalty kicks — both high and down the middle — before halftime to give Princeton a 6-5 lead.

Princeton began the second half with the same intensity it had to open the game. The Tigers continued kicking to earn field position and even improved their kick coverage in the second half. Still, they continued to squander their many scoring chances.

Yale earned fewer scoring chances but had a high conversion rate on those chances. Nineteen minutes into the second half, Vandersloot again got the ball at pace, broke two tackles and completed a long try run down the left sideline. This time, Yale converted the kick, extending its lead to 12-6. Three minutes later, Tsui added a third penalty kick, bringing Princeton to within three.

Princeton regained possession two minutes later, and freshman fly-half JP Jabre sent a booming kick into Yale’s try zone that the Bulldogs touched down for a 22-meter drop-out. Princeton set up a promising counterattack off the kick and got the ball to Tsui on the wing with only one man to beat. Tsui had been using up-and-under kicks to great effect all day, but this time he feigned the kick. His defender did not overreact and was able to complete the tackle.

Yale stole the ensuing ruck and quickly got the ball to one of its wings. Flanker Dan O’Brien ran an overlapping line, got the ball on the outside and ran in untouched to give Yale a 10-point lead.

At this point, the wind picked up and clouds moved in. The temperature dropped, and so did Princeton’s chances in the match.

For the next five minutes, Yale put together its longest sustained offensive drive of the game. But the Tigers staged a gritty, courageous goal line stand to hold the Bulldogs off.

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This defensive effort set up a few more scoring opportunities, none of which the Tigers were able to convert. The game ended with the score still at 19-9.

“[Yale] had more big-play potential,” junior lock and captain Zak Deschaine said. “We were trying to grind out a win but couldn’t put points on the board fast enough. It’s frustrating, because we outplayed them for most of the match.”