Rye Overcomes Greenwich in Close Cross-Border Battle
Rye Overcomes Greenwich in Close Cross-Border Battle
Rye HS defeated Greenwich HS in a close midweek game between one of the strongest teams in New York, and one of the strongest in Connecticut.
It was a cold, windy night in Westchester, NY in front of an energetic crowd with fans from both teams (they are actually only 10 miles away from each other).
Rey stormed out to a 14-0 lead with tries from Archer Fenton and Jack Anderson. Jagger Fenton converted both. Greenwich responded with a try at the end of halftime, punishing a poor clearance kick from Rye.
Scoring just before halftime built some momentum for Greenwich, and with Rye making some mistakes the Cardinals took the lead 19-14. Rye hooker Anderson scored his second try of the game and the Rye forward pack continued to thunder forward, leading to lock Gavin Fitzpatrick's try sealing the 24-19 Rye win.
"We felt like we showed a lot of improvement in the way that we attacked the line during this game," said Greenwich Head Coach Jamie Everett. "I was happy that the boys had the confidence to come back from a 14 point deficit and take the lead. A lot of teams implode in those situations and I think that says a lot about the character of this team."
But, added Everett, composure and decision-making late in a close game is a work-on as he felt his team didn't manage the closing minutes particularly well.
"This was a very close game which could have gone either way but Rye fought to the end and was the team that managed to score last," Everett said. "I'm confident however that with a few tweaks and improvements, this could be a very good Greenwich side."
"It was a great display of rugby and solid defense from both sides," added Rye Head Coach James O'Hara, whose team is now 3-0 with wins over Jesuit New Orleans, Staples, and Greenwich, all ranked school teams. "Great balance between strong forward play and dynamism in the backline. We work hard on our kicking and counter attack. We—mostly me—watch a lot of Japanese rugby; we are not the biggest team, but fitness and speed are a priority 1 through 15 and everyone needs to pass the ball well."
