Xavier Holds Off Greenwich in Close One

03.23.2026HS Boys

Xavier vs Greenwich. Photo Michael LiVigni.

Author: GRR Contributor

Xavier HS of New York held off Greenwich HS of Connecticut in an early test of the two Tri-State rivals.

Greenwich mounted a furious comeback in this game but fell just short 33-26.

“This was a great game, but the forwards were definitely in the trenches,” said Xavier right wing Leonardo Heyman.

The match between the two perennial Northeast rugby powerhouses was a back-and-forth battle from the opening whistle. The Cardinals struck first, putting in a quick try seven minutes into the match, followed by a solid conversion kick. Heyman responded several minutes later with a try of his own. Loosehead prop Robert Milacci, openside flanker Liam Averill, and outside center Anthony Hennigan each added to the Xavier tally.

Flyhalf Ian Lafferty was good for three of the four conversions. In answer Greenwich added one more try to make it 26-12 at halftime.

According to Xavier Lock Travis Peterson, the first half showcased the kind of rugby the Knights had been working on during training.

“Our lineouts, our positioning, our mauls, and the way we communicated were great; we were all on the same page and on the same plan,” said Peterson.

In the second half, however, things started to get shaky for the Knights.

Xavier mauls vs Greenwich. Photo Michael LiVigni.

Knights

FINAL

3.21.26

Cardinals

A Lafferty injury left on-field communication a bit chaotic, and the grueling pace of the match began to catch up with the Knights.

“The number one takeaway from this game,” said Averill, “is that once we get into that second half, we have to stay focused and stick to our shape. Once we get tired, that's when we lose our composure and focus.”

Xavier scrumhalf Justin Landberg agreed: “ We need to improve our conditioning. If we're the most conditioned team, we won't have any problems with structure. They came out way faster than us in the second half.”

Although the Knights added a fifth try at the 44-minute mark, the Cardinals battled back, adding two more tries at 50 minutes and then six minutes later,

It was tense, and smash-mouth rugby, for the final twenty minutes, with Xavier on the back foot, holding onto possession and running the clock. At the final whistle, the Knights managed a 33-26 victory.

“It's always a funny thing coming to this pitch,” said Xavier Head Coach Greg Norris. “We sometimes do the most insane things. We were too loose in the second half. We gave them the ball too often and made errors that let them move up the field. We put ourselves under pressure due to a couple of first-set phase defensive errors.”

Captain and flyhalf James Allison thought the victory over Greenwich was something the team needed.

“I think it gave us a little confidence,” he said. “But our play was sloppy in the second half. We had a player go down, Ian Lafferty, who was playing 10, and after that, we kind of fell apart. We have to get used to playing outside of our starting lineup if we want to succeed at nationals.”

“Those were simple errors that we can fix,” added Norris. “The pressure Greenwich put us under will help us, as long as we do the work to make sure we don't make those same mistakes going forward.”

—Michael LiVigni