Hogs kick off season with gutsy display against Penn
Jon Adler, WG'07
Issue date: 9/18/06 Section: News
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The Wharton Men's Rugby Club, better known as the Wharthogs or simply the Hogs, has a proud tradition stretching back 25 years. The Club continues to define itself as a study in developing leadership - forging leaders of tomorrow by subjecting them to blunt force trauma on the field of play. The Wharthogs strive to embody the mantra of "elegant violence," and truly believe that rugby is a thug's game played by gentlemen.
After the departure of our '06 teammates, the '07 Hogs were looking to the '08 class to plug some of the holes left in our line-up. Though it is early yet, it looks like we have some promising candidates for the following vacancies:
- Forward pack hard man who puts massive hits on opponents: John (to replace Trevor Prichett);
- Long-haired clown who's happy to play dirty: Jack (to replace Mark Hearl);
- Pint-sized European with indeterminate accent: Alberto (to replace Rodolphe Herve);
- Know-it-all rugger vital to team, but permanently sidelined through injury and therefore reduced to shouting at teammates: Tim (to replace Chris Adams); and
- Grizzly bear-like forward with minimal fitness but massive off-field form: Rob Isaacs (to replace Rob Isaacs)
After two training sessions, plus a few burgers and beers at Rosie's to build team morale, the first hit-out for the new Hogs squad took place on Saturday, September 9th against the Penn Undergrads at Fairmount Park. The fact that they would be younger, fitter and faster than us was balanced out by the fact that in last year's opening match, eight Hogs did naked Zulu runs in front of the Gryphons, Philadelphia's premier gay-friendly rugby team.
The surface of the pitch at Fairmount Park itself, though an improvement on the Left Bank (stonier than a mother-in-law's stare), was an interesting combination of stagnant water mixed with dog s#!%. Ideal conditions, you could say, for the opening match of the season.
As so it proved. After 15 minutes, the Hogs had stormed out to a 7-0 lead, with Tim "Feeding the Pony" Bannister storming down the right wing to score a memorable try and Joe "Feck!" Newell converting for the two extra points. The undergrads, meanwhile, attempted to compensate for their lack of point-scoring ability with recklessly high tackles, relentless verbal abuse ("sledging"), whining to the referee and attempted "squirrel grips" on our props' family jewels.
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