The Oaks had their best showing in many years at the Macalester Rugby Tournament coming second after winning their bracket. The Oaks beat Macalester in the opening game and went on to defeat Gustavus in a nail-biting second game. These two wins earned the Oaks a spot in the championship game against the Blue Ox Rugby Club from St. Thomas, a team that had a national Division III bid the previous year. Although this ultimately ended in a loss, the Oaks placed second overall, and earned the respect of other clubs.
The first game against Macalester once again highlighted the prowess of the Oaks Rugby Club against the Macalester team with a score of 24-10, Oaks. The Oaks stole several lineouts, scrums, and rucks throughout the game, with the only weakness being the Sir's inability to call forward passes on Mac, resulting in tries. The game also featured the destruction of several players on the Macalester team by the powerful tackling of the Oaks, of particular note was EJ's brutal crushing of whoever received the ball on kickoff.
The second game against Gustavus was less straight forward and much more nerve-wracking before it ultimately ended up in a 3-0 victory for Carleton. Both teams put up strong defenses with the only crack present during the entire game being a single penalty kick for the Oaks. The game saw EJ's continued destruction of kickoff receivers, if at times, illegally.
The Oaks then faced the Blue Ox Rugby Club from St. Tomas, who defeated St. Olaf and Minnesota-Morris to win their bracket. The game began with an event that finally clarified the correct lyrics to end songs, when a dog ran onto the pitch and took a shit (giving us "shit on the pitch"). The game was a hard fought loss for the Oaks ending 0-22, as the Blue Oxen pushed through the defensive line twice with mauls, which unfortunately have not yet been visited in practice yet this year for the Oaks. The game saw the development of our Scrum-half Dana, who showed control and ability when facing the opposition and continuously took down the opposition while making space for plays.
Ultimately, the Macalester Rugby Tournament proved to be a great start to the Oak's season. Nicknames were earned, Tulip and Quick-step, players gained experience in new positions and showed their mettle, and perhaps most-of-all the Oaks earned the respect of their fellow rugby clubs through a strong performance.
