Greenwich boys rugby team routs visiting Simsbury on Senior Day

By David Fierro on May 13, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

Photo by David Fierro: Greenwich High School’s Clay Griffin runs with the ball while avoiding Simsbury players during the Cardinals’ rugby matchup at Cardinal Stadium on May 12, 2022.

Absolutely dominant.

That’s exactly what Greenwich High School’s boys rugby team was against Simsbury on Thursday at Cardinal Stadium, as it reached the try zone time after time.

The Cardinals celebrated Senior Day by reaching the try zone frequently, lighting the scoreboard quickly and exciting their fans throughout by overwhelming Simsbury, 94-0.

Greenwich scored several tries during the first 20 minutes of the opening half, entered halftime with a 43-0 lead and added to its point total in the second half.

Greenwich High School’s rugby team rolled to a resounding 94-0 win over visiting Simsbury on May 12, 2022.

A huge highlight for the Cardinals in this one-sided matchup was the return of one of their captains – senior Charley Beney. Beney tore his anterior cruciate ligament this past summer but made his return back to action Thursday against Simsbury, after working so hard to return to the field for numerous months.

Beney bulled his way into the try zone with 23:58 remaining in the first half, giving Greenwich a 10-0 lead. Nico Figueroa made the conversion kick and the Cardinals enjoyed an early 12-0 lead. Beney’s try drew loud cheers from the Cardinals’ faithful.

Photo by David Fierro: Captain Charlie Beney scored a try in his return to the Greenwich rugby team.

Senior captain Garrett O’Dell opened the scoring by dashing to the try zone at the 28:08 mark of the first half, putting GHS on top, 5-0. With 21 minutes remaining in the first half, speedy senior Thomas Foster broke away from several Simsbury players after catching the ball off a toss from his teammate and sprinted 25 yards for a try. The ensuing conversion kick by Figueroa gave the Cards a comfortable 17-0 advantage.

Thomas Foster, (red jersey) helped power Greenwich’s offense in a victory against Simsbury.

Junior Anthony Barallon outran a pair of Simsbury players down the right sideline on his way to scoring a try, increasing the Cardinals’ lead to 24-0 with 13:15 still to go in the first half.

At the 8:17 mark, Daniel Barker, also a junior, scored for Greenwich, upping the squad’s advantage to 31-0.

Photo by David Fierro: Greenwich upended Simsbury, 94-0, in rugby action on May 12, 2022.

In the first half, Carlos Capistran and Jason Sodokoff also had one try apiece for Greenwich, which continued its dominant performance in the second half, tallying a number of tries.

Figueroa and Santiago Borrego combined on the kicks for Greenwich throughout the matchup. Up next for Greenwich is the Boys High School Rugby Championships – the National Championships – in Elkhart, Indiana. The Boys High School Rugby Championships begins on May 19.

Thursday’s win marked Greenwich’s sixth victory of the season. They go into Nationals with a record of 6-4.