Matt Nesi holds off a tackle from Fairfield. Photo by Newsphoto.com On Saturday March 22nd, at Glen Cove Middle School, the Long Island Colts rugby team triumphed over Fairfield HS of CT, 25 - 0, scoring 5 unanswered tries in their final pre-season game of the season. Man-of-the-Match, Gareth McLoughlin brought his A game to lead the Colts, and he made the visitors pay by scoring 2 great scrum half tries. The Colts got on the scoreboard quickly after the shock withdrawal of Garden City's Jeff Fell with a knee injury. Tough, powerhouse prop, Rob Ploth (Bethpage HS) is proving to be a key player for Long Island. Early in the game, Ploth ran onto a perfectly weighted pass from McLoughlin, and then drove over 2 defenders to score. Center Sean Reilly and Garden City's Ken Pape also scored 1 try-a-piece.

Long Island played with control, if not flair, for most of the game. The loss of playmaker and general Jeff Fell was a heavy blow to the Long Island team on Saturday. His place at the back of the scrum was taken by Mike Cheshire (Mac Arthur HS). Fairfield Coach Ron said, "they made it very tough for us, the Colts kept us pinned in our own half for the entire match."

Ken Pape looks to pass against Fairfield. Photo by Newsphoto.com Visit www.Newsphoto.com to view over 700 photos from Saturday's rugby scrimmages.

Members of the LI Colts combine to tackle their opposition. Photo by Newsphoto.com