The Brandeis men's rugby club (2-0) continued to dominate the New England Rugby Football Union's Division-IV on Sunday, knocking off pre-season favorite Southern Connecticut College 29-0. Sunday marked the first time in two years that Southern Connecticut competed in NERFU, due to a disciplinary suspension. But SCC did not show its rust in the first half, holding the Judges to just one tri, scored by Josh Sugarman '05.

In the second half, Brandeis flexed its muscle, scoring three unanswered tries to put the game away. SCC did not go down lightly, however, putting up a fierce physical fight in the final five minutes of the game but to no avail.

"[SCC] wasn't great. They played hard, but they weren't that incredible," Dan Tress '07 said.

Ben "Animal" Liebowitz '05 scored one tri, giving him six on the season, but the offensive star of the game was Sugarman. He finished with three tries, one penalty kick and three conversions. Scrum half Jacob Kim '06 also had an excellent game, keeping the Judges in control of the game by making crisp passes and distributing the ball well.

"The performance of the Rugby team was superb in many different areas," Coach John Dalton said. "They tackled superbly and defended their line resolutely for a few periods of intense pressure and perhaps, more importantly, they used their heads."

Although the Judges have not faced any serious challenges so far, there are a few areas in which they could improve.

"I would say we still need a little work on some of the finer points of passing and some set plays," Tress said.

This need for improvment in the finer points showed a bit on Sunday, as the Judges missed out on a few more scoring opportunities.

"We tend to make the classic mistake of holding onto [the ball] for dear life, instead of letting the ball do the work, and forcing the opposition to run after it." Dalton said.

The defeat of SCC comes on the heels of a 62-0 route of Curry College at home last Saturday, showing that the Judges are not only better than last year, but likely the best team in the league.

"We're going to win it all," Tress said. "Without a doubt we're the best team in Division-IV."

The men's rugby club's next game is at home on Saturday against Massachusetts Maritime College.