As the intensity of the men's rugby club (4-1) goes, so goes their play. The Judge's intensity was at a season low at home on Saturday against Nichols College (2-3), as they suffered their first loss of the season 10-5.

"We knew that Nichols had won their previous game 90-0, so we were expecting a tough game," Dan Mauer '06 said. "They seemed to be more intense than us. "

Nichols' greater drive showed on the scoreboard 15 minutes into the first half when they scored a tri and a conversion to take a 7-0 lead. This was the first time Brandeis had trailed this season, and it was a deficit from which they would not recover. The Judges got close to the tri zone several times in the first half, but were stopped just short several times. At the end of the first half, the Judges could have attempted a kick for three points, but chose to fight futilely for the tri.

"If we'd made [the kick] we would have been down less than a tri," Mauer said. "It just didn't occur to us. Would we have made it? I don't know."

The second half of play was very similar to the first. Neither side took commanding control of the ball, but Nichols did maintain a slight advantage with its superior kicking game.

"Their fullback had good kicks which gave them good field position," Mauer said.

Despite their kicking disadvantage, Brandeis picked up a tri 15 minutes into the second half thanks to Josh Sherman '05. The Judges came close to tying late in the game, but were stopped just short several times as they had been in the first half.

"The teams performance on Saturday was reasonably good, they adapted well to the bigger and more physically imposing Nichols team and fought hard all the way," Coach John Dalton said."

This was just the second game this season in which Brandeis had been scored upon, following last week's 12-7 win over Maine Maritime University. That win ended a streak in which the Judges outscored their opponents 129-0. It is this dominance of opponents that may have led to some level of complacency.

"We knew that unless we lost by a lot, there was a very high likelihood we'd win the division regardless, " Mauer said. "Plus, the last couple of years we've generally had one down game. "

The Judges did clinch the top seed for the New England Rugby Football Union playoffs in two weeks despite the loss, but Mauer believes that the score could have been very different if someone had raised the team's spirits.

"No one took over the game to give us an energy boost, " he said.

The Judges do, however, draw some positives from the game.

"In some ways the loss helps us, " Mauer said. "It's a wake-up call that we need to amp it up for the playoffs. The teams we're playing are going to be coming for us. We need to match their intensity level. Intensity will be the difference-maker, " he said.

Brandeis begins its playoff run in two weeks, but it will likely be without hooker Alex Goldstein '06 who suffered torn ligaments in his right ankle. As a result, the Judges will likely rely on some inexperienced players at key positions.

"We need to have guys ready to come in when guys get hurt, " Mauer said.

Nontheless, the Judges remain confident.

"We're hardly going to stop now; not now, not after beating teams up and down the field all over New England, " Dalton said. "This is a great bunch who will win this championship, and Saturday may be just the reality check we need. As great as an unbeaten league run would have been, we want to be number one when the fat lady sings.