Brown Men’s Rugby finishes sixth at Stag 7s behind Edjua’s scoring surge

Brown Men’s Rugby opened fast, piled up points across four matches and finished sixth in the 12-team Stag 7s tournament on a sunny Saturday in Fairfield, Connecticut, led by captain Tito Edjua ’27. Brown scored 95 points and allowed 48 on the day, with Edjua accounting for a team-high 42 points on six tries and six conversions.

The Bears started the tournament with their most dominant performance, a 42-0 win over Syracuse Hammerheads Rugby. Brown struck in the opening minute when Charm Tuala ’28 forced a defensive turnover, Edjua moved the ball wide, and St John Smith ’28 finished on the edge for the try. On the ensuing restart kick, Edjua recovered possession and took it himself for the try, adding the conversion for a 12-0 lead. Brown kept control through dominant multi-phase possessions and turnovers, getting tries from Rowe Stodolnic ’27, Thomas Bouchard ’28 twice, Theo Romero ’27, Joe Ashford ’28 and Tuala. By the 14-minute mark, Brown had turned the opener into a rout.

The second pool match proved much tougher. Kutztown scored first on a penalty quick tap and built a 26-7 lead with several tries created the same way or off broken tackles. Brown answered through Edjua, who broke multiple tackles from a quick tap for a converted try, then closed the match with scores from Bertie Deen ’29 on a strong carry in close and Edjua again on a do-it-all kick-and-chase. The 26-17 loss left Brown needing a response in the knockout round.

That response came in the Plate semifinal, where Brown beat the host club Fairfield Stags 21-5. Romero set the tone 70 seconds in, racing 80 meters down the sideline for a try that Edjua converted. After Fairfield answered with its lone score, Brown regained control. Cameron Kean ’29 helped create the next turning point by poaching the ball from a tackle and winning a penalty. Brown took a quick tap, and Kean stayed in support to finish the chance for a converted try and a 14-5 lead. Edjua then scored after Brown won a defensive lineout, circling the edge of the defense and converting his own try to seal the result.

Brown’s final match, the Plate final against the Fordham Rams, turned on a handful of swings and ended in a 17-15 loss. Edjua gave Brown an immediate start, recovering the opening kickoff and scoring 15 seconds into the match. Fordham answered with two tries, both sparked by quick taps after penalties, to take a 10-5 lead. Brown pulled level just after halftime when Romero fielded Fordham’s kickoff and went 60 meters on his own on the first play of the second half. Edjua added another try from an attacking scrum at 9:30 to put Brown ahead 15-10, but in the 11th minute, Fordham found space near the ruck and broke a pick-and-go about 50 meters for the match-winning try with less than three minutes remaining.

Romero finished the tournament with 15 points on three tries, and Bouchard added 10 points on two tries. Stodolnic, Smith, Tuala, Ashford, Deen and Kean each scored once during the tournament. On a clear, breezy day in Fairfield, Brown showed its best form when it won possession and attacked as a unit, especially in the opening shutout of Syracuse and the semifinal win over Fairfield. The Bears now turn toward the annual Ivy 7s tournament on April 19th at Harvard University.

Brown Roster for Stag 7s

Joe Ashford '28

Thomas Bouchard '28

Bertie Deen '29

Tito Edjua '27 (C)

Erik Estienne '28

Cameron Kean '29

Ben Le Roux '29

Theo Romero '27

Ben Shirley '27

St John Smith '28

Reid Spence '28

Rowe Stodolnic '27

Charm Tuala '28

Gavin Vollmer '29