Then Bagpipes Played

A Touch of Class
With the strains of ‘Scotland the Brave’ lilting over the field, the final game of the 2005 New England Championships began Sunday, 30 October, as the lone piper stood playing between the pitch uprights. Many of us wondered if the Coast Guard had brought some mystical aid to take down this year’s deep Middlebury team. Not so.


Catching Some Air at Halftime Peter Straub Photo

So who is the piper? Josh Hendrickson ’07.5, of Middlebury College is a friend of rugby and of team members Matt Volz and Pasqual Losambe. He has been piping for about 9 years, having learned the instrument while living in Brussels, Belgium. “I just kept bugging people until they taught me how to play,” said Josh. He noted, for Sunday’s contest against Coast Guard “some guys asked me to play… so it only seemed appropriate.”


2005 N E W E N G L A N D C H A M P S ! ! Peter Straub Photo

His choice of music was easy. “Until recently ‘Scotland the Brave’ was the Scottish National Anthem and is played before every rugby match that the Scottish team plays” said Josh. “I played ‘Scotland the Brave’ once through, then threw in 'The Rowan Tree’ …because it sounds great with 'Scotland the Brave' then I played 'Scotland the Brave' again… I chose it because it seems to be the classic fight song for a rugby game played on the bagpipes.”


Opposing USCGA Captain and Volz '07 Peter Straub Photo

Josh noted he will definitely be playing again at this Sunday’s start of the Northeast Territorial quarterfinal match against Vassar College. Game time is 1:00pm at the Middlebury College pitch, 11/6/05.