Club Rugby Recap: Weekend Of October 5-6

/in /by

ATLANTIC NORTH

Women’s

There were four lead changes between Raleigh (1-1) and Boston (1-1), and the teams were within one try of each other the 79th minute. That’s when the Venom prop Megan Gilmore scored the game’s final try, and Chelsea Garber’s third conversion afforded the 31-19 win. In the lead-up, outside center Shawn Gatewood dotted down three times and flanker Hannah Spencer added five points. Boston scored through Isabel Haber, Italia Ieraci and Emma Santosuosso, and Stacey Markovic added two conversions.
In the Empire GU, the Village Lions posted a 68-5 win over Monmouth, and now both are 4-1. Eight New Yorkers scored tries in the win, with No. 8 Adriana Castillo and inside center Ais Smith doubling their efforts. Colby Ruys de Perez knocked over eight conversions to lead on points. Hannah Septoff (3) and Emma Ferraro (2) scored Morris’ five tries against New Haven (1-4), winning 29-19 and improving to 4-1. Brooklyn enjoyed a 64-14 win over Uticuse, and Juliet Wade, Margaret Ewen, Jane Wade and Kathleen Mason scored multiple tries a piece.
In the New England GU DII-leading Worcester enjoyed a bye week, while the rest of the field closed in. Providence improved to 3-1 with a 29-0 win over Charles River, and Albany (2-3) held off Hartford (1-3) in a 38-27 contest. Burlington (2-2) dropped a 15-10 decision to Portland (3-2) but banked a bonus point in the close defeat.
Seacoast (1-2) got its first win of the NERFU DIII season, but only after a three-try spree in the final 10 minutes against Upper Valley (2-1). Amber Nault crossed twice and then Stacy Woodley added the game-winner. Delaney Payne’s conversion made it 37-34 to Seacoast.

Men’s

Starting off the weekend in the Atlantic North, the New York City rivalry between Old Blue and NYAC was renewed again. The American Rugby Premiership matchup lived up to the hype as the teams battled to the end at Travers Island. When the final whistle sounded, it was a massive win for the Winged Foot as NYAC was victorious in a 36-34 triumph.
After dropping its first game, White Plains has been on a rampage in the Empire DII as it beat the Fairfield Yankees on the road, 35-27. The boot of Thomas Strachen, who slotted six penalties and scored 25 of his team’s points, highlighted the match where the lead changed hands five times. In the only other Empire DII game, New Haven’s Stephen Cappello scored a late try to nip the Union County Mudturtles, 40-39.
Up in New England, South Shore overcame a 15-0 deficit late in the first half against Mystic Barbarians to earn a bonus point 43-20 victory and remain undefeated in DII. The Boston Irish Wolfhounds kept pace with the frontrunners earning a bonus point themselves beating divisional contender Newport, 39-22, and Boston’s 55-18 victory over Worcester has them leapfrog both Mystic and Newport to sit at third in the standings.
NERFU DIII wrapped up the majority of the regular season pool play this weekend. MIT pulled the upset of the division as it knocked off the previously-undefeated Amoskeag, 57-32. MIT scored eight tries with Aaron West and Alex Sawyer dotting down a pair each. Boston Maccabi remains the only undefeated squad with a narrow victory over North Shore, 28-26. Down in the Empire, only one team remains with no losses as the Rochester Aardvarks beat cross-town rivals Rochester Colonials, 36-28, and are close to locking up a #1 seed for the playoffs. Morris, who had been dominating in New Jersey DIII played to a draw with Monmouth, 17-17. Lansdowne knocked Brooklyn from the ranks of the unbeaten by an impressive 45-7 score.
Lastly, Rockaway and North Jersey continued to roll over opponents in Empire DIV. Rockaway put away NYRC, 82-7, as it scored 14 tries in the victory and North Jersey crushed the Rochester Aardvarks, 49-19. In the NERFU, the Boston Ironsides bounced back from a disappointing forfeit last week to a commanding 59-27 win over Black River. In a statement match between two of the top teams in the division, Monadnock battled all 80 minutes against a balanced and proven Freedom team, but it came down to the sure-footed flyhalf Ely Thayer to split the uprights with a penalty in the 70th minute for the 13-12 victory.

FRONTIER

Women’s

Houston Athletic went 1-1 on its DI doubleheader road trip to Colorado. The Texans opened against Glendale (1-0) and with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, trailed 50-26. But a massive closing effort put Carson Aslop, Bonnie Richardson and Meredith Frasier into the try zone, and Delia Nava’s conversion pulled the scoreline to 50-43, thus affording two bonus points in the loss. Caitlin Weigel, Franciny Alves Amaral, JT Wypych each scored two tries on Saturday. HARC then turned around and withstood three lead changes en route to a 34-22 win over Denver Black Ice (0-3) on Sunday. Richardson finished the weekend with five tries.

Men’s

A total of seven games were played in the Frontier between Mid-America and the Rocky Mountains. In Mid-America DII, the St. Louis Royal Ramblers notched its first win of the season beating Kansas City, 15-12, while Sunday Morning continued its dominance in DIII with an 83-24 bludgeoning of the Royal Ramblers’ DIII side.
With the HSBC World Rugby Women’s USA 7s event at Infinity Park, games were limited in the Rockies. In Eastern Rockies Cup pool play, the Colorado Springs Grizzlies upset the Denver Barbarians, 29-28, for the first time in at least 12 years. With only a few weeks until the Eastern Rockies Cup final this November, spots are up for grabs in the division.
In the Rocky Mountain Men’s Championship, the Queen City Rams, last year’s Frontier DIII champions, got their first win of the season in a hard-fought 30-19 victory over the Northern Colorado Flamingos and Denver Barbarians D4 defeated Colorado Springs Grizzlies D4, 36-34, as they look to once again defend their Rocky Mountain Rugby Challenge League title.
On a side note, Springfield traveled to play a friendly match versus Little Rock. After the match, Springfield’s coach Mark Owings suffered a massive heart attack after playing 80 minutes in the heat. Thanks to some very quick thinking and response from Johanna Bade, Hanna Jo, Zach Tisdale, Brett Bibel, and David Caswell, he was able to be revived and stabilized through the use of CPR and an on-hand Automated External Defibrillator (AED) until the paramedics arrived. Owings went immediately into surgery at UAMS Medical Center and he is now stable, awake, moving, and responding. The paramedics noted that he was saved because of the AED device application, CPR, and fearless action.

MID-ATLANTIC

Women’s

NOVA (2-0) and Philadelphia (0-2) contested an equally tense game. Twenty-eight minutes in, NOVA flyhalf Emily Blease lit up the scoreboard with a try, and Stephanie Barros followed minutes after the half. Bri Kim’s first of two conversions afforded a 12-0 lead, until No. 8 Lucy Dawson scored back-to-back tries. Kate Hallinan kicked the extras and then added a penalty minutes later: 19-15 to NOVA with 15 minutes to play. Neither defense budged and NOVA held on for its second win.
The most exciting DII game of the weekend went to Doylestown and Phoenixville. White Horse built a 15-point lead in the first half, and then the Dragons slowly chipped away. In the 79th minute, fullback Sarah Ross scored to give Doylestown its only, and most important, lead of the game, and Katharine Walston’s conversion afforded the 24-20 win.
Scrumhalf Maria Romanchak and outside center Alyson McCarty helped Severn River improve to 4-0, scoring two tries apiece in the team’s 47-7 win over James River (1-2). Giulia DiSanto, Mia Akau and Shannon Hubbard led Norfolk (1-2) with two tries each in a 51-17 win over Northeast Philadelphia.
In the DIII North, York & Lancaster beat Wilmington (1-4) 38-17. Flyhalf Kayla Robison accounted for 16 points on two tries and three conversions. In the South, the Maryland Exiles (2-0) remained undefeated with a 56-0 win over Frederick (1-1). Diana Roman, Rachel Williams, Tanya Gouws and Chinasa Dike scored two tries apiece.

Men’s

In the rematch of last season’s Mid-Atlantic DI final, NOVA looked to have Rocky Gorge on the ropes up 21-3 after 60 minutes of play, but Gorge awoke from its slumber to score five unanswered tries to win 38-21. In the south division, the Potomac Exiles rebounded from last week’s loss to come from behind in the last five minutes to beat Baltimore-Chesapeake, 33-29. Lastly, the Pittsburgh Harlequins nabbed their first win on the final play against the visiting Norfolk Blues, 25-24, when Joji Vakasisikakala scored the game-winner as time expired.
In the DII South, James River claimed the first round in its cross-town derby against Richmond, 41-19, and Washington narrowly edged Virginia, 31-29, for its first W of the season. As for the North, South Jersey attempted a late second-half comeback against Old Gaelic, but the Devils fell short, 39-24, and Wilmington doubled up the Roses, 40-14.
In the crowded DIII, a few teams have separated themselves from the pack. In the Central, Rocky Gorge and the Washington Irish are undefeated and Severn River and the Washington Renegades trail close behind at 3-1. With the Northeast Philadelphia Irish and Reading on a bye, Media matched the Irish’s record at 3-0-1 by beating Delmarva, 27-5, Brandywine is in third after a 55-26 defeat of the Hibernians, and Harrisburg slipped into second of the Red division with a 49-0 shutout against Blackthorn. Only one game was played in the South this weekend as Rappahannock continued to impress with a 47-24 demolition of Newport News. Jacques Keet was a man on fire with four tries and six conversions to lead his team to its third win.

MIDWEST

Women’s

When the DI Chicago Lions (4-0-1) and Metropolis (3-1-1) first met, they finished with a tie, 12-12. The rematch, contested in Minnesota, went to the Lions 33-12, while Katie Lohaus led as Player of the Match. Meanwhile, Chicago (4-2) and Detroit (2-4) exchanged the lead three times in the first half, but the second half saw Chicago pull away 41-27. Flyhalf Sarah Anderson accounted for 16 points on a try, penalty and four conversions.
All of the DII victors held their opponents to two tries or fewer. West-leading Palmer College (4-0) moved the ball around in its 76-7 victory over the winless County Will Morrigans, and wing Jessica Hernandez accounted for three of the 12 tries scored. Milwaukee Scylla (3-1) shut out the Minneapolis Menagerie (0-3) 67-0, and inside center Abigail Williams contributed 27 points on three tries and six conversions. Wing Mariah Lundstrum scored a hat trick in Twin Cities 44-10 win over Chicago Sirens (2-2) to improve to 3-1.
Buffalo and Pittsburgh Forge remain undefeated in East Gold, but that will change this Saturday when they face each other. Buffalo spent last weekend beating Cleveland (1-1) 31-5 and got its points from Emma McAndrew (2T), Jenna Hutzler (T, 2C), Nicole Faulise (2C, P) and Trisha John (T). Meanwhile,
North Buffalo (2-2) ran away with a 55-5 contest against Akron (0-4). Eight players scored the nine tries, and outside center Grace DeSanto (2T) and flyhalf Christina Killourhy (4C) led on points scored.
Fort Wayne (2-1) halfbacks Kara Fultz and Megan Ahnen do a lot of damage for Fort Wayne, which is now 2-1 after an 86-point performance against Louisville (0-4). Also in East Green, Columbus (4-0) beat Grand Rapids (2-3) 69-5 and finished all of its tries against Grand Rapids (2-3) through the backs, with Brittany Latham and wing Madeline Kohr ending the day with hat tricks.

Men’s

In the Midwest Rugby Premiership, home teams ruled on Saturday as the hosts won by a combined score of 176-54. Cincinnati and Metropolis blew out their opponents, while Detroit and Palmer had to work for their wins. Detroit’s 35-24 victory over the Chicago Griffins increases its win total to 5-0 and the Tradesmen will be tested again this weekend as they travel to the second-place Lions.
The Pittsburgh Forge and Wisconsin remained on the top of the table of the East and West divisions in DII with big wins over Indianapolis and the Eastside Banshees. The Green Bay Celtics are looking over Wisconsin’s shoulder at 4-1 after dispatching Metropolis, 36-17, and the Chicago Lions secured its second win in a row after dropping its first three.
Through the first month and a half of the season, only nine of the 47 DIII teams are left on undefeated island: the Fox Valley Maoris, Akron, the Bremer County Bucks, the St, Cloud Bottom Feeders, the St. Paul Jazz Pigs, Fort Wayne, the Grand Rapid Gazelles, Queen City, Oconomowoc, and the Oshkosh Pigs.
One of the closest matches of the weekend was between St. Cloud and the Rochester Rogues in the cold and wet of DIII Minnesota. In the battle of #2 versus #3, St. Cloud’s Luke Morgan scored a try 15 minutes in and fullback Marc Severson tacked the conversion for the 7-0 lead. The defenses took over and it wasn’t until the end of the game that either team would influence the scoreboard. In the 75th minute, the Rogues’ Michael Schatz crossed the whitewash, but Rochester was unable to convert and the final was 7-5 in favor of the home team.
Other impact scores were Fox Valley’s 35-12 defeat of Rockford, Akron’s 41-39 win over the Cleveland Crusaders, Bremer County’s 48-15 victory against Des Moines, Grand Rapids’ 59-0 and Fort Wayne’s 78-0 shutouts to finish their seasons, the Columbus Castaways’ 74-0 and Louisville’s 28-0 domination in the South, and Oconomowoc’s 45-10 drubbing of Milwaukee and Oshkosh’s 34-29 edging of Fond du Lac to stay perfect in Wisconsin.
In DIV, the Westside Outcasts extended their unbeaten streak to four games with a 38-26 win over Dayton, Fort Wayne improved its record to 5-1 with a 27-0 triumph over the Jackson Fenians, and a penalty from John Matthews in the 79th minute broke a tie between the Kenosha Mammoths and Chicago Silverbacks to send Kenosha to a 27-24 victory.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

The Seattle Saracens were three-time winners on Saturday as their men’s and women’s premier and men’s premier reserve sides all won. Playing Meraloma at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash., the Sarries’ men’s premier won its second game in a row, 38-28, and the women put on a clinic to surpass the century mark, 143-0. The men’s premier reserve survived a late scare to win 27-22.

Women’s

In the DII Pacific Northwest, Tacoma bested Boise United 71-10, and Emerald City kept its undefeated record intact with a tough 32-12 win over Bend. South Sound got a second win in its first-ever league season, defeating ORSU 54-10.
“What I have noticed over the past few games is that some of our newer players have a lot more confidence in their ability to move the ball up the field, go into contact, and trust their teammates to support them,” South Sound head coach Cassie Bordelon explained. “When that happens we play super solid, patient rugby, and we see it pay off with tries. It’s very exciting to think of how we can continue to build off that going into our friendly with Mudhens B this weekend, and into the start of our spring season in March.”

Men’s

In men’s DII, Tacoma notched its first ever win over the Boise United, the defending PNRFU DII champion. A late surge by Tacoma gave the Nomads enough of a boost to dot down a try in the ending minutes to win, 32-31. In the other two matches, the Portland Pigs’ pack dominated ORSU en route to a 45-24 victory and the Eastside Tsunami ran roughshod over the Valley Kangaroos, 90-7, in a fast-paced, good-spirited game.
Noteworthy results in DIII include the Eugene Stags and the Clark County Chiefs defeating the Boise United on two-day road trip, the Eastside Axemen beating Tacoma, 24-20, Chuckanut Bay tripling up Seattle, 60-17, and Portland winning on the road against ORSU, 24-19.

SOUTH

Women’s

After taking a forfeit win against Camp Lejeune, Savannah ran out to a 73-32 victory against Charleston (1-2). Shamrocks Katherine Smith, Amanda Fernandez and Riketa Granville put in multi-try performances. Augusta, which beat Charleston 33-27, is also 2-0 in DII Carolinas-Georgia.
The DII True South held its first matrix match of the season, Knoxville beat Nashville 34-0. Wing Elizabeth Terry-Emert and scrumhalf Regina Durkan scored two tries apiece.

Men’s

The much-anticipated match between two of the best DI clubs in the nation didn’t disappoint as Life hosted 404 Rugby Atlanta in Marietta, Ga. With many of the players on both teams going to play for the MLR’s Rugby ATL this spring, the game was sneak peek for what’s in store next year. What transpired was a hard-nosed, physical battle where the lead was exchanged six times, ultimately on the last play of the game. Down 21-17 for most of the second half, 404 scored the game-winner in the 80th minute to win 22-21 and push its ARP record to 4-0.
The Clarksville Headhunters started their DII True South fall season with a 50-17 win over Huntsville and in the Carolinas, Greenville traveled to Southern Pines in the only DII match of the weekend and fell 67-7. This sets up a matchup of the undefeated next week as Asheville hosts Southern Pines.
Lastly, in the lone DIII match, the Clayton Bootleggers cruised past Camp Lejeune, 66-35, in a likely preview of the Carolina Union DIII Championship in the spring.

Club 6 Pack Preview: October 5-6

/in , /by

Women’s DI – Midwest: Boston Rugby vs Raleigh Venom
Starting off this week’s Club 6 Pack Preview, is a Midwestern battle between two teams who are very familiar with one another throughout the years. The Raleigh Venom, established in 2002, are a USA Rugby Women’s Division I team that competes within the Midwest union and finished #3 nationally in 2016, and #2 nationally in 2017 and 2018. The Raleigh Rattlesnakes, launched their first season in 2007 with a U-19 league, in hopes of promoting interest and knowledge of the sport within our local youth. Our youth program now consists of boys and girls teams starting at age 4 and running through competitive high school programs.
The Boston Women’s Rugby side is an established club fostering the spirit of rugby on and off the pitch for over 40 years. Founded in 1976, the Boston Women’s Rugby Football Club was formed, making it the oldest independent women’s club in Boston. Since then, they have captured the New England Rugby Club Championship titles for both 15s and 7s, and have represented the Northeast at the national level. BWRFC has renewed itself as a national level contender with significant coaching changes and a recent influx of young talent.
The Boston Women’s Rugby Football Club promotes teamwork, leadership, discipline, and physical activity both on and off the pitch. Their athletes span a variety of backgrounds and careers, such as lawyers, nurses, engineers, students, and accountants. Players contribute to the community through philanthropic events each season, from coaching youth rugby to volunteering at local charity races.
Men’s DI – Midwest: Metropolis Rugby vs Milwaukee Barbarians
Metropolis Rugby has been having a great start to the season thus far having a 3-1 record, with their only loss having a 3-point differential to the powerhouse Kansas City Blues. The club will be looking to get back on track by facing the (so-far) winless Milwaukee Barbarians (0-3). A staunch defensive presence has helped Metropolis stop their previous opponents, which the Barbarians will be aiming to reverse their attacking trend and put up a good-showing against one of the top sides in their competition.
Joseph Birdsall, the head coach for Milwaukee Barbarians chimed in how his club is taking in the 2019 season with Metro as their next obstacle. “The Barbarians are underdogs every week and playing away at Metropolis this week is no exception. Metro is lethal with ball in hand and [we] need to limit errors throughout the match to stay competitive. Every match is a real test against the highest level players in the country.”
Birdsall continued, “Last week, Wesley White of Austin Herd and Lindenwood fame created exciting rugby moments for the Barbarians in Saint Louis. This week, the Barbarians are focused on winning key matchups against the NOLA contingent of Metro: Jared Abt v Kavika Peniata in the front row, Anthony Sims v Ekapatelisio Veamatahau at 8 and Alex Mross v Joeli Tikoisuva on the edge. Both sides are very familiar with their strengths across the pitch so it should be a great match.”
Women’s DII – Carolinas-Georgia: Charleston Hurricanes vs Savannah Shamrocks
With the Carolinas-Georgia competition recently in full-swing, the Hurricanes (1-1) will host the Shamrocks (1-0), in a cross-conference showdown that will provide its fans plenty of passionate play. The Savannah Shamrocks are proud in their experienced coaching and support staff, along with a strong membership network and partnerships with local businesses for support which have greatly helped the club in recent years. They are excited in traveling to Charleston in taking on the Hurricanes. The Shamrocks will be hoping for their luck against this enthusiastic coastal club that have, in recent years, not only increased their club size, but also their success.
The president of the Charleston Hurricanes club, Claire Cox, mentioned the history and development of their club within the sport and community, in recent years. “The Charleston Hurricanes Women’s Rugby Football Club was founded in 2003 with the same goals we have today: promote the sport of rugby in the south, increase women’s participation in the sport and represent the fine city of Charleston, South Carolina. When we first started, we did not have enough players to field a 15’s side and so we teamed up with the Savannah Shamrocks every year to play full games. Four years ago, that partnership helped develop two full sides of women’s rugby teams. Since then, an intense rivalry has developed on the pitch, and the same players remain friends for the social afterwards. This match will be as powerful as the founding players who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this game.“
Kate Lyker, the head coach of the Savannah Shamrocks is excited for the upcoming game, and the growth of her club since the beginning of the season. “Any match against the Charleston Hurricanes is always a fun one. Last year was our first year back in the matrix playing them, but we have played numerous friendlies against them. It is a hard-fought game each time and things seem to come together for us. We lost some experienced girls over the summer, so I am looking forward to seeing some of our girls step up into new roles and our new girls experience their first match. We have been putting in a lot of work at practice and I hope that we will be able to show that on the pitch. It will be an excellent match and cannot wait to see the continued growth on both sides.”
Men’s DII – Pacific Northwest: Tacoma Nomads vs Boise United
The 1-1 Tacoma Nomads will be hosting the (tied for) top-of-the-table 1-0 Boise United club, which had almost eclipsed the century mark in their previous week’s contest. Although Tacoma’s attack should not be reckoned with either, with their side putting up 64 points in their first two games against solid Pacific NW challengers. According to Tacoma Nomad’s website, “Over 40 years ago a group of players founded the Tacoma Rugby Club. Today, our club consists of three ever expanding programs for men, women, and youth. Our greater community includes: an active Old Boys organization, a long list of dedicated sponsors, local rugby enthusiasts, and our player’s families. Everyone involved plays a key role in keeping the spirit of rugby alive in Tacoma!“
With the Boise side keen in accepting the road challenge, Tripper Povar, president of the Boise United club, mentioned much of the club’s success due to the hard work and skill of his teammates. “The 2018-2019 Pacific Northwest (D2) Champions, Boise United Men’s RFC will head up to the Seattle area in efforts to fend off a talented Tacoma Nomads team. The Nomads, who have grown in numbers and skill, shook up the conference early this fall by beating a strong ORSU team in Portland “on the farm”. Tacoma will be looking to return to form against Boise United to defend their home ground.
Povar continued, “Boise United will be relying heavily on its core of returning players lead by Captains Taylor Thomas (Backs) and Zundel Molifua (Forwards) to set the tempo this Saturday. Boise will also be expecting a lot from a few key playmakers such as Skyler Larsen, Senituli Taufoou and Vidal Davis. Boise coaches expect a strong battle upfront from Tacoma – a team that is known for having a big, ferocious and mobile forward pack. This should be a good test of dexterity for players on both sides with the numbers 1 through 8 on their backs. Be on the lookout for Boise United’s reupholstered backline which was built for the modern game.”
Women’s DIII – NERFU: Amoskeag Rugby vs North Shore
This great division 3 matchup, will take place on Amoskeag (2-0) home-turf with a valiant and passionate North Shore (2-1) side. North Shore currently leads the conference in points, 1 above Amoskeag, which the victor of this game will come away with a much needed win and points moving forward in the competition. Andy Ryan, Head Coach for Amoskeag, had this to say about his club’s chances against North Shore, and its repercussions. “In an emerging Division III competition in the northeast, Amoskeag Women’s Rugby prepare to take on one of their toughest opponents of the season, North Shore Women’s Rugby. Both teams were dropped from the Division II conference to the newly formed Division III conference this season, leaving them fighting for the opportunity to advance back to Division II. The match this weekend may be the most important to secure a Division II spot for next fall.“
The Amoskeag and North Shore women’s teams have a historic rivalry that has them competing for a lead spot each year. Last fall, Amoskeag took the win over North Shore in the Division II league match. In a hard-fought game at the NERFU Rugby Cup this past May, North Shore narrowly defeated Amoskeag. Coach Ryan with Amoskeag continues, “The Amoskeag women expect strong competition from their rival each time they hit the pitch. North Shore typically plays a forward central game that can be difficult to defend, however, [we] have prepared well and looks forward to continuing dominance in league matches. With the match-up this weekend, our club intends to set the record straight.”
“I respect North Shore for their determined play,” said Ryan. “We have been training to neutralize their threats, especially around the ruck. Our ladies have been working hard all season on fitness with a focus on individual and team defense. I’m confident that our game plan along with solid leadership on the field will see us come out on top.”
Amoskeag forwards captain Jami Almonte also noted, “Our team has been putting in some serious work this season in order to establish ourselves in the top of this new division. Not only has our skill level and fitness improved immensely with each passing week, but the heart and dedication on and off the field is our gold star. These girls work hard and fight through every match like it’s their last, as a unified team. Almonte continued, “To me, Amoskeag is really special, because win or lose (although losing is not in the plan), we are there for each other and keep our positive attitudes and good sportsmanship until the end. We can’t wait to face off against North Shore, yet again, for a hard hitting and intense match!”
North Shore, realizing the importance of this match, is extremely keen in taking their challenger head-on and not backing down for the entire 80 minutes of play. Kali Vozeh, captain stated, “Saturday’s game is very critical for us. We’ve played Amoskeag for years, and they’ve consistently been close games. A few years ago at the NERFU tournament, we played [them] in the finals, losing just 3-0. That’s the type of hard fought match you remember vividly and drives you in your next contest. We’re striving to prove ourselves as a Division III powerhouse, with hopes to move to Division II next year, and this game is an important step. While we have a few key injuries, but we feel confident that we can bring home the win with our dynamic and strong squad.“
Men’s DIV – Midwest: Chicago Silverbacks vs Kenosha Mammoths
This spirited matchup between the Chicago and Kenosha sides will be a great division 4 contest with plenty of dedicated and wistful supporters and players alike. The Chicago Silverbacks are an incredibly giving club in that they aim at creating positive change within one of the most financially and crime burdened section of the city. The program offers both athletic mentoring, as well as leadership development opportunities, relationships with positive role models and the ability for local youth to connect with their community in a way that promotes an active lifestyle and a constructive, inclusive culture.
Kenosha’s President/Coach/Current player John Slupik, and also Coach/Current player Joey Giorno, had this collective statement about their match versus the Silverbacks of Chicago. “The match-up for this week’s game is going to define the [Kenosha] Mammoths. Unfortunately, last year’s match we lost 55-50, and our defeat came from an impressive comeback from the Silverbacks. This year we trained and conditioned with the goal to not let up. Us losing a winnable game due to fatigue, injuries, and a shallow roster, put a vision in our eyes to win. This season is going to solidify us and our club not to be reckoned with. With a lot of the older guys stepping away, and with limited players to pull from, a winning season will give us something to move forward with.“

Clayton Miller - Chicago Lions

Club Exclusive: New Chicago Lions Field Brings Opportunity To The Club And The Community

/in , /by

A dream five years in the making came into fruition on September 21st, when the Chicago Lions played their first matches on their brand new purpose-built home venue, the J. Tyke Nollman Field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex.
Founded in 1964, the Lions have been a staple in the Chicago rugby scene and major players in the Midwest Rugby Union. For this fall season, the Lions are contenders in two men’s divisions (DI and DII) and in women’s Division I. For the last ten years, the club played its home games in the North Lawndale neighborhood, on the west side of Chicago, and the team always wanted to have a rugby facility to call a permanent home.
“The initial vision was to build a single grass field with a clubhouse,” head coach Dave Clancy said. “With the size of the parcel and the needs of the community for safe, usable facilities, the vision changed to two artificial turf fields, a more expansive building that will have multiple uses, and a dome to allow for year-round use in Chicago weather.
In 2014, in conjunction with our 50th anniversary, we started a capital campaign to raise money to buy the field in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago we were then playing on,” Clancy added. “Fortunately, in 2015, another, bigger piece of land in the same area became available and we formalized a partnership with Chicago Hope Academy to buy the eight-acre parcel that we now call home.”
In conjunction with the Chicago Hope Academy, a private, inner-city high school, the Chicago Lions raised nearly €3.64 million to buy the land and build the field. No corporate or other sponsors were sought during this initial phase of development, but the upcoming capital campaign for the remaining phases of the project will focus on corporate and institutional sponsors.
The field is full regulation size (100 meters by 70 meters) with ten-meter deep endzones. The committee and design team went with artificial turf made by Limonta with Ecotherm as the infill as opposed to the usual rubber seen in most fields. The posts are 32 feet high and temporary containers adjacent to the pitch serve as bathrooms, locker rooms, and storage. The stands on the east side of the field hold approximately 150 fans for game day.
The Lions are not done though. “There are three more phases which depend on funding,” Clancy stated. “We are about to start the capital campaign for €7.55 million. Our plan is to build a second artificial turf field and put a seasonal dome for year-round use, and a multipurpose building that will have locker rooms, concessions, meeting rooms, offices, stands, and a viewing area. The phasing of the project will be dependent on the capital campaign and the objectives of the contributors.”
The field is not just a permanent home for the Lions, but an effort to improve the community. According to the Lions for Hope website, “The Chicago Lions believe that athletics and sports are a proactive solution to the problems youth face in the Near West Side of Chicago. In order to make this solution a reality, a safe place must be provided to learn and play, as well as providing after- school programs in which to participate on a daily basis. The Chicago Lions will use sport to engage community youth and serve as an outlet to provide social and emotional learning experiences while breaking down barriers to encourage positive participation and engagement. Using physical activity, communities can creatively challenge the minds and the bodies of young people.”

J. Tyke Nollman Field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex

Under that premise, the Lions’ goal is to develop relationships in the community to grow the game. “Instead of focusing just on the Lions and Hope, we expanded our vision to help improve the North Lawndale and East Garfield Park communities. For example, the Noble Network of schools has eight boys and eight girls high school rugby teams in the area but lacks sufficient quality facilities for training and games. We anticipate Noble will become a significant tenant at the facility. We are in the process of identifying other local organizations with similar needs that we can partner with,” Clancy said.
With Phase 2 complete, Saturday, September 21, 2019 was the inaugural opening day of the J. Tyke Nollman Field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex and a historic event for rugby in Chicago. With over 500 people in attendance throughout the day, the festivities began at 9:00 am with games for Rookie Rugby and middle school kids. The high schoolers were next followed by each of the club teams taking the pitch.
The women’s DI side was first to play on the new field against the Minnesota Valkyries. The teams exchanged blows throughout the game and the Lions found themselves in a 12-5 hole late in the match. As the clock ticked closer to 80 minutes, Aurora Macek dotted the ball down between the posts and Kelley Hirt tied it up soon after. Minnesota attempted a last-minute offensive but the ball was kicked into touch ending the match in a 12-12 draw.
Next on the pitch was the men’s DII side in a test versus the division-leading Wisconsin Rugby Club. The Lions matched Wisconsin run for run and kick for kick and they left it all on the field. After being down for a considerable part of the match, the Lions tied it up at 22 all with less than 20 minutes to go. The teams fought passionately until the end when Wisconsin kicked a penalty for the 25-22 win at the horn.
In the finale, the men’s DI club hosted their cross-town rival, the Chicago Griffins. The Lions were clicking on all cylinders and racked up a 17-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. Penalty trouble allowed the Griffins back into the game but once back to full strength, the Lions powered forward for the 39-13 victory. A fitting end to a great day of Chicago rugby. Praise for the facility and play on the field was abundant and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the founder of Hope, Bob Muzikowski, the alderman, and hopefully, the mayor, will be held in October.
“Players, fans, and alumni were all impressed with the field,” Clancy added. “The alumni that had been waiting for this for years were very emotional and positive. Opposing teams all noted that the field itself was of the highest quality. Many fans commented on the fact that facility allowed for concessions, apparel sales, space to host a post-match with opposing teams, and just in general, allowed for our community to gather together, watch rugby, and spend time together.”
With the planned improvements, the Lions hope to host future local, regional and national championships or tournaments starting in the spring of 2020. Chicago has already considered bidding on the opportunity to bring events such as a Midwest 7s qualifier, Midwest championship events, and Big 10 rugby games and championships to the J. Tyke Nollman Field.
Lastly, the Chicago Lions take enormous pride in the namesake of the pitch. “The field is named after J. Tyke Nollman. Tyke played in the 1970s, was president for six years, and was recently inducted into the USA Rugby Hall of Fame. Tyke was the driving force behind the initial capital campaign to buy the land and also created a matching program up to €364036.80. While Tyke did not ask for anything to be named after him, his fellow Lions proposed to the board to have the field named after him. Unfortunately, Tyke passed away in 2015. His wife, Jane, attended the opening of the field yesterday and said Tyke would have been very impressed with what we have accomplished so far.”
For more information about the Lions for Hope Sports Complex and how to contribute, please visit https://www.lionsforhopesc.org/.

Club Rugby Recap: Weekend Of September 28/29

/in /by

As the Eagles are playing for their country in the Rugby World Cup in Japan, the next crop of American superstars had competed across the USA this past weekend. With the opening games far behind and the summer rust worn off, club teams are now in the heart of their schedules and are proving their mettle with each opponent.
As for the women’s side of reporting, there were some cross-conference play and to find your club’s matchup, please refer to the region for whichever team was the Home-side.

ATLANTIC NORTH

Men’s

In the fourth weekend of the American Rugby Premiership, 404 Rugby Atlanta continued to assert its dominance and Mystic River notched its first victory of the season. 404, Rugby ATL’s (MLR) development academy, made the trip to New York to face NYAC at Travers Island. After a tame 14-3 first half, 404 exploded in the second frame to win 42-17 for its third win in a row. Also on the road, Mystic River ventured south to Old Blue and led from start to finish to win 24-19.
There is a crowd at the top of the New England DII, as four teams are within four points of first place. The 4-0 South Shore Anchors are in first after a 29-20 win over Boston and the Boston Irish Wolfhounds leapfrogged into second by beating the Mystic Barbarians, 60-19. Newport slipped into third with an 85-7 blowout of Portland. In the Empire DII, the Fairfield Yankees and Buffalo continued to ride high as the Yankees edged Montclair, 25-21, and Buffalo overpowered Union County, 53-0. In an intriguing match-up, White Plains won its second in a row beating Long Island, 43-15. After a slow start losing to Buffalo, White Plains has improved rapidly and it will see if that improvement is for real when it plays the Fairfield Yankees on the road this week.
As for DIII, the top two teams in each division of NERFU squared off. Boston Maccabi beat recently relegated Albany, 33-27, to push their record to 4-0. In D3B, Amoskeag lit up Charles River, 38-12, and have now held a +156 point differential in four games. Down in the Empire, the clash between Brooklyn and Old Blue D3 provided an unexpected result as Brooklyn dumped Old Blue, 33-24. With the win, Brooklyn remains undefeated with matches against Lansdowne and Gotham coming up. Joining Brooklyn in the ranks of the unbeaten, Morris topped Bayonne, 38-17, in New Jersey and the Rochester Aardvarks beat Upstate rival KenTon, 34-14.
Lastly, the Upper Valley Mountain Men remained undefeated in the NERFU DIV with a shutout against the Boston Ironsides and Freedom prevailed over Cape Cod, 71-19, setting up a big match next weekend at the undefeated Monadnock Wolfpack. Rockaway and North Jersey both won easily and are tied for first in the Empire DIV division. In other notable results, North Jersey traveled to Binghamton, N.Y. to beat the Barbarians, 31-19, and Rockaway crushed Long Island D4, 84-5.

Women’s

The East opened up league play and put six of seven teams into motion. The reigning club champion NOVA started league play with a 27-7 win over Raleigh. Stephanie Barros, CJ Hildreth and Emily Fulbrook scored tries, while Bri Kim accounted for 12 points on two penalties and three conversions.
“We’ve had a deliberately slow buildup to the fall season because of the need for a break following a nonstop schedule from March through August,” NOVA scrumhalf Bri Kim referenced back-to-back 15s and 7s nationals. “There has been some player turnover from last year to this year but we’ve gained some new players too. We have a strong returning core and the new players are already showcasing their ability to contribute. This ultimately led to our strong team win against Raleigh.”
It was a special opener for Charlotte (1-0), which won its first-ever DI match after a winless season last year. Charlotte traveled to the D.C. Furies (0-1) for a 29-12 win. “As far as the victory goes, it’s a weight off our shoulders,” Charlotte head coach Brad Richard said. “It was a quick rise in DII to get to the championship and win it, and it was kind of a let-down to come to DI and we couldn’t win a match. It’s been hesitant and unsure up until now, but this solidifies for the players that we’re putting in the right amount of effort and we can stay here among the DI teams.”
Boston (1-0) beat Philadelphia (0-1) 29-5, and saw Hannah Bogich, Margaret Reiss, Isabel Haber (2) and Emily Chretien dot down their first tries of the season. Stacy Markovic added two conversions while Lucy Dawson accounted for Philly’s points.
In DII Empire, Monmouth and Uticuse played the closest game of the weekend and saw the New Jersey side surge late for a 24-17 win. Mercedez Roper led Union with three tries en route to a 38-12 win over Long Island. Eight players scored in the Village Lions’ 53-7 win over Brooklyn, and New Haven forfeited to Danbury.
Worcester (4-0) is the only undefeated team remaining in DII New England, having defeated Burlington (2-1) 17-12 last weekend. “All of the tries happened in the first half, so the last 40 minutes was a complete battle of wills,” Worcester head coach Tran Nguyen said. “It was definitely a battle and both teams left it all on the field,” Shamrocks co-captain Laura Hetherman said. “The depth of our team is why we won that game. We used six, seven subs and they all came in and made an impact.”
The other two games produced identical scorelines, 34-17. Portland (2-2) beat Albany (1-3), and Providence (2-1) topped Hartford (1-2).
In New England Division III, Rutland (0-3) forfeited to North Shore (2-1).

FRONTIER

Men’s

As highlighted in the Six Pack Club Preview, the DII Mid-America match between the Wichita Barbarians and the St. Louis Royal Ramblers lived up the hype. After Daniel Olajiga scored early for the Barbarians, St. Louis took the lead with an Adam Schmitt try in the 48th minute. The tally was locked at 10-7 until the final ten minutes when Wichita’s Seth Akpovona touched down the game-winner and Dustin Fross added the icing with the conversion and a late penalty.
The second weekend of the Rocky Mountain Men’s Premiership (DII) saw the Denver Barbarians bash their cross-town rival, the Denver Misfits, 51-12, behind a pair of tries from Alex Schultz and Jason Christensen. The Park City Haggis played a series of back-to-backs on Saturday and Sunday and saw intense play in both matches. The Haggis’ first game versus Boulder turned out to be a thriller as the test came down to a Park City conversion with no time left. The kick was off its mark and Boulder held on for the 30-29 win. Sunday was better for the Haggis as it beat the Denver Highlanders, 40-21, to end the road trip.
In DIII play, the highlights include Sunday Morning winning its first game in a scrappy 51-32 match with St. Louis Bombers in Mid-America and Colorado Springs defeating the Denver Harlequins, 39-7, to stay unbeaten in the Rocky Mountains.

Women’s

In the six-team DII Mid-America, St. Louis (1-0) traveled to the Omaha Goats (0-1) for a 36-21 season-opening victory. Anna Albrecht led all scorers with 11 on a try and three conversions.
Austin (1-0) hosted the Denver Black Ice (0-2) for its first match of the new Frontier Red River season, and won 69-12. Seven people scored 11 tries, with wing Amethyst Gamez, lock Sophie Babo and Madison Hammer accounting for multiple scores.

MID-ATLANTIC

Men’s

The parity in the Mid-Atlantic DI was evident on Saturday as the last team fell from the pedestal of the undefeated. After winning its first two games in Philadelphia, Schuylkill River was stopped in its tracks on the road against Baltimore-Chesapeake. The Brumbies walloped the Exiles, 32-12, as four players scored tries and flyhalf Alex Walsh contributed 12 points off the boot. For the top two teams from last season, Rocky Gorge picked up a 38-13 victory on the road versus Pittsburgh and NOVA finally made a mark in the win column after edging the previously unbeaten Potomac Exiles, 34-31.
In DII, Doylestown remained on top of the table in the EPRU with 48-0 blanking of North Penn, and Philadelphia-Whitemarsh suffered its first defeat at the hands of Phoenixville White Horse, 27-24. In the South, Virginia began its fall campaign on a positive note as it avenged a pair of losses to Richmond last season by taming the Lions, 21-17.
After the Northeast Philadelphia Irish, Wilkes-Barre Scranton, and Brandywine won convincingly in the EPRU DIII, the game of the day was between Lehigh Valley and Reading. The Hooligans led 15-7 at the break, but Reading stormed back with three straight tries for the 29-23 victory. Rocky Gorge and Western Suburbs were the big winners in the Central, while Rappahannock and Norfolk were triumphant in the South.
Lastly, the Patuxent Lions and Prince William County remained perfect in DIV and Phoenixville White Horse and Severn River added wins to their totals.

Women’s

It was a quiet weekend in the Mid-Atlantic, but Division II Severn River (3-0) used its Saturday to beat Norfolk (0-2) 43-10. Prop Kathryn Todorovich, outside center Alyson McCarty and fullback Kaitlyn Marshall scored two tries apiece.
Lehigh Valley (1-2) won its first match of the Division III North season, beating Wilmington 74-20. Rebecca Rivera Rodriguez, Korissa Seidel and Hannah Dalmas featured heavily in the box score. In Division III South, Rappahannock (1-1) put five different players from a diversity of positions into the try zone against NOVA (0-2), salving the sting of a two-point loss to the Maryland Stingers (1-0) in early September.

MIDWEST

Men’s

The results from the Midwest Rugby Premiership saw the Kansas City Blues deal Metropolis its first loss, 34-31; Detroit beat Cincinnati, 32-18, to stay undefeated; the Chicago Lions crush Columbus, 76-0; and the Lindenwood/MLR duo of JP Aguirre and Wesley White combined for 29 points in the St. Louis Bombers’ 52-11 victory over Milwaukee.
In the Midwest DII, all of the home teams, except for one, held serve and walked off the pitch with W’s. The Pittsburgh Forge and Wisconsin continue to reign atop their respective divisions while Indianapolis, Lincoln Park, the Chicago Lions, and Milwaukee are all in the hunt early in the season.
DIII Wisconsin’s Oshkosh RFC hosted a triple-header for breast and prostate cancer awareness on Saturday. The team wore custom pink jerseys with the breast and prostate cancer ribbons on the jerseys and will be raising money for the cause at all home games this fall. After a pair of college games to start the day, Oshkosh dominated the Milwaukee Barbarians, 62-22, in the finale.
Elsewhere in DIII, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Detroit won in the North; Queen City, Lexington, the Columbus Rhinos, and White River prevailed in the South; Wisconsin and Oconomowoc blew out the competition in Wisconsin; Sioux Falls Crow, Eastside Banshees, and St. Paul were victorious in Minnesota; Des Moines and Bremer County dominated in Iowa; Akron, Cleveland Crusaders, and Pittsburgh won in the East, and Chicago Westside, Fox Valley, and Peoria soared in Chicago.

Women’s

In DI, the Chicago Lions (3-0-1) beat Detroit 70-12 and, with the exception of No. 8 Aurora Macek’s scores, finished its tries through the backs. Chicago (3-2) forfeited to Metropolis (3-0-1).
All of the DII victors won by convincing margins. In the East Gold, North Buffalo (1-2) held a 14-12 lead after 41 minutes, but then Pittsburgh Forge (3-0) surged in the third quarter to pull away for a 59-21 win. Former Nittany Lion Scout Cheeks finished the day with four tries. South Buffalo (1-2) won its first match of the season on the road in Akron (0-3).
In East Green, the Louisville (0-5) vs. Dayton (1-3) match was recorded as a forfeit, but the game that did evolve went 50-12 in favor of the Ohioans. The Cincinnati Kelts (3-0) shut out Grand Rapids (2-2) 41-0. The team moved the ball around well and only saw No. 8 Gina Fanelli score twice.
In the West, Palmer College (3-0) defeated Minneapolis Menagerie (0-2) 126-0 and has only allowed 10 points against thus far this season. Thirteen players scored 20 tries, and flyhalf Claire Tomashek and No. 8 Wren Felton handled the conversions.
Twin Cities suffered its first loss of the season to Milwaukee Scylla (2-1), which banked a 49-3 victory. Of its eight try-scorers, only lock Shannon Will dotted down twice. Oconomowoc (1-3) forfeited to the Chicago Sirens (2-1).

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

The Seattle Saracens came from behind to win their first game of the season in the British Columbia Premiership over previously unbeaten James Bay, 38-25. On the women’s premier side, the Saracens beat Simon Fraser, 88-5, to remain undefeated. Both premier teams plus the men’s reserve side host Meralomas on Saturday.

Men’s

ORSU and the Portland Pigs won their first DII games of the fall on Saturday. After losing to Tacoma last weekend, ORSU bounced back to beat the Valley Kangaroos, 48-12, and Portland cracked Tacoma, 37-25 after its first match was canceled.
The big story from DIII was the Chuckanut Bay Geoducks’ 39-36 victory over the Budd Bay Buffaloes. Chuckanut dropped down to DIII this season and the Buffalos, as the defending Pacific Northwest Champions, were the team’s first real test in the new division.

“That was a hell of a match,” Chuckanut’s Nick Vitalis said. “It was back and forth all game, absolutely hats off to Budd Bay. Their big runners weren’t just big but they were smart, they knew how to run. We’d get a few tries, they’d get a couple back, and we were only separated by one point at the half. We came out strong and Carlos Sianez, our center turned winger for a game, had two huge runs around the left corner to put us ahead squarely. The Buffaloes came back and scored a couple in the last 15 to make it 39-36. They were pressing us hard with a minute left, inching within the 10, but an errant pass out wide knocked it out of bounds. We won the final scrum before kicking out of bounds at full-time. Absolute classic and I can’t wait to get them in the spring half. It felt like a playoff game and in April, it very well might be.”

Women’s

In the DII Pacific Northwest, Emerald City is setting the pace, posting a 55-0 win against Portland last weekend.
“I feel the league has more become more consistent with teams being more evenly balanced. All the three teams that the Mudhens have played have proven tough opponents despite the score,” Emerald City head coach John Wooler reviewed the season thus far. “I was impressed by Boise, who has come back with a robust program, substantial numbers, and some quality talent. I think they could be contenders within a couple of years. Portland has always shown strong commitment as have Budd Bay.
“I feel that several teams have restructured and are developing quickly. There is no team in the league that we play against that we take for granted. The level across all teams has made me as a coach push our strategy and skills, which is the way all teams grow stronger,” Wooler added.
Budd Bay traveled to Boise United for a 45-10 win, and South Sound also won on the road: 36-27 over Eugene.

SOUTH

Men’s

Asheville made its DII debut on Saturday after winning two consecutive Carolina DIII Championships. Hosting another newcomer to the Carolinas in the Raleigh Vipers, Asheville led 21-14 at the break but burst the game open in the second to win, 42-24. The victory was a team effort with six different players scoring tries.
As for the Carolinas DIII, Cape Fear defeated Charleston at home in a 29-25 nail-biter, the Columbia Olde Grey shut out the Camp Lejeune Misfits, 35-0, and Triad never let up against Raleigh to win 71-5. In the True South’s lone DIII match, the Nashville Grizzlies traded blows with Memphis Blues in a high scoring affair. When the dust settled, the Blues found themselves with the 48-42 win.

Women’s

In DII Carolinas-Georgia, Augusta (2-0) beat Columbia (0-1) 41-7 and got multi-try performances out of Katrina Steiner, Madison Hovren and Colleen Markyna.

WPL Round-up Week 7

/in , /by

Week 7 of the Women’s Premier League produced two single-digit decisions, keeping the standings close and the pressure intense for the remainder of the regular season.
Just one point separated Life West (5-1) and Berkeley (3-3) in the Bay Area rematch, and the Gladiatrix overcame a halftime deficit to win 15-14. In Week 6, Life West was on the wrong side of a two-point decision against Glendale (4-1), and took some lessons into Saturday’s game.
“I think we had moments of really great rugby,” Life West flanker Elizabeth Cairns said of Glendale take-aways. “When we think too much and we get into an individual attitude, that’s when we slow down. When we played fast and we played together and shared the work load, that’s when we really shined.”
Berkeley took the first lead when Evan Hoese dummied through the defense and connected with Bulou Mataitoga, who dropped to fullback, for the corner try. Sam Miller made the sideline conversion for the 7-0 lead. In the final 10 minutes of the half, Leti Hingano took a turnover for a long, slicing run to the try zone, and then Hope Rogers took a final pass from Catie Benson along the sideline for a fast-moving try, 10-7. It looked like Life West was going to take that lead into the break, but Berkeley retained possession well past the halftime hooter, and a tryline seam eventually opened up. Allie Byrne dove through it and Miller’s conversion afforded Berkeley the 14-10 lead.
Life West again focused on sharing the work load and cleaning up its game. Some handling errors ended scoring opportunities for the Gladiatrix, but the team was finally rewarded for its possession near the 60-minute mark. Flyhalf Sara Parsons took an angled run at the defense, cut back inside for a line-break, and hit Hali Deters in support for the try, 15-14. Both teams had opportunities for points in the fourth quarter, but the score held.
“For us, for the rest of the season, it’s about building and peaking at the right time,” Cairns said. “We’re trying to celebrate this one and look at the good things but again we have a lot of growing to do still.”

WATCH LIFE WEST VS BERKELEY REPLAY 

Beantown (3-3) established an early lead and forced the home side, Twin Cities (3-3), to play catch-up, which the Amazons accomplished, and then some. But a final consolidation of effort and will saw Beantown triumph in the waning minutes, 22-20 for the win.
“The most impressive part of today’s win was the players’ ability to stick to the script,” Beantown head coach Tadhg Leader summarized. “We could have got desperate and tried to pull off an X-factor style play in the dying minutes, but instead they remained patient, working through our structures. Thankfully we reaped the rewards.”
Beantown went up 10-0 in the first 10 minutes, as inside center Rosie Wright scored and flyhalf Tatjana Toeldte added a conversion and penalty. Twin Cities closed in during the second 20, as Danica Mooney-Jones kicked a penalty and then fullback Kaelene Lundstrum scored, 10-8 to Beantown.
The home side took its first lead of the game in minute 48 when Mooney-Jones scored, and then built it out to 20-10 with another Mooney-Jones try and conversion. The pressure intensified in the final 10 minutes, resulting in a Twin Cities yellow card and Beantown penalty try, 20-17. Beantown held a player advantage for the remainder of the game, and in the 79th minute, wing Allison Martin scored the game-winning try, 22-20 the final.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the whole squad,” Leader enthused. “Those girls who didn’t take the field today should be equally thrilled as those who played. Everyone had a role to play in picking up a road win.”

WATCH BEANTOWN VS TWIN CITIES REPLAY 

Also in the WPL East, Atlanta found success on the road and pulled away in the second half for a 51-12 win over New York.
“I honestly didn’t expect this point margin,” Atlanta coach Ros Chou noted the absence of Maggie Craig, Karen Faget and two debuts. “So, my goal was for us to keep it close. It was 17-0 at the half, but we spent those last 15 minutes of that first half on defense, trying to keep them out of the try zone. Somehow, some way, we would get a turnover or penalty when we needed it the most to go into the half with them scoreless.”
Scrumhalf Bridget Kahele and wing Kelli Smith scored tries in the first half, while flyhalf Corinne Heavner added a conversion and penalty for the lead after 40 minutes.
“When we went into the halftime huddle, we discussed upping the defensive pressure, supporting our breaks, and using tactical kicking a bit more,” Chou added.
Captain Mo Compito, whose red eye flight had been delayed, arrived and took the pitch, and that was a huge morale boost. Prop Megan Rom scored early in the second half and then New York got on the board through inside center Dana Alimena. Nikki Richardson added the conversion, 24-7. Heavner kept the scoreboard ticking over and answered with the league’s first dropgoal.
“Corinne Heavner really stood out scoring 21 points on the day,” Chou praised. “When she hit the first one on a penalty advantage, the whole team was so excited, that we just started to play with a lot of confidence. By the time Corinne slotted the second drop goal, we were just at full throttle.”
Smith, Compito and Cortney Kuehl scored, Heavner kicked all the conversions and added another dropgoal. New York ended the game with a try from WPL debut Frankie Sands.

WATCH ATLANTA VS NEW YORK REPLAY 

San Diego improved to 2-3 in the WPL West with a 58-0 win over visiting ORSU.
“It was a satisfying result for us. Our cohesiveness was probably the best it’s been all season,” Faul lauded. “We have put a lot of emphasis into being patient on attack and seeing that come into fruition has been very rewarding.
“Our forwards set the tone early and continued throughout the game with some strong carries and quick ruck ball that allowed our backs to capitalize out wide and score some outstanding tries,” the coach added.
Wing Teigan MacDonald scored four tries, while Nash Thompson, Tiffany Tate, Jaime Albarelli and WPL San Diego debutants Kimber Rozier and Bui Baravilala dotted down once apiece. Fullback Megan Foster contributed 13 points on a try and four conversions.
“Our defensive shape is improving each week and is an ongoing work-on for us, so we were very elated not to concede any tries,” Faul concluded.

WATCH SAN DIEGO VS ORSU REPLAY 

WEEK 8 MATCHES

Saturday, October 5th
Twin Cities (3-3) @ Atlanta (5-1) – 2:00PM EDT
San Diego (2-3) @ Life West (4-1) – 1:00PM PDT
Berkeley (3-3) @ Glendale (3-1) – 7:00PM MDT
Sunday, October 6th
New York (2-3) @ Chicago (1-4) – 12:00PM CDT
Teams on Bye Week:
ORSU (0-5) & Beantown (3-3)

6 Pack Club Preview: September 28-29

/in , /by

Women’s DI – Frontier Red River: Austin Valkyries vs Black Ice Rugby
The next game to watch on our list will be a reunion game of sorts where the Denver Black Ice Women’s side will travel down to the Republic of Texas and face-off against the Austin Valkyries. These are both spirited and storied clubs that have provided plenty of rugby talent throughout the years and will be an incredibly competitive match.
Austin Valkyries Captain Brittany McGhee had this to say about the upcoming weekend, “The match against Denver Black Ice will be a new yet familiar experience for the team. While we’ve played them before, it’s been a number of years since we’ve gone head to head against and we have many new players since that last encounter. McGhee stresses the importance of a Valkyrie victory, “This match-up will be important to us for a couple of different reasons: It’s our opening cup match and could be indicative of the energy we carry into the rest of the season and we’ve never beaten them. This time last year, we were slow out of the gates with 2 early losses and nearly missed getting to continue into post season. This season, the clubs focus has been to handle the immediate threat by playing ‘Valks’ ball and not worrying about anything else. With our CR opening up, we have more immediate threats than we’ve historical had, and Black Ice will be the first obstacle we’ll have to overcome.”
Although Captain Brittany McGhee is understanding of last year’s potential woes, she adds, “Thankfully, may of our core players are returning last year and we are hoping to kick off with how we ended things last year. We played some of the best rugby our club has ever seen towards the end, and our plan is to continue playing at that same level in this opening match. Overall, I think it’ll be a good battle.”
Black Ice Rugby Captain Lin Hill has this to state about her team’s energy and hopes moving forward against Austin, “We’re very excited to travel to Austin this weekend! The few times we’ve gone up against them, it’s always been a battle from start to finish. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve played Austin, so we’re not exactly sure what to expect. But that will give us the opportunity to really focus on our game and executing what we’ve been working on. We’ve had the past few weeks to analyze and learn from our match against Glendale earlier in September. Our forwards have put a lot of work on our set pieces and our back line continuity is looking great.”
Men’s DII – Mid-America: Wichita Barbarians at St. Louis Royal Ramblers
If there was a Division 2 ‘royalty’ game, it would certainly be awarded to these Kingly clubs. Brent Zluticky, the Wichita club president had this to mention of the impending matchup, “For the past 5-6 years, our two clubs have been among the premier men’s clubs in their respective divisions across the United States. And within that time frame, there have been 2 national championships won between us, multiple final four appearances, and a handful of Frontier Region championships. This match will be an epic early season test.”
From what it seems on paper, this will be a clash of the titans type of matchup that will surely cause ripple effects throughout their respective seasons, and quite possibly the rest of the conference. Josh West, the Wichita team captain added in, “Playing Saint Louis is a big test for us every year; we reflect and measure ourselves according to this game. Saint Louis always has athletes in the back-line and tough forwards that combine well for a good structure in attack and defense. Our job this weekend is to make sure we are disciplined and know our assignments. We always relish the chance to play the Ramblers—they have a history of winning, yet so do we.”
If there’s anything a rugger would know, would be that last season is gone and that whatever matchup is in front of you will determine the success and embodiment of the club’s culture. Head Coach for the Barbarians, Paul Enegren, has that exact mindset and is excited for his club’s chances against the Ramblers. “This year we have implemented some new offensive philosophies, as well as moving some players to different positions, kind of pushing the envelope, and ready to see the plan in action. The team came back from the summer in great physical shape, and the boys are hungry to go deep into the playoffs this year. With 95% of our players returning, the continuity will be keen enough to give St. Louis a great match.”
On the other side of the field, Colin Heath & Steve Mckinstry, both coaches for the St. Louis Royal Ramblers had this to mention of their club and the upcoming game against the Barbarians. “This weekend’s match up between the newly merged St Louis Royal Rambler RC and the Wichita Barbarians will be our first Division-2 test for our club, following a convincing 43-15 D3 win last weekend against the KC Blues D3.” The coaches continue by stating, “The Royal Ramblers are a merger between the St Louis Ramblers, the second oldest club in the USA, and the St Louis Royals, 2017 National Champions, with the goal of becoming a real rugby force in St Louis. The Royals’ players are familiar with Wichita, having played them 3 times last spring and are very familiar with their strengths across all positions and long bench. The introduction of new players to our D2 squad will hopefully provide the edge we need to turn the tables on Wichita and provide the depth and increased talent pool that was lacking in last year’s match ups.
Men’s DII – Rocky Mountain: Denver Barbarians at Denver Misfits
In the Greater Denver area, there is a great rivalry forming between the Barbarians and Misfits. Both clubs are coming off a successful season over .500 win percentage. The last time these two clubs faced off in 2018, the Barbarians took the victory lap around town after a 50-15 score. This will be the Misfits first time playing in the Rocky Mountain Division 1 after their uptrend from the previous year. Although the Misfits are the “new club on the block”, the Barbarians will have intentions of showing them how the top division shows up. This battle of the Mile High City will also take place at Infinity Park Turf Field, just outside of the MLR Glendale Raptors stadium. The Rocky Mountain opener will include the Barbarians taking the “Home” title, while the Misfits will be aiming to steal the game from under their noses. Expect a large, local, and rowdy crowd to be in full swinging support of their respective team.
Women’s DII – Midwest East: Cincinnati Kelts at Grand Rapids Rugby
Heading into the Midwest, these lionesses will battle for momentum moving into the peak of Autumn and hopeful playoff contention. Cincinnati Kelts president, Nicole “Netti” Yannetti, is particularly excited to see how her club will perform against the Rapids. “[Our] Women’s side have been working hard in the off season to prepare for the 2019-2020 15s season. We have consistently made it to playoffs over the last few years, the farthest being the final 8 in the 2017-2018 season. This match-up means a lot as we don’t know what to expect from Grand Rapids. They are new to our division and we haven’t played them a lot in the last few years. This will be a good test to play someone new and see where we stack up. Every match is a learning experience and we look forward to continuing to improve as the season progresses.”
Concurring on the Grand Rapids side, Captain Madison LaDouce, is also excited with her club’s growth and improvement, along with this awesome weekend matchup. “The Growlers are looking forward to a great match against the Cincinnati Kelts. We know that they are a strong team and we have been working on our defensive game because our offense has been working so well. I’m excited to see what our backline will be able to accomplish this match since they have been working so hard and have been able to pull off some great plays. This should be a great match for our forwards as well.”
LaDouce continues with, “In our last game, the forwards were able to come together and work as a unit, and I am anticipating for this to happen right away at the match on Saturday. Also, we have returning players who are playing positions they have never done before, and this match will be great for them to embrace that new position and really understand it. For this match, we will be having a good amount of leaders on the pitch, such as Molly Magen, Jessica Supplee, and Stephanie Armstrong who will all help our team be successful.”
Men’s DIII – Midwest South: Queen City Rugby at Columbus Castaways
With the ever-growing Midwest competition, the clubs are surely more apt to finish their seasons ahead of their divisional rivals. One of these strong matchus to look forward watching is the Queen City RFC vs. Columbus Castaways. Queen City Captain Jason Tinch is keeping his chin raised high for the upcoming battle. “Coming off of last season where our first match against the Castaways was 57-0, we have a debt we owe ourselves to be more competitive and show that we deserve to be in this league. Since August 2018, we’ve grown the depth of our team through coaching current players and our recruiting ability to be the 4-0 as we stand today. In the Spring of 2019, we made great strides with our team, going 9-3 and placing 4th in the social division of Savannah’s Shamrock rugby tournament, to be where we are this Fall.”
Tinch continues by praising his club’s competition, “This Saturday’s match to us will dictate who will lead the Midwest Men’s D3 South division in the playoffs in November. This will be an incredibly tough match-up for us as we have nothing but respect for the hard-hitting Castaways. However, we have a lot of talent in our back line and pack as we proved just a few weeks ago in delivering the first league loss to Louisville since 2017. This Saturday is a great opportunity to prove to ourselves and the Midwest we are a championship-caliber team. Either way this Saturday will be a nail-biter of a match.”
Castaways President John Wesley chimed in on his club’s plan for the remainder of the season, along with alluding to the fact that one of these clubs will come out with their first loss of the season. “Anytime you have two undefeated teams meeting up in league play there is a ton at stake. Both the Castaways and Queen City want to keep that zero in the loss column and take one step closer to winning the league. We are taking every game one week at a time and this game is no different. The Castaways plan to play good fundamental rugby and work together as a unit. Saturday will be a battle and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Women’s DIII – Mid-Atlantic North: Lehigh Valley Rugby at Wilmington
In a Division 3 clash, Lehigh Valley will travel to Newark, DE to take on Wilmington. Both of these clubs are currently looking to get on the right track to a successful season attempting to eclipse the .500 win/loss ratio. Lehigh is especially looking to rebound after a winless season in 2018/19. Wilmington RFC is beginning their D3 tenure with a matchup that is much needed for momentum moving forward into the season. This new club to the division will be hungry for early success in proving themselves to the conference. Home-field advantage for Wilmington may be the very thing they need to move onto the next week with the wind at their back and hopeful sunshine in their sight.
Melissa Marlin, Wilmington Club’s representative had this to say about her team, their season, and this weekend’s match. “After some friendly matches last fall and spring and a few summer tournaments, the Wilmington Rugby women are excited to enter a new level of competition. We’ve grown a lot over the past year adding both players with previous experience and a lot of women completely new to the sport (many of whom are picking it up fast and showing some real promise on the field).
She continues, “Our match against Lehigh this weekend will be our third match of the season. We been struggling with injuries lately, but we’ve got a solid group of women lined up for Saturday. About half of our line-up has been playing for less than one year, and some have only been playing for a few weeks. What we lack in experience, we make up for in motivation and optimism. Having no previous seasons to compare against, we can really only go up from here. Each game, regardless of the outcome, is a great learning experience for us. We’re ready to take on Lehigh and hopefully start making a name for ourselves.”

Club Rugby Recap: Weekend Of September 21/22

/in , /by

The second full week of fall club rugby had its sixth geographic region join the competition as the South began its fall schedule. Along with the Atlantic North, Frontier, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest, there were nearly 150 matches this past weekend.

ATLANTIC NORTH

Men’s

The third week of action in the American Rugby Premiership saw the red and white “Winged Foot” nab its second win and the mean green Running Eagles dispatch Old Blue in a low-scoring affair. With a flurry of yellow cards showing a need for better discipline from both clubs, NYAC handled Mystic River with a converted score at the final whistle to push the scoreline to 27-3. As for Life’s 15-8 victory over Old Blue, Zander Van Schalkwyk and Sam Cowley combined for a 10-0 lead in the first ten minutes and the defense held back the New York attack until the last minutes for its second win.
In men’s DII in New England, the Mystic Barbarians avenged last year’s playoff loss to Newport, beating them 38-20 to maintain sole possession of first and South Shore dominated a struggling Portland club, 89-7, to hold onto second place in the standings. Last year’s top-finisher in DIII, the Boston Maccabi, made a statement by eclipsing the century mark against Burlington, 114-0, while previously winless Old Gold showed some parity in the middle of the division as it bested the previously-undefeated Charles River in a close match, 24-21.
Finally in DIV, Monadnock continued on its winning ways by blasting the Boston Ironsides, 75-7, and dedicated the game to a fan of Wolfpack Nation, Jariah, who is battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. With the league’s #1 and #2 point-scorers on their club, Freedom rebounded from last week’s close loss, to double up Black River, 61-26, and “drawing a line in the sand” halfway through the season of NERFU’s DIV contenders and pretenders.
In the Empire, Buffalo Rugby Club and the Fairfield Yankees remained undefeated and tied atop of the men’s DII table as both won on the road. In a showdown with New Haven, Buffalo dominated the Old Black, 49-3, and was led by a 24-point effort from flyhalf Simon Honig (try, five conversions, and three penalties). Fairfield’s match against the New York Rugby Club was neck and neck for most of the test until the Yankees locked up the 33-18 win as Matt Leonard scored his second try and impact sub, Filimoni Botitu, added one of his own.
In the DIII Atlantic, Greenwich moved to the top of the group with a comprehensive 64-14 win over White Plains and Morris continued to dominate in New Jersey as they are rebuilding after an off year in 2018 with a 70-5 drubbing of Princeton AC. In NYC, Brooklyn stayed undefeated defeating the Village Lions, 46-7, and with a 27-27 tie against Lansdowne, Old Blue DIII remained in hot pursuit of Brooklyn. Finally, in Upstate, Rochester Aardvarks slipped by Buffalo, 15-5, and KenTon was relentless running in 11 tries in a 73-12 win over Southtowns. This coming Saturday, the Aardvarks travel to KenTon in an intriguing match-up for first place.

Women’s

Monmouth (3-0) is the only undefeated team in the DII Empire GU, but Brooklyn (52-7 vs. Union), Morris (66-0 vs. Long Island), Uticuse (28-0 vs. Danbury) and Village Lions (31-5 vs. New Haven) picked up bonus-point wins on the weekend. Leading scorers included Morris inside center Emma Ferraro and Brooklyn wing Margaret Ewen, who scored four and five tries apiece.
In DII New England, attention focused on Worcester vs. Portland, a match that featured several lead changes and a single-digit decision. The Shamrocks went up early through Ashley Walker and then Portland responded with three-straight tries. Worcester matched the output with consecutive scores from Walker, Laura Hetherman and Laurin Harvey, before Portland surged again. A final converted try afforded the 31-24 win to the Shamrocks. In other results, Albany beat Charles River 50-5, and Providence forfeited to Burlington due to numbers.
In New England’s Division III, South Shore won its first-ever league match: 40-29 over Seacoast.
“The girls are tough,” South Shore coach Paul Lenaghan said. “We went ahead two tries and then allowed them to score three tries in a row. We spent most of the second half trying to regain the lead and with 11 minutes to go, we were ahead by two and then won by 11.
“Oh my goodness,” Lenaghan laughed as he recalled the team’s reaction to its first league win. “For those 6-7 players who have been showing up to practice for years, in the rain, in the winter, with no team – for them to experience playing in a jersey with 15 players, to experience winning, to score and have 14 other players congratulate you – you can’t buy that. They were absolutely hyper.”

FRONTIER

Men’s

While the Rocky Mountains were idle for the Aspen Ruggerfest, Mid-America GU kicked off the fall with three DIII men’s matches. The results included a blowout, and draw, and a shutout. In its first game after the merger of the St. Louis Royals and the St. Louis Ramblers, the Royal Ramblers took out the Kansas City Blues, 43-15. The last two matches saw the long rivalry between St. Louis Hornets and Columbia Outlaws end in a 20-20 hard-fought draw and Springfield score 11 tries by nine players for a dominating 69-0 victory against the St. Louis Mercenaries.

MID-ATLANTIC

Men’s

After a last second victory over Rocky Gorge last Saturday, Schuylkill River kept up the momentum a 77-5 win over Pittsburgh to retain the Pelly Cup. Cesar Da Fonseca and John Ramirez each logged hat tricks and last weekend’s hero, Brian Keown, notched 18 points. Rebounding from week one’s loss, Rocky Gorge took out its frustrations on Baltimore-Chesapeake, 42-28, and NOVA fell into a 0-2 hole after 32-31 loss to the Washington Irish. Lastly, the Potomac Exiles joined Schuylkill in the unbeaten ranks with a 29-10 triumph over the Norfolk Blues.
Men’s DII opened its first weekend of play with five games in the Capital and EPRU. The Richmond Lions began its season with a 33-31 defeat of Washington in the South division while in the North, Doylestown, Old Gaelic, and Philadelphia-Whitemarsh, scored over thirty points in victory. Lastly, South Jersey celebrated its 50th club anniversary with a 35-21 win versus Phoenixville White Horse.
The much-anticipated men’s DIII clash between the Northeast Philadelphia Irish and Media lived up to the hype and ultimately ended in a 22-22 draw. Media trailed 22-10 with less than ten minutes after the Irish’s Raekwon Caswell scored in the 70th minute. Media responded with barrage of forward play resulting in a Drew Butkus try. The conversion failed, but Media was right back on attack with the man advantage after an Irish player was binned. The forwards took control and Butkus scored a second try at the horn, but the tie would depend on the subsequent kick from the corner. Ryan Gregory redeemed himself by slotting the conversion for the draw.
Elsewhere in DIII, Reading upset Wilkes-Barre, 31-24, in the North; Severn River, the Washington Irish, and West Potomac remained undefeated in the Central; and Virginia Beach kept its foot on the gas with a 26-5 win over Norfolk in the South. In DIV, North Bay’s slim 36-24 victory over West Potomac sent its record to 2-0 and the Washington Renegades and Loudoun improved to 1-1 with wins.

Women’s

Division II produced three lopsided victories, while Division III saw more parity. Severn River improved to 2-0 with a 65-12 win over Northeast Philadelphia. Of the nine players who scored tries, only outside center Alyson McCarty doubled up. Flyhalf Katharine Walston was influential in undefeated Doylestown’s 41-5 win over Norfolk, logging three tries, while scrumhalf Samantha Tretter led Phoenixville in its 66-21 win over Chesapeake with four tries. See full results.
“We have a lot of returning players but we also have been playing around with positions and versatility, so there is a bit of a learning curve out there for some of us,” Doylestown captain Grayce Fjeld explained. “Our defense looked fairly good overall and our fullback, Cait Rycek, was able to stop just about everyone that broke the line.”
DIII Wilmington trailed York & Lancaster by only four points with seven minutes left in regulation, but then a scoring spree produced a 48-27 win to the Pennsylvania squad. Flanker Kelsey Miller and wing Colleen Herbert had multi-try days. Philadelphia led South Jersey until the 30th minute, and then a Jamie Lynn Fortuna penalty kick changed the lead for good. Outside center Jenelle Fuller scored four tries in the 34-21 win, while Philly’s Rebecca Silver accounted for 16 points. See full North results. In the South pool, Frederick and NOVA were tied 17-all at halftime, but the former pulled away with second-half tries from Morgan Howell, Alicia Wojcik and Lacy Ames, who also kicked the extras: 36-17 the final. See full South results.

MIDWEST

Men’s

Culminating a monumental effort that began in 2015, the Chicago Lions christened the new Jay “Tyke” Nollman Field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex with three games on Saturday. The men’s DI side started the day by tripling cross-town rival, the Chicago Griffins, 39-13, and was followed by the women’s DI club tying Metropolis, 12-12. The DII squad finished the party with an unfortunate loss to Wisconsin on a penalty with no time left, 25-22.
The Lions’ victory moves them into second place of the men’s DI East division behind the Detroit Tradesmen, who crushed Columbus 54-12. In the West division, Metropolis and the Kansas City Blues stayed perfect with decisive wins over Columbus and Palmer. The match to watch this Saturday is battle for first as the Blues host Metropolis. The Minneapolis side has not lost to Kansas City since 2016 and the Blues are itching to prove themselves against the best of the division.
Wisconsin’s DII victory over the Lions keeps the Madison club undefeated joining Green Bay at the top of the West division. In the East, the Chicago Blaze is in first with a 32-24 win over Lincoln Park, the Cleveland Crusaders are in second with a forfeit against the South Side Irish, and the Pittsburgh Forge land in third after tying Indianapolis, 26-26.
Like last Saturday, the Midwest DIII was extremely busy with 22 games across five divisions. The highlights of the weekend were the Peoria Pigs’ and Fox Valley Maoris’ blowouts in the Chicago Area to stay undefeated; the Cleveland Crusaders, Cleveland Rovers, and Presque Isle Scallywags each scoring over 40 points in the East; the Omaha Goats defeating Des Moines 19-13 in Iowa; the St. Cloud Bottom Feeders and the St. Paul Jazz Pigs remain unbeaten with a pair of shutouts in Minnesota; Fort Wayne beating Michigan 100-0 in the North; the Columbus Castaways and Queen City win to stay perfect in the South; and Oconowomoc, Fond du Lac Wolfpac, and the Milwaukee Barbarians emerging victorious in Wisconsin.

Women’s

Metropolis and Chicago Lions are both 2-0-1 in Division I, playing to a 12-12 draw last Saturday. Defense featured in the first half, which nearly evolved without a score, until Stephanie Alliev broke free for a Valkyries try right before the half. Whitney Swenson converted for the 7-0 lead, and then approximately 10 minutes after the break, No. 8 Katherine Weber scored for a 12-0 edge. In the final 15 minutes, Devon Gold set up Rachel Grecky for a score and No. 8 Aurora Macek picked from the scrum for the second try. Kelley Hirt’s conversion was good, and there the game ended. On the other side of the bracket, Detroit beat Wisconsin 24-3.
Division II was all lopsided results. The three East Gold victors – Buffalo, North Buffalo and Pittsburgh Forge – outscored their opponents 185-10. East Green’s Fort Wayne beat Grand Rapids 38-7, while Columbus beat Dayton 74-5. In the West, Palmer College and Twin Cities combined to outscore the Chicago Sirens and Minneapolis Menagerie, respectively, 132-7. The closest game across the region occurred between Oconomowoc and County Will Morrigans: 29-5 to the Wisconsin side.
“We were very excited to come out of it with our first league match win in team history,” enthused Oconomowoc captain Katie McNeil. “We have been building all year for our first opportunity to play in the D2 league this season. … We are so proud of the way our ladies worked together as a team, and we are having a lot of fun playing rugby together.”

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Men’s

The Pacific Northwest men’s DII began its season on Saturday. The Boise United crushed the ValleY Kangaroos, 95-7; however, the match between the Portland Pigs and the Eastside Tsunami was cancelled. DIII entered its third week of play and the Budd Bay Buffaloes, the Portland Pigs, the Eugene Stags and Boise United led the way this weekend with victories.

Women’s

In the Pacific Northwest GU, Bend picked up another win, defeating South Sound 29-10, and Eugene downed Boise United 60-3. Portland held ORSU to one score in its 29-5 win. See full results.

SOUTH

Men’s

With the other regions of the South not starting until next week, the True South men’s DIII began its fall season on Saturday. Chattanooga got the ball rolling with a 42-17 road win against the Nashville Grizzlies. The only other test was a rematch of last spring’s True South Championship Semifinal between Huntsville and the Memphis Blues. The Blues failed to defend its home turf as Huntsville exacted its revenge winning the opening match.

Women’s

For much of this DII Carolinas/Georgia GU game, Augusta and Charleston stayed win a single digit of each other. Augusta scrumhalf Owen Crosland was lethal for Augusta, accounting for 18 points (2T, 4C), and helping the Georgia side to a 33-27 win.

6 Pack Club Preview: September 21-22

/in , /by

Men’s D1 – Mid-Atlantic: Rocky Gorge Rugby vs Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies
This matchup between Rocky Gorge and Baltimore-Chesapeake is great game to note due to the proximity of the clubs, and the great competitive effort that is spawned from it. Last week, Rocky Gorge was narrowly defeated in their opening season match against Schuylkill River Exiles, but a mere 2 points, and will be looking to bounce back and recover from the loss. This is a especially tough defeat so early in the season, because Rocky Gorge had not lost a single game in 2018/19 season until the finals against Life Running Eagles. This is a tough team, with a renewed since of motivation heading into week 2.
Head Coach of the Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies, Steve Elliot, had plenty of good things to note about the upcoming match. “The Rocky Gorge match is always circled on our calendars at the beginning of the season. First, because Gorge and BC are only 20 minutes apart, and second, because their club has become the standard in the union. We are always keen to measure our progress against a side that plays a precise and physical style of rugby, lead by MLR’s Old Glory captain Josh Brown.” Elliot added, “We are excited to have the chance to play them early in the year to see if the evolution of our playing style is on track. It will be very demanding from a physical sense as well as requiring sound execution and creativity. Our forward pack has traditionally been a strength and that continues this year. Our backs are quite young and quick but undersized when compared to Gorge. All in all, we are excited and optimistic about our chances.”
Women’s D2 – Mid-Atlantic: Doylestown Dragons vs Norfolk Storm
This women’s Mid-Atlantic clash will take place in Doylestown, PA with the Doylestown Dragons taking on the Norfolk Storm. This will be Norfolk’s first game of the season, and will be aiming in improving on last year’s successful 6-2 record. The Dragons are coming off a convincing win against Chesapeake Rugby, and will test their metal in a game where the clubs haven’t played each other in over a year.
Doylestown Dragons Head Coach Mary Merlo had this to say about her club and its progression. “The last time we played Norfolk, Spring 2018, we met halfway and played a tight, rough match with short numbers. Our team has changed a lot over the past 18 months, and in the absence of some long time vets, we’re taking the first two matches to test new talent coming up through the ranks.” Merlo also gave praise to a few of her standouts and players to watc, “Morgan Stifler (Bloomsburg) will be filling the boots of 15 year vet Kerryn Winiesky at scrumhalf. While 3 year captain Grayce Fjeld will be joining the dark side, transitioning from a 10 year career in the forwards to the open space of the centers. And you might just catch rookies Nikki Gonzalez and Katie (Baby Katie) Casey out on the wing filling in for vet Lisa Rake, sidelined with a broken finger last weekend. (Get well soon bud).
We are Looking forward to building more continuity and trust in the depth of our roster in the next match up against the Norfolk Storm at Fall Fest, a double header and club home opener this Saturday. Handshakes, brews and a pig with our pals to follow.”
Norfolk Storm head coach Bryan Dyer also chimed in regarding his club’s previous competitions with Norfolk, and his excitement towards this upcoming match. “We’re excited to make the 6-hour journey up to Doylestown this weekend, and it’s always a good battle between the clubs. Doylestown brings the competition we love to face, challenging us from set pieces to open play on the field. This will be our first taste of rugby for the season, since Hurricane Dorian postponed our first matrix match.“
Dyer continued, “Norfolk is home to the biggest Naval Station on the east coast, which brings civilians and military service members from all walks of life and rugby experience to us. Our demographic influences the dynamic of the team every season, and we never know who will come through our door and for how long. With plenty of new faces this season the team is excited to rebuild and train up the next wave of the Norfolk Storm.”
Women’s D2 – Midwest-West: Oconomowoc Rugby vs County Will Morrigans
Another women’s D2 matchup is highlighted because of all the great action the division has in store for all rugby fans and supporters, especially in the Midwest. Shoutout to all new clubs this season, along with those who have decided to jump up a division, like Oconomowoc has done currently.
The Oconomowoc RFC will be looking to improve on their last two defeats to start off their season, but club captain Katie McNeil has high hopes in her club’s ability against a tough County Will Morrigans side. McNeil states, “Oconomowoc is a new team in the Women’s D2 league this season. Every week we are looking forward to the opportunity to further develop our team as we progress through this fall season. We are a young team with our average player age at 22 years old, and many of our players are directly out of our Wisconsin High School Girl’s league. Our side has two players who also coach at the high school level, and our team takes pride in the fact that we are working hard to grow the game and provide opportunities for girls to continue to play rugby at a higher level. We have learned a lot in our first two weeks in league matches, and we are excited to host the Will County Morigans, a team that we have only played against once in our team history.“
County Will Morrigans club founder, Bridget Forsythe Hope, is also looking forward to their match against ORFC this weekend. Hope adds in, “The County Will Morrigans are counting down the days to step out on the pitch this Saturday against the Oconomowoc Rugby Club in Wisconsin. The Morrigans are on a quest to sample the finest WI cheese, ruck with the locals, and continue to bring a satisfying mix of “serious fun” to this D2 Conference. These passionate rugby players come in a wide range of ages, experience, and ability levels; they are looking forward to bringing their play book to life while also doing their best to throw their opponents’ plans off track. This group of good-looking Hooligans takes great pride in making rugby accessible to all women in the greater Will County and Chicago area.
She concludes with, “Their opponents would be wise not to underestimate them; for this team has been learning how to tuck and roll together for more than 15 years. While New Zealand may kick off their matches with a Haka, the Morrigans have their own pre-game tradition known as the ‘True star‘. Though most elements of this tradition are consistent, there remains some variations each time The True Star is performed. This beloved pre-game ritual allows players an opportunity to connect through both repetition and improvisation – a skill all rugby players know is invaluable come game time.“
Men’s D2 – Empire: New Haven Old Black vs Buffalo Rugby
The New Haven Old Black RFC has had a tough start to their 2019/20 campaign, by unfortunately dropping their first two games of the season. They are currently riding the momentum of being led by former (and newly reappointed) club founder, Bob Chester and are trying to work their way to the top of the table in the Northeast. New Haven is led by some young talent in the centers in Nik Griswold and Danny Holland, and Steve Cappello has taken on a leadership role in the front row working with the group of forwards. With a combination of young players and veterans, NHRFC looks to build on the first few weeks of the season and hit their stride at the right time.
Buffalo head coach, Jon Garbin, has rebutted his clubs prowess as last year’s top of the table champion, while continuing that momentum with two wins already this season. He mentions, “Our match-up with New Haven presents the first challenge of traveling to an opponent. The depth we’ve been fortunate to have in our past two games has been buoyed by having both our D2 and D3 sides at home. However, our mantra of ‘next man up’ or #HorsesInTheStable, as it came to be known as last year should allow us to put forth a strong side regardless of the circumstance. We last played New Haven in 2016 at home, so it will be exciting to play on their turf against, what will surely be a strong side and an exciting match, as we look to stay atop the table in the Empire GU.“
New Haven’s founder, Bob Chester, gave a shoutout to success of his club in present and past years, “Buffalo is always a tight team who do the basics very well. Many of their players come from the high school and collegiate programs coached by Buffalo old boys, and it has resulted in heaps of success over the years – it’s always a challenge to have them on our schedule.”
Men’s D3 – Midwest-Iowa: Iowa City Ducks vs Clinton Muddy River
Wrapping up the men’s sides this weekend is the Iowan D3 matchup, with Iowa City holding the last victory between the clubs’ last game in 2018. Clinton Muddy River RFC is looking rebound from last year’s season, and will be engaging their athletic and enthusiastic approach towards this tough Ducks club.
Clinton Muddy River’s President, Tyler Cozzolino, had this to say about their upcoming matchup, “This weekend we’re looking for our first win. We have a lot of youth and inexperience on the team but they are starting to step up and figure out what has to happen in game time situations. We feel like we match up well with Iowa City, and it’s our closest away game which always helps. The final score of our last two games doesn’t particularly show how we’ve been playing as a team, and we have a chance this weekend to show what who we really are. What we may lack in rugby knowledge at the moment, we certainly make up for with effort and athleticism.“
Iowa City’s Vice President, Tyler Dailey, had much praise for his club’s efforts and ability to overcome obstacles. He added, “Iowa City and Clinton are two historic teams in the state of Iowa who have managed to stay intact over the years. While both clubs continue to face adversity from player availability and numbers, you can be guaranteed our physical play on the field always makes for a great match-up and entertains the crowd every time we meet.”
Women’s D3 – NERFU: Seacoast vs South Shore Sirens
Concluding our 6 Pack Preview for this weekend, is a NEFRU divisional matchup that is welcoming newcomers, South Shore Sirens and their first home match for the competition. The side first gathered in the spring of 2018, as part of the South Shore Anchors RFC family, and were officially welcomed into the union in June 2019. They’ve took that momentum into the summer 7s season, earning 3rd and 1st place finishes in Newport and Boston, respectively. After strong attendance and high energy through pre-season 15s training, they dropped their first match against Amoskeag 59-7, but are determined to make their mark through the rest of the 2019 campaign.
South Shore Sirens Captain, Kelly Kryzak, had these inspiring words in reflection of her club, their play, and the positive effect the sport rugby has on its community, on the whole. “Being a leader of a new club has been challenging but also extremely rewarding. Every new player comes to us with a different rugby backgrounds and different obstacles they must face in their own life. Every week we come together for practices and games and suddenly we aren’t so different. We all share the same love for this sport and we work hard to achieve our goals as a team. I am so proud to be a Siren and proud to be a part of the South Shore Rugby community. Not only are we building a successful team, we are building a family of strong women who support each other on and off the field.”
Victoria Thomas, Sirens Forward and Anchors Community Outreach Officer, also chimed in on the club’s potential and future success. “We’ve been very fortunate to have a solid club behind us supporting us every step of the way. We genuinely wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for the support and encouragement that we’ve received from the Anchors. They put us and our development and our team on the same level as they do theirs, and that alone has helped us grow exponentially in the last year.”

Club Rugby Review – Weekend Of September 14/15

/in , /by
After a few weeks of initial matches, the fall men’s and women’s club rugby season began in earnest on Saturday with over 100 games in action in the Atlantic North, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Frontier. New clubs made their marks, champions were upset, and contenders began their march to the throne.

Atlantic North (Men’s)

In American Rugby Premiership, two Atlantic North clubs traveled south to Georgia to meet the defending DI Champions and the development academy for the MLR’s Rugby ATL. The home teams won both matches as Life defeated Mystic River, 39-15, and 404 Rugby Atlanta crushed Old Blue, 45-6.
Up north in the NERFU, Worcester upset DII’s top squad, Newport, 21-0, and the Mystic Barbarians and South Shore remained undefeated with wins over Boston and Hartford. After making the move down from DII to DIII, Amoskeag and Albany look to be firing on all cylinders winning their first two matches. Charles River and Boston Maccabi continue to look strong also staying undefeated. Lastly, Upper Valley and Monadnock remain the only unbeaten teams in DIV as Upper Valley took down in-state rival, Freedom, in a close 24-20 match and Monadnock blanked Rutland, 74-0.
As for the Empire matches, DII’s Long Island rebounded from a big loss last week to hold off a late surge by New York Rugby Club to win 39-36 in the closet match of the day. The Buffalo Rugby Club and the Fairfield Yankees remained undefeated in the division and in a minor upset, Montclair Norsemen dropped New Haven, 27-10. Montclair is an ever-improving club and they showed that Saturday with a comprehensive win running in four tries while only conceding one.
All four regions of the Empire DIII saw action on Saturday as games were played in New York City, the Atlantic, New Jersey, and Upstate. In one of the fiercest clashes in NYC, Lansdowne RRC and the Village Lions scored four tries apiece as Lansdowne was better with the boot to win 29-26. An early season upset saw Greenwich outwork the defending Atlantic champions, Danbury, by a score of 41-31 and Suffolk drubbed White Plains 53-0. In New Jersey, Morris continued to be dominant beating Monmouth, 33-7, and Bayonne kept pace by beating Princeton AC, 27-12. Upstate results saw Syracuse, the Rochester Aardvarks, and KenTon win by large margins and Buffalo stayed undefeated with a 44-21 victory over the Genesee Creamers.
In Empire DIV, Queens Rugby Club got its first win beating the Gotham Knights, 29-12, NYRC overpowered Long Island, 41-19, and Union County eked out a 14-12 win over the Fairfield Yankees, 14-12.

Atlantic North (Women’s)

South Jersey got its second win of the Mid-Atlantic North season, defeating York & Lancaster 41-5. Outside center Jenelle Fuller scored four tries on the day, while hooker Julianne Warner, and No. 8 Gabriella Wood also contributed tries. Fullback Jamie Lynn Fortuna kicked the conversions.
In New England, both victors won by large margins: North Shore topped Seacoast 56-5, and Amoskeag beat South Shore 59-7.

Mid-Atlantic (Men’s)

The second week of DI play saw both teams who played in the conference championship fall. Schuylkill River captured their first ever victory over MAC champion Rocky Gorge with a 27-25 last second win. Ben Janssen scored in the corner with no time left and captain Brian Keown nailed the conversion from sideline. The Norfolk Blues started their fall with a bang by beating NOVA, 34-28, and Baltimore-Chesapeake and Potomac picked up their first Ws of the season.
With DII not starting until next weekend, DIII was active with a full slate. Severn River, Rocky Gorge, and the Washington Irish remained perfect in the Central and the Washington Renegades notched their first win by beating NOVA, 17-10. In the opening weekend of the south, Rappahannock, Virginia Beach, and Roanoke won while the Northeast Philadelphia Irish, Media, Delmarva, Schuylkill River, Wilkes-Barre, Reading, and Lehigh Valley were victorious in the EPRU. The game to watch this Saturday is Media versus NE Irish as both clubs impressed last season with undefeated records and it should be a smashing match.
In DIV, Phoenixville White Horse almost shutout the Baltimore Flamingos, 60-5, and the Patuxent Lions’ Michael Morgan scored in the 76th minute for the 29-24 win over the Washington Renegades.

Mid-Atlantic (Women’s)

In the Mid-Atlantic, Doylestown beat Chesapeake 46-0, and 2018 national finalist Harrisburg held off James River in a 19-12 contest. The Harlots have seen player turnover since nationals and new, young captains were ushering in a new attack system. James River brought a full, hard-hitting roster to the game and took a 12-7 halftime lead
“[B]y the second half, we had brushed off the cobwebs and started executing our attack successfully,” Harrisburg veteran Courtney Reapsome explained. “Harrisburg’s defense was successful in creating pressure that lead to James River knock-ons, and Harrisburg dominated in lineouts and scrums, winning their own set pieces and strongly contesting and even stealing James River ball.”
Wing Nicole Ciccarelli scored Harrisburg’s three tries, and flyhalf Lauren Shissler, “who created great turnover/poached ball at the breakdown,” per Reapsome, kicked the extras.
In the Empire GU, Morris beat Union 79-0, and Monmouth defeated Danbury 31-3. Of the New England GU matches, two were close: Hartford’s 33-28 victory over Portland, and Providence’s 13-12 win over Albany. Providence had the first-half momentum but a stout Albany defense held up multiple dive-over attempts and limited Providence to an Anne Venner dropgoal. The Sirens took control in the second half and put down two tries for a 12-3 lead that held until the final 10 minutes of the match.
“We have a really good scrumhalf, [Tiffany] McCoy, who dictates our game and does a really good job of looking at the field and seeing where the play is going and moving people,” Providence captain Tiara Mack said. “We had a couple of injuries – our prop and hooker – in the first half … so our tempo was off a little bit in the second half. But in the last 10 minutes we got into a groove.”
With eight minutes to go, Naz Cardoso and Melissa Keene scored tries, and Ashley Hanson’s conversion afforded the one-point win. Worcester, which beat Charles River 38-12, currently leads the standings at 2-0.

Frontier (Men’s)

In the third week of the Rocky Mountain Rugby Eastern Rockies Cup, an early season tournament between DII and DIII clubs, Boulder grabbed their second W with a 37-point victory over the Queen City Rams, 59-22, and the Denver Highlanders added to their win total with a 35-26 triumph against last year’s Eastern Rockies Cup runner-up, the Colorado Springs Grizzlies. The competition will take a break until October 5 when Colorado Springs takes on the Denver Barbarians and the Denver Misfits host the Laramie Lumberjacks.
Speaking of Laramie, the Lumberjacks rebounded from a difficult loss last month to nearly double up Marauders Rugby, 63-35. Laramie should be a team to watch as it features former USA Falcon Cody Jerabek and several Wyoming Cowboys alumni from a period where Wyoming was one of the strongest teams in the nation.
The second Saturday of the Rocky Mountain Rugby Challenge League saw two high-scoring affairs as Boulder scored 12 tries to knock off Queen City, 74-43, and the Denver Highlanders cracked Colorado Springs, 58-19. The results from the weekend are a good reflection of the depth and parity in the competition.

Frontier (Women’s)

In the Frontier, Kansas City Jazz beat Boulder 80-5. Lauren Kuklenski led all scorers (2T, 10C) and Amanda Hull touched down four tries. Kansas City Jazz beat Boulder 80-5, and Lauren Kuklenski led all scorers (2T, 10C) in Kansas City Jazz’s 80-5 win over Boulder. Amanda Hull led try-scorers with four.
On Sept. 28, the DI East will kick off its league play, and the new DI Texas/Frontier will return to action (Glendale won the only game thus far 61-19 against Denver Black Ice) the same

Midwest (Men’s)

As the Midwest entered its third weekend of play, the summer rust is off and many teams are flexing their muscles. In DI, each winning team scored over 30 points as the Chicago Lions, Chicago Griffins, Metropolis, and the Kansas City Blues outworked their opponents on Saturday. Metropolis and the Blues are now undefeated atop the west division and Lions and Griffins move to 2-1 and 1-2, respectively, in the east. The cross-town Chicago rivalry is renewed again this coming weekend as the Lions host the Griffins on Saturday.
In DII, the Green Bay Celtics and Wisconsin improved to 2-0 in the west while the Pittsburgh Forge remains the only undefeated team in the east. With wins over the Indianapolis Impalas and the South Side Irish, the Cleveland Crusaders and Chicago Blaze kept pace with the Forge and Milwaukee gutted out a 39-36 win over the Chicago Lions to pull to 1-1.
It was a party in DIII as 24 games were played in seven regions. In Chicago, CRC, the Northwest Woodsmen, the Chicago Riot, and the Lake County Gladiators each routed their competition and the Pittsburgh Forge, Akron, and the Cleveland Crusaders remained perfect in the east. The Crusaders were challenged the hardest as the Rovers were in the lead until the final play where Ryan Sands scored and David DiFrancesco booted the 33-32 game-winner.
The Bremer County Bucks pushed their record to 3-0 with a big win over Clinton Muddy River in DIII Iowa and Metropolis, Sioux Falls Crow, and the St. Cloud Bottom Feeders won in Minnesota. Up in the North, the Kalamazoo Dogs, Fort Wayne, the Tri-City Barbarians, and Traverse Bay Blues blew out their opponents and Louisville, Columbus, Queen City, and White River won in the South. Lastly, Oconomowoc Rugby demolished Fox City, 53-5, and the Oshkosh Pigs outlasted the Milwaukee Black and Blue, 31-24, in the Wisconsin region.
In DIV Buckeye, the Lancaster Men of Stone and the Columbus Castaways earned their first wins and the Westside Outcasts remained unbeaten via forfeit. Out in the Central division, the Chicago Blaze tamed the Kenosha Mammoths, 73-0 and Indianapolis blanked the Sliverbacks, 24-0, while in the Iowa division, Des Moines beat Iowa Falls, 34-12, and Cedar Rapids toughed out a 32-27 win over River City.

Midwest (Women’s)

The Midwest has been playing games since Aug. 17 and teams like Wisconsin already have five league matches behind it. Last weekend carried a ton of anticipation as 3-0 Chicago took on DI newcomer Chicago Lions for the teams’ first Windy City showdown.
“Absolutely, there was pressure to perform,” Chicago Lions head coach Bruce Snyder asserted. “Chicago Women were just coming off solid victories over Detroit and Wisconsin. They have an athletic, experienced team, so our focus was to build a basic foundation. We focused on the go-forward and basics of ball carry into contact. That set the stage for everything else.”
Lions wing Devon Gold scored the first of three tries approximately five minutes in and kicked off a 58-point run. Chicago flyhalf Sarah Anderson snapped the shutout with a penalty goal near the 60th minute. By game’s end, Megan Loomis (3), Rachel Grecky, Benny Hershik, Kelley Hirt, Katherine Lohaus and Jillian Stariha scored tries. Scrumhalf Aleia Bellcross kicked all but one of the conversions.
“We have a big match against Metro this weekend, which is also the first weekend at our new pitch, the J. Tyke Nollman field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex,” Snyder added. “We hope to continue this momentum into that match.”
In other games in the Midwest, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee Scylla won their respective matches, with the closest margin of victory, 36-32, occurring between the Michigan team and Dayton. In the Pacific Northwest, Bend, Tacoma and Emerald City beat their respective opponents by more than 40 points.

6 Pack Club Preview

/in , /by

The 6 Pack Club Preview has returned for the 2019/20 seasons, choosing 6 matchups across all Men’s & Women’s Club Leagues, Conferences, and Divisions. Heading into the weekend of the 14th/15th of September, there are some very exciting matches taking place in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England Regions. Buckle up folks, because this year of club competition will be as fierce as ever, with much of the competition atmosphere and layout remaining similar to last year. Here to present the first 6 Pack Club preview of the year are the following teams and regions:

Women’s D1 – Midwest: Chicago Lions v Chicago Rugby

Chicago Rugby has started their 2019 Fall campaign with a streaking hot 3-0 record, and will be taking on the D1 newcomers, and city rivals, Chicago Lions. The Lions have historically been a solid side never to be reckoned with and with the overall Chicago atmosphere of Women’s competition heating up with the WPL North Shore side, there will be plenty of great talent and matchups to be seen throughout this division for years to come. Coach Bruce Snyder of the Lions is extremely excited for this upcoming crosstown matchup and weighs in.
“This match represents a great restart to our season. We’ve had the last three weekends off and are now heading into a seven week stretch where we will be playing every weekend. Our players have worked hard to learn and build their skills, and everyone is excited to apply what we’ve been working on.
I have no doubly this weekend will set the tone for the rest of the Fall season.” Snyder adds, “We look forward to hosting Chicago Women this weekend and to having a highly competitive contest with them. They were our final friendly in the Spring, and we were able to gain a lot of experience from that match.” Check this box for our Matchup of the Week, because there is sure to be end of summer fireworks in the Windy City.

Men’s D1 – Midwest: Palmer College Dragons vs Kansas City Blues

Men’s Division 1 is ready to blast off with a great matchup between these two determined clubs. Last year, KC had taken both matches when the two clubs faced off, but Palmer is excited about the opportunity to give the Blues a taste of their own medicine. Head coach for Palmer College, Giovanni Frapporti is especially enthusiastic in his club’s potential this year, along with the division as a whole.
He states, “Kansas City has always been a solid team to play against with a roster rich in experienced players that know how to play properly. On our side, 100% of our players are students at Palmer College of Chiropractic.” Frapporti also mentions the obstacles and determination his team faces, “Going through the chiropractic program and rugby is not easy at all but I am very proud of the work they put in at every practice. We have a great group of skilled players but most importantly a solid group of friends. Where technique is missing we put our hearts in. This Saturday is going to be the first wall to walk through in order to achieve the goals we have set at the beginning of the season. It doesn’t really matter with which roster they’ll come with in Davenport this weekend, we will be ready to play our best rugby.”
The perennial powerhouse Kansas City Blues side is looking forward to their Fall campaign, and will be taking their preparation for every team across the board on their schedule seriously. Looking to improve on their 3-5 record from previous season, Head coach James Paterson chimes in on the clubs present focus,
“The last 12 months the Kansas City Blues have gone through a rebuilding phase introducing a new system and staff. The spring season this year was a big improvement over the fall of 18 and we expect continued gains as we improve our core skill set and player depth.” Paterson continues, “This weekend will be a good barometer of where we are at. Palmer the last couple years have finished at the top end of the conference. They play a good brand of rugby, have an excellent set piece and are very physical. We look forward to playing this weekend and showcasing some exciting new talent coming out of the Kansas City Blues Rugby Program.”

Women’s D2 – New England: Albany Knicks vs Providence Rugby

The Albany Sirens are coming off an unsatisfying 2018/19 campaign, with high hopes of trending upward toward Division 2 stardom and success. Coming off an unfortunate loss vs Worcester Shamrocks, the Sirens captains (Mel Weils and Camila Osses) along with head coach (Lori Staples) have encouraging words for continuing their pathway against the Providence side.
“[We] are going into this game head-strong in order to play against an opponent that shares the same intense dedication to the sport” says Weils. “We are familiar with each other’s style, and have had the opportunity to face off in past 15s and 7s games where we are competing to the nail-biting end.
The competition is fierce and [we] are looking forward to a fast-paced and creative game against Providence.”, concludes Osses. Head coach Lori Staples mentions, “Providence and ourselves have been closely matched for years in terms of our style-of-play, team composition and competitiveness. We last played Providence in the 2017-18 season and split our home and away series back then.” Looking to shake off a disappointing road loss to Worcester, Staples adds, “We’ve had a lot of turnover on our squad since we last played Providence in 15s so I’m looking forward to seeing how our new players take on the challenge of this exciting rivalry.”

Men’s D2 – Midwest: Indianapolis Impalas vs Cleveland Crusaders

One of the top matchups of the week is the Midwest showdown between the Impalas & Crusaders. Both of these teams finished second in their respective regions, but now have found each other fighting for supremacy within the same conference. The Impalas were known to have a high-powered attacking presence throughout all 80 minutes, with impressive athletes commanding both the forward pack and backline. This matchup will be a great determinant to showcase which team has more grit and capability of withstanding a grueling test match.
“We have an incredibly tough matchup this weekend, as we travel to an always tough Indianapolis Impalas team.”, says Cleveland president, Terry Kilbane. “As the reigning Midwest Champs, we know that we are going to get everybody’s best shot, and there are no easy Saturdays on the schedule this year. We will win or lose this game on our defense and ability to work together within our structures. We believe we have a very talented group, capable of great things, but first things first, we have to perform on Saturday.”
Although the Impalas show fine potential, the Crusaders are not a team to sleep on. Their incredibly impressive Fall 2018 campaign sent tons of momentum into spring. Even though the Spring 2019 schedule did not pan out as they had planned, the fire has been burning in the belly of this strong Cleveland side. Their last week’s close loss to Pittsburgh Force, 12-15, was a nail-biter to the end, but the club is sure of amending their mistakes and errors coming this weekend in Indianapolis.

Women’s D3 – Mid-Atlantic: York & Landcaster Thorns vs South Jersey Devils

The York & Landcaster Thorns are yet to begin their divisional play this 2019 campaign, and are hungry to avenge their previous sub-.500 season. York & Landcaster are looking to be ‘Thorns’ in the side of their divisional rival, South Jersey Devils this upcoming weekend. The Devils however, are divisional championship defenders and will not be a club to roll-over to the determined York & Landcaster side.
Head coach Chris Kevenaar of South Jersey not only is looking to retain a successful tradition, but also has other priorities this season, “Coming off a championship season we have some rebuilding to do after losing eight starters and three subs to injury and relocation. Rookies are stepping up and returning players are diving into new roles. In our first away game of the year against a very physical Lancaster side and a particularly cheeky flyhalf.” Kevenaar mentions the keys to their success as, “We are looking to contain on defense and force turnover ball to create offensive opportunity. On the offensive side, we are preparing to come out with stability, ball control, and to hit good lines.”

Men’s D3 – Mid-Atlantic: Philadelphia Gryphons vs Northeast Philadelphia Irish

Another crosstown matchup this weekend includes the city of Brotherly Love, aka Philadelphia. This match is expected to go down exactly like a brotherly contest would go, with plenty of hard hits and intensity. The Northeast Philadelphia Irish had bolstered an outstanding season in 2018/19 going without a loss, unfortunately until the final game of the season where they had lost to Grand Rapids. We expect this game to include lots of tries, a few cheeky scuffs, and plenty of fun play.
The head coach for the Gryphons, Phil Egner, has some color commentary on his expectations for this game, the season, and the “game after the game”. Egner states, “We are looking forward to our game against NE-Irish this week. It will be a great opportunity for the Gryphons to test their defensive & attack systems and build some momentum into this new season.” He continues with, “Appreciating that NEI had an excellent record last year and having suffered a heavy loss to them at the beginning of last season – we eagerly accept the tough challenge ahead of us. The fresh blood (recruits) has brought a lot of energy and creativity into the squad. The coaches and supporters are very excited for this new generation of Gryphons to take the home field and play some quality, running rugby. The Gryphon’s strive to provide a friendly, inclusive, safe and positive environment to learn & enjoy rugby. Regardless of the final score – we are sure to have a fantastic day of competitive rugby followed by fun, friendship and free ‘soda’ at the Gryphon’s renowned drink-ups!”
Regardless of the final score – we are sure to have a fantastic day of competitive rugby followed by fun, friendship and free ‘soda’ at the Gryphon’s renowned drink-ups!”