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Written by Pat Clifton
Sunday, 19 May 2013 13:55 |
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Irish Squad for American Tour Named |
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International -
International News
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 Ireland have named their 28-man squad to play the Eagles June 8 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Ulster hooker Rory Best will captain the Irish side. Best was expected by many to be busy playing in Australia this summer, but he was left off the British & Irish Lions touring squad.Several regular Irish starters were named to the Lions squad, however, keeping them off this list.
The Irish side includes six uncapped players as well as many regular starters during Ireland's recent Six Nations campaign, like Ulster flyhalf Paddy Jackson and Munster wing Simon Zebo. "We have selected a squad who have the right mix of youth and experience and I'm really looking forward to working with them over the next few weeks," acting Irish head coach Les Kiss told the Irish Independent.
"USA and Canada have improved enormously since the 2011 World Cup and we know we will be in for two tough Test matches."
IRELAND SUMMER TOUR SQUAD
Forwards: R Best (Ulster, capt), T Court (Ulster), D Fitzpatrick (Ulster), J Hagan (Leinster), I Henderson (Ulster), C Henry (Ulster), D Kilcoyne (Munster), M McCarthy (Connacht), K McLaughlin (Leinster), T O'Donnell (Munster), P O'Mahony (Munster), M Ross (Leinster), M Sherry (Munster), R Strauss (Leinster), D Toner (Leinster), D Tuohy (Ulster).
Backs: I Boss (Leinster), D Cave (Ulster), R Henshaw (Connacht), P Jackson (Ulster), F Jones (Munster), I Madigan (Leinster), K Marmion (Connacht), P Marshall (Ulster), F McFadden (Leinster), S Olding (Ulster), A Trimble (Ulster), S Zebo (Munster).
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Saturday, 18 May 2013 23:27 |
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Danville Taking it All in at NITs |
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School Age -
Girls
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Now that the girls’ high school championship is an invitational, configuring the divisions isn’t as formulaic. Seven of the eight teams in division one were shoe-ins, and were successful this season and in the recent past. The eighth seed, however, came down to a couple of candidates, and Danville got the nod.
It was the Northern California team’s performance against the Sacramento Amazons that put the team in the top tier. After defeating the Bay Area powerhouse, Danville dropped a tight 25-17 Nor Cal final to the Amazons. It was good enough, however, to warrant a shot at the rest of the top teams.
Today, Danville inaugurated their first-ever trip to a national tournament, but that’s not even the interesting detail about the team. Danville are finishing out their first-ever season in existence, and they’ve made some incredible strides with a team of rookies.
“Only three of my players have played rugby before, and the majority are freshmen or sophomores,” Danville coach Simi Hingano said. “All we concentrated on were the fundamentals – tackling, passing. We didn’t have time for anything else – like offloads. I haven’t taught them how to offload. And our phases, there is only one. I’d like to develop up to three phases. But the future is bright.”
It sure is. Even though Danville dropped its opening match to Fallbrook 41-0, it wasn’t as one-sided as the score suggests. Had Danville learned to offload, for instance, they could have made better use of the double-tackles needed to bring down the hard-running Lady Oaks. It’s exciting to imagine players like lock Meleane Fifita develop in such a matter. The freshman is athletic and difficult to corral, and her go-forward will be a good set-up to more fluid forward movements.
The most impressive player on Danville’s squad is Leti Hingano, who added her name to the up-and-comer list today. Fallbrook went to great lengths to contain the incredible shifty, speedy fullback, who on several occasions inserted into the backline for breaks into the open field.
“Yeah, I like it,” Hingano responded to his team’s first NIT game against the number one team. “I’m excited to see the level of competition, so we know what we need in terms of our preparation. The girls have seen what we need to do when we get back so we can be ready for this level. For that, I’m optimistic, regardless of what’s happened so far.”
Danville got out to an early lead against Summit, which had dropped its quarterfinal 12-5 to Catholic Memorial, in the consolation semifinals. The Colorado side tied it up and forced overtime and then pulled ahead for the 15-12 win.
“We could have done better, but we didn’t play to our level of our game,” Hingano said. “But I’m pleased; I’m not disappointed. We focused on fundamentals, but we realized that’s not enough. I only have four seniors, so everyone will be back next year, and we’ll work on all that other stuff. More good things are coming our way.”
Danville will have one more shot at a national’s win tomorrow, as they face West Carroll in the 7th place match. The Maryland team fell 33-17 to Sacramento during the consolation semifinals. It all goes down at 10:30 a.m. CST Sunday.
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Written by Alex Goff
Sunday, 19 May 2013 01:52 |
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OPSB Captain Happy With Win |
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Clubs -
Men's DI Clubs
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Old Puget Sound Beach captain Matt Trouville said his team handled itself well in beating a tough Austin Blacks squad 62-32 in Saturday's Round of 16. On a hot and windy day, weather that likely favored the Texans, the Seattle-based OPSB players hung in there. "They played field position with the win well, and they had some strong runners," said the OPSB No. 8. "After we weathered the storm, we found our groove and opened it up." Forwards such as Jan Linowski, Oliver Kilifi and TC Elliot set the platform for the likes of Mike Palefau, Mike Nelson, and Miles Craigwell to finish. Trouville played his usual strong game and, having taken up the goal kicking duties these last few weeks after Russell Armstrong suffered an injury, slotted a penalty and seven of nine conversions.
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Saturday, 18 May 2013 21:51 |
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Meyers: NIT Final and Adventures Ahead |
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School Age -
Girls
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Big things lie ahead for Kent’s Cassidy Meyers. A high school senior, she’s already in the USA Women’s National Team pool, and is actually missing the first two days of the Top 60 camp to play with her team at the National Invitational Tournament. The decision to travel to Racine, Wisc., has proven to be a rewarding one, as Kent is poised to face Fallbrook in tomorrow’s DI final.
“Every year we lose about 10 seniors, and this year we have a lot of speed and youth,” Meyers said. “Most of the girls played other sports, so they understand that you need to be an athlete to play, and we’ve put that to good use. And, of course, we have Rex Norris, who is the best coach you can ask for.”
The uptick in athleticism saw players quickly embrace the style to which Kent was aspiring, and the tempo of play has increased accordingly. Through league, Kent was accustomed to scoring upward of 60 points against opponents, so the two tough games against West Carroll and Divine Savior Holy Angels were unique experiences for the team.
“There isn’t much competition in Washington, so we face our toughest opponents here and at the Fullerton tournament,” Meyers said. “We responded great. We stayed calm, told each other to just play rugby. We weren’t coming to nationals originally, so we had a ‘nothing to lose, everything to gain’ kind of attitude’ and it amplified our game.”
It took some time for Kent to realize their 22-20 victory over DSHA, and the spark came after outside center Asinate Serevi took in an intercept try from Kent’s end.
“That really changed the mood,” Meyers said. “We realized we were still in it. … I was pleased by our defense in this game and our ability to bounce back. We were down a significant amount, and being able to come back, play the Crusader way and beat them was definitely awesome. That is the challenge. In previous years, we’ve had girls crying in the end zone, bringing the whole mood down. So to be able to pull everyone together and stay focused was a challenge.”
The biggest challenge comes tomorrow against Fallbrook, but Meyers has the ability to inspire, not only with her high-level experience, but also in her play. More times than not, Meyers would track down a potential breakaway with a smothering cover tackle, or quickly tap through a penalty and weave her way through traffic. She’s the heart of the team, and Kent does well to follow her lead.
“We need to start with the intensity that we ended today’s game with,” Meyers looked ahead to the final. “We have to come out hard and remember that we’re in a national championship, a place we haven’t been in a long time. We have to leave it all on the field.”
Meyers will head to Greeley, Colo., immediately after the NIT final and join 59 other women at the senior players camp. She’ll leave that assembly early to join the Junior All American camp in Chula Vista, Calif., where she’ll vie for a spot on the team heading to the U20 Nations Cup in England. Once that tour concludes, Meyers will join Fallbrook’s Megan Pinson at American International College, where both have secured rugby scholarships.
“I never imagined that I’d get a rugby scholarship, not even last year,” Meyers said. “I always thought I’d go to school for soccer. I didn’t think about it until this year when colleges started asking about me. I’m excited, it’s a new style, but I’ll miss the Crusaders.”
Meyers has one more performance with Kent before she bids farewell, and then it’s off to bigger and brighter adventures.
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