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Written by Will Dietrich-Egensteiner
Sunday, 19 June 2011 17:15 |
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Boston Sweeps South Shore 7s Qualifier |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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Boston Rugby fielded two teams in the men’s qualifier pool of the South Shore 7s in Braintree, Mass. on June 18, with Boston 1 taking home first place and the cup and Boston 2 landing in third. Middlesex Savages (Mass.) did well to grab the second place plate, while Old Blue (N.Y.) and Cape Cod fell in fourth and fifth places respectively.
Boston 1 started off their day by trouncing Cape Cod, 38-5. Boston 1 showed great discipline on defense and determination on attack. Cape Cod managed their only try when the ball carrier found space and stiff-armed the defender to go over, but that was the only bright spot for them in this match. Boston 1 was just too clinical and could’ve put up more points had their runner not gone out the back of the try zone on one opportunity. There was some confusion about the lining on the fields and this was not the first time it happened in the tournament.
Boston 1 then picked up where they left off by beating Middlesex, 36-7. Boston contested the kickoffs well which granted them a lot of possession and worked loops on attack to gain numbers advantages out wide. Middlesex showed promise when they returned a kickoff for a try and conversion, but it was too late to come back.
Boston 1’s closest contest was against Boston 2. Despite some friendly banter before the match neither team pulled their punches and the score stood at 14-7 to Boston 1 at halftime. In the second half, Boston 1 ran hard lines and an offload from a double-team tackle led to a try. Boston 2 mounted a good run but a strong Boston 1 tackle dislodged the ball forward. Boston 2 won the resulting scrum and worked the ball to the right corner for the winger to score. A failed conversion made the score 19-12. In the last minutes, Boston 2 attempted to chip kick over the defense but Boston 1 recovered the ball and took it all the way back from inside their own half to score a converted try, making the fulltime score 26-12.
Boston 1 secured their first-place seeding with a win over Old Blue, 24-5, in their final match of the day. It was a very scrappy match and Old Blue played very physically to match Boston, but sometimes this worked against them. The score was tied, 5-5, at halftime, but in the second half Old Blue was called for taking out the kicker and Boston chipped over the defense. With the luck of the bounce, the chasing Boston player gathered the ball and scored. Two other tries in the half only added to the lead.
“I’ve been emphasizing mental toughness, fitness and more or less just discipline,” Boston coach Kevin Immonje said. “Because 7s is a discipline game and even on attack guys have to know when they see the opportunities to attack them. They have to make sure even when they’re exhausted to be disciplined and go and support your man and it’s just the all-around team game.”
Middlesex bounced back from their loss to Boston 1 to demolish Cape Cod, 54-5, in their second game of the day. The Savages just had better continuity and kept the ball alive to rack up the impressive score.
Middlesex then went on to beat Old Blue, 28-21, in a close match. Old Blue held a 14-7 lead at the halftime break and scored again after a run down the right touchline and a stiff-arm got the ball carrier through.
Middlesex didn’t give up and scored two converted tries before it looked like Old Blue would cross the line again. However Middlesex stole the ball at a ruck and took it all the way back for the winning try.
Boston 2 lost to Old Blue and Boston 1 before Cape Cod dropped out of the rest of the tournament and therefore forfeited their match against Boston 2. Cape Cod suffered three losses and their frustration was evident at the end of the Middlesex match when one of their players was shown a red card.
Boston 2 beat Middlesex, 21-7, but because of Middlesex’s win over Cape Cod they had a better points differential and earned second place.
For a full listing of the men’s qualifier scores from the South Shore 7s, see here.
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Saturday, 18 June 2011 23:28 |
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Kutztown Collegians Take Club Qualifier in Wilmington |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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The Kutztown University 7s team made a big splash Saturday, winning the Wilmington 7s Mid-Atlantic Qualifier bracket, and securing a place in the MARFU territorial club 7s championships.
The KU team is an all-student team that is being coached by Kutztown alumni Jeff Reiss and Paul Presinzano. The team checked carefully with USA Rugby to ensure they were allowed to compete in the club competition.
“We’re excited about the team,” said Presinzano. “MARFU had no problem with us competing, Our whole agenda is, this is going to be an Olympic sport. We want to be involved and have our players compete as much as possible. Kutztown wasn’t invited to the [USA 7s] CRC; that’s fine, we understand. But we still want to get as many athletes experience as we can to give[USA 7s coach] Al Caravelli a bigger pool of players.”
KU went 1-1 in Pool Play, defeating the NOVA 35-10 and losing to Wilmington 22-12. That put them in the 4th seed position in the quarterfinals, where they met the Pittsburgh Harlequins.
Curiously, the Harlequins had on their roster a KU student. Perhaps they needed more as the Bears won 17-7 to make the semis.
In the semis, Kutztown faced Schuylkill River, champions last week at Lehigh Valley and big winners in their three previous matches. But Kutztown prevailed 28-17 to make the final.
That set up a final against the Maryland Exiles. Both teams were beat up by this point, and in a tense match KU led 7-5 at halftime. Kutztown scored early in the second half and then a few minutes later to lead 19-5 late. The Exiles put in a try and rushed to kick off again, but Kutztown retained the ball and kicked to touch to end the game, 19-10.
“The guys played good, unselfish, team rugby,” said Presinzano. “Tim Acker was a big scorer for us in the 15s season, but he spent the day setting up tries.”
Matt Hartwell, a new Kutztown student who has transferred from Shippensburg, and Gareth Lourens led the team in tries, while Bruce Dolan toughed it out through a groin i9njury and scored the final try in the championship game.
The tournament victory puts Kutztown in the MARFU finals, along with Schuylkill River. Schuylkill still leads the points standings while the Exiles earned their first points of the season.
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Written by Press Release
Saturday, 18 June 2011 23:34 |
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Saxons Too Much for Canada in Churchill Final |
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Canada -
Men
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The powerful set piece and skillful flyhalf play of the England Saxons has ended the Canadian men's hopes of leaving the last-ever Churchill Cup victorious.
Canada challenged the Saxons defensively and had moments of brilliance in attack, but the game opened up in toward the end, leaving a disappointed Canadian team on the wrong end of a 37-6 scoreline in the Churchill Cup final.
In a bitter-sweet end to the tournament, New Brunswick flanker Chauncey O'Toole was named the Sky Sports tournament MVP.
Near lost for the words following the game, O'Toole appeared gutted by the loss.
“It's a disappointing way to end,” he said. “I don't really feel we put our best foot forward today, but we'll learn from it.”
With the win, the Saxons capped the nine-year history of the tournament in the same way they opened it at the first fixture in 2003.
Despite the loss, all the signs were there to indicate Canada's hard work on the training pitch was paying off.
Defensively, for the majority of the game, they're hard-nosed approach to the tackle zone shut down many of the Saxons threatening outside runs.
And while they lacked a desirable amount of possession, when they had the ball their attack was enterprising, but resulted in only half breaks more often than not.
In the end though, as coach Kieran Crowley had predicted, the Saxons set piece proved a dangerous and discouraging launching pad for attacking raids on the Canadian line.
Canada found themselves in better shape than the Saxons' other Churchill Cup opponents at the half, down by just nine points, 15-6, after a couple of lapses in an otherwise strong first half.
The Saxons' intentions were shown early, as the defending champions were attacking the line for several phases before kicking for territory and putting the challenge out there for the Canadian lineout.
In an early indication of just how much preparation the Canadian team has done in the build up to the final, Canada handled their defensive responsibilities well in the opening stanza.
However the set piece proved to be dangerous early, as the Saxons won short-hand penalties on two of the first three scrums.
Canada's lineout looked much better, while their first throw resulted in a turnover, their second was a shining example of their belief in themselves.
Camped within five meters of their line, Canada threw to Jamie Cudmore, brought the ball down and mauled it out of the danger zone.
The deadlock broke 11 minutes in when Brian Erichsen was called offside in a maul close to Canada's line and man of the match Rory Clegg kicked the first points for the Saxons.
Canada were right back in it three minutes later when they managed to trap the Saxons in their own end and set up for an Ander Monro drop goal on a penalty advantage.
Then, midway through the first half, the Saxons strength in the scrum led to a charge down the wing before flanker James Gaskell crossed over for an unconverted try in the corner.
Canada's troubles only deepened shortly afterwards when Miles Benjamin snagged an intercept on a Canadian counter attack. Clegg added the extras and the Saxons led 15-3.
Pritchard added a penalty kick before the close of the half to take cut the Saxons lead down, 15-6.
An early penalty to Clegg put the Saxons on the front foot in the second half, but some adventurous attacking play from Canada showed they would not die wondering.
In the defensive zone, Canada narrowly avoided embarrassment when Ciaran Hearn scrambled to clean up a loose ball inside his 22-metre line and threw a wild pass, which was mercifully cleaned up by Pritchard inside the in-goal.
Canada showed signs of breaking through the Saxons defenses, including a huge run from Skye Sports tournament MVP Chauncey O'Toole, but each time the favorites were able to scramble in defense and shut the opportunity down.
Realizing the Canadian defense and work rate were solid enough that no simple act of rugby would break the game open, Saxon fly-half Clegg chose another avenue.
With 20 minutes left in the game, Clegg sent a well-weighted kick into space, allowing his winger Benjamin to snatch it up and dive over for a converted try.
As the game wound down, mistakes began to creep into the Canadian game and the Saxons were able to capitalize when a simple box kick was left to bounce and winger Charlie Sharples was able to field the ball and force his way to the try line.
The Saxons' victory was secured beyond doubt in the final five minutes with a converted try to flanker Jamie Gibson.
The 2011 Churchill Cup fixture was the final year of the tournament, as both Canada and the United States will participate in the International Rugby Board's global rugby calendar as of 2012.
Canada 6 – England Saxons 37.
Canada penalty goal – James Pritchard.
Drop goals – Ander Monro.
England Saxons tries – James Gaskell, Miles Benjamin (2), Charlie Sharples, Jamie Gibson.
Conversions – Rory Clegg (3).
Penalty goals – Clegg (2).
Canadian squad
Name-Club (Hometown)
1. Hubert Buydens - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Saskatoon, SASK)
2. Pat Riordan (Captain) - B.C. Bears/CRC (Burnaby, B.C.)
3. Jason Marshall - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
4. Brian Erichsen - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
5. Jamie Cudmore - Clermont Auvergne/PRO (Squamish, B.C.)
6. Jebb Sinclair - The Rock/CRC (Fredericton, N.B.)
7. Chauncey O'Toole - The Rock/CRC (Belle Isle, N.B.)
8. Aaron Carpenter - Plymouth Albion/UK (Brantford, ON)
9. Sean White - B.C. Bears/CRC (Victoria, B.C.)
10. Ander Monro - Ontario Blues (Victoria, B.C.)
11. James Pritchard - Bedford Blues/UK (Parkes, NSW, Australia)
12. Ryan Smith - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Caledon, ON)
13. Phil Mackenzie - Esher/UK (Oakville, ON)
14. Ciaran Hearn - The Rock/CRC (Conception Bay, NFLD)
15. Matt Evans - Unattached (Duncan, B.C.)
Replacements
16. Andrew Tiedemann - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (St. Albert, AB)
17. Scott Franklin – Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Regina, SASK)
18. Tyler Hotson - Plymouth Albion/PRO (Vancouver, B.C.)
19. Nanyak Dala - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Saskatoon, SASK)
20. Jamie Mackenzie – Esher/UK (Oakville, ON)
21. Nathan Hirayama – B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
22. Conor Trainor - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
Staff
Coach Kieran Crowley
Assistants: Geraint John, Clive Griffiths, Neil Barne
Video Analyst: Calum Ramsey
Manager: Rodger Swany
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Referee: Romain Poite.
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Written by Will Dietrich-Egensteiner
Saturday, 18 June 2011 21:33 |
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NRU Takes South Shore Qualifier Cup |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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The women’s qualifier pool of the South Shore 7s tournament on June 18 in Braintree, Mass. was dominated by the NRU Developmental side, which went undefeated on its way to the cup title. The qualifier pool was made up of the NRU Developmental side, Boston Belles, Falcons, Boston Women, Village Lions and Northland. Right behind NRU were the Boston Belles, who only lost two matches, both to NRU, in the first and last women’s matches of the day.
NRU beat the Belles in the cup final, 24-5, in a match that was closer than the score line indicated. NRU got on the board quickly with a converted try and regained possession of the ball after the kickoff to force their way downfield for an unconverted score. The Belles had a chance to respond when they intercepted an NRU pass but NRU got the turnover and scored again by fighting through a tackle with determined running, making the score 17-0 at halftime.
NRU showed their discipline by defending in a line and forcing the Belles back on the next possession. The Belles managed to score when the scrumhalf took the ball off a scrum and shot the gap to sprint over 50 meters for the try. The conversion sailed wide and the score stood at 17-5.
NRU added one more converted try by outpacing the Belle defender down the left sideline and into the try zone. Both teams had excellent days on the pitch but NRU forced contact and played on their terms while the Belles looked to avoid contact. “They drew us into contact, we were trying to avoid contact,” Belles coach Bryan Hamlin said. “Obviously they’re very strong at the breakdown and they did a very good job of stealing the ball from us in contact. We didn’t get our hands on the ball enough.”
In the plate final, Falcons faced off against Northland in a match that was only decided in the final moments. The teams looked evenly matched and tied when they met in the pool stage, but the Falcons pulled out the win at the end, 29-24.
Northland started off the match well by kicking off and regaining possession after a few Falcon phases. They took advantage of the turnover by scoring quickly and converting it for a seven-point lead.
Falcons wasted no time in responding by returning the ensuing kickoff down the left wing for a try that went unconverted.
Northland used good hands and slick offloading to extend their lead to 14-5 at halftime.
Falcons were hurting themselves in the first half by knocking the ball on and not taking advantage of their scoring opportunities, but that changed in the second half. They scored soon after the kickoff and landed the conversion to close the gap to two points.
Falcons had another chance to score but a foot in touch ended the threat. They won the lineout in Northland territory however and one pass saw the flyhalf cross the line. The conversion was good and the lead switched hands, 19-14 to Falcons.
Northland fielded the kickoff and kicked to space in the Falcons’ half. A good chase by a Northland player resulted in the pick up and try, but the conversion fell short, leaving the match tied at 19.
Falcons answered by spreading the ball left to the touchline before passing back inside for another try. A missed conversion brought the score to 24-19.
With time running out, Northland had to score quickly and did just that, popping the ball up from the ground to keep possession alive and gain ground before finding a gap to score. Northland could’ve gained the lead but the conversion missed and the score was tied at 24.
With time left for one last possession, the Northland kickoff rolled into the Falcon try zone where a Falcon player touched down the ball. Falcons took the quick tap at the 50-meter line and worked the ball left to space where the winger slipped a tackle and scored the decisive try.
The bowl final saw the Village Lions take on Boston Women. Neither team registered a win in pool play, but the Lions found their stride for a well-earned 26-5 win.
Boston Women started the match off better than their previous ones, earning a penalty deep in their half early on. They kicked from this and chased well to recover and sprint over for the try. The conversion missed and the Boston Women held a 5-0 lead.
Following this, the Lions turned it on to score three converted tries. They crossed from 40 meters out, recovered their own kickoff to score and sprinted around the outside of the Boston defense. Boston found themselves in a 16-point hole late in the match.
Boston did manage a consolation try before the Lions slammed the door shut with another try. The conversion missed but the Lions had already won.
For a full list of women’s qualifier scores from the South Shore 7s, go here.
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