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Written by Paul Hennessy
Sunday, 19 June 2011 19:11 |
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Fairport Wins New York State Title |
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School Age -
Boys
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At Niagara University, the Fairport Red Raiders entered the New York State Class A High School championship as the bottom seed in the tournament. On Sunday May 29th the Red Raiders faced the Saratoga Mustangs, the top seed in the Capitol District. The Mustangs were undefeated, having tallied an impressive six wins and no losses while amassing a total of 205 points for and only 10 against for the season.
2011 was a transition season for the Fairport team, having returned only two starters from the 2010 team which placed second in the state last year. The team began to jell late in the season and defeated their last 3 opponents (Pittsford, Syracuse and Orchard Park) by a combined score of 120-0, while barely qualifying for the playoffs.
From the opening kick the Saratoga Mustangs were no match for the determination and rugby knowhow that the Red Raiders displayed. Fairport saddled and broke the Saratoga Mustangs 51-0.
Meanwhile, Kenmore West defeated Kingston 31-11, setting up a rematch of a 34-20 Kenmore win in the final.
Fairport opened the game by kicking off to Kenmore Wes,t but gained possession quickly by out-rucking Kenmore and methodically driving the ball deep into its territory. Fairport scored first after Trevor Benson converted a penalty kick from 30 meters to take the 3-0 lead. After strong defense by both teams, Kenmore’s winger was able to recover his own kick for an outstanding try and a 5-3 lead. Shortly after, Fairport stole a Kenmore ball and was able to pass out wide to set up Jake Wolf for an explosive run that ended in a try, regaining the lead for Fairport.
The half ended with Fairport knocking on the door once more, but failing to score a try from five meters out. The game was very much a seesaw battle and the determining factor was field position. Kenmore scored another try before Fairport answered with a fantastic team effort, started and later finished by Matt Greco. Trevor Benson made the conversion for a Fairport 15-12 lead. Fairport was then able to break the back-and-forth scoring when Greg Johnson won several Kenmore lineouts that neutralized their kicking game.
Eventually Benson was able to break free and make a difficult pass to Dan Gueli who rumbled in for the try. Benson then made the conversion kick for a 22-12 Fairport lead.
As the second half began to wind down, Kenmore caught the Red Raiders forwards out of defensive position and scored from the back of a driving maul. The conversion attempt failed.
From that point on, the battles took place primarily at midfield with both teams displaying exceptional rucking, tackling and positional play. With 10 minutes left and Kenmore committing a penalty, Fairport chose to take the long penalty kick from 40 meters out. An outstanding kick by Benson was good, making it 25-17 and a two score lead. Kenmore came back down the field for another unconverted try to make it 25-22 with no time left on the clock.
In Girls competition on Sunday, the NY Rugby Club U19 girls defeated Fairport 27-7 in the semifinals. The NY Rugby Club went on to win the State Title by defeating the Kingston club in the championship game. In the Girl's Consolation match Fairport defeated Adirondack 19-7 in a close game that was tied at 7 at the half. The Fairport Girls team finished 3rd place in the state.
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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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Written by Alex Goff
Sunday, 19 June 2011 18:33 |
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GoffonRugby: Goodbye Churchill Cup |
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RUGBYmag Premier -
Columns and Opinions
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I am ambivalent about seeing the Churchill Cup go away.
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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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The South African Kings defeated a gallant Portugal on the final day in Bucharest to finish unbeaten and win the 2011 IRB Nations Cup, their first tour outside of Africa.
