BOULDER, Colo. -- USA Rugby has begun the process of selecting the 2011 Women’s Collegiate All-Americans (WCAAs). 
The WCAA honor is awarded annually to a select group of women who have proven themselves to be outstanding collegiate rugby players and in 2011, both Division I and Division II athletes will be recognized.

In addition, selection to the WCAAs is a key step in the high performance pathway and many current and former Women’s Eagles have ascended to the senior national team by way of the WCAA program.

All-Americans are selected based on their performance during the collegiate season, playoffs and championships, as well as performance at the Collegiate National All-Star Championships.

Collegiate coaches may nominate players for All-American selection.  Submitting game footage is helpful for selectors and is highly recommended.

To learn more about the selection process and how to nominate a player, please visit http://tinyurl.com/4eazf3c.

The WCAAs will have a touring side that will attend a summer training camp and a weeklong tour, competing against a Canadian University All-Star team at the annual Saranac Lake/Lake Placid tournament in upstate New York.
 

BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby is in search of a head coach for the 2010 Women’s Collegiate All-American Touring Side (WCAAs).  The WCAA head coach will be selected through an open application process that opens today and closes on March 30, 2011.

The Women’s All-American program is a part of the high performance player pathway, with many WCAAs going on to represent the USA at the senior international level as Women’s Eagles.  Fostering a high performance and positive learning environment is crucial to player and character development for the WCAAs and international competition is an integral part of that.

In 2011, the All-American Touring Side will compete at the international level for the first time, playing two matches against a Canadian University All-Star team at the end of July, as part of the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid annual tournament.

To see a full list of requirements and duties for the position or to apply, please visit http://tinyurl.com/allAmericanCoachApplication.
 

BOULDER, Colo. – The Collegiate All-Americans, presented by Royall Lyme, returned last Sunday from their centennial tour of the UK.

“The goal is to create an international level test environment for these athletes,” said former Eagle and All-Americans head coach, Alex Magleby.  “We set out to play against some of the best rugby athletes at this age-level and to give our players confidence in their future test careers for those that continue to push for higher honors.”

On top of top level competition, various on field and off field events added to the overall experience:

While on tour, the All-Americans received some extraordinary instruction from London Wasps personnel like kicking coach Dave Walder, scrum coach and 2003 World Cup-winning prop Trevor Woodman, and defensive coach Rob Hoadley.

Perhaps most notable was former England and British and Irish Lions coach Dick Best.  Best is currently an agent and was joined by another of his agents who wanted to survey the crop of All-Americans and discuss future opportunities abroad to America’s best up-and-coming players.

Elite academic institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham passed on information to players interested in playing overseas while pursuing postgraduate courses of study.

Eagles Robbie Shaw, Tim Usasz, Chris Wyles, Mike Petri, Mike MacDonald and Hayden Smith visited the All-Americans in person, and the All-Americans watched Wyles and Smith play for Saracens against Esher in a preseason match.

The All-Americans were visited by a “Total Rugby” crew, which recorded a segment for their show featuring the All-Americans. To listen to the segment, visit http://www.irb.com/totalrugby/ or http://irb.edgeboss.net/wmedia/irb/radio/total_rugby_radio.wax.

 While these enriching off-the-field experiences were wonderful, the pressure of facing sides like Richmond, Saracens, and Leicester was eye-opening for many players. Having never faced competition as fierce as that of these professional sides, each match proved to have a steep learning curve. However painful the losses were, exposing players to that level of play is crucial, according to Magleby, in order to help develop a mindset of growth and, eventually, a habit of victory.

“We need to give these athletes more of these pressure-filled experiences,” said the coach, “and we also need to continue to develop a winning confidence.” According to Magleby, the tour provided athletes with that test-level environment, but the winning habit is a work-in-progress and a habit that the USA needs to “collectively continue” to develop. “That will come through better preparation, consistent and deliberate practice throughout the year, and more opportunities like these,” Magleby added.

USA Rugby’s age-grade director and former Eagle, Matt Sherman, had a similar view as far as the tour’s outcomes were concerned.  “While the tour showed the players that they are capable of playing with some of the best young players abroad in spurts, it also exposed them to a higher level of play than most had experienced and gave them direction on where they need to focus on improving going forward,” said Sherman.  

“All players, to a man, seemed thirsty for this experience and challenge, and we have no doubt that they will use it going forward as they return to their respective teams and look to continue to improve.”

Chris Parker, who scored a rumbling try against Leicester Academy, was honored for his overall performance and behavior throughout the tour by receiving the Doug Edwards Best and Fairest Tourist Award. The award, established in 2001 by then General Manager Jack Clark, is given annually to an All-American player who shows outstanding ability on the pitch and a high level of character off the field during the course of the tour. The honor is named in memory of long-serving Midwest rugby man Doug Edwards, who was an integral part of the All-Americans management team during the late 1980’s.

Parker, showing his character, distributed the individual honor to his entire team. “Receiving the Doug Edwards Award in front of my teammates is something I won't forget,” said Parker. “To be honest, I don't believe in single awards, because I believe every man on this tour played his heart out, but respect from teammates is something every player strives for, so it was definitely very humbling.”

Magleby recognized Parker’s commitment to improvement from last year. “Chris was an All-American last year, yet continued to improve from there through lots of hard-work,” said the coach. “He made a big impact on the field on this year's tour as a lock and a blind-side flanker, demonstrating a high work rate, and a team-first attitude.”

Parker realizes he has progressed as a player since last year, but also realizes that there is more work to be done. “My goal is to one day play rugby at the professional level, and this tour was pivotal in outlining where my weaknesses are and where my strengths are at the same time,” he said. “The tour made me realize that I am another rung up the ladder in reaching my goal.”

The Tigers opened the scoring in the 9th minute thanks to to an offsides call and with the successful penalty attempt Leicester was up by three points. They would go on to score from a five-meter scrum and slot a conversion bringing their early tally to 10-0.

The All-Americans had a chance to get some points back. From lineout 30 meters out, they went through two phases and breached the Leicester line. However, they knocked the ball on in the try zone. Leicester scored another try in the 21st minute, bringing the score to 17-0.

Leicester continued the attack and was awarded a five-meter scrum for an All-American infraction. Leicester put up a high cross-kick which was gathered and touched down for another five points. Leicester was then up 22-0.

The All-American forwards helped their side get on the board before halftime as Chris Parker, the blindside flanker from Texas A&M, was driven over in a maul which brought the halftime score to 22-5.

The second half would see Leicester continue to score and would see a bit of frustration seeping into of the All-Americans’ play. Try-scorer Chris Parker was yellow-carded for losing his feet at the breakdown and the All-Americans would be down a man for ten minutes.

Leicester took advantager and scored again through the centers, 36-5. While the odds were stacked against them, the All-Americans certainly weren’t going to go without a fight.

Alex Ross from San Diego State picked off a Leicester pass and would take it in for an All-American try. With the score at 36-12, the All-Americans still had work to do. They would cross the try line again, only to have it held up. Throughout the match, the All-Americans crossed the line three times without scoring.

Leicester would continue pounding away and scored another converted try, putting 31 points between them and the All-Americans. 43-12.

After the match, Coach Alex Magleby said, “We came here to play the best rugby we could possibly play and we didn’t do that today.”

“The guys played at a level they have never experienced before,” Magleby said, “Now, they need to choose how to respond to that with their work off the field. They need to ask themselves, ‘Am I willing to do the work? Do I have what it takes to play at the highest level?’”

Magleby’s recognizes the gap between the UK and American systems. “The [American] system is perfectly designed to get the results we get.”  While Magleby realizes the inherent differences between American and British rugby, he knows that if the United States wants to be able to compete with sides like Leicester and Saracens, progress and development of the game is critically important.

While frustrated with the team’s performance, Magleby did see some things that went well, and noting that the forwards’ mauling skills were excellent, although not able to be as effective due to questionable refereeing.

“There were a handful of bright spots, some positives,” said Magleby.

One such positive, in a macro perspective, is that 21 of his squad will return to their collegiate ranks, bringing with them experience at an extremely high level. They will share their experience and, ideally, exhibit the dedication necessary to elevate the level of rugby on the collegiate level.

The All-Americans will return to the States tomorrow, having continued the century-old All-American rugby tradition proudly and having played with grit and dedication.

 All Americans 12
Tries: Parker, Ross
Convs: Engelbrecht

Leicester Tigers Academy 43
Tries: Clare, Bazely, Simpson, Lewington, Cobden, Other
Convs: Ford 5
Pens: Ford