Rugby Here and There

Not much rugby happening in the inbox these days. Guess everyone is enjoying the summer and the sunshine. I imagine you are gearing up for summer 7s or just taking a good ‘ol break.

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Outfit your whole team, or just support our team by buying one for you and your friends! Remember if you buy in bulk you get discounts for buying more than one! Pretty sweet deal.

I was hesitant to write about my perspective on the Warm up matches against the Mid West because it was a pretty stressful weekend. But I guess I will get it all out. Remember, this is MY perspective and I can write what I choose.

Since I had to change my travel plans at the last minute I was stuck arriving in Kansas City the morning of training and the first match was later that afternoon. So I got off the early morning flight, jumped in my manager’s car and changed on the way to the field. Luckily they had gotten a late start that morning so I wasn’t too far behind. As soon as I walked on the pitch though my coach Mark called me over. He explained that they needed me to play fly half for the weekend.

I was floored. I had been training, planning and had tried out as scrumhalf. I took a few minutes to collect myself and then was thrown into the drills. I forgot for awhile while we did some dynamic warm ups, stretching…and as soon as we split into backs and forwards I grabbed a ball and assumed my spot as scrumhalf. Then I remembered that I wouldn’t be in my normal spot that weekend. I quickly freaked out again as I didn’t know ANY of the plays and then realized that I had done this before and it was going to be OK!

So after training we had a couple of hours to hang out and I spent it going over the plays with Lynelle, Poe and a few other players. The game plan was pretty simple, but I just wanted to make sure I was on the same page as them. As we suited up and I put on the #10 I watched as Marcel from Baton Rouge put on the #9 jersey…I’m not sure why I favor the #9 so much, perhaps because I idolized Mia Hamm as a young soccer player and it was my first rugby position in college about 6 years ago.

The first game was a quick reality check as I remembered what it felt like to get hit by someone going as fast as you! Luckily I have been working on my passing really hard this season so I was able to get the transfer from scrumhalf to inside center as fast as possible. The Mid West was very quick off the mark (some would say offsides the whole game…) and were quick to try and stifle our back plays. Luckily I had some speedy backs and we were able to transfer the ball quickly and do a little evasive running.

We had some great ball movement and support as a team, but were never able to put the finishing touchdown between the posts. We had break over break with great support, but one to many passes, one to many kicks and mistakes were made. The Mid West was able to capitalize on those mistakes and we payed the ultimate price.

The second game on Sunday was at a different pace. For the first half we were able to get them to play our game. We were moving the ball well and were executing our plays with precision. They were still dominating us in the scrums and line outs, but we were very powerful in our rucking and made good decision around the ball. Unfortunately once again we were unable to finish when it counted and the Mid West made things happen because of our mistakes.

Our defense in both games was phenomenal, we had props chasing down wingers and wingers corner-flagging across the whole field to stop breakaways. Over and over again we were on our heels and we were able to stop the attack or at least cause enough pressure that they made mistakes.

Overall the weekend was a great success, as it was great to see old friends and play on the same pitch with them again. Also after a two hour training session and two matches together, you can tell that we have a challenge ahead of us at National All Star Championships. It is the same challenge every year, our local union is SO spread out that we only see each other for hours or days before the match.

Cya all in June.