Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

from usarugby.org:

USA Rugby has officially launched its NEW USA Rugby Network today in a push to gain momentum for this year's expanded webcasts and multimedia content.

Along with an improved look and feel of the webcasts, the USA Rugby Network will allow for storage of archived matches, provide sponsors with an additional avenue to reach its audience, allow members to upload and download multimedia of their choice, plus much, much more!!!

Check it out by clicking here http://usarugby.tampadigital.com/video/665EC396CF/Click+Play+for+Live+Stream

And be sure to catch the USA Rugby National Guard College Club Championships LIVE, May 2-3, on the only Network made exclusively for USA Rugby and its members, the USA Rugby Network!

Scores/Results

Friday, May 2
11:00 am: Penn State vs Brown 41 to 7
1:00 pm: Stanford vs Navy 40 to 20
3:00 pm: Cal v Saint Mary's 41 to 31
5:00 pm: BYU v CU - Boulder 42 to 13

Saturday, May 3
11:00 pm: UM-Duluth vs. Shippensburg 0 to 47
1:00 pm: Radford vs. Utah Valley State 25 to 14
3:00 pm: Penn State vs Stanford 10 to 15
5:00 pm: Cal vs BYU 59 to 7

**On Friday when I was trying to watch the matches the site wouldn't even load, but then finally with about 20 minutes left in the first match of the day, the video started working! The video quality was good, and I only have one complaint: Could the score be posted throughout the game?

I was at work on Friday and could only sneak a glance every once and awhile but never knew the score. Would have been nice to just look and see the score and get back to work!

A few players blogged about their experiences at the 2008 Super 16 Collegiate Championships, check it out:

Elegant Violence
Against the Head

Dear Club Representatives:

The West U23 All-Stars will be competing at the ITT tournament in Pittsburgh, PA this summer. We have just selected the team of very talented young players who are very excited about representing the West. On behalf of the U23 players, I am writing to request the support of your women's club.

From June 9th through June 15th, 28 of the best U23 players from around the West will represent all West women’s rugby while training and competing to win a spot back in the top tier. Imagine the benefits this high level rugby experience will bring to these players and to the clubs they play for when they get home. While select side play is extremely beneficial, it is also extremely expensive as many of you already know.

We are asking the West Women’s clubs to please consider making a contribution to help defray the week long costs by sponsoring a TEAM MEAL. By sponsoring a meal, at the cost of $300 per meal, you will be making a great contribution to the players – and possibly to your club as well! We need to encourage these young players, so that they continue on after college and play for a women’s club just like yours!

Any team sponsoring a meal will receive the following:
• Team recognition during the meal.
• Recruiting opportunity by providing flyers, business cards or other materials to be distributed directly to the players.
• Additionally, short speeches, well wishes, or other messages will be read to players during your sponsored meal on your behalf.
• If a representative from your team is traveling to Pittsburgh, they may come and speak to the players personally and distribute recruiting materials.

If your club is interested, please contact Traci Schmidtke.

Sponsorship commitments and electronic flyers/recruiting materials/other messages need to be sent electronically or by mail between now and May 30, 2008.

Thank you in advance for considering this request. We hope $300 isn’t too large a request. Of course, any support you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions.

Cheers,
Traci Schmidtke

Assistant Coach
West U23 All-Stars

1.Boykin, Lenea (A&M)
2.Bryant, Betsy (A&M)
3.Chismar, Carlin (UNC)
4.Daly, Lauren (CU)
5.Dvorak, Steph (A&M)
6.Edwards, Sara (Denver Harlequins)
7.Flores, Dri (CSU)
8.Glasrud, Amber (UNM)
9.Haggerty, Lindsey (WYO)
10.Herdt, Olivia (WYO)
11.Hughes, Brea (A&M)
12.Johnson, Bailey (CSU)
13.Lawrence, Latoya (Truman)
14.Legler, Stacy (WYO)
15.Lucia, Jess (CU)
16.Parker, Laura (JAZZ)
17.Peterson, Tina (JAZZ)
18.Poteraj, Jaclyn (CU)
19.Potter, Anastasia (MU)
20.Price, Carolyn (AFA)
21.Shafer, Kate (CU)
22.Sharpe, Lauren (A&M)
23.Squires, Cari (Truman)
24.Unrein, Lacy (UNC)
25.Vanderpol, Meaghan (CU)
26.Vermilyea, Brittany (CSU)
27.Wood, Erin (A&M)

Alternates:
Foley, Kate
Hudson, Kelsey
Knappe, Rebecca
Knight, Megan
Rayman, Dani
Rossi, Sarah
Scott, Brittany

In honor of the upcoming Amsterdam 7s happening May 17-18, 2008 the Monday Rugby Video is from Hong Kong 7s 2008. Beautiful work by the Women Eagles to move the ball down the field and then as Canada is sleeping, Amy Daniels touches the ball down.

This weekend was the 2008 West All Stars Local Area Union Tournament at Gateway Park in Ft. Worth, TX. Four teams from across the West arrived in Ft. Worth to battle it out and play their best for the selectors. Mark Bullock (West 15's Head Coach), Wendy Cook (West 15's Assitant Coach) and Laura Hertel (West 7's Head Coach) were in attendance to select players for the West All Star Senior team to compete at the NASCs in June.

Gateway Park has some amazing facilities, but don't try to sneak in gum, Gatorade, sun flower seeds or other food/beverage items! They have strict, strict rules when it comes to outside beverages and food, so it was fun to see players stuff their bags with food and then bust it out when they weren't watching!

So the day started off with Texas playing Missouri at 9am. The Texas Rugby Union was comprised of players from Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana. The Missouri team included teams from Missouri and Nebraska? I couldn't find any information on the Missouri Rugby Union website, so I am just grasping straws here.

The game was very highly contested as both sides had good strong packs with plenty of experience in them. Missouri scored first with a strong run up the middle, taking advantage of a few missed tackles. After this the scoring was very back and forth as Texas would score, then Missouri would score twice and Texas would score again to try and catch up. The game ended with Texas putting in three scores to button up the score and take the win.

Pictures from Ashley "Shalay" Mefford here.

The second game of the day was Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union vs the Heart of America. The ERRFU select side team includes teams from Colorado and Wyoming. The Heart of America team includes teams from Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

This was another great game as the Heart had big strong forwards that really wanted to ruck and work hard to get the ball. However the Eastern Rockies team liked to move the ball wide and into space, and the Heart was not able to stop the wide attack. Towards the end of the game we though the Heart might make a come back as they were able to score a few tries, but they couldn't quite get it in there.

From here the teams had quite a big break as the next game was at 4:30pm with Heart vs Missouri. This game was an outright battle as the score stayed at 7-7 for quite some time. The ball stayed mainly in the middle of the field as each team forced knock-ons and mistakes but couldn't quite capitalize on the mistakes. Good hard runs by both teams were brought down just short of the tryline and good tryline defense made scoring impossible. Towards the end of the game Heart was down by a try and had several good drives towards the line, but a hasty whistle by the official squashed their hopes of a try diving win.

The last game of the day pitted the Eastern Rockies team against the Texas team. Since the Rockies had such a strong showing at last years West LAU Tournament, Texas really wanted to have a good game to show what they could do. The game was very evenly matched with excellent defense on both sides. The backlines were literally flying up in each others faces and the ball rarely made it out past the OC as the defense was stifling.

79 minutes into the game it was still 0-0, it was a good clean game with plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd, but neither team could put the ball down for a score. The game ended in an almost anti-climatic tie as the ref blew it up and there was not interest of overtime from the abiding officials. Several players were overheard saying that they would have kept playing since it was such a good game...

Pictures from Ashley "Shalay" Mefford here.

At the end of the tournament, selections were announced for the Sunday camp and for the team traveling to Glendale, CO on May 10-11, 2008. The West team will play the Midwest All Stars twice and this will also be broadcast from Infinity Park.

Elite Camp Wraps Up
from womeneagles.com

4.26.08 - BOULDER, Colo. - The Women's National Team wrapped up its first 2008 Elite Training Camp in Philadelphia, Pa., on Wednesday, April 23. Forty-three athletes attended the five-day camp, which emphasized positional skills for the forwards and backs and even allowed time for a meeting with former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.

While training at a local YMCA on Sunday, it was arranged for the team to meet and present a USA game jersey to Clinton, who was also at the facility for a town hall meeting during the buildup to the Pennsylvania Democratic primaries on Tuesday, April 22.

"The town hall meeting was packed and the crowd's enthusiasm was obvious. Camp captain Ashley English thanked Chelsea and presented her with the signed jersey from the whole team," said USA Women's National Team Manager Annemarie Farrell. "Chelsea accepted the jersey and immediately put it on - it was very exciting for the team to be a part of the event."

Throughout the weekend, athletes worked on overall conditioning and developed individual skills geared toward their respective positions with several national team coaches. The forwards were instructed on specific positional binding and scrum tactics with USA Scrum Coach Bill LeClerc and WNT Forwards Coach Alex Williams, while the backs worked through their attack patterns from the scrum with WNT Backs Coach Candi Orsini and Assistant Backs Coach Krista McFarren.

Leading up to a scrimmage match on Tuesday, the group also worked on line outs and spent time with USA Rugby Defensive Specialist Peter Baggetta, focusing on increased communication and player decision making.

"Over the course of the camp we saw many players really starting to understand the necessity of practicing the skills of their position on their own. As we don't have many assemblies, every player needs to have their mechanical aspects down so we are not re-teaching at every event," Women's National Team Head Coach Kathy Flores said.

"For forwards, it's their body position in the scrum particularly - something a player can practice every day in front of a mirror. For the backs, it's understanding the importance of the agility work to make them as evasive and powerful in contact as possible."

Players at the Philadelphia camp:

1. Kristin Aliberto (Philadelphia)
2. Stacy Baker (Philadelphia)
3. Kristin Baja (New York)
4. Amber Benlian (NOVA)
5. Libby Berg (Minnesota Valkyries)
6. Kristin Bonomo (Beantown)
7. Jamie Burke (Berkeley All-Blues)
8. Lisa Butts (Berkeley All-Blues)
9. Brenna Costello (Washington Furies)
10. Mel Denham (Beantown)
11. Liz Dilley (Washington)
12. Farrah Douglas (Chicago North Shore)
13. Carrie DuBray (New York)
14. Ashley English (Berkeley All-Blues)
15. Ashley Groefsema (Boston)
16. Blair Groefsema (Berkeley All-Blues)
17. Allyson Hemstreet (Berkeley All-Blues)
18. Angela Heifort (MN Valkyries)
19. Katy Hertel (Minnesota Valkyries)
20. Christina Hobson (Morris Pride)
21. Mel Kanuk (Maryland Stingers)
22. Phaidra Knight (New York)
23. Tess Kohanski (Syracuse University)
24. Lynelle Kugler (Glendale Raptors)
25. Kristy Lear (MN Valkyries)
26. Kim Magrini (Keystone)
27. Nathalie Marchino (Berkeley All-Blues)
28. Angela Marfisi (Philadelphia)
29. Desiree Markovich (MN Valkyries)
30. Vanesha McGee (Philadelphia)
31. San Juanita Moreno (ORSU)
32. Elise Myer (Maryland Stingers)
33. Tina Nesberg (Berkeley All-Blues)
34. Saburah Posner (Philadelphia)
35. Jillion Potter (MN Valkyries)
36. Naima Reddick (Berkeley All-Blues)
37. Beckett Royce (ORSU)
38. Jen Sinkler (Philadelphia)
39. Lara Vivolo (New York)
40. Sharyn Wacht (Beantown)
41. Mari Wallace (Berkeley All-Blues)
42. Sarah Walsh (Chicago North Shore)
43. Sheara Williamson (Philadelphia)

A few rugby bloggers blogged about the camp...
The Penguin Files
Put Me in Coach!

I remember when I was in high school and a girl on our basketball had torn her ACL for the second time. I remember thinking, wow that must absolutely be horrible to do it once, but twice?

Well now that I have been through it twice, I do have to say the second time is much easier, as easy as it can be. I know what to expect with pain, swelling, I know how much I can actually push myself and I absolutely KNOW I can come back. That was the majority of the fear with the first ACL injury, that I would never be able to play rugby again, or run again...cause that is what all doctors try to say to you. I think they tell you that so you won't ride your bike up a mountain (La Chaser! What what!) or go wake boarding the first month after your surgery, but still...its scary to think that you might never be at your full potential again.

But I and others are here to say, you will be back to your full potential, and if you work hard, you should be stronger than when you started. I mean really, my left ACL is a mere 4 months old and my right ACL is almost 3 now. Time is of course the hardest part, because these days athletes are exceeding expectations left and right...but time cannot be changed.

So my amazing roommate turned me on to a Sports Illustrated Article about Dennis Dixon, a Heisman candidate and all star quarterback from Oregon. This website is unique in that Dennis tore his ACL December 2007 and is a hopeful NFL prospect, so he has been documenting his recovery, rehab and workouts. It seems to be updated weekly, but hasn't really been updated for the month of April. Its a great site and I am going to start visiting more often it and stealing some of his rehab!!

Anyways, I played touch for the first time at practice on Wednesday, and I have to say...it was amazing! Finally to get out there, run, "hit" (as much as you hit in touch) and feel like a part of a team...I have missed that feeling the most. My teammates have been building, growing and its been exciting to watch, but I always have that feeling that I am not quite involved. After touch we did a cool down and we played the West U23's favorite game...Chicken in a Hen House!! Love this game, and the old gimp here got second place with the help of Kraft, losing to the speedy Bags and and Tiffany!

Good times, so training and rehab have been going well, hitting the gym more frequently (my work hours changed and that helped gym time alot) and have been training with Jake as well. He is back into the routine where running shoes or a rugby bag means he gets to play. For the first month or so of recovery, he didn't understand why tennis shoes meant he couldn't come. So now that I am able to be almost as active as I want, he is back in heaven! However, it doesn't stop him from trying to entice me to go outside ALL the time, see pic to the right. Could you say no to that face, body language and sunshine?

I also have to write about a semi-sad event that happened to Jake the other day. His favorite toy by far is a yellow soccer ball that survived puppy hood, Oklahoma and now it has gone on to a better place. See how banged up and ragged it is (pic to left)? It didn't matter to him that it was ragged, he would play for hours with it, begging you to kick it in the front yard.

He has gotten so good at blocking the ball (catching it) that I have really gotten good at chip kicking it over his head. 15 year of soccer is not wasted as Jake makes good use of my skills. Once he was over losing his yellow ball, I purchased him a replacement, another bright red soccer ball and so far he seems to be enjoying it!

Okay, what other news? Oh yes! Since I have been back in the gym more, I was surprised and pleased to find that I had reached my pre-surgery weight already! I know I had a goal of reaching it before my release date, but I am almost 2 months ahead of time! I was shocked when I did single leg press and 80pds was WAY to easy and 100pds was easy...but 120pds was doable. Also on the hamstring front, I am up to 30 pds on single leg and 60pd on both legs. Progress is good!

I think that is all for me at this point, next week look forward to OIL WRESTLING pictures from the Austin Valkyries fundraiser, updates from the WNT team camp in Philly, a post on my trying out for West Selectsides (just doing drills on Sunday after the LAU tournament), scores from the West All Star Selectside LAU Tournaemtn and more!

Emerald City Mudhens vs Belmont Shore - April 19, 2008
Jill from the Mudhens let me know a brief update of the Challenge Match against Belmont Shore:

The Emerald City Mudhens beat Belmont Shore in double overtime, sudden death 15-10. It was cold and periodically hailing and raining with brief sun breaks. It was a very hard fought match for both sides. Incredibly intense match with a big fan turnout. Scrumhalf, Kammi Lopez, scored the winning try running off the weak side of a maul to win the match. Very exciting game!!

Thanks for the update Jill!

And another update from Liz:

USA Women's Challenge Match

EMERALD CITY MUDHENS 15 - Belmont Shore 10 Referee: Preston Gordon

A 0445 wake-up call had me out of the house and on the way to SFO to catch my early morning flight to Seattle, where I was met by one of the ladies from the local team and driven to the pitch in Redmond, WA. The field was in very good shape, but a little short. Other than the rogue gopher(s) at work, everything looked good.

However, getting to the game 2 hours early meant that I got to inspect the pitch and then get changed while being first rained, then hailed, and finally snowed on (no shelter at Marymoor Park). The sun then filtered through the clouds for a bit before the entire process was repeated (all of this at between 35-45F). However, I had paid close attention to the forecast and was prepared for the weather and cold.

We started on time at high noon, and before too long each side had notched one unconverted try. Sideline support was plentiful and boisterous, and we even captured the attention of many of the people there to watch a lacrosse game on the adjacent field. Both sides were playing a very even and well-contested game, although I had to have a few words with the captains twice to prevent some repeated silly play (offside at the breakdown, players leaving their feet, etc). Some of this stuff was probably due to the wet pitch.

The second half began just as another leading edge of a thundercloud was passing through. There was no lightning, but the temperature dropped about 20 degrees in a minute, it nearly got dark, and 2mm hail was being blown sideways down the long axis of the pitch at about 30mph. Of course, that's when one of the players needed a minute for an injury, so we all stood around freezing in the miserable weather for a little bit while she was attended to.

Once that was out of the way, two more tries were scored. The Mudhens got on the board first in the second half at 44', followed in the 50th minute by Belmont Shore. Neither kick was good, but one did bounce off the uprights (although that may have been the penalty attempt later; I can't recall exactly).

A frenzied contest ensued as each side tried to put the game away, but came up short. There were more than the usual number of knock-ons - again, this was probably because of the wet weather. One ball was held up in in-goal, we spent about 20 minutes camped inside the 22's, but the closest attempt was saved for the penultimate play of regular time, when one of the Belmont Shore backs broke through a couple of tackles and went 30 meters, getting within about a foot of scoring a try before she was finally pulled down by an opponent. The Mudhens recovered, kicked to touch, and that was it at 10-10.

Challenge matches can't end in a draw, so it was a good thing I had asked the match organizer what to do in this case. We played 2 more 10-minute halves (just like the second half, but with no scoring), and then it was time for sudden death. Again there was an even contest, until at 105' the Mudhens were awarded an attacking scrum 5 or 10 meters from their opponents' goal line. One of their players picked up from the base, dodged a tackle, and grounded the ball on the goal line with a couple of opponents hanging on, right at my feet.

A wild celebration ensued after the try was awarded to end the game with the score at 15-10 to the local side. The USA Rugby paperwork was signed, warm/dry clothes were put back on, and after a while we retired to the Kangaroo & Kiwi for the post-match function. In addition to the women's teams, both OPSB and OMBAC showed up after their Super League tie. I was reminded again how small of a world rugby really is when I ran into 2 former teammates from Arizona, one now playing for each of those sides. After absorbing some good refereeing philosophy from Tom Coburn, it was time to head back to the airport for the flight home (which was slightly delayed due to bad weather, of course).

Many thanks to Jon Leehr and Mark Roberts, the PNRFU referees who came out to touch judge on this day of strange weather, and also to Shannon Nielsen, the match commissioner, who (happily) nearly stepped in and ran touch herself. I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to fly up to Seattle and back the same day to be a part of this outstandingly well-contested match.

Glendale vs Boston - May 3, 2008
Glendale Women's Raptors vs. Boston WRFC 12:00pm @Infinity Park, will be broadcast from their website here.

Come watch these sporty women get slicked and set against one another!

There's bound to be beers, boobs, themed match-ups, hooting, hollering and wet women smelling of coconut oil.

There is simply no better way to spend a Thursday night. Come out, support your local rugger, and bring friends.

4.24.2008 at 9pm, 7 bucks at the door, at Elysium.

Facebook Invite, Myspace Invite and Austin Valkyries Rugby


Saturday May 10th, Kangaroo and Kiwi pub, 5:30pm Doors 7pm Wrestling

Tickets are $15 and includes a beer ticket. This event often sells out at the door.

I have 10 presale tickets at $15 each. Just shoot me an email or call me to reserve yours!

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!

So I thought I would start a new segment/section for my blog today. Every Monday I will post a new and interesting rugby video that I have found the week before.

Have a favorite video, slideshow...multimedia element that you love? Leave it in the comments or email me!

The first one ever, will be one of my favorite compilations, such a pump up video!!!

For the 2008 season we will have an LAU tournament as in 2007. The tournament will be in Ft. Worth at Gateway Rugby Park on April 26 & 27 , in conjunction with the men's DI, DII and DII club championships. It will be a big weekend- so plan to attend! There will be a trophy for the top team.

There will most likely be 4 LAU teams- ER, HOA, TX and MO. OZ, RG and GP, as unions will combine with one of these 4 teams, depending on numbers.

Match Schedule (in pdf):

9:00am Missouri vs Texas
10:30 ER vs HOA
4:30 Trial Match TBD
5:45 Trial Match TBD

Click here for the Participants Packet.

**I will be attending as an injured reserve (IR) for the TRU Women's team...and may be doing a bit of touch judging, so of course I will bring your scores!

Combined write-up by Head Coach of the Austin Valkyries, Meg Pace and Forwards Captain, Traci Schmidtke. The Austin Valkyries took 18 B side players (with a few A side helpers) to Woodlands, TX for our second to last match of the season. Before our match the TCU High School and Houston High School teams matched off. Their game was spirited, well matched and it was wonderful to watch the newest talent in Texas play rugby.

And now the writeups...

This past weekend the Valkyries took a squad down to Houston for a little friendly rugby competition. Unlike the scoring event against the Jazz, I will be unable to provide a complete play by play. Why? you ask. This match was the most back and forth / up and down affair I've been in for a long time. I may be wrong, but I don't think either team scored more than twice without the other side matching. HARC would score, the Valks would tie, the Valks would put another one in, HARC would tie. It was a great match to play in. In the end, Houston prevailed with a tiebreaking try with a minute left for a final score of 40-33. Obviously, with 5 more minutes to work, Austin would have tied it yet again. A few highlights for your edification:

The Valks scrum dominated scrumdowns and lineouts with many significant wins: 2 such early performances allowed a play to the weak side for a score by Heidi. The ref must have decided this was unfair because he allowed (or even encouraged) the Houston scrumhalf to play off side from this point and even awarded two penalties to Houston for an 8 and then a flanker "having their leg set too wide". Huh?

Kitty played spectacularly at flyhalf and the Kitty to Krafty to Heather line got the ball out to the wing well and gelled quite nicely. On one such play, Pony decided to take it in herself with a nice move to the outside then back in against the fullback for a try from the 50meter. She looked awesome.

Nice goal line defense a couple of times by the scrum - lining up properly and stopping a try with a "held up" ball - good work.

Beautiful kicking day for the Krafters - truly impressive. Great 60 minutes to Jo at prop who was overheard upon finally subbing out "I don't know how you do this for 80 minutes." Nice hooking and throwing by Shalay, they didn't stand a chance. Wonderful aggression by all the new flankers - ya'll are awesome.

I just wanted to add a few things to Meg's write up...

A huge thank you for all the players who stepped up this weekend... THall and Amy taking charge of the forwards... Kitty and Heidi commanding the backs... the first 40 minutes was played without either position captain, but the communication and discipline never lacked, so thank you.

It was a very hot sunny day and everyone kept pushing... like Meg said it was a very back and forth game... huge tackles from Angela and Alexis... there was a definite improvement from last weeks mauling with KC.

Clearly the offense was not a problem because we scored 33 points!! Thank you for being patient with me when i was playing scrumhalf, it was definitely fun!

DI Women Friday's Results

Stanford 95, Northern Iowa 5
Virginia 25, Colorado 5
Brown 50, West Chester 12
UC Davis 50, UCLA 12

Saturday, April 19th

9:00: Penn State v Florida (DI WOMEN) 67 to 3
9:00: Chico State v Indiana (DI WOMEN) 36 to 10
9:00: Texas A&M v Cal (DI WOMEN) 54 to 12
9:00: Vassar v Navy (DI WOMEN) 5 to 21
11:30: Norwich v Shippensburg (DII WOMEN) 12 to 27
11:30: Wayne State v UC Santa Cruz (DII WOMEN) 0 to 60
11:30: East Carolina v Claremont (DII WOMEN) 7 to 26
11:30: UNM-Duluth v WWU (DII WOMEN) 34 to 17
4:00: Stanford vs Virginia (DI WOMEN) 58 to 5
4:00: UNI vs Colorado (DI WOMEN) 10 to 17
4:30: Brown vs UC Davis (DI WOMEN) 17 to 12
4:30: West Chester vs UCLA (DI WOMEN) 39 to 17

Sunday, April 20

8:30: Texas A&M vs Navy (DI WOMEN) 22 to 27
8:30: Cal vs Vassar (DI WOMEN) 12 to 58
8:30: Penn State vs Chico State (DI WOMEN) 38 to 21
8:30: Florida vs Indiana (DI WOMEN) 19 to 26
10:00: Shippensburg vs UCSC (DII WOMEN) 12 to 7
10:00: Norwich vs Wayne State (DII WOMEN) 15 to 12
10:00 Claremont vs UNM-Duluth (DII WOMEN) 14 to 32
10:00: ECU vs WWU (DII WOMEN) 17 to 5

**I will try to post scores as the day goes on, check back! The Valks are in Houston playing but the Texas A&M kids should be texting me with some results.

An anonymous commenter asked about the Challenge Matches for 2008 so here you go! I have been meaning to write about it for awhile, but hadn't seen anything updated on the USA site.

February 1, 2008: Challenging Territories must officially announce intent to challenge and name teams who will be representing the TU.
February 15, 2008: Challenged Territory/ Team must officially accept or reject challenges.
February 29, 2008: Dates for all challenge matches must be set and officially announced.

#20 at #13 = So Cal #3 (Scottsdale) v MARFU #3 (NOVA)
#19 at #14= Midwest #4 (Chicago) v West #1 (Kansas City Jazz)
#18 at #15 = So Cal #2 (Belmont Shore) v Pac Coast #3 (Emerald City Mudhens)
#17 at #16 = Northeast #4 (Boston) v West #2 (Glendale)

Kansas City Jazz vs Chicago
NO Challenge requested, the West will maintain that seed.

NOVA vs Scottsdale
NO Challenge requested, MARFU will maintain that seed.

Emerald City Mudhens vs Belmont Shore - April 19, 2008
This Saturday (April 19, 2008) the Mudhens are being challenged by Belmont Shore for the Pacific Coast #3 seed to the Sweet 16's national tournament. Needless to say this is going to be an intense and hard-fought match!

Mudhens vs Belmont Shore Challenge Match
Saturday April 19th kickoff at 12pm
Marymoor Park field 7, Redmond

**UPDATED MATCH REPORT AND SCORE HERE.

Glendale vs Boston - May 3, 2008
Glendale Women's Raptors vs. Boston WRFC 12:00pm @Infinity Park, will be broadcast from their website here.

**Love my readers!! I had the missing information I desired in under three minute of posting this blog! Thanks for the quick emails ladies!!!

**This is a writeup from the Coach of the Austin Valkyries, Meg Pace and was re-posted on Goffonrugby.com as well as this blog.

The West women's club season started for the Austin Valkyries as they hosted the Kansas City Jazz for their only cup match of the Spring.

The game started out with both teams probing the other for weaknesses. The Jazz kicked off to the Valks who played a strong possession game early but gained little ground as the Jazz attempted to pin the ball down in the Austin half of the field. The change came when the Valks committed a penalty just outside the 22 meter line which KC converted for a 3-0 lead.

Not jolted by this setback Austin regathered and pressured well off the restart. A powerful scrum deep in Jazz territory and a well-taken eight man pick with pass out to the scrumhalf Meg Pace led to a try.

From this point, the Valks dominated the first half. They pinned the KC team down in their own end for an extended time and forced their opponent into a crucial error - a turnover in a ruck gave a chance for a KC clearance kick, but the kick missed touch and wing Heidi Whitman weaved through the entire Jazz 15 to score. After that effort the Valks maintained possession and field position but did not score again in the first half though the run of play favored them.

Halftime score: Valks 12 Jazz 3

The second half started with the Valks kicking into a setting sun and coming out firing on all cylinders. They pushed the Jazz backwards consistently and about 15 minutes into the half, the pack executed a series of crashes all the way over the line for a try by Traci Schmidtke, 17-3. The Jazz fought back and scored two well-worked tries in the backline, and identified where they could breach the Austin defense.

But the Jazz continued to have troubles up front, but looked dangerous anytime they got good ball. After tying the score at 17, KC was unable to take it over the top as the Austin backline solidified once again and continued the pressure defense and hard tackling of the first half to stop their opponents. With the score tied, Austin upped the pressure once again and through a series of strong crashing play mixed with hard hitting defense, slowly drove back down the field. Approximately 30 minutes into the second half, Austin attacked off a stolen scrum and scored off a weakside play to lead 22-17.

KC worked hard to recover, but was not able to break the Valks or even move forward out of their own end. With about five minutes left in the game, the Austin pack stole the ball and maintained possession over several dominating rucks before dishing weak to Whitman for her second.

Whitman could be heard calling out "I'll take it if you want." And then she took it all the way.

4-19 Black Ice vs Glendale Denver, CO
4-19 Boulder Babes vs St. Louis Sabres Boulder, CO

5-3 Glendale vs Boston USA Rugby Challenge Match Glendale, CO
5-17 St. Louis Sabres vs Black Ice St. Louis, CO

Just a short update today....

Austin Valkyries 29 Kanasas City Jazz 17 (League Match)

Glendale 32 vs Chicago 0 (Thanks Karl!)
**Not a challenge match as I thought.

More details and pictures of the Valkyries match later.

ENJOY YOUR SUNDAY!!

What a day, what a day. April 10, 2008 by far has been the worst day in awhile.

I won't bore you with the details of my horrible day, but will just get right to the worst part of the day. When I have a bad day I like to eat bad food and that bad food is usually pizza. I ordered a large pizza with half ham and half cheese (The Girl likes cheese...yuck!) and the Parmesan bread sticks. If you haven't had the Parmesan bread sticks...you must partake...they may change your life.

Anyways, so I was sitting here watching the Simpsons waiting for my pizza, then it dawned on me that sometimes The Girl uses my log on to order pizza for her office. And lo and behold I had ordered the pizza and then had it delivered to her office. But yet, that is not the tip of the iceberg.

The tip of the iceberg is that The Girl is an accountant and we are 4 days from April 15, 2008. So basically that means that it is 7:35pm and she probably won't be home until around 9pm. So here are my choices:

a) go across to town get the pizza
b) guilt The Girl into coming home early
c) call and try to get a refund
d) wait

You know what reason I chose? D...because I have had one to many beverages to drive myself across town. So here's to the worst day of the year...F*&K YOU.

**Update: Got my pizza last night at 9:45pm...on the flip side, glad I got my pizza...but even worse that The Girl had to work that late.

BOULDER, Colo. – U.S. Women’s Sevens Coach Julie McCoy has announced the squad that will travel to the Netherlands for the Amsterdam Sevens Tournament set to be held on May 17-18.

The Women’s Sevens team goes into Amsterdam following back-to-back victories in its last two outings. The USA beat Canada to win the San Diego International Women’s Sevens in February and again defeated its cross-border rivals 21-7 in the Women’s Hong Kong Sevens championship match on March 28.

The team named to for the 37th Annual Amsterdam Sevens includes a majority of the members from the recent Hong Kong Sevens tournament, with a few new additions. Amy Daniels (Beantown), Pam Kosanke (Chicago North Shore), Alison Price (New York) and Kelly White (Belmont Shore) will not make the trip to the Netherlands and McCoy has added Stacy Bennett, Phaidra Knight, Melissa McKibben and Jess Watkins to round out the squad of 12.

The USA Women’s Sevens Team for Amsterdam includes:

Stacy Bennett (NOVA), Tyshawn Henry (New York), Ellie Karvoski (Little Rock), Phaidra Knight (New York), Teena Mastrangelo (Chicago North Shore), Melissa McKibben (Kansas City Jazz), Ines Rodriguez (Keystone), Christy Ringgenberg (Minnesota Valkyries), Jenn Starkey (NOVA), Lindsey Stephenson (Orlando), JoAnne Ward (Albany) and Jess Watkins (Stanford).

USA Rugby staff accompanying the team in Amsterdam includes: Head Coach Julie McCoy, Assistant Coaches Chris Ryan and Drew Fautley, Manager Sadeana Green and Physio Michael Moses.

For more information on the USA Women’s Sevens National Team, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/womens_sevens.

Check this post out for the weird, out of ordinary and just plain cool rugby stories from across the web!

• Are you ready for RUGBY?
  
  The typical rugger's high fitness level stems in part from the dynamic nature of the game itself. Unlike American football, in which the action stops once a player is tackled, rugby calls for play to continue until a foul is committed, the ball goes out of bounds or a goal (try) is scored. Under the rules, a tackled player must give up the ball and let opposing players scramble for it.
  
  Rugby fitness also results from the multiple demands the game places on the body, says Robyn Smith, a personal trainer who is both a conditioning coach and player for the Black Ice women's team in Denver. She's also a certified kettle bells instructor.
  
  "In rugby, you have to train whole muscular systems, because you're never using just one muscle," Smith says. "Bench presses and leg pushes are not going to help us much, because they're not functional exercises. We need more than just brute
  The Black Ice rugby team gathered for practice at Garland Park in Denver on Monday, March 31 , 2008. Conditioning coach and player Robyn Smith swings a 35 pound kettle bell during the workout. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
  strength. We have to be fast and explosive. We need to be able to get tackled and get right up off the ground and back on our feet."
  
  For more of the article...click here.
  
  
• Bragg Rugby - Airborne 7's Tournament - May 17th
  
  Part of the proceeds from our Airborne 7's Tournament is to raise money for Todd Miller's family. He was a #10 from Longwood Collegiate Team and was injured during a rugby match and unfortunately passed away as a result from the injury. Our intent is to raise as much money for the family and we will ask their coach and team as well to participate in the day's tournament. If any teams would like to help out, we are having a 50/50 cash raffle and they will be selling items to help raise money as well. Thank you in advance...
  
  V/R SFC Ray Hernandez
  US Army
  "Bragg RFC Coach"
  
  
• Prom Rugby Charity Match mixes sweat and dresses
  
  With their sequined prom dresses shining in the sun, about 30 women wrapped their arms around one another and smiled wide for the camera. Some had their hair in curls, and others donned tiaras.
  
  But they all had one garment in common: sports bras.
  
  The UF Women's Rugby squad marched onto the UVS Field Saturday morning, clad in formal wear and cleats, for its seventh annual Prom Rugby Charity Match. The squad collected donations for Sunna, a program named for a Scandinavian sun goddess that aims to help women cope with cancer through the Shands at UF Cancer Center.
  
  For more of the article go here.
  Pictures of the event can be found here.
  Video of Rugby Prom here.
  
  
• Underwater Rugby
  
  Check out these two videos of Underwater Rugby...crazy stuff!
  
  
  
  
  
  

Welcome to the latest news in Collegiate Women's Rugby!

• West Collegiate D1 & D2 Results
  Go here for the D1 & D2 Results (mens and womens)
  

• USA Rugby Announces Finalized Teams, Schedule for National Guard College Club Playoffs
  
  SCORES/RESULTS are here.
  
  BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby officially announced today the full field of teams for the USA Rugby National Guard Division I and II Men’s and Women’s College Club Playoffs set to kick off on Friday, April 18 at 1:30 pm at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, N.M.
  
  In addition to finalizing the qualifying teams, USA Rugby is also able to announce its broadcast schedule for the USA Rugby National Guard College Club Playoff event. The USA Rugby Network will broadcast all of the games set to play on Field 1 and will be available by streaming video via USA Rugby’s website (www.usarugby.org.) The full match and broadcast schedule is listed below.
  
  
  Finalized Match Schedule*
  
  
  Friday, April 18
  1:30: Dartmouth v BYU (DI MEN)
  1:30: San Diego State v Arkansas State (DI MEN)
  2:00: St. Mary’s v Air Force (DI MEN)
  2:00: Bowling Green State v Kutztown (DI MEN)
  2:30: Cal v Tennessee (DI MEN)
  2:30: Army v Cal Poly (DI MEN)
  3:00: Penn State v Minnesota (DI MEN)
  3:00: Colorado v Utah (DI MEN)
  4:00: Northern Iowa v Stanford (DI WOMEN)
  4:00: Virginia v Colorado (DI WOMEN)
  4:30: Brown v West Chester (DI WOMEN)
  4:30: UCLA v UC Davis (DI WOMEN)
  
  Saturday, April 19th
  9:00: Penn State v Florida (DI WOMEN)
  9:00: Chico State v Indiana (DI WOMEN)
  9:00: Texas A&M v Cal (DI WOMEN)
  9:00: Vassar v Navy (DI WOMEN)
  10:30: Coast Guard v Loyola (DII MEN)
  10:30: Michigan v Radford (DII MEN)
  10:30: Middlebury v Northern Colorado (DII MEN)
  10:30: Utah Valley State v East Carolina (DII MEN)
  11:30: Norwich v Shippensburg (DII WOMEN)
  11:30: Wayne State v UC Santa Cruz (DII WOMEN)
  11:30: East Carolina v Claremont (DII WOMEN)
  11:30: UNM-Duluth v WWU (DII WOMEN)
  1:30: Winner of Dartmouth/ BYU v Winner of SDSU/ Arkansas State (DI MEN)
  1:30: Loser of Dartmouth/ BYU v Loser of SDSU/ Arkansas State (DI MEN)
  2:00: Winner of St. Mary’s/ Air Force v Winner of BGSU/ Kutztown (DI MEN)
  2:00: Loser of St. Mary’s/ Air Force v Loser of BGSU/ Kutztown (DI MEN)
  3:00: Loser of Cal/Tennessee v Loser of Army/ Cal Poly (DI MEN)
  3:30: Winner of Cal/Tennessee v Winner of Army/ Cal Poly (DI MEN)*
  3:30: Winner of Penn State/ Minnesota v Winner of Colorado/ Utah (DI MEN)
  3:30: Loser of Penn State/ Minnesota v Loser of Colorado/ Utah (DI MEN)
  4:00: Winner of Stanford/ UNI v Winner of Virginia/ Colorado (DI WOMEN)
  4:00: Loser of Stanford/ UNI v Loser of Virginia/ Colorado (DI WOMEN)
  4:30: Winner of Brown/ West Chester v Winner of UCLA/ UC Davis (DI WOMEN)
  4:30: Loser of Brown/ West Chester v Loser of UCLA/ UC Davis (DI WOMEN)
  
  Sunday, April 20
  8:30: Winner of Texas A&M/ Cal v Winner of Vassar/ Navy (DI WOMEN)
  8:30: Loser of Texas A&M/ Cal v Loser of Vassar/ Navy (DI WOMEN)
  8:30: Winner of Penn State/ Florida v Winner of Chico State/ Indiana (DI WOMEN)
  8:30: Loser of Penn State/ Florida v Loser of Chico State/ Indiana (DI WOMEN)
  10:00: Winner of Norwich/Shippensburg v Winner of Wayne State/ UC Santa Cruz(DII WOMEN)
  10:00: Loser of Norwich/Shippensburg v Loser of Wayne State/ UC Santa Cruz (DII WOMEN)
  10:00 Winner of ECU/ Claremont v Winner of UNM-Duluth/ WWU (DII WOMEN)
  10:00: Loser of ECU/ Claremont v Loser of UNM-Duluth/ WWU (DII WOMEN)
  11:00: Winner of Coast Guard/ Loyola v Winner of Michigan/ Radford (DII MEN)
  11:00: Loser of Coast Guard/ Loyola v Loser of Michigan/ Radford (DII MEN)
  11:00: Winner of Middlebury/UNCo v Winner of UVSC/ECU (DII MEN)
  11:00: Loser of Middlebury/UNCo v Loser of UVSC/ECU (DII MEN)
  
  *Please be aware times have changed to accommodate broadcast schedule
  
  Webcast Matches
  
  Friday, April 18th
  2:00: St. Mary’s College vs. Air Force (DI Men)
  4:00: Univ. of Northern Iowa v Stanford (DI Women)
  
  Saturday, April 19th
  9:00: Penn State v Univ of Florida (DI Women)
  11:30: Norwich v Shippensburg (DII Women)
  1:30: Winner of Dartmouth/ BYU v Winner of SDSU/ Arkansas State (DI MEN)
  3:30: Winner of Cal/Tennessee and Winner of Army/Cal Poly (DI Men)
  
  Sunday, April 20th
  8:30: Winner of TX A&M/ Cal and winner of Vassar/ Navy (DI WOMEN)
  11:00: Winner of Coast Guard/ Loyola and winner of Mich/ Radford (DII MEN)
  
  For full tournament brackets, seeds and match ups please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usar_championships and click on the respective collegiate division.
  
  
• Collegiate D1 Women Top 10
  from USArugby.org
  

  American Rugby News Rankings	Alex Goff's ERugbyNews Rankings	Coaches' Poll	Final Composite Rankings
  1. Penn State(1)	1. Brown(1)	1. Penn State(1)	1. Penn State(1)
  2. Stanford(2)	2. Navy(2)	2. Brown(4)	2. Brown(4)
  3. Texas A&M(3)	3. Texas A&M(3)	3. Navy(5)	3. Navy(5)
  4. Brown(4)	4. Penn State(4)	4. Stanford(2)	4. Stanford(2)
  5. Navy(5)	5. Stanford(5)	5. Chico State(7)	5. Texas A&M(3)
  6. Chico State(6)	6. Chico State(6)	6. Texas A&M(3)	6. Chico State(6)
  7. Indiana(7)	7. Cornell(7)	7. Virginia(8)	7. Virginia(8)
  8. Virginia(8)	8. Virginia(9)	8. UC Davis(9)	8. Cornell(10)
  9. Vassar(9)	9. Army(8)	9. Cornell(-)	9. UC Davis(-)
  10. Cornell(10)	10. Clemson(10)	10. Vassar(-)	10. Vassar(-)

  
  

• Women’s Rugby 2-1 In Blue Balls Tournament At Fort Drum
  
  The SUNY Cortland women’s rugby club had 2 wins to their 1 loss at the annual Blue Balls Tournament played at Fort Drum, NY. Cortland posted 2 shutouts on the day before being shutout in their final game. In the opening contest, Jessica Thompson scored the only try of the match to lead Cortland to a 5-0 shutout victory over St. Lawrence University. The second contest had much more scoring and Cortland cruised to a 34-0 win over the Cornell-B squad. Jessica Thompson, Caroline Buckingham, Amanda Hickey, Sarah Miura, Kate Mahan, and Jamie Alba all scored in the winning effort. Renee Miller also converted 2 kicks in the match. Unfortunately, Cortland would run out of gas in the third game, losing to the Cornell-A team 33-0.
  
  
• Four-Leaf Fifteens Tournament
  
  The 5th annual Four Leaf Fifteens tournament was a smashing success! We also raised over $11,000 in our St. Baldrick's charity event to benefit childhood cancer research!
  
  Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to everyone for coming!
  
  Women's Club Division:
  Winner: New York Women
  Runner Up: Boston Women A-Side
  
  Men's Club Division:
  Winner: Jersey Shore A-Side
  Runner Up: Village Lions
  
  Men's Social Division:
  Winner: Buffalo Old Boys
  Runner Up: Lansdowne
  
  Men's University Division:
  Winner: Wilfrid Laurier University
  Runner Up: University of Albany
  
  Women's University Division:
  Winner: Providence
  Runner Up: Northeastern
  
  Picture from the event can be found here.
  
  
• Lady Ruggers play for spots
  
  With the No. 1 seed locked up in the upcoming national championships, the Lady Ruggers have one thing left to do: determine what 60 players are filling the 28 spots.
  
  And those players laid it all on the line over the weekend, trying to punch their ticket to New Mexico.
  
  "I can't feel my body right now," freshman flyhalf Kasey Ferlic said. "I played 250 minutes of rugby this weekend."
  
  Over the weekend, the Penn State women's rugby team took part in the Keystone Tournament, which consisted of a field of 10 mostly Division II college teams. The team was divided into two squads, and both were evenly mixed with A-side and B-side players.
  
  Each Penn State squad played five games, and both Lady Rugger squads finished first and second in the tournament. Penn State Blue won the Keystone Cup by beating Bryn Mawr, 39-0. Penn State White took second with a win over Ursinius, 41-0.
  
  Both teams won all five of their games, scoring a combined 200 points and shut out every one of their opponents.
  
  These victories were just more of the usual, as Penn State has won all four prior Keystone Cups. But this time, the Lady Ruggers made sure they didn't play down to schools such as Kutztown, York, and Colgate.
  
  "We have a tendency to play at [lesser teams'] level," junior hooker Kristen Snyder said. "I'm glad we didn't do that this year."
  
  The score may be misleading, however, because Penn State's opponents had numerous opportunities, including times they got the ball to the 5-yard line before being stopped.
  
  Still, goal-line defense is exactly what Penn State coach Pete Steinberg wanted to see.
  
  "The key thing we did is we were able to hold onto the ball, and tackle hard to get it back," Steinberg said. "The score was [the way it was] because we dominated on possession."
  
  Although Snyder didn't describe the tricks the Keystone club taught them, she did say that the Lady Ruggers were able to scrum with them and gained valuable experience through their interaction.
  
  "[This weekend] showed something that was talked about all season: the incredible depth and experience of this squad," he said. "There's going to be some real difficult selections."
  
  
• The Keystone Philadelphia Cup 2008 April 5-6, 2008
  
  PSU - Blue - 2008 Cup Winner!
  PSU - White - 2008 Plate Winner!
  York College - Sportsmanship Award Winner!
  
  Full results from the Keystone Philadelphia Cup 2008 can be found here.
  

Austin is jumping with RUGBY!!

Saturday, April 12, at Burr Field will be the final league matches for this season against Woodlands RFC. The Blacks (2:00 kick-off) have already clinched a berth in the West Championship Final against Glendale, CO, winner of the West’s Northern League which includes Glendale, Aspen, Denver Highlanders, Boulder, Kansas city Blues, Kansas City, Omaha. The Final will be played in Ft. Worth on Saturday, April 26, at 3pm. While the Blacks don’t need the win against Woodlands on Saturday to advance in the playoffs, we need the momentum going in to the final against a tough Glendale side. In addition, a win on Saturday secures the Blacks the TRU Premier Championship over Dallas Harlequins.

The Golds have also clinched a berth in next weekend’s TRU B-side Championship and need a win over Woodlands this Saturday (3:30 kickoff) to continue the streak we started with last weekend’s 72-0 win over San Antonio. The B-Side Championships are next weekend in Dallas with the Golds playing league-leader Dallas Harlequins at 2:00 and Woodlands playing host Dallas Reds at 3:30. The winners play at 1pm on Sunday.

There will be a Rugby Festival atmosphere this weekend at Burr Field. In addition to the two ARFC matches, the Huns play HARC in league matches (12:00 and 1:30), the Valkyries play Kansas City Jazz in a West League match, and the TRU Div.3 Championships will be played. A complete schedule is listed below.

Plan to come out to Burr Field this weekend and support your Austin Rugby Football Club.
Alan Sharpley, President

Burr Field Schedule - Sat., April 12
KO	Field 1 - TRU Div.3 Semi-finals	KO	Field 2	KO	Field 3
2:00	Ft.Worth vs. Alamo City	2:00	Blacks vs. Woodlands I	12:00	Huns I vs. HARC
4:00	McAllen vs. Oklahoma City	3:30	Golds vs. Woodlands II	1:30	Huns II vs. HARC
		5:00	Valkyries vs. KC Jazz
Sunday, April 13
1:00	TRU Div.3 Championship