Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

VIA Ros Chou:

It was a Satiated Beaver reunion of sorts in Massachusetts as six Texas Beavers joined four Florida first-time Beavs. Burnsy Burns Chamberlain, Meredith Baggity Bags, T- hole, Kitty, Krafty, and Rosalind gathered together in Boston last Thursday and Friday to see some sights and soak in the New England air before heading out to Eastham, MA for Cape Cods 7s.

Florida players Sarah G., Belkin, Sally, and Fish were introduced to the world of Beaverdom early Saturday morning as all players were asked to "Walk It Out" to determine the starting line-up.

After showing off their individual moves, the team swapped Superhero/Villain accessories in a white elephant fashion. The youngest players chose first and the older players were allowed to steal their accessories.

The team warmed up together for the first time and got off to a slow start. In their first match, they faced Union Alumni who ran from their first match right to the kick off for the match against the Beavs. The Union team was aggressive and ball hungry and the Beavers were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. The match ended with a Union victory and we prepared for our next match. Belkin scored the one try for the Beavers to Union's four tries.

Providence B-side was the next opponent and we Beavers were now wide awake and ready to play. There was good communication and the Beaver forwards took advantage of Providence's lineouts as Fish stole several of their throws. Belkin scored two breakaway tries and Bags put in another try.

During the long break, Beaver trivia that began in June on the Beaver tour was completed. And the winner is...Rachel Kraft who just narrowly beat out Kitty for the top scorer in trivia.

Play resumed and we were scheduled to play Beantown B, a VERY strong team for the social bracket. They put up a great fight against us and at the end of the second half the score was tied 7 to 7. Bags was responsible for the score on a breakaway run and kicked her own conversion. The game went in to sudden death. The Beavers kicked off to Beantown B, attacking aggressively bearing down on the receiver where the ball was stopped in a tackle, going to a quick ruck. Beavers recovered the ball and began their offensive attack. Every Beaver touched the ball and was finally put in by Rosalind, diving in for the try.

A 2-1 record is a very respectable showing at such a largely competitive tournament. There was still a victory to come that would surpass what happened on the pitch. In the competitive bracket, NOVA beat select side teams and all the other competitive teams to take home the first place trophy.

The Beavers have been practicing the original Beaver song for over a year and were going to perform it for the skit competition at the social after the tournament. A re-mix had been added and the new Beavers were forced to practice over and over to tighten up the performance. NOVA was the reigning skit champ three years running and were not going to give up their title easily. I am not going to go in to too much detail because this write-up will be too long. The brief story is, NOVA had a very nice musical medley with fit and scantily clad players. Yet, they were no match for the performance titled, "We're Bringing Beavers Back."

The Beavers waited patiently on stage with bowed heads for the crowd to quiet. Once silence fell over the audience we instantly went in to "Beaver One, Beaver All..." The crowd was completely enraptured by the performance and they remained hushed to hear the lyrics. The re-mix followed the freestyle dancing after "Beaver Nine" and we offered up their re-make of "Sexy Back." Unfortunately, there is no Youtube video to share, but it was amazing and yes, the crowd went wild with the T-hole knee slide, and synchronized group ending. The referees acted as the judges and quickly had their decision ready. Turboprops took third place and NOVA started to chant their name, but quickly drowned out. Somewhere in the front near the stage ruggers started chanting "Beavers, Beavers, Beavers, Beavers!" The tournament director announced the second place finishers in the skit contest, NOVA. BEAVERS WIN! BEAVERS WIN!

We were surrounded for the rest of the night by admirers and fans. We were offered women, money, and clothing for any piece of Beaver gear with which we would be willing to part. It was quite amusing at first, but as the night wore on we began to tire and wanted to just be alone with our Beaver clan. How does Paris Hilton deal with the stardom?

The next day we headed to the Provincetown to officially complete the Beaver tour 2007 that stretched from Coast-to-Coast. There were cool shops and a wild wolf ate T-hole. May she rest in peace.

So if you read my post a few days ago I was saying that I have been having a hard time training this time around. I am training, but have not been training as hard as I could. After a few well chosen words from a few email supporters & friends I realized that I need to get my butt in gear.

I play Canada in a matter of weeks, am representing the USA and therefore need to get my butt in gear. So I stepped up the training yesterday and today and feel better about things already. Yesterday I did some sprint work and a long jog to warm up. Still doing the daily push ups, pull ups and planks...added wall sits and more abdominal work. Today I did one of the harder trail runs I have found...360 and mopac down at the Green Belt. (side note: I didn't know Jake could climb sheer rock, he scared his mother climbing them without hesitation or fear!)

I tend to keep most of my personal life out of my blog...but I think this merits an explanation. I am a chronic over trainer, I love to trail run and love training with my dog Jake. However, two weeks ago I quit my job at the gym. I won't be going into details about the gym, but those that know the behind the scenes know it was getting to be too stressful and forced me to choose ethics over a job.

So basically I have been pretty stressed over making finances meet and finding a new job. To put it bluntly I have been pretty depressed. I loved the gym job, but it just got to be too much. I have had several promising interviews this week, some in the first phase and some in the second phase, so hopefully something will have worked out by the end of the week.

Regardless, I need to keep training and need to train hard. I have vowed to work out everyday until I fly to Minnesota on Aug 24. Of course I will not wear myself out, but at least twice a week will be a lighter/pool workout so I can recover. But I have got to get back into top rugby form.

Thanks for all the support and kind words over the weekend. Life is tough, but I've been down enough and I need to get back out there.

Thank you to everyone who responded regarding your availability. We wanted to inform you of the final squad selections for the August event. The players listed below will be assembling in MN at the National Sports Center as the United States prepares to face Canada in two matches (the first on August 27 and the second on August 29) .

Congratulations again on your selection to the tournament or reserve squad. It is a reflection of your hard work to date. We look forward to seeing everyone as the season progresses and we wish you luck in the selection process of future events.

Best Regards,
WNT Managers

TOURNAMENT SQUAD

BAKER, STACY
BENNETT, STACY
BURKE, JAMIE
BUTTS, LISA
CRAPSTER-PREGONT, MEG
DENHAM, MEL
DILLEY, LIZ
DOUGLAS, FARRAH
DUBRAY, CARRIE
HEMSTREET, ALLYSON
HERTEL, KATY
JENNINGS, HEATHER
KANUK, MEL
KMIECEK, ASHLEY
KUGLER, LYNELLE
LANGE, JAMIE
LEARY, SARA
MARCHINO, NATHALIE
MCGEE, VANESHA
MENKE, JENNY
MORENO, SAN JUANITA
MYER, ELISE
TRUCANO, CHRIS
TSENG, JOSSY
WAGNER, KITT
WALLACE, MARI
WEIKMAN, MAURA
WILLIAMSON, SHEARA
WHITMORE, ROSE
YOUNG, WENDY
ZDANCEWICZ, KRISTEN

Thanks to A Ride on the K Train, we have this tidbit of information. When the original NA4 was created it was determined that USA would play Canada twice and these would be warm up matches. Then Canada came back and said that they were not able to field two teams and that we would just play one match.

But here comes some new news straight from Canada...

Excerpt here:
Two Canadian teams will compete with two American teams in tests on August 27th and August 29th. “At this stage they are all new athletes to me,” says Fyffe. “I look forward to seeing everyone perform in camps and at the CanAm games.”

I am excited because I bought my ticket and it really is settling in that I will be playing with the USA. I need to get my butt in gear and start training harder. I have been training, but not nearly hard enough.

Anyone want to help? I seriously need a training buddy right now...

Auckland, NZ, August 5, 2007 - In a very competitive and physical match, the USA U23 women were defeated by the Manuwera women's senior club side on the final game of their New Zealand tour Saturday morning local time in the New Zealand capital.

The U23s scored two tries on the day, with star center Kelly Griffin touching down 15 minutes in, and Kirsten Ahrendt kicking the extras.

Just before halftime the Americans scored again, with flanker Shaina Turley finishing off the movement. But 12 points would be all they could muster as the U23 Eagles were beaten 22-12.

Final Roster:

1 Naima Reddick
2 Sheri Villa
3 Krissy Vargas
4 Kati McCormick
5 Jessica Travers
6 Shaina Turley
7 Tara McBride
8 Jillion Potter
9 Sydney Forestal
10 Sylvia Braaten
11 Schmarrah McCarthy
12 Kelly Griffin
13 Kristy Lear
14 Elaine Schlarb
15 Kirsten Ahrendt
16 Tess Kohanski
17 Libby Berg
18 Brea Hughes
19 Kate Daley
20 Phoebe Boone
21 Amber Benlian
22 Tonya Ansel

Via Goff (subscription required) U23's Update:

Auckland, NZ, August 2, 2007 - The USA U23 team finished up their New Zealand tour against Manuwera at Cox's Bay in Auckland Saturday and the players are eager to show improvement from their game against the Manawatu provincial side.

Captain Jillion Potter and vice captain Kelly Griffin acknowledge that a greater dedication to the physical side of the game is part of that improvement as they rebound from their 34-2 loss.

"One of our challenges was retaining possession," said Potter. "We've been working very hard on counter-rucking this past week and are excited to see our progression in our final match."

"Manawatu's overall physical intensity and ball handling skills were higher than Burnside's," said Griffin, referring to the U23s' 27-10 victory over the women's club team in their opening tour match.


And while a strong forward platform certainly helps, Manawatu also showcased skills that the U23s aspire to have.

"We've been really focusing on hard, sharp running lines, depth and effective communication," said Griffin. "We want to play as a team and execute everything we've been working on the past two weeks including counter-rucking, attacking space and being dangerous."

More of the article here.

Adventures in Rugby has updated her blog, check it out here.

Interesting article via Goff (subscription required) about the USA Men's Olypmpic Eagle Team bonding.

Boulder, Colo. August 2, 2007 - After the NA4 in Vancouver and the USA squad was pared down to its current list, Mike Hercus brought the players together and suggested that perhaps the time they had together might not be enough.

"We haven't had a lot of time together," said Hercus. "It's tough to replace game time, but even with game time it's got to be productive, it's got to be beneficial," Hercus said. "Personally I'm a big believer in team culture and team dynamics. After selections I merely made a suggestion - I encouraged them to do whatever they can to be the best prepared they can be for the World Cup. I said to them that afterwards for the rest of their lives they would think, 'what could I have done better?"

The result was that more than half the pre-World Cup squad have remained in Boulder, Colo. to train on their own. They are actually living in dorms together and under the supervision of USA coaches, but it's a completely voluntary act.

The rest of the article can be read here.

What a great opportunity, but the sacrifices these players are making cannot be ignored. Jobs, lives, lovers and old clubs are suffering because of their decision. Perhaps they will be able to come together and be a team like the USA has been hoping for all these years. We are a country that is living and growing rugby everyday, but we struggle to play well internationally. Our Women's team has had great successes, but our Men's team has not. Perhaps this will be the change?

I think it is a great idea I am sure their sacrifices will be worth it! Good luck TEAM!

Check out the Team's Daily Log from the Aspen Training Camp here.
Also photos from the camp are here.

Just came in my inbox:

Hello Everyone,

My name is Simone Bontly. Myself and Mandy Hancock have begun a new team here in Columbia, SC. We are the Columbia Bombshell Women's Rugby Club. We have a great mix of young and younger women with all types of experience. If you know anyone in the midland South Carolina region that would like to play please point them in our direction. Our
contact information is as follows:

Simone Bontly or Mandy Hancock
803-361-0706 803-760-3963
bombshellsrugby@yahoo.com
myspace.com/columbiawomensrugby

Thank you.

I thought this was interesting, found it on digg.com and here is the actual webpage address.

http://mashable.com/2007/08/01/firefox-downloads/

So this weekend is a referee course in San Marcos and a few of us are going. And in preparation the head referee guy in the Texas Rugby Union sent out this awesome rugby link:

http://www.sareferees.co.za/home/

The best part of the website for me was the video clips that show a controversial call and then there is an explanation below. It also has information about what referees are chosen for matches, you can ask questions of the referees and referee news.

It seems to be a good resource, but of course there is always the IRB website that has plenty of resources as well:

http://www.irb.com/training/index.html - Education and Training
http://www.irb.com/lawregulations/index.html - Laws and Regulations

I have a copy of the Rugby Laws always in my bag and often open it up to read a section and/or familiarize myself with the rugby laws. There are so many rules and so many gray areas, I find it fascinating. The best rule I ever found (I have yet to use it) has been the "mark" call. I love it! I want to use it so badly in a game, but of course it would have to be the right time and the right situation. I love it when they use it in international matches...weird I know!