Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

Referee & Coaching Clinics

On the Sunday (Oct 7) following the Cowtown Tournament, STRR will be sponsoring a field session on Laws/Refereeing from 9am-1pm.

They are bringing in Kevin McCaslin to help coach and evaluate the refs on Saturday at the tournament, followed by the field session on Sunday.

STRR would like to invite all club coaches and team captains to attend the Sunday session, where one of USA Rugby's top referee trainers will be working with our referees on practical applications of the Law. This will be an outdoor, informal session on the field where we hope to cover, for each set piece, and all loose phases (Tackle, Ruck, Maul) the key things referees should be looking at and how they communicate with players and captains.

Bid to Host USARS 2008 Championships

Potential hosts are invited to bid on the below events for 2008.
Bids must be submitted by 11/17/2007 and awards will be made on 12/1/2007.
Please review host responsibilities in the Handbook online.

You may submit bids to host 7's qualifiers at this time but the qualifying process could change in 2008.

You may submit bids to:
Gary Kent
1342 Buena Vista Road
Columbus, GA 31906
gkrugby@gmail.com

3/?? Men's Div I Championship 1 Field
3/29-30 Collegiate Championships 2 Fields
4/26-27 Men's Div II and III Championships 2 Fields
5/3-4 High School Championship 2 Fields
7/19 Men's 7's Championship 1 Field
10/4-5 Women's Div I and II Championships 2 Fields
11/1 College LAU Men and Women 2 Fields

Canterbury Rugby World Cup Jerseys

Can a jersey really give you the upper hand on your opponents? Canterbury believes it can and so do the teams wearing the jerseys during the Rugby World Cup 2007. Check out the below artcile:


32nd Annual Fort Lauderdale Ruggerfest

Hello! I am writing to invite the Austin Valkyries to the 32nd Annual Fort Lauderdale Ruggerfest, which will be held February 23rd and 24th, 2008, at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Ruggerfest 2008 will host the following divisions: women’s, premiere men’s, club/social men’s, and old boys’ (35+, 45+, 50+). The women’s division was won by the Boston WRFC in 2007 and by the Berkeley All-Blues in 2006. This year, we hope to expand our women’s division and improve the already high level of competition by inviting championship-level women's teams from around the United States, Canada, and England.

The fee to enter a team in the women’s division is $375, and there is a $500 cash prize for the team that wins the division.

With February temperatures in the 60s and 70s, high-quality men’s and women’s rugby teams from all over North America, and one of the best rugby socials you’ll attend all year, the only question to ask your team is: why haven’t we registered yet?

We are currently working on transportation discounts, and our hotel discounts are listed at the bottom of this email. If you have any questions, feel free to email me, call me at 917.562.8152, or email Tournament Director Alex Sharland at ruggerfest@ftlrugby.com. We hope to see your team in February!

Cheers,
Lauren Cusick
Women's Division Coordinator
Fort Lauderdale Ruggerfest 2008

Lodging information:
Holiday Inn at Lauderdale by the Sea
4116 N. Ocean Drive/A1A
Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-776-1212
Rate: $150/night
Close to beach/social
Directions to Tradewinds Park from hotel: http://tinyurl.com/2tas8y

Fort Lauderdale Hilton
505 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-414-2222
Rate: $195/night
Close to beach/social
Directions to Tradewinds Park from hotel: http://tinyurl.com/2vsoh8

Inverrary Resort
3501 Inverarry Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-485-0500
Rate: $125/night
Free transportation to Tradewinds Park
Directions to Tradewinds Park from hotel: http://tinyurl.com/2pwhbn

So last night I finally slept. It has been OVER A WEEK...I have been only sleeping 2 or 3 hours a night. I hate insomnia...and you would think I would be productive, but I wasn't. Last night was amazing, went to bed at 9:30pm. Thank God I finally slept!

Belmont Shore at Coast
Berkeley v. Fog
San Diego at Scottsdale
Seattle at ORSU
Twin Cities at Chicago
North Shore at Wisconsin
Philadelphia at Maryland
DC at NOVA
New York at Beantown
Keystone at Boston


Beantown Tournament (@ Seacost, NH)
Brandywine vs Doylestown
Chesapeake vs MD Exiles (@ Bocek)
Chicago vs Amazons (@ Chicago)
Cleveland vs Pittsburgh Angels (@ Cleveland)
Des Moines vs Wayne State (@ Grinnell)
Georgia U23 Camp (@ Georgia)
Irish Fest (@ Indianapolis)
James River vs Severn River
Kansas City Jazz vs Wichita (@ Seymour Park)
Knoxville vs Dayton (@ Dayton)
Minneapolis Menagerie vs County Will (@ Minnesota)
Morris vs CT Bull (@ Morris)
NOVA B vs Frederick (@ NOVA)
NOVA C vs DC Furies B (@ NOVA)
Norfolk vs Raleigh (@ Norfolk)
North Shore vs Providence (@ North Shore)
Philidelphia vs Maryland (@ Philideplphia)
Portland vs Harftord (@ Portland)
Riverside Rattlers vs Santa Monica (@ Riverside)
Ruggerfest Tourney (@ Aspen, CO)
San Diego vs Scottsdale (@ Scottsdale)
St. Louis vs Scylla (@ Forest Park)
Village Lions vs Suffolk (@ Stony Brook, NY)

**Don't see your game listed? Join the Online Women's Rugby Calendar hosted by Google. To join, click the Google Calendar button on the right side of this blog.


Friday:
England vs South Africa 2pm CT

Saturday:
New Zealand vs Portugal 6am CT
Wales vs Australia 8am CT
Ireland vs Georgia 2pm CT

Sunday:
Fiji vs Canada 7am CT
Samoa vs Tonga 9am CT
France vs Namibia 2pm CT

So yesterday afternoon I headed up to Bagpipes after my interview in North Austin. I was prepared to watch 6 hours of World Cup Rugby! How exciting!

I started watching USA vs Tonga and after reading the comments on Goff, I agree and I disagree. The claim was that the Tonga players killed the ball the whole game, well yes they did. But the Eagles shot themselves in the foot too! Every time the forwards worked their butts off and made space for the backs, they knocked the ball on or had a serious mishandle! Overall the game was pretty disappointing and very physical.

The Eagles had a few key scoring opportunities, including that last breakaway by the winger, if he would have kept going straight...I really think he could have split the D and put one down between the posts. The Eagles don't play again for awhile, they face Samoa and then South Africa.

By this time a few of my teammates had joined me at Bagpipes and we started watching the Japan vs Fiji match. I was excited about this match because I like to watch the Japanese who are usually smaller in stature meet the challenge of a bigger team. The score for this game was close throughout the game, I kind of thought that Fiji would blow out the Japanese, but they played very well! They rucked very hard and had an almost impenetrable wall of defense. They were very organized and worked hard. It was a very exciting game and came down to making and missing kicks...make sure you hug your kicker today!

The third match we watched was Romania vs Italy. At this point about half the team was at the bar and being rugby players we were getting pretty excited and loud. We also were treating this event as an informal chalk talk where our new players could ask questions. We have three practices to our next league match and we will be putting 5 to 6 rookies on the field for that game. Numbers are getting better at practice but not everyone can afford to travel with work and money. We keep recruiting, but it is always a struggle. Anyways, the match was really good and we yelled out loud plenty of times and discussed that they ran a line out play very similar to ours. Good play, love it!

So to those of you gathering around in bars all week for rugby...cheers to you! Lets let everyone know that it is the best sport ever and we want everyone to know that!

Also, check this out!!!

And what World Cup isn't complete without the Haka? I also loved the Fijian war chant!

San Diego at Coast 68 - 0
Berkeley v. Sacramento 113 - 0
Mudhens at ORSU 7 - 63
Wisconsin at Chicago 0 - 45

Austin Valkyries vs. Texas A&M: Scrimmage 40 minutes of A side and 40 minutes of B sides
Glendale vs. New York 15 - 36
Pumpkinfest Tournament (@ Philidelphia, PA):
Beantown 1st Place
Philidelphia 2nd Place
Beantown 3rd Place
Atlanta 4th Place
Berkeley vs Belmont Shore 76 - 8
Minnesota Valkyries vs Twin Cities Amazons 39 - 26
Minneapolis Menagerie vs Palmer (@ Minneapolis) Minneapolis wins by forfeit

Ruggapooloza Tournament (@ Carbondale, IL):

Hi Wendy,

Here's how everyone finished out. The men & women were setup as a 5 team round robin and the winners were based on a point system. Both SMRFC and SIU-B tied for 2nd and their head to head match was a draw. SMRFC won by overall tourney match points. In the women's open the Sabres and North Shore tied as well but the Sabres won the head to head match and thus took the 2nd place trophy. There was some really good competition for the beginning of the season and it was great to see the A Sides shake out the cobwebs. Looks as if rookies got plenty of field time as well.

So can we expect your team next year? Any questions, let me know.
Cheers,
Adrianne

Women's Open:
1st Place: Denver Black Ice
2nd Place: St. Louis Sabres
3rd Place: Chicago North Shore

Women's College:
1st Place: Indiana Univ A
2nd Place: Northern Illinois Univ
3rd Place: Illinois State Univ A

Men's Open:
1st Place: Southern Illinois Univ A
2nd Place: Sunday Morning RFC
3rd Place: Southern Illinois Univ B

Jackalope Tournament (@ Laramie, WY) no results
Indianapolis vs Dayton (@ Dayton, OH) no results
Frederick vs Harrisburg (@ Carlisle, PA) no results
Des Moines vs Will County (@ IL) no results


(** Don't see your game listed? Add yourself to the calendar listed to the the right on the blog!)



Beantown A 58 vs Maryland 0
Washington A 17 vs Keystone 7
Chesapeake 14 vs Buffalo 21
Atlanta 7 vs PWRFC A 12
Doylestown 55 vs Bull Moose 5
LaSalle 5 vs Penn 17
Keystone 7 vs Boston 12
NOVA A 22 vs Maryland 0
Washington B 17 vs Village Lions 5
SNY 0 vs Beantown B 28
Raleigh 7 vs PWRFC A 12
Back in Black 35 vs Buffalo 7
NOVA B 50 vs Bull Moose 0
Temple 22 vsLaSalle 0
Beantown A 19 vs NOVA A 5
Washington A 12 vs Boston 17
Rochester 10 vs Village Lions 7
PWRFC B 24 vs SNY 14
Atlanta 40 vs Raleigh 5
Back in Black 29 vs Chesapeake 0
Doylestown 15 vs NOVA B 8
Washington B 5 vs Rochester 0
PWRFC B 0 vs Beantown B 20
Temple 5 vs Penn 19

Competitive Semi #1 Beantown A 27 vs Atlanta 0
Competitive Semi #2 Boston 5 vs Philadelphia A 15

Social Semi #1 Back in Black 44 vs Beantown B 0
Social Semi #2 NOVA B 8 vs Washington B 5

NOVA A 14 vs Washington A 7
Raleigh 12 vs Maryland 5
Philadelphia B 0 vs Doylestown 7
Bull Moose 0 vs Rochester 50
Keystone 31 vs Philadelphia B+ 0
Chesapeake 12 vs SNY 7
SocialFinal Back in Black 22 vs NOVA B 0
Competitive Final Beantown A 22 vs Philadephia A 3

Penn State Looks Towards Final Four Again
From Collegian Online

For 14 of the last 15 seasons, the Lady Ruggers have competed in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Final Fours and traveled to eight of nine national championship matches -- winning it all last season.

To continue down the same path, the team decided its goals this year were to develop a team mentality and to hone individual skills. The team also wants more members and less-experienced players to come out and learn the game of rugby.

"We have to remember how hard it was [to win] last year," 12-year head coach Pete Steinberg said. "The team sacrificed a lot to win. We are good, but we have to remember what we gave up [to win the championship]."

Rest of the article is here.

Women's Rugby Scores Big Win Over Air Force
By Tony Brown
Head Coach

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 8, 2007) -- As season openers go this one had its fair share of knock-ons, poor passes, and rusty play. Air Force had played on Friday against Army at West Point’s $6 million dollar rugby facility, Anderson Field, so they could be forgiven as no doubt they were sore and tired. Vassar was fresh but nervous as this was their first game since last April. In an absorbing yet slow paced game the final 3 minutes saw 3 scores and a roller coaster of a finish.

Vassar hosted Air Force Women at the Farm and under a sunny sky they made the best of starts. The Brewers established field position in the Air Force half and put them under immediate pressure. The scrums and line outs functioned well enough and from a forward drive Elise Okusami got the ball and drove over to put Vassar 5-0 up. After 15 minutes a lovely break by Alex Milne right up the middle was just the ticket for the home team as they went up 12-0 with the successful conversion. Vassar suddenly realized that this game was theirs for the taking! They had to continue to harass the visitors and jump on the mistakes. But Air Force also stepped up their game and got right back in to the game late in the first half with a break away try down the right wing. Vassar’s Morandi Hurst on the left wing moved in to make a tackle and was beaten by the pass so it was Vassar 12 and the Academy 7.

Rest of the article here.

Saint Mary's Huskies Win Opener Against Atlantic University
by Halifax

(Staff) - The host Saint Mary's Huskies opened the Atlantic University Sport women's rugby season with a 22-15 win over the P.E.I. Panthers yesterday. Shannon Carey, Megan Kinsman and Fiona McNutt had tries.

Madison vs Marquette
by Women's Rugby at UW-Madison

On Saturday Sept 8 our club hosted our first match of year in Madison against Marquette. With a new cheer and a determination to bet our long time rivals, Madison scored first in the first half. Andrea Larson started the competitive season off with the first try. The score now 5 to 0. Marquette also got on the score board in the first half with a penalty kick to bring the game to a close 5 to 3 score, Madison leading.

Madison fought hard to keep Marquette from scoring in the first half. Holding them at the 5 meter line for 6 scrum downs. Marquette was unable to score and Madison went into the half leading. As the second half commenced, Jamie Rogalla of Madison got a break away off a pass from Hope Reddington near half and ran it in for a try. Catie Mahon was able to convert with the kick and Madison took a larger lead 12 to 3. Again for the forward, Mary Hanks got a break away and took the ball in for another try to give Madison a 17 to 3 lead. With a conversion by Catie Mahon, 19 to 3.

Madison went on to hold Marquette University from scoring and the first game of year when in the books as a win for Madison. Team played very well together and look forward to playing UW Stevens Point this weekend.

The Other World Cup
The Russian Wolfhound Blog

While most of us are amped up about the Rugby World Cup, we can't forget there are other sporting events happening around the world. Women's soccer, is in the foremost part of my mind. It is a new young team this year and they are expected to go far. Check out this guy's blog as he covers what else is going on in the world.

Women Needed as Referees
from Texas Rugby Union Website

More referees are needed and once recruited must be trained. The recruitment and training of referees is the main responsibility of all clubs in Texas. The goal for the TRU is that EVERY club have at least one certified referee.

I challenge all of the women's rugby teams in Texas to work towards this goal. The Austin Valkyries are the only Women's club team with registered refs right now. Meg Pace and Wendy Young just recently went through the class and received their referee certificates. Expect to see them on the pitch playing and refereeing this season. If interested please email Dave Jenkins at davejenkins@houston.rr.com.

Stay tuned for more referee courses at they occur in the Texas area. There are currently NO referee courses scheduled, but there is a Coaching Certification courses:

USA RUGBY 2007 FALL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE:

Date	Location	Workshop
September 29 - 30	Long Beach, CA	Introducing Rugby
September 29 - 30	Long Beach, CA	Developing Rugby Skills
October 6 - 7	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Developing Rugby Skills
October 20 - 21	Carmichael, CA	Introducing Rugby
October 20 - 21	Carmichael, CA	Developing Rugby Skills
October 27 - 28	Atlanta, GA	Introducing Rugby
October 27 - 28	Atlanta, GA	Developing Rugby Skills
November 3 - 4	Fort Wayne, IN	Introducing Rugby
November 3 - 4	Dallas, TX	Introducing Rugby
November 3 - 4	Dallas, TX	Developing Rugby Skills
November 10 - 11	Pittsburgh, PA	Introducing Rugby
November 10 - 11	Pittsburgh, PA	Developing Rugby Skills
November 17 - 18	New Rochelle, NY	Introducing Rugby
November 17 - 18	New Rochelle, NY	Developing Rugby Skills