Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

MATCH SCHEDULE:

Saturday, October 27
9:30am: Beantown vs KC Jazz 64 to 5
10 am: SD Surfers vs Atlanta 5 to 20
11 am: Nova vs TC Amazons 17 to 20
11:30am: ORSU vs Minn Valkyries 17 to 7
12:30pm: Philly vs N Shore 29 to 16
1 pm: Glendale vs Berkeley 0 to 58
2 pm: Keystone vs Furies 14 to 0
2:30pm: New York vs Mudhens 67 to 10

Sunday, October 28
8:30am KC Jazz vs SD Surfers
9:00am: Beantown vs Atlanta
10:00am: NOVA vs Minn Valkyries
10:30am: Amazons vs ORSU
11:30a: N Shore vs Glendale
12:00pm: Philly vs Berkeley
1:00pm: Furies vs Mudhens
1:30pm: Keystone v New York

We arrived at Burr Field this morning with temperatures in the low 50's and a bit of dew on the ground. As you can see from my "mountain outfit" as my girlfriend called me...I was cold! But soon the sun came out from behind the trees and we had a BEAUTIFUL rugby day ahead of us.

The pitches were lined perfectly and the hard Texas ground was just begging to be touched by all the rugby glory out there. The first few games of the day were highly contested and were very intense. I touch judged two of the games today and played "trainer" for the rest. Need something taped? Wendy can do that!

Over all I think the first day or Round of 16 included some GREAT rugby and an even better crowd. Austinites were out in force and we appreciate the support from the local community here.

One of the great ideas coming from the tournament in my opinion was the "anti-bacterial stations" the Austin Blacks put together. See the picture on the right for a visual: basically its a bucket turned over, with a lovely white towel over it and two anti-bacterial bottles for our sanitation purposes. Cute right?

Also we the Austin Valkyries are pretty excited about the raffle we put together. The items are wide and varied from Mary Kay makeup to the sweetest All Black Jersey we have ever seen! Come on out and buy an armful of ticket...yes you can bring you lock's long arms...for $10.

Look for more results tomorrow afternoon.

I will be LIVE blogging from my Treo 680 this weekend, look for scores updates throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday.

"Reporting live from the Women's Round of 16 in Austin, TX Ms. Wendy Young..."

USA Rugby National Championships - Round of 16

MATCH SCHEDULE:

Saturday, October 27
9:30am: Beantown v Kansas City Jazz
10 am: S.D. Surfers v Atl Harlequins
11 am: NOVA v T.C. Amazons
11:30am: MinnValkyries v ORSU Jesters
12:30pm: Philly v Chi North Shore
1 pm: Glendale v Berkeley All Blues
2 pm: Wash. Furies v Keystone
2:30pm: New York v E.C. Mudhens

Sunday, October 28
8:30am Loser Game 1 v Loser Game 2
9:00am: Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 2
10:00am: Loser Game 3 v Loser Game 4
10:30am: Winner Game 3 v Winner Game 4
11:30a: Loser Game 5 v Loser Game 6
12:00pm: Winner Game 5 v Winner Game 6
1:00pm: Loser Game 7 v Loser Game 8
1:30pm: Winner Game 7 v Winner Game 8

SEEDINGS:

1. Northeast #1: New York
2. Pacific #1: Berkeley All Blues
3. Midwest #1: Minnesota Valkeries
4. South #1: Atlanta Harlequins
5. Northeast #2: Beantown
6. Midwest #2: Twin City Amazons
7. Mid-Atlantic #1: Philadelphia
8. Northeast #3: Keystone
9 . Mid-Atlantic #2: Washington Furies
10. Midwest #3: Chicago North Shore
11 . Mid-Atlantic: #3 NOVA
12 . West #1: Kansas City Jazz
13 . Southern Cal #1: (Belmont over Austin) San Diego Surfers
14 . Pacific #2: (ORSU over Scottsdale) ORSU
15 . West #2: (Jazz (W3) over Boston) Glendale
16. Pacific #3: (Mudhens over Wisconsin) Emerald City Mudhens

So this morning I created the first (to my knowledge) Rugby Blogger Tshirt! The cool thing about the online service I am using is that YOU (meaning YOU!) can customize the tshirt. Meaning, you change change the color of the shirt, the actual words on the shirt and even the type of tshirt. Pretty sweet!

To customize your own Rugby Blogger tshirt visit here: Rugby Blogger Tshirt
**Just click the gray customize button on the bottom right.

Check it out:



**The back of the tshirt has the logo from the top of my blog. See the zoomed in shot to the right of the tshirt.

So this morning I awoke to a very Harry Potter like day. You know the days that the book talks about where the wind is whipping everything about and the rain is relentless? A day where in the great hall, Dumbledore would have changed the sky to sunny and bright. Hey, by the way did you hear that Dumbeldore is gay? Who knew!

Anyways, loving the fallish weather and excited about carving pumpkins on Wednesday night! I know this may be hard to read for those of you that are experiencing snow and bitter cold, but it was in the fifties for the first time last night. I love this kind of weather and I love that it is the middle of October and we are just starting to get cold. LOVE IT!

So check out a few of the cooler pumpkin carvings...err pumpkin arrangements I found on the net:









Haha, after I had looked for a few pumpkin designs I liked, I came across this website: http://www.extremepumpkins.com. Very similar to Ace of Cakes (Extreme Cakes) on TLC where they light cakes on fire and reguarly have fireworks included. SWEETNESS!

Houston Tournament - Oct 13, 2007


Sorry this post is so late...been really crazy with work, rugby and school. But the good news is, I finished my math class (got an A!) and have finished out the semester. Overall the grades were MUCH higher than they usually are, so I am quite proud of myself. Only three (maybe four) semesters to go and I will have finally finished my Bachelor's degree. Considering I have hated school since I started it, this will be a big accomplishment in my life!

Anyways, so rugby...wow rugby, you consume my life, ruin my life, elevate my life...what to do with this love hate relationship? Maybe I will write more about that topic later!

So the majority of the Valkyries arrived in Houston Friday night and stayed at our teammate's parents house. The house was rather large and was decorated with many many elephants. Jake my dog, came with us and he had never experienced wooden stairs, so the first run up was pretty hilarious for those of us downstairs. He was slippin' and slidin' everywhere and almost fell a couple of times. He is still such a puppy, all gangly and silly. But I love him so much...I don't care if his legs are three times longer than his body!

So we slept pretty good as most people had a bed, couch or air mattress. This team is so smart, they invested in 5 air mattresses for the team, so we never are without comfort! The next morning we awoke and headed down into downtown Houston for the tournament. We knew this weekend was going to be a different weekend as were going to play all our Bside players and do what if situations. What if the starting flyhalf, scrumhalf etc goes down? So we were mentally prepared to maybe play out of position or to be on the sidelines for a half.

The first game was against the University of Texas at 9:45am. We played well as we outmatched them even with a few players out of position and a few of the more experienced girls on the sideline. We worked hard to try and remember that yes, we can run around them, but why not work on our game plan and work on the fundamentals? UT played very well though and were hard hitting in the scrum and the rucks. I believe this was the game where we took out the starting flyhalf and moved someone in to get some time there...always good to be prepared!

The second game of the day was against Texas State University...we won by several tries but again tried to focus on not running around people but active support with good decision making. In this game I believe we had the starting scrumhalf sit one half and then had some players moved around where they might not usually play. It is good to see the versatility of most players as they can be a forward, back, center, wing, hooker etc. Love those utility players!

Then we had a pretty long break for lunch and until our next game. A few of the Valks played for other teams as most of the teams only had a few subs. A few Valks and myself played in the SHSU vs TX State because HARC had loaned a few players and TX State was getting stomped all over. It was fun to play with a different team and I even played fullback for a few minutes. I never liked that position, I like to be close in to the action, hence being a scrumhalf! LOL.

* The picture is of the Valks that stayed after the tournament to get our 2nd place prize. Houston had taken a team picture earlier in the day and then blown them up and framed them. Great tournament prizes!

For the final we played A&M and the game was very evenly matched again. We stuck to our guns again all day and played the Bside girls again. Both teams played very well but A&M won with a buzzer try with no time to spare. Great game girls.

Good weekend in all, look forward to a similar tournament in Austin in the Spring...

Congrats to South Africa for winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup this weekend. We watched it in a bar with plenty of rugby folk...good times.

I will be blogging more tonight, been crazy busy! Look for the Houston Tournament results, High Desert results and more!

Also, I am working on the layout and am not satisfied with the large thighs (and by large thighs I mean because the image is so big...not because my 8man has large thighs!) in the picture above either...still working on a header. Ideas, thoughts...leave 'em in the comments.

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* Wisconsin Consumers: Click Here to maintain shipping!
* Ohio Wine Lovers: Click Here

Click here to send a message to your state legislators today!

Blog: Join the discussion

I found this site this morning after checking out woot.com. If you don't know what woot.com is, check it out...they sell really cheap stuff that is awesome! Yea not the best description I have ever come up with in my life, but kind of out of words this morning.

I know there are bigger issues in life, but the graphic was just kick a$$! Have a great weekend, GOOOOOO ENGLAND!

USA Rugby National Champships - Round of 16

SEEDINGS:

1. Northeast #1: New York
2. Pacific #1: Berkeley All Blues
3. Midwest #1: Minnesota Valkeries
4. South #1: Atlanta Harlequins
5. Northeast #2: Beantown
6. Midwest #2: Twin City Amazons
7. Mid-Atlantic #1: Philadelphia
8. Northeast #3: Keystone
9 . Mid-Atlantic #2: Washington Furies
10. Midwest #3: Chicago North Shore
11 . Mid-Atlantic: #3 NOVA
12 . West #1: Kansas City Jazz
13 . Southern Cal #1: (Belmont over Austin) San Diego Surfers
14 . Pacific #2: (ORSU over Scottsdale) ORSU
15 . West #2: (Jazz (W3) over Boston) Glendale
16. Pacific #3: (Mudhens over Wisconsin) Emerald City Mudhens

MATCH SCHEDULE:

Saturday, October 27
9:30am: Beantown v Kansas City Jazz
10 am: S.D. Surfers v Atl Harlequins
11 am: NOVA v T.C. Amazons
11:30am: MinnValkyries v ORSU Jesters
12:30pm: Philly v Chi North Shore
1 pm: Glendale v Berkeley All Blues
2 pm: Wash. Furies v Keystone
2:30pm: New York v E.C. Mudhens

Sunday, October 28
8:30am Loser Game 1 v Loser Game 2
9:00am: Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 2
10:00am: Loser Game 3 v Loser Game 4
10:30am: Winner Game 3 v Winner Game 4
11:30a: Loser Game 5 v Loser Game 6
12:00pm: Winner Game 5 v Winner Game 6
1:00pm: Loser Game 7 v Loser Game 8
1:30pm: Winner Game 7 v Winner Game 8

I will be working on the new layout for a few days...let me know what you think.

WE

Today is Blog Action Day! I didn't know it existed...but was excited to read about it and wanted to pass it on!!

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. That means we need you! Here are 3 ways to participate:

• Post on your blog relating to the environment on Blog Action Day
• Donate your day’s earnings to an environmental charity
• Promote Blog Action Day around the web

And in Rugby NEWS:

NRU U19 Tryout This Weekend

Sunday October 21, 2007
Albany, NY
10:30AM - 4PM
Dick Green Field

Directions to the field can be found:
http://www.albanyknicksrfc.org/directions_DG.htm

Registration Fee
There is a $30 Player Registration Fee. Cash or checks made payable to Jenna Bussman will be accepted.

NOTE: **ALL PLAYERS MUST HAVE A COACHES RECOMMENDATION TO ATTEND THIS SELECTION CAMP.** Contact Jenna Bussman ASAP please provide names, school, positions and years playing, if known, for every player. All players should have insurance information and bring the signed waiver the day of the camp. Jenna's email is u19nrugirls@gmail.com

Coaches:
K.O. Onufry, former USA Women's National Team Member, and current NRU U19 All-Star Team Head Coach, will lead this event. Kevin O'Brien, former USA Women's National Team Coach and current NRU U19 All-Star Assistant Coach will also be in attendance. All coaches are invited and encouraged to attend this event with their players.

Best regards,
Jenna Bussman
NRU U19 Manager

More info can be found here.

A day in the Life of Amanda Ogle, FSU Women's Rugby

Thirty-two years ago, Women's Rugby Football Club was founded at Florida State University. Ironically, the club was not started by females, but rather the FSU Men's Rugby Club. The boys' team decided to create the organization as an attempt to meet girls.

Since their initial efforts to pick up ladies, the women's team has won the national championship four times, and the club's alumni have played for the United States national team.

"Rugby culture is just unlike any other. We meet so many different types of people out there on the pitch and from so many places in the nation. We will oftentimes even meet ruggers from abroad too," Women's Rugby Club Vice President and FSU senior Jocelyn Karpy said. "It really takes a fellow rugger to understand why we love to play as much as we do."

Read more here.

Glendale Rugby - Game Tape

Aren't we always looking for good women's rugby game tape? Well Glendale has all of their matches including their men's matches available for viewing. The most recent women's matches were Glendale vs St. Louis & Austin. Pretty cool! The commentators are also very good and do quite well at explaining the game and keeping up with the game.

Click here for the video link.

Rugby Research Project - Jaime Burke

Hello Women's Club Rugby Community,

I am currently working on a research project as part of my newly started PhD program exploring the most common traumatic injuries sustained during women's club rugby. I am surveying both current and past players to determine whether there is any link between position, years played, level of play, etc that impact the likelihood of someone suffering various types of injuries. It would be really helpful to me and my research if you would fill out the survey, whose link I have included in this email. It will take 5-10 minutes, depending on the
depth of your responses. All responses are completely anonymous.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6axXQomV0CTw1QZrErG80A_3d_3d

Please pass this survey along to other club rugby players or to your respective teams.

Thank you for your time and help,

Jamie Burke - Berkeley All-Blues
University of New Hampshire
Department of Education

Rugby Magazine - Issue 12

Articles & Pictures Featuring:

Quarter-final reviews, Your guide to the Semi-Finals, Report from Marseilles
& Win the boots the pros wear!!


USA Rugby Coaching Clinic @ Jesuit College Prep in Dallas

The Texas Rugby Union (TRU) will pay the following re-imbursement for Early Registrants only. If you attend L1 at this clinic, then the L2 and L3 re-imbursements will be available once you complete those courses.

$30 for L1 $60 for L2 $90 for L3

An additional $40 re-imbursement is also available for those who take the TRU Referee Course which will have a nominal fee which will also be re-imbursable after the person has refereed 5 games.

*Individuals that do go on to Coach club can apply to the TRU for a Grant at some point later in time for the balance of the costs

Jesuit College Preparatory and the Dallas Rugby Football Club will be hosting the USA Coaching Development Program clinics that take the place of the previous coaching levels I, II, and III. The programs are Introducing Rugby and Developing Rugby Skills and are scheduled for Saturday Nov. 3 and Sunday Nov. 4, 2007 at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, TX

Register early and only pay $125 for registration:
Early Registration – 3 Fridays or 15 days prior to workshop 12 pm MT- $125
Registration - Ends 2 Fridays or 8 days prior to workshop 12pm MT - $175
Late registration - Ends 1 Friday or 1 day prior to workshop at 12pm MT - $225
Walk-In Registration – Day of workshop and strongly discouraged - $300

Registration is done online through USA Rugby at http://usarugby.learn.com. Once online at the USA site find the Coaches' Portal for registration.

Please sign up early as the clinics will be cancelled if there is not satisfactory attendance. Please take advantage of the local clinic and avoid long distance and travel costs at other locales.

If there are any questions, please email to amattacchione@jesuitcp.org or texasprop@hotmail.com for information or assistance.

Yours in Rugby,
Anthony Mattacchione
Assistant Director, Community Service & Social Justice Program
Varsity Rugby Coach / P.E. Instructor
Jesuit College Preparatory School
12345 Inwood Road
Dallas, Texas 75244-8094
http://www.jesuitcp.org/athletics/rugbynew/rugbymain.htm