Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

from USA Rugby:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This past weekend, the Women’s National Team met in Washington, D.C. in preparation for the Nations Cup Tournament to take place in England on August 19-26.

The Eagles trained at two locations during the weekend camp: the Exiles pitch in Rockville, MD and Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C.

“Many thanks are owed to Dan Soso (Exiles) and Lee Kelly (Gonzaga High School) for securing facilities for the team to use during the camp. Both Dan and Lee were incredibly generous,” said WNT Head Coach Kathy Flores.

The Eagle squad was joined by several local tight five players from the Furies and Philadelphia teams to fill in for the reserves that had been invited to participate in the Developmental Can-Am event in Toronto, Canada.

“In a discussion with Coach Fugate, it was decided the reserves for the camp should have the opportunity to play internationally as opposed to training with the Eagle squad,” said Coach Flores.

Along with the regular WNT staff, Peter Baggetta, USA Defensive Coach, and Tom Lyons, USA National Panel referee, helped prepare the team for what will mark the WNT’s first opportunity to compete in nearly eight months.

Training for two and a half days in 100 degree temperatures, the team revisited their set piece work, defensive organization and communication, as well as their offensive strategy with regard to the new Experimental Law Variations.

“I believe the team is much fitter than our training in April and despite the weather, retained their focus for the amount of work we were trying to accomplish over the weekend. We are certainly at a disadvantage having to play under the new laws without having trialed them here, but Tom was an invaluable resource for us – not only in his discussions of the laws but in his management during our scrimmage periods,” said Coach Flores.

The squad will arrive in England on August 17 and play the England National Team in their first match two days later. The USA will take on England again on July 22 and then will take on the Canadian National Team on July 26.

The players selected for the Nation’s Cup continue the four-year evolution toward building a squad that can compete successfully in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010. Last December’s tour to England was the first rung on the ladder, giving valuable experience to a squad with 19 new caps. The Nation’s Cup roster represents added maturity and is closer to the core group of players that will move forward to the next World Cup two years from now.

“Since we met in December, England has played and won the Six Nations Tournament. While we anticipate a stronger showing this time around, we recognize that we can not yet match their level of experience or amount of time together,” said Flores. “Our goal for the Nations Cup is to improve our execution of set pieces, play aggressive defense and retain possession of the ball in order to open up some opportunities to attack. This event represents a valuable step towards preparing our players for the next World Cup,”

For more information on the Women’s National Team and their upcoming events, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/women_eagles

Click here for the team selected to head to the Nation's Cup in England.

A new segment on Your Scrumhalf Connection today! This will not be a weekly post like Rugby Video Monday, but will be posted when YOU send me something! The idea here is What do you WANT for rugby?

I don't care if the idea is tangible, ie:

WANTED: Rugby Coach

Or if you want something unreachable, ie:

WANTED: Jumbo Jet to go to Saranac Tournament

Get imaginative and send your WANTs to me at yourscrumhalfconnection@gmail.com. In reality, these posts will be to help each other find rugby teams, coaches etc, but feel free to send me some fun ideas as well!

The first ever WANTED: is below!

WANTED: Rugby Coach in Central NY

I'm a pretty avid reader of your blog, and also the one in the red dress in the picture you used to advertise the debutante ball (coincidentally enough, it also showed up in the latest edition of the alumni review)

I was just wondering if the scrumhalf connection had any connections in central NY. We had a coach lined up, but she backed out on us. What are the chances you know any one in the Syracuse/Utica area that wants to coach a pretty good college rugby team?

thanks,
Lesley

Please email me at yourscrumhalfconnection@gmail.com if you have a coach tip for Lesley or leave a tip in the comments!

Sunday's Results:
Northeast - 1st Place
West - 2nd Place
South - 3rd Place (*thanks for the correction in the comments)
Mid Atlantic - 4th Place
Midwest - 5th Place
Pacific Coast - 6th Place
Mid Atlantic II - 7th place
U23 Developmental - 8th Place

Saturday's Quarterfinals:
MARFU v MARFU II
Pacific Coast v Northeast
Midwest v South
West v U23s

From Goff (subscription required):
July 20, 2008, St. Charles, Ill. - The Northeast women's 7s team overcame some difficulties on Saturday to win the two-day territorial invitational Sunday.

Led by an MVP performance by Alison Price, who was the MVP of the National All-Star Championships, the Northeast rebounded from a surprise loss to the West to make the final and defeat those self-same Mustangs 7-5 in the final.

In other action the South defeated the Mid-Atlantic for 3rd, MIdwest defeated Pacific Coast for 6th, and MARFU II beat the U23 developmental team for 7th.

USA 7s head coach Julie McCoy was overall pleased with what she saw, saying that almost all the games were very competitive - scored like 12-5 generally dominating the board.

McCoy worked hard to ensure some parity, enforcing a rule that if you live in a particular territory, you have to play for that territory (players have been known to switch territories just for all-star play). In addition, she augmented team depth with U23 players - 17 players tried out for that team, 12 were picked, and the remaining five were assigned to teams that needed extra. Pacific Coast took three.

"There's a lot of barriers to playing 7s this summer," said McCoy. "We have the split XVs season for a lot of players, we have players involved with the XVs national team. We have the economy - air fares just are more expensive. So it's tough. But this is a World Cup year, and the players have really tried. We're trying to find solutions, look for team sponsors, things like that, to help out."

West 7s Team
Claire Gregorich Glendale
Fanny Guiot Austin
Angi Hurt Kansas City
Ellie Karvoski Little Rock
Kim Klahn Glendale
Tess Miller Glendale
Jenn Nelson Kansas City
Tara McCarthy Glendale
Melissa Mckibben Kansas City
Donna Thomas Little Rock
Katie Thoreson Glendale
Heidi Whitman Austin

Coaches: Laura Hertel & Julie Lehman

South 7s Team
Nicole Belkin – Orlando
Claudia Cline – At Large
Brittany Fabbri – University of Florida
Casey Fields - Orlando
Carly Harrington - Atlanta
Lori Light - Orlando
Pat Neder - Atlanta
Lindsey Stephenson - Orlando
Sue Uchneat – Clemson

Coach: Mike May

Random Scores (Saturday):
West 12 Northeast 5
West 12 South 0
West 5 MARFU 12

Random Scores (Sunday):
West 36 Under 23's 0
West 12 South 7
West 5 Northeast 7

The next stop for most of these teams will be 7s ITTs to be held in Pittsburgh, PA, Aug 23-25.

For a comprehensive list with results etc, of 2008 7's Tournaments, go here.

Welcome to another Monday! Ok, sorry its Tuesday, but it totally slipped my mind yesterday to do this! Thanks to Jenna for sending in the video this week! Great video of New York Rugby Club's U19 Program on Good Morning America (ABC).

Marysol Castro, former NYRC player and current ABC correspondent, aired her piece on our U19 girls this Sunday, June 29. - Click HERE for the full story!

And thank you Sabrina Asch for recording the girls up in lights in Time Square!!
The NYRC U19 girls placed 3rd in the Northeast Regional Championships this year, which was only the second year of their existence as a team! Additionally, 12 of 13 senior girls are all on track to graduate and attend college this fall. (The 13th girl is working towards a January start date in college.)

Other Rugby Video Mondays:
7/14/2008: Letchworth Girls' Rugby
7/7/2008: USA U20 WNT vs South Africa
6/30/2008: New York vs Chicago Northshore scrum try by New York.
6/23/2008: USA Rugby NCAA Iniative
6/17/2008: USA Rugby Youth Promotional Trailer
6/9/2008: West All Star Senior Rugby Fun in the Pool!
6/2/2008: Rugby is Beauty

Please keep sending me videos to yourscrumhalfconnection@gmail.com!

USA A Women Fall Short in Can-Am Match Versus Ontario Selects
from USA Rugby:

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO. – After trailing by a narrow 10-6 deficit at the half, the USA A Women’s Team fell to the Ontario Selects in the second annual Can-Am meeting today at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario.

The USA was the first to strike and shot ahead to an early 6-0 lead, propelled by the accurate boot of team vice captain Hannah Stolba (Minnesota Valkyries), who successfully kicked two penalties before 13 minutes had elapsed.

However, before the half Ontario launched its comeback, starting with a penalty kick at 18 minutes and a long breakaway try and conversion just before the break to place the tally at 10-6 in the Canadian side’s favor before the teams switched sides.

Following the break, Ontario looked to extend its lead over the USA A team, catching another quick break at seven minutes in and completing the conversion to go up 17-6.

Before full time had elapsed, the strong Canadian side would notch another two tries that went unanswered until the game’s 76th minute when the USA’s Lisa Dombroski (Philadelphia) broke through for a try. With a missed conversion attempt from Stolba, the scoreline remained 27-11 at the end.

“The reason we come to Canada each year is to test and develop our young players, and this was the first time playing out of the country for at least nine out of 19 of them,” USA A Women’s Coach Barb Fugate said. “Ontario did well and punished us for our lapses, as they should, but you could literally see our progress on the field as the time elapsed – the last 15 minutes showcased our best performance throughout the game.”

“The athletes were on a steep learning curve and overall, these players have shown definite potential for future National Team opportunities.”

For more information on the USA A Women’s Team, please contact National Teams Administrator Yvonne Parkhurst.

USA A Women vs. Ontario Selects
15 Katie Dowty, Beantown
14 Kristy Lear, Minnesota Valkyries
13 Christina Killourhy, Cornell
12 Kristin Bonomo, Beantown
11 Lisa Dombroski, Philadelphia
10 Hannah Stolba (vice captain), Minnesota Valkyries
9 Alexis Volen, UC - San Diego
1 Katy Black, West Chester University
2 Tess Kohanski, At Large
3 Kristin Aliberto, Philadelphia
4 Jenny Menke, Minnesota Valkyries
5 Anna Brown, Twin Cities Amazons
6 Kelly McMahon (captain), New York
7 Victoria Folayan, Berkeley All Blues
8 Kate Daley, Penn State

Replacements:
16 Angie Marfisi, Philadelphia (repl. Daly)
17 Katherine Weber, Iowa State (repl. Black)
18 Katie McCormick, Univ. of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (repl. Menke)
19 Katie Schafer, Univ. of Colorado – Boulder (repl. Lear)

USA 11
Tries: Dombroski
Penalty kicks: Stolba - 2

Thanks to Britni Buffalino for emailing this in, I have seen it pop up over the web a few times, great use of the Ruckosphere Britni!

La Salle Women’s Rugby Team Starts Off a Great Year With a Nike Grant of $20,000

(Philadelphia, PA) The 2008 fall Rugby season has yet to start and La Salle University’s Women’s Rugby team is already having one of their best seasons ever.

On July 3, the team was notified that they had received a grant for $20,000 toward Nike merchandise from the Let Me Play foundation, a global movement by Nike that caters specifically to female projects that promote “human potential through sport.” A freshman member of the team saw this opportunity online during the spring semester, and jumped on it right away.

“We fit the description perfectly,” said junior Maria Muscara. “Our team does tons of community service opportunities, and is always looking to recruit new teammates who have never played rugby before. This opportunity was ideal.”

Muscara emailed the team about the opportunity, and her teammates sent back essays for her to compile, explaining why they should receive the grant. Let Me Play is “dedicated to inspiring, engaging, and supporting women’s sports,” and so is La Salle Women’s Rugby.

"This grant will not only provide us with additional money for uniforms and equipment, but it will allow us to be recognized by the University and potential players as an up-and-coming team that is committed to the sport and their community,” says senior Captain and Rugby Union President, Britni Buffalino.

In the past, the team, consisting of around 25 undergraduates of all majors, have attended neighborhood clean ups with local elementary schools, formed a team of walkers for AIDS Walk Philly, and has even taken time out during finals week to wrap gifts at Christmas time at St. Jude’s hospital in Center City. The women have not limited their service just to Philadelphia, however. Nine of the women volunteered on service trips organized through the University last year – seven to Kentucky and two to Mexico.

The team also has a solid mission statement, which describes the “vision” of La Salle Women’s Rugby: “La Salle Women's Rugby is a community of young women of varying athletic skills and commitment levels: every single member of the club has a purpose and a home on this club. As such, every player who commits to this team will be treated as an integral element to building a fun, rewarding, and highly successful program.”

La Salle Women’s Rugby has been nothing but successful since their start in 2002. Starting in Division IV in 2002, through the years the women have moved up to Division III, and finally secured their spot in Division II last fall. Although only a club sport, the determination and commitment on the team is noticed throughout the University. For more information on La Salle Women’s Rugby, head to www.lasallewomensrugby.org.

GREAT video from the IRB explaining the ELVs in even greater detail. I have posted a few videos and or other posts about the ELVs, but this video s the best so far. Beware it is 17 minutes long, but is the best one if you really want to understand the law changes.

Still nervous about the implementation in August 2009, our first game and league match will be under the new laws!

The 23rd Annual Boston Women RFC’s Cape Cod 7s tournament will be held on Saturday, July 19, in Eastham, MA. In my opinion this is one of the best 7s tournaments in the nation! It is very well organized, great themes, FUN and great teams from all across the USA come to play! This years theme is Rock Stars!!

Teams

Competitive (Heavy Metal)
Pink Dresses
BWRFC Red
Providence A
Little Debbies
Worcester Shamrocks
North Shore
Ormstown Saracens
San Diego Surfers

Social Teams (Classic Rock)
Beantown Scrubs I
BWRFC Blue
Beantown Scrubs II
Portland
Providence B
Middlesex
Northeastern Alumni
Hartford
Satiated Beavers
Brooklyn Blues
Falcons Rugby Social
Ziggy Springfield
Sinead O'Renellion
Charles River
Motley Crue

Collegiate Teams (Punk Rock)
Northeastern Red
Falcons Rugby
BU
Northeastern Black
UCONN
BC
Williams
Holy Cross

Schedule

Field 1
9:00 AM Pink Dresses v Providence A
9:20 AM BWRFC Red v Little Debbies
9:40 AM Ormstown Saracens v Worcester Shamrocks
10:20 AM Little Debbies v North Shore
10:40 AM Pink Dresses v Worcester Shamrocks
11:00 AM San Diego Surfers v BWRFC Red
11:40 AM Ormstown Saracens v Providence A
12:00 PM North Shore v San Diego Surfers
1:40 PM Classic Rock Consolation Game 1 (10 vs. 15)
2:00 PM HM 1 vs. HM 8 (HM Game 1)
2:20 PM HM 2 vs. HM 7 (HM Game 2)
2:40 PM HM 3 vs. HM 6 (HM Game 3)
3:00 PM HM 4 vs. HM 5 (HM Game 4)
3:20 PM HM Semi-Final Game (WG2 vs. WG3)
3:40 PM HM Semi-Final Game (WG1 vs. WG4)
4:20 PM Classic Rock Consolation Final (G5 vs. G6)
4:40 PM Punk Rock Final (10 Minute Halves)
5:10 PM Classic Rock Final (10 Minute Halves)
5:30 PM Heavy Metal Final (10 Minute Halves)

Field 2
9:00 AM BWRFC Blue (2) v Northeastern Alumni (7)
9:20 AM Middlesex (6) v Falcons Rugby Social (11)
9:40 AM Northeastern Alumni (7) v Ziggy Springfield (12)
10:20 AM Providence B (5) v Brooklyn Blues (10)
10:40 AM Beantown Scrubs I (1) v Falcons Rugby Social (11)
11:00 AM Providence B (5) v Motley Crue (15)
11:40 AM Beantown Scrubs I (1) v Middlesex (6)
12:00 PM BWRFC Blue (2) v Ziggy Springfield (12)
1:40 PM Classic Rock Consolation Game 2 (11 vs. 14)
2:00 PM Classic Rock 1 vs. Classic Rock 8 (CR Game 1)
2:20 PM Classic Rock 2 vs. Classic Rock 7 (CR Game 2)
2:40 PM Classic Rock 3 vs. Classic Rock 6 (CR Game 3)
3:00 PM Clasic Rock 4 vs. Classic Rock 5 (CR Game 4)
3:20 PM Classic Rocl Semi-Final Game (G2 vs. G3)
3:40 PM Classic Rock Semi-Final Game (G1 vs. G4)

Field 3
9:00 AM Beantown Scrubs II (3) v Sinead O'Renellion (13)
9:20 AM Portland (4) v Satiated Beavers (9)
9:40 AM Beantown Scrubs II (3) v Hartford (8)
10:20 AM Satiated Beavers (9) v Charles River (14)
10:40 AM Hartford (8) v Sinead O'Renellion (13)
11:00 AM Portland (4) v Charles River (14)
11:40 AM Brooklyn Blues (10) v Motley Crue (15)
1:40 PM Classic Rock Consolation Game 3 (12 vs. 13)
2:00 PM Punk Rock 1 vs. Punk Rock 8 (PR Game 1)
2:20 PM Punk Rock 2 vs. Punk Rock 7 (PR Game 2)
2:40 PM Punk Rock 3 vs. Punk Rock 6 (PR Game 3)
3:00 PM Punk Rock 4 vs. Punk Rock 5 (PR Game 4)
3:20 PM Punk Rock Semi-Final Game (G2 vs. G3)
3:40 PM Punk Rock Semi-Final Game (G1 vs. G4)

Field 4
9:00 AM Northeastern Black v Holy Cross
9:20 AM Northeastern Red v UCONN
9:40 AM BU v Williams
10:20 AM Falcons Rugby v BC
10:40 AM Northeastern Red v Williams
11:00 AM Falcons Rugby v Holy Cross
11:40 AM BU v UCONN
12:00 PM Northeastern Black v BC
2:20 PM Classic Rock Consolation Semi-Final Game 4 (9 vs. G3)
2:40 PM Classic Rock Consolation Semi-Final Game 5 (G1 vs. G2)

Congratulations to last year’s division champions:
Club Competitive Winner: NOVA
Club Social Winner: Dirty Thirties
Collegiate Winner: Northeastern University
Skit Competition Winner: Satiated Beavers for “Beaver Call” - the best yet!

If you are attending, feel free to send leave scores in the comments or send me an email, I will be in Corpus Christi for 7s by the Sea and will try to have an update on who won etc by next week.

For a comprehensive list with results etc, of 2008 7's Tournaments, go here.

This video is reposted from Rugbydump Videos, LOVE this bit and how the referee takes control of the two upset players. Great example!

Dialogue from Rugbydump Videos as well:
This amusing and impressive clip is from earlier in the Guinness Premiership season, and is basically a nice example of the referee taking complete control of matters, and speaking to two of the hardest men in rugby as if they're disobedient little children.

Barnes, who notoriously took a lot of criticism after his handling of the 2007 World Cup Quarter Final between New Zealand and France, has done well to put that behind him and move on.

In this clip he takes command brilliantly after there's a dispute over the ruling of the try, as the touch judge made an error, causing confusion all round.

Martin Corry and Steve Borthwick, Leicester and Bath captains respectively, start a shouting match about it, so we see Barnes put them in their place in no uncertain terms.

It's a great piece of officiating and a nice example of how a young ref can assert his authority in a game, making sure that he doesn't take any nonsense from anyone.

It's also really funny to see how he shuts down Corry and Borthwick, making them look like they're getting a telling off from their junior school principal.

Did some major clean-up on my sidebar links...if you were there before and you aren't there now...you didn't give me link love!

All you need to do is add a link to your site and then email me, I will put you back in my LOVED links!

Lets hear it for LINK LOVE!

If you were never listed and wanted to be, simply send me an email!

OH and please change my link from http://westrugby.blogspot.com to http://yourscrumhalfconnection.com! It's launched and ready to go!

UPDATES:

Added Swaffham Girls to the links section, thanks for the Link LOVE!
Added Flux to the links section, thanks for the Link LOVE!
Added Hail Pelicus to the links section, thanks for the Link LOVE!
Added Katie's Mindless CrossFit Ramblings to the links section, thanks for the Link LOVE!
Added Rugbydump Videos to the links section, thanks for the Link LOVE!