Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

from American Rugby News:

ESPNU is scheduled to broadcast a highlights show of the college playoffs Tuesday, May 12 at 7pm EDT.

The highlights package will be an hour long show covering the full series of both men's and women's Divisions I and II championships.

The show will feature highlights of BYU's thrilling victory over Cal in the men’s DI national championship game.

ESPNU will also replay the BYU v Utah National Guard Game of the Week, which was played on March 27 prior to the highlights show at 5pm EDT.

The Women’s Division I Championship match will be show in its entirety on ESPNU on Wednesday, May 20 at 7 p.m. (ET) and the Men’s Division I Championship will be shown at 9 p.m. (ET).

Check your local guide for channel and provider availability of ESPNU as air times are subject to change.

They are here!!! YSC Rugby Stickers have just arrived on my doorstep.

You can get one HOTTTTT off the presses for only $3...in these unstable times, you can afford to give yourself a gift for just $3 bucks! This includes shipping!!

I am also ordering YSC Tshirts from a local place in Austin so they will be much cheaper than 20 bucks...so stay tuned!

**If you do not have a Paypal account you can still pay with a debit/credit card securely. Click on the Buy Now button on this page and then go down to "Don't have a Paypal account" and click continue.

Happy Monday all! Guess what? It is time for summer fun! This means sunshine, 7s rugby and cold beverages! Today I have a few videos from events that the Satiated Beavers (Austin team) attended. They are from last year and are from the Dallas Tournament and the Austin Bloodfest Tournament. All the videos but one are in sexy HD...so make sure to watch them!

For information on the 2009 Dallas Tournament, go here. Info on the Bloodfest tournament is here.

Beavers (Austin) vs Little Rock - Dallas 7s Rugby 2008 from Scrumhalf Connection on Vimeo.

Beavers (Austin) vs Little Rock - Dallas 7s Rugby 2008

These videos are from last year but I wanted to get all the videos in the same place. Great games ladies!

Beavers (Austin) vs Phatties (A&M) - Austin Bloodfest Final 2008 from Scrumhalf Connection on Vimeo.

Beavers (Austin) vs Phatties (A&M) - Austin Bloodfest Final 2008

These videos are from last year but I wanted to get all the videos in the same place. The quality on this one is not the best but I don't have the original files...sad!

Little Rock vs Phatties (A&M) - Dallas 7s 2008 from Scrumhalf Connection on Vimeo.

Little Rock vs Phatties (A&M) - Dallas 7s 2008

These videos are from last year but I wanted to get all the videos in the same place. Great games ladies!

Beavers (Austin) vs Houston - Dallas 7s 2008 from Scrumhalf Connection on Vimeo.

Beavers (Austin) vs Houston - Dallas 7s 2008

These videos are from last year but I wanted to get all the videos in the same place. Great games ladies!

Other Rugby Video Mondays:
5/4/2009: More U23 LAU Videos from March 2009
4/20/2009: ERRFU A vs Texas & ERFFU B vs Texas
4/13/2009: Austin Valkyries vs DC Furies & Houston
4/6/2009: Glendale vs Berkeley Video from Infinity Park

Please keep sending me your favorite videos: scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com! Make sure to check out my Vimeo Channel or my Youtube channel...and you can subscribe to both if you like, but keep in mind that all new videos will be on Vimeo only as they are recorded in High Definition.

Its that time again...time to clean up the links on the right side of this blog. I have visited all the links and have removed any blogs or websites that are not linking to me. Fair is fair in the world of link love...if I removed you on accident or you would like to be added email me at scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com.

**This list is in alphabetical order...BOLD entries are official Partners of YSC!

Its that time of year again, time for 7s tournaments galore! This year Scrumhalf Connection is working with the Dallas men's team to co-host Dallas 7s Lonestar Classic.

When: June 6, 2009
What: 7s Tournament, DEBUTANTE BALL and West Women's All-Star 7s Tryouts
Entry Fee: Men’s entry fees are $250 and Women's are $150. There is $25 discount for multiple teams and a $25 discount if payment is received prior to May 22, 2009.
Payment: Checks can be made out to Dallas RFC and sent to Dallas Rugby, 5355 McCommas Dr. Dallas, TX 75214

Last year we had 8 women's teams and we are hoping to have 12 teams this year!

WEST WOMEN'S ALL-STAR TRYOUTS - Tryouts for the 2009 West 7’s team will be at the tournament as well. The selection process will include your participation in the Lone Star Classic 7’s tournament on Saturday and fitness testing and camp on Sunday. Twenty one players will be selected based on tournament play on Saturday for the selection camp on Sunday. If you do not have a team to play with on Saturday, contact us and we will assist you in finding a team. Please contact Laura Hertel with your interest in participating in West 7’s. She will provide you with additional details.

DEBUTANTE BALL - Last year we had over 50 women participate in the ball, it was dresses galore! Not sure what a Debutante Ball is, check out the write-up, videos and pictures from last year!

PUB CRAWL - As usual, Dallas will be having a pub crawl/block party and we have been told this is reason enough to attend this tournament...

The Lone Star Classic is proud to have been named a TOLA Championship Series qualifier (go to http://www.tola7s-rugby.com/ for more information). This year for the first time the Women will also have a TOLA series, check out this blog post for more info!

Please contact Filip Keuppens (Men's) or Wendy Young (Women's) with questions or for registration.

Cheers,
Wendy & Fil

CONFIRMED Women's Teams as of May 5, 2009
Satiated Beavers (Austin)
Mockingbirds Traveling Side
St. Louis Sabres/Kansas City
Oklahoma
Freemartins (University of Texas) (confirmed May 7, 2009)
Glendale (confirmed May 9, 2009)
Dallas (confirmed May 9, 2009)
Arkansas (confirmed May 22, 2009)
Little Rock (confirmed May 25, 2009)
Phatties (Texas A&M) (confirmed May 25, 2009)

*maybes are:
Halfmoons
Houston
Baton Rouge

UPDATE (6/4/2009): Schedule/Pools were just posted here.

**For a comprehensive list of 2009 Rugby 15s & 7s Tournaments, click here!!
**For results, videos and pictures of last years tournament, click here!!

Scrumhalf Connection is proud to present the 1st TOLA Rugby 7s Series Women's Division in conjunction with the existing TOLA Division for the men. I was approached by the TOLA Rugby 7s Series Board to see if the women wanted to setup a women's division for TOLA and I was glad to see that there was interest in doing it!

TOLA was started last year by a few different men's teams and seemed to really be a great success as the teams played a ton of 7s and had a lot of fun! TOLA stands for Texas, Oklahoma, Lousiana and Arkansas and is comprised of a 7s tournament from each of those states.

Teams Committed to TOLA:
Beavers (Austin)
Oklahoma
Mockingbirds (TX Traveling Team)
Baton Rouge
Dallas (confirmed May 9, 2009)

*If you team would like to participate it is not too late! Email me at scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com.

Schedule

• June 6- Lone Star 7s (Dallas, TX)
  
• June 20- Bloodfest 7s (Austin, TX)
• July 18- Tornado Alley 7s (Norman, OK) OR your team could POSSIBLY go to Corpus Christi 7s (Corpus Christi, TX) (we are working with Corpus on this)
  
• July 25- Sweat 7s (Little Rock, AR)
• August 8 - TOLA Championship - Horseshoe 7s (Shreveport, LA)
  

*we are considering adding other tournaments this year, but we wanted to limit the field for the first year.

Points System

* 6 Points are awarded to the winning team of each TOLA Series Tournament
* 4 points are awarded to the runner up team of each TOLA Series Tournament
* 3 Points are awarded to the third place team of each TOLA Series Tournament
* 2 points are awarded to the fourth place team of each TOLA Series Tournament
* 2 Points are awarded to the winner of any consolation bracket of each TOLA Series Tournament
* 1 bonus point is awarded for each tournament entered. This includes all tournaments (TOLA and Social) registered on the TOLA website
* 2 "at large" points may be awarded at each TOLA Series events by the TOLA board for a team or teams (1 pt. each) that display character that exemplifies the spirit of rugby. Examples of behavior that will be considered for these points include travelling a great distance, entering multiple teams, assisting the tournament hosts in some way, playing up a division to fill a bracket, etc.

FAQ

1) There is no cost to join TOLA, it is free for your team, you will need to pay the tournament entry fees though for each tournament you attend. Hosts of tournaments are asked to donate $100 to TOLA to cover costs of running the division for the women/men.
2) There is no penalty for not showing up to a tournament, make sure to review the Points System because you get points for showing rugby spirit, just attending a tournament etc...this is meant to be fun and competitive, so the points are geared towards that.
3) Club and Colleges will compete in the same bracket unless we get a good number for each and then I will separate them out.

Please let me know if you have any other questions (scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com) and please pass this on to any teams that you think may be interested! Check out the Google Doc for the TOLA 7s Series here for more intense details.

Thanks,
Wendy

**For a comprehensive list of 2009 Rugby 15s & 7s Tournaments, click here!!

from USA Rugby:

BOULDER, Colo. - USA Rugby is proud to announce the 2009 Women’s All-American selections, identifying the best women’s collegiate players in the country.

Every player selected was seen by a panel of three scouts, either live at playoffs or through submitted DVDs. The selection panel was Chris Ryan, Keenya Warner and Sue Whitwell.

“The honor of being an All-American is something that is very special to the collegiate player,” said Nigel Melville, USA Rugby’s CEO. “I want to thank the panel for the work that they have done this year to ensure that the honor is well deserved.”

The selection panel was at the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Playoffs in Sanford, Fla., where they personally observed all the Division 1 and Division 2 games. The panel developed key performance criteria for each position and coaches’ recommendations were used to target players. The players were scored against the criteria and this became the starting point of the selection.

“Last year was a bit difficult setting up the new process,” said panel-member Chris Ryan. “However, this year, we were able to adjust the criteria and it made the selection process much more efficient.”

The quality of collegiate players made some of the selections very difficult, and players that were very close to making one of the teams were named as honorable mentions. The depth of players in some positions meant that some players were named out of position because it was determined that they were more worthy of recognition than other players in that position.

“Just like last year, the selection process was designed to select the best team,” said panel-member Sue Whitwell. “There were players that deserved to be name All-Americans and to accommodate them we had to move them from their primary position.”

USA Rugby has named a first and second team All-American side for Division 1 and a first team for Division 2. While the teams that did well in the play-offs have strong representation, a number of players were selected through DVD submission.

“Every player deserved the opportunity to be seen, even if they did not make the National Playoffs,” said panel-member Keenya Warner. “We would like to see more submissions from the teams outside of the playoffs, because while the better teams were at the Championship events, there are lots of great players whose teams do not make it that far.”

Division I - First Team All-American
Prop Andria Payne Brown University
Prop Lauren Rusert Penn State University
Hooker Kristen Snyder Penn State University
Lock Lauren Daly University of Colorado
Lock Kayla Ellingson Brigham Young University
Flanker Kassie Drey University of Northern Iowa
Flanker Alison Worman Penn State University
Eight Kate Daley Penn State University
Scrum half Annie Zeigler Penn State University
Fly half Sadie Anderson Penn State University
Center Lauren Rosso Penn State University
Center Melissa Smit Stanford University
Wing Erica Cavanaugh University of Virginia
Wing Ono Nseyo Stanford University
Full back Jessica Sexauer United States Military Academy

Division I – Second Team All-American
Prop Susan Dekker Stanford University
Prop Tabitha Schaap Brigham Young University
Hooker Tess Kohanski University of Syracuse
Lock Marianne Sparklin United States Naval Academy
Lock Annalisa Wilde Brown University
Flanker Martha Camacho University of California, Berkeley
Flanker Adria Orr Brown University
Eight Jillion Potter University of New Mexico
Scrum half Elizabeth Trujillo United States Naval Academy
Fly half Deanna McGillivray University of New Mexico
Center Alexandria Hartley Brown University
Center Morgan Rovetti Brigham Young University
Wing Ploipailin Flynn Brown University
Wing Ashley Miller United States Military Academy
Full back Jessica Watkins Stanford University

Division I - Honorable mention
Scrum half Amber Glasrud University of New Mexico
Fly half Kirsten Siebach Brigham Young University
Center Danielle Cicuto United States Naval Academy

Division II – First Team All-American
Prop Lisa Hrunka Shippensburg University
Prop Nicole Muraglia La Salle University
Hooker Jennifer Ward Stonehill College
Lock Meghan McCloud Shippensburg University
Lock Kathryn McCormick University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Flanker Tiffany Gjestvang University of Minnesota, Duluth
Flanker Brittany Myers Shippensburg University
Eight Jen Larrimore East Carolina University
Scrum half Brittany Houston University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Fly half Laura Fischer Stonehill College
Center Jenna Boggi Shippensburg University
Center Jillianne Whitfield University of Michigan
Wing Kimberly Lane University of Delaware
Wing Raina Timmel California State University, Sacramento
Full back Natalie Monroig Shippensburg University

For more information on the Women’s All-American Program, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/womens_selections or contact Alex Williams.

Angie from PWRFC sent this to me promptly in March but it got lost in my inbox and I really apologize. This is a great writeup and it sounds like it was a GREAT clinic. Thanks for sharing Angie!

This past weekend, Philadelphia Women's Rugby Club hosted its 9th Annual Collegiate Clinic. Over 100 high school and college players from the Mid Atlantic territory attended the four hour event which was held at the Temple University Student Pavilion. Sessions included play making, evasive running, defense, kicking skills, and workshops for lineouts, scrummaging, strength training for rugby and agility and speed development.

Lead instructor and PWRFC head coach Lisa Rosen stated "Each year the players in attendance are faster, fitter, and more talented. The Philadelphia Women's Rugby Football Club is proud
to be part of grassroots player development. Each year we are challenged to give a little bit extra to the players and this year was no different. By tailoring the individual breakout sessions to the skills and experience level of the players involved, we were able to send everyone home with new tools and ideas for their continuing rugby development."

Clinic awards were presented to four outstanding players who displayed the qualities that the club strives to operate within Commitment, Intensity, Desire and Development.

The award winners, respectively, were:
Hannah Bennett (Drexel) , Laura Meier (West Chester) , Dana Trunk (Lafayette) and Lura Wasileski (Bucknell).

This is the 9th year PWRFC has offered this free collegiate clinic and will continue to do so with the support of their generous sponsors, Cabot Cheese and O'Neals Irish Pub & Grill. For more information about club and its involvement on and off the field, please visit www.pwrfc.org.




And, for sport with a different kind of edge, why not apply your strategy skills to poker games.

This is some info on a New Zealand Rugby Tour with Jason Liddle (a coach in San Antonio, TX). This looks like a once in a lifetime oppurtunity for U19 players! I wish I could go!

UPDATE: This tour is for anyone who play's rugby any age or gender. I leave May 17th the three week tour is from June 25th to July 19th.

from Jason Liddle:

This is an opportunity for a group of U19 rugby players to join me in New Zealand for either 3 weeks or 6 weeks of intense training, practice sessions, games with local clubs and some Kiwi experiences.

Let’s not forget some FUN too!!!

* 2 practice sessions per week with a local club team.
* A club game each Saturday.
* Coach Jason’s Personal Fitness Training will include gym work, beach training, running, indoor swimming, hiking & biking.
* With my training program you will return home with more developed game skills, more experience, improved fitness and a stronger body.


* Training runs around the beautiful bays of Auckland Harbor and finish at Mission Bay for pizza at the famous Toninos Italian pizzeria.
* Bike riding: Take a ferry trip to Waiheke Island in the Auckland Harbor. Hop on bikes and ride up and down the beautiful and grueling hills of the island. Just the thing for developing powerful strong rugby legs!


* Hiking: Ferry trip to the extinct volcano of Rangitoto Island. Hike the 1000ft high summit and see the spectacular 360 degree views of Auckland city & Hauraki Gulf. Explore the lava caves & pohutukawa forests.


* The Auckland Domain: Training on the fields and run the paths of this 185 acre park, walking distance from your accommodation.
* Run the challenge of 600ft One Tree Hill

* Paintball in Kumeau, North Auckland Adrenaline rushed team building exercise.
* Orewa Beach training. Some Jason designed fitness and team building fun.
* Attending local games & viewing televised games with Jason providing explanation of and instruction on the laws of the game.
* Evenings of Rugby group discussions.


* Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World: The 3” thick Perspex tunnel makes you feel like you’re swimming with the sharks.
* Waiwera Thermal Hot Pools: Soak or swim in the thermal hot pools.
* North Head Hauraki Gulf Marine Park: Enjoy the ferry ride to Davenport and explore the World War II battery gun installations.
* Walk Auckland city’s coast to coast: Walk the 10 miles from the east coast to the west coast enjoying many sights along the way.


* Round trip airfares Texas to New Zealand including travel insurance
* Accommodation: fully serviced shared apartments, including gym, indoor swimming pool located in uptown Auckland.
* Home cooked meals (with hands on instruction for the boys). Breakfast 7 days a week, Lunch & Dinner 5 days a week.
* Tour Jacket.
* Transportation to games, practice and in and around the city.
* Sightseeing costs as detailed in presentation.
* Personal training programs by Coach Jason.
* And importantly adult supervision.


* Tickets to New Zealand All Blacks vs. Australian Wallabies International Test Match.
* Saturday July 18th at Eden Park Stadium


* I was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand where Rugby is our National Sport.
* With 20 years experience as a player and coach and a track record of training both experienced players & those new to the game.
* I am certified by USA Rugby and I.R.B. (International Rugby Board) to coach players aging from U6 to Men’s and Women’s Rugby.
* I have met College and National Coaches and understand what they are looking for in a player.
* During June I will be attending the International Rugby Academy, in Wellington NZ, completing the High Performance Coaching Course, conducted by Former All Blacks and Professional Coaches.
* I will be in Auckland preparing 1 week prior to the boys arrival, for a great start to their New Zealand Rugby Experience.


* 3 week package $3100.00
Dates: 6/25/09 - 7/19/09
7/16/09 - 8/8/09

* 6 week package $4600.00
Dates: 6/25/09 - 8/8/09

* Minimum of 5 players per 3 week period
* Prices may vary depending on numbers of players attending & fluctuations in exchange rates.

Enquiries call or email Coach Jason Liddle - (210) 843 6457