Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

From Ashley Mefford's facebook site.

http://txstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041868&id=29604395
http://txstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041882&id=29604395
http://txstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041887&id=29604395

DIVISION I WOMEN’S COLLEGE PLAYOFFS
Three of the four teams that advanced to last year’s championships return in 2006 as top-seeded Stanford defeated 79-7, Navy beat Air Force (34-10) and Penn State ran a 34-10 score up on Army. With a 39-28 win over 2004 semifinalist Virginia, Ohio State advances to its first-ever Division I Championship semifinal. In the consolation bracket, Cal shutout Central Florida, 51-0, West Chester upended Princeton (18-10), UC Santa Barbara defeated Radcliffe (19-8) and Chico State held off Northern Iowa, 23-13.


DIVISION II WOMEN’S COLLEGE PLAYOFFS
With a 34-12 win over Claremont, Plymouth State advances to its first championship match since the inaugural USA Rugby Division II Women’s College Championship in 2000 and will face first-time finalist UC Santa Cruz, 32-29 winners over Northeastern. In the Pool A consolation round, Claremont beat Georgia 25-7 and Mary Washington blanked Denison, 33-0 in Pool B.

Best of the West Wrapup

COMPETITIVE BRACKET
1st Place Harlequin Olde Girls 29-17
2nd Place Austin Valkryies
3rd Place Boulder Babes
4th Place Oklahoma Roses
5th Place HARC
6th Place Alamo City

SOCIAL BRACKET
1st Place Arkansas Iron Maidens
2nd Place University of Texas
(waiting for the rest of the results)

-Flickr Photos from Amy on Valkryies
-Awaiting tournament photos from Joe...

Great job Valks...it was an excellent tournament, and congrats HOGS on taking 1st at the FIRST Best of the West Tournament.

-Also will be listing the players selected for West 15's All Stars as soon as the official list comes across email.

Hey all,

I will be away for a few days as I am attending training camp for the West in Austin on Friday. Then playing with the Oklahoma Roses in the Best of the West tournament.

Freakin' excited! Good rugby ahead!!

Will post results monday!

Peace.
WE

Fresh off the press!

Thanks to Chris Franz for writing this up so eloquently!

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Kansas City Jazz 48-7 over Scottsdale Blues

It was a warm humid sunny Saturday morning with temperatures in the mid 70s when the Scottsdale Blues kicked off to the Kansas City Jazz at 11:00am at Seymour Field in Kansas City.

The Jazz began the match on the south end of the field with a stiff wind at their backs. The match was very evenly contested for the first 5 to 10 minutes. At or around the 10th minute into the match the Jazz earned a penalty kick at goal for an off side infraction against the Blues. The kick was converted by Jazz winger, Sara Wood, and the Jazz led 3 – 0.

Minutes later the Jazz fullback, Kristina Johnson crashed the middle of the Blues line at the Jazz 35 taking the ball inside the Blues 22. The Jazz forwards pounded the center until flanker, Emily Bock, punched through a try for the Jazz. The conversion kick by Sara Wood was good and the Jazz led 10 – 0 over the Blues.

On the ensuing kickoff the Jazz had a quick ruck and the ball went out to winger Sara Wood who streaked down the left side of the field and managed to avoid all tacklers to score under the posts in the center. Sara made her kick at goal and the Jazz stretched their lead to 17 – 0 over the Blues.

Both teams were plagued with penalties in the first half of the match. The Jazz, having lost the ball in loose play, suffered various mental mistakes all on the same Blues drive down the field. The penalties varied on this drive such as, off sides at the ruck, hands in the ruck, and failing to release. With about 10 minutes left in the first half Blues prop, Crissy Paul drug several Jazz players into the try zone and scored the Blues only try of the day. Meghan O’Donnell kicked the conversion and the Blues were on the board. Blues 7 – Jazz 17.

Again, penalties beleaguered the Blues, and flanker Emily Bock on a ‘tap and go’ from a penalty plowed through the Blues defense to score again for the Jazz. The lead was now Jazz 24 – Blues 7. This remained the score through the first half.

In the second half the Jazz kicked off to the Blues and Jazz backs moved almost at will with the ball. A beautiful break came from Sara Wood who dished to Jen Nelson to bring the ball inside the 10 meter line. The Jazz forwards took over from there and flanker Emily Bock again emerged from the pile to score easily out flanking the Blues defenders. Sara Wood kicked the conversion and the Jazz led 31 to the Blues 7.

Melissa McKibben broke loose on an open field run and scored under the posts to stretch the Jazz lead to 38 to 7 with the conversion kick coming from Sara Wood.

The Jazz forwards were tough throughout the match but their aggressive hard charging style of play took its toll in the last 15 minutes of the match. The Jazz forwards pounded the ball in for a try from just inside the 15 meter line. Flanker, Sonia Rios, dove in for the try but the conversion kick by Sara Wood was missed and the Jazz extended their lead 43 – Blues 7.

The final try of the day was scored by the Jazz 8-man, Katie Lofton. Lofton broke free and with elusive running she notched the final score for the Jazz bringing the total score to Jazz 48 – Blues 7.

The Lady Blues never gave up in the match and are great competitors on and off the pitch. The West maintains their 3 seeds into the National Championship Round of 16 playoffs in October.

Respectfully submitted by, Christine Franz, Heart of America Treasurer and Match Official.

I added the Baton Rouge Barbarians under Texas Clubside teams today. Not sure if you are club, but it didn't sound like you were collegiate.

Send me some more details! Here is the email I recieved:

Dear Wendy,

Hi, thanks for sending that website address out! I am the contact for the newest women's club side team in
the west, the Baton Rouge Barbarians Women's Team. We are from Louisiana, but our brother team is part of
the TRU and so we have followed their lead.

We are on the way to getting a website, and it would be fantastic if we could be added to the right side of
the website with the club lists :)

Please let me know what information I need to send you.

Thanks!
Marcel Gawronski
Baton Rouge Women's Rugby

The Best of the West tournament is in Austin, TX this weekend....I am very excited!! I have recieved many phone calls, emails etc and am LOVIN' the organization. Makes me want to make our tournaments even better!

Here are the pools and the teams attending:
Pool 1
Austin Valkryies
Colorado Black Ice
Oklahoma Roses

Pool 2
Olde Girls
Boulder Babes
Alamo City

Pool 3
HARC/Rice/Galveston
Texas Women's University
Baton Rouge

Pool 4
NW Arkansas Iron Maidens
University of Texas
Texas State

Rugby starts at 10am on April 22, 2006 and ends later Sunday afternoon. The championship games will start at 9am on Sunday April 23, 2006.

Some notes from Jen Joyce:

• Don't forget that there's also a costume contest for the Saturday social! Trophy goes to best costumed team!
  
• Be sure to have AT LEAST one rep available for 4:00 pm Saturday West Meeting! This is a meeting that will change rugby for the next few years, so be there or be square!
  

Thought this was pretty interesting...found via usar-press@usarugby.org

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USARFU
Referees and Laws Committee
Laws sub-committee
BOULDER, Colo.- Less than three years ago the ruling copied below was circulated to all Referees Societies. Recent events have made it clear that this issue needs to be circulated again, with some amplification.

-----------------------------------Original Ruling----------------------------

RULING ON USE OF RED AND YELLOW CARDS
(June 2003)

Question:
Referees occasionally have to manage the behavior of people on the sidelines such as coaches and reserve players. Should the referee display yellow (warning) or red (expulsion) cards when acting to control unacceptable behavior?

Ruling:
The use of red and yellow cards is carefully and clearly laid out in Law 10. Cards are to be used when cautioning or sending off a player. That?s it. They are not to be used as a ?crowd control? tool. When a card is shown, that is a statement that a player has contravened Law 10 and that certain sanctions will be applied. Specifically, that there will be a penalty (unless a penalty try has been awarded or advantage has been played and gained) and that the sanctioned team will be a player short for either ten minutes or the remainder of the match.

What is the harm in using cards outside the specifications of the Laws? When a card is shown, there is an expectation by all, both participants and observers,that the specified sanctions will be applied. That would not be the case if cards were used for the purpose of managing non-participant behavior. The result would be a loss of confidence in the referee on that particular day, and a general degradation for all referees.

Misconduct by non-participants is addressed in the USA Guidelines and in the Disciplinary Procedures, as well as in Territorial and Local Union By-Laws. Use of Red and Yellow cards are not part of that process.

Peter Watson
Chair, USARRA Law Committee

---------------------------End of original Ruling-----------------------------

The Disciplinary Committees of Local Area Unions, Territorial Unions, USARFU and the iRB, depending on which body is responsible for the match or the area in which the incident occurred, take disciplinary actions for Foul Play in a game, and adjudicate on incidents that occur outside of a match. Information regarding an incident reaches the DC via an incident report, a citing or a referee?s red/yellow card report.

Further questions have been asked about this process:

Question:
What is the difference between a carding and a citing?
Answer:
? A card is issued by the referee as a visible symbol of the punitive action he/she is taking (caution or send-off).
? A citing is a report to a disciplinary body by an observer of a match (live or video) on an incident, which is not observed by the referee.
? The third possible action is a simple report of misconduct, which can be regarding actions by a non-player during a match, or some sort of unpleasantness apart from that happening in a game. (e.g. at the post-match
function, or in a chance meeting days later).

Question:
Can a non-participant be carded?
Answer:
No. See the original Ruling.

Question:
What is the time frame or geographical boundary within which anyone can be carded or cited?
Answer:
Both carding (caution or send-off) and citing are with reference to actions that took place during a match. It is for the Disciplinary Committee to decide what parameters they will place on reports detailing misconduct that took place outside of a game.

Question:
Who can cite?
Answer:
That is for the Disciplinary Committee or the Union to decide. USARFU Disciplinary Policies and Procedures specify who can submit a citing.

Question:
Who can submit a report on misconduct outside of a game?
Answer:
Any interested party.

Question:
Are two cautions (yellow cards) in separate matches automatically equal to a send-off (red card) in the second match?
Answer:
No. From the referee's perspective, each match is a separate event. Tournaments may have rules about multiple cards, and Unions may have rules that require Disciplinary review for some number of accumulated yellows, but it is not a referee issue.