Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

Ohhh yes we went camping!!! It was amazing!!!

Meg, Shalay, Heidi, Shannon, Dudley, Jake and I went up early to start the celebration on Thursday night. We camped at Lake Bastrop South Shore...it was BEAUTIFUL.

The picture to the right is about 6pm, after we had handily setup camp in about 45 minutes. At this point I was drinking wine and beer...and probably had already had WAY to much to drink. (Those that received late night phone calls...was it even 9pm yet?...can attest.) Not to brag, but Shannon and I finished off an 18 pack ourselves, we can be dangerous ruggers!

So we got camp all setup in this amazing amazing spot...and then the park host came around and told us it was a 50amp spot reserved for RV campers. He said it was cool if we stayed the night but we would have to choose another spot the next morning. Bummer because the site was RIGHT on the water and was super chill.

Sleeping that night in my tent with Jake was heaven! It was perfect weather with just a sheet for a covering and the sounds of nature surrounding us. We fell asleep adjacent to the water (my tent was literally 3 feet from the shore) and awoke to the many little duckies fishing for their breakfast. It was so very liberating.

So Friday morning we cooked up yummy eggs, bacon and potatoes and started the journey to choose a camp site. On the way to the administrative office we looked at all the sites and had a couple picked out in our minds, the perfect one we wanted was RESERVED...when it was supposed to be first-come-first-serve basis. Whatever though!

So we picked out 3 campsites (we had over 10 ruggers coming later that night!!!) and setup camp again. Shannon and I found the perfect spot for our tents away from the fire and very secluded. I jokingly called it the "love bungalow" but as everyone knows we are two single gals with no one to share the love with....but I insisted on calling it that anyways!

Setting up camp took awhile because we decided to carry our tents form campsite to campsite instead of breaking them down and packing them up. So we literally picked up all the tents and carried them down the road...we are smart!

Later that evening around 4pm we started getting a little antsy because we knew we had 10 more people coming to camp with us. They finally started showing up around 6pm. So we threw the firewood on and starting making dinner. I was in charge of dinner and had decided to do HOBO Dinners as they are my favorite meal EVER!

HOBO Dinners are so freakin' easy and YUMMY. Basically you get a bunch of tin foil and make your dinner in that. We had beef/chicken, carrots, butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and onions. You just chop up all the stuff and throw it in the tinfoil pack, wrap it a couple of times and throw on the ready-made coals. They take about 20 minutes a side and are absolutely fabulous if I do say so. I love love love to make them camping.

And then we commenced for more drinking, the Thursday night crew had diligently been drinking water and Gatorade all day so we could be hydrated for another night of drinking. The campfire that night was a little less rowdy as most people had just come from a day of camping and just wanted to chill out. I think we went to bed around midnight. It was a little more chilly Friday night, so Jake and I cuddled all night long. Like having a hot water bottle all night long!

Saturday morning came early as most of the campers were up around 8am...and we had breakfast going so we could get them out of bed faster! This morning we did pancakes, blueberry pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes. Yum Yum! From then everyone did their own separate activities, some read on the shore, some read around the fire, fishing, hiking, walks, sleeping...everyone just kinda chilled out.

Around 1pm we started to all get hungry so I broke out the HOBO dinner leftovers and we made a few packs in the coals. Everyone just kinda chilled out until dark and then we ate again! I love camping cause you are constantly eating!

Oh yeah and Jake showed off his swimming skills all Saturday afternoon. He chased a tennis ball, frisbee, sticks, rocks...anything we could find to throw in the water. Here is my favorite shot of him getting out of the water. And a cute shot of just his head looking for the frisbee. At one point the frisbee was almost submerged and he stuck his head UNDERWATER to find it...what a great dog! I love him so so so much.

So that night we were sitting around the campfire and you could tell we were all hitting a wall from being up so early the morning before. So a few of the girls decided we should drink more and play drinking games. So Traci taught us the vegetable game. Basically you choose a vegetable and then you say someone another person's vegetable and they choose another and so forth. The catch was you had to keep your teeth covered, so your trying to say Shrimp Shrimp with your teeth covered. It was very fun! Then we changed it to the meat game where you had to choose a meat...and it was even more fun!

The whole experience was so much fun and a blast!! I love my mates and we are totally going camping again! Sorry for the abrupt ending...I'm tired of writing....

Peace ya'all.

New Layout this morning...

LIKE:
the bold colors
have always loved maroon
love the wide format

DISLIKE:
white on black is always hard to read
intensity of the blog...

Let me know what ya think.

And this is the best rugby video I have found on youtube yet...

A few fun websites I wanted to pass along to my 27 faithful readers. Why 27? It seemed like a good number! My page hits are going up and up and up...and its all very exciting. Feel free to leave comments!!

Anyways the websites are:

http://austin.craigslist.org/ - Craigslist is an amazing tool for free stuff, a place to sell your stuff, personals, job searches and more....just find your city and get started!

Best of Craigslist - A collection of the best postings on Craigslist.org. They range from sexual, to disastrous to downright disgusting, but they help pass the time at work! Beware they are somewhat out of line and ridiculous, but fun at the same time!

Digg.com - My big brother just told me about this today, pretty fun sight with lots of random blogs...you basically "vote" for your fave and then you "digg it." Get it?

http://www.globalrichlist.com/index.php - If you ever feel down about how much money you make, check out this site. And you can make a quick donation if you feel so inclined!

Just a few sites to help you pass the time at school, work, home or whatever you may be doing.

Peace.

So a few of my teammates really really really love 7's...and so they decided to start Winter 7's here in Austin. I think part of us just can't let go of 15's and do have a great passion for 7's.

There is even talk of having a small tournament and trying to get some teams to come down and hang out with us. This is totally social and meant to be a buffer until 15's starts sometime in early 2007.

2007. Now that is pretty scary...I remember when I was younger and I would think about reaching the 2000's...wow. I thought it would be like the Jetsons...wouldn't that be awesome?

And I know the picture has snow in it...and it probably hasn't snowed in Austin for years. But it is Winter 7's after all! Just because it could possibly be 60 degrees in Austin.... :)

An awesome USA 7's Promo Video was just released on Youtube. Check it out!



Also they have created a group on Facebook. Click here to access it!
The regular website for the event is http://www.usasevens.com/

Texas A&M met Eastern Illinois in Little Rock, AR (in conjuction with the Little Rock Tournament) this weekend to have a repeat game from last year. Unlike last year however the weather was clear...last year the battle was rainy and muddy as the whole state was being rained upon. The game was hard to tell as EIU only beat A&M by 22 points. I watched the game from the sidelines and cheered silently for A&M. They played well but were defeated.

This year would be different though! The game was tough as EIU had great tackling and great communication, but A&M stuck to it and blasted them with rolling mauls...which they scored off of twice. A&M recovered kicks expertly and was able to capitalize and gain field possession through their speedy back triangle. Spectators said that A&M had spectacular lineouts and fooled EIU over and over again with their crisp forward and back plays.

Great job ladies!!!

Some of the Valkyries will see you next weekend at the A&M Alumni Match and the Round Robin with HARC/Rice.

10 years would have been an amazing record, not that nine years isn't pretty damn impressive. New York played hard and was able to upset the reigning champs. Nice work ladies!

From USA Rugby:

11-12-2006 - NYRC WINS FIRST WOMEN'S TITLE, STOPS BERKELEY'S QUEST FOR 10 STRAIGHT
BOULDER, Colo. – The Women’s New York Rugby Club won its first National title today at USA Rugby’s Division I Women’s Club Championships in Orlando, Fla., beating the reigning champions, the Berkeley All-Blues, 22-17, and stopping them from winning their 10th-straight championship cup.

“I think the difference in our team this year, compared to the last few years, is that our athletes have finally learned to trust each other and the team set up,” Head Coach Drew Fautley said. “That is something that assistant coach Chris Ryan and I really take pride in – keeping the entire team involved and making sure that all the players really know their worth. We aren’t about winning at all costs; we are focused on making the team better as a whole.

“Since the time that I started with this women’s club nearly 10 years ago, the team has been working towards this moment. And, to win now, against Berkeley, as they were vying for their 10th championship title in a row, is truly outstanding,” he added. “It took two phenomenal matches, against two remarkable opponents, but we finally pulled it off.”

Third-seeded New York faced No. 2 Minnesota Valkyries on Friday in the semifinals, and for the first time since 2002, actually moved on to the finals, beating the Midwest powerhouse by 17. They met Berkeley today in the final match of the Championships and hit the ground running, scoring the first 17 points to go into half leading 17-0.

The All-Blues finally found some offense in the second half, scoring their first try 50 minutes into the match, and again ten minutes later to remind New York that they weren’t going to take this one lying down. NY returned the favor 10 minutes later to put another five points on the board, and the game-ending try by Berkeley brought the score to within one try, but it proved in vain since NY was already celebrating their hard-fought victory.

“This was really such a team effort,” Fautley said. “But I have to mention lock Katie Brethel, captain Annie Collier, our MVP Hedwig Aerts and scrumhalf Lee Knight for all putting forth a memorable effort. As well as our flyhalf Kristin Baja, who played 60 minutes of this match after suffering a shoulder injury against Minnesota.

“I also have to give Berkeley credit,” Fautley added. “They are fierce competitors and kept us on our toes until the very end.”

In the earlier DI Club Championship matches, Minnesota beat Atlanta 34-0 for third place. Beantown battled through a nail biter to beat the Twin City Amazons, 11-10 to take home the plate, while the Washington Furies took it to Keystone, winning 13-3 to secure seventh place.

Bad Sportsmanship:

While we were in South Carolina for Sweet 16s one of our girls got seriously raked in the bottom of the ruck. She vividly remembers being "walked on" in the bottom of the ruck.

The referee said that he didn't see it, and no one on the DC Furies would fuss up and say they did it.

Not sure how you missed it ref...and I know why you don't want to pony up...cause the picture says it all. Keep your boots away from faces please ladies!!

Our T-hall is a trooper though, the next pic is of her that night dressed up for Halloween. She would have been perfect as a zombie...however was a Valkyrie. She even wore the costume home on the plane...or tried to, they made her take it off at security.

USA Rugby and T-hall's BLACK EYE: From Jen Joyce:
This isn't a big deal, just kind of a cool story. As most of you heard this weekend, I was all excited because I ended up with a little black eye in Saturday's game-which was nothing compared to the glorious TIFFANY! Anyway, I was all excited because I typically don't bruise (even after breaking my nose several times in the past). So even though I felt my face crack Saturday, I was left with a bruise that Steph called "tiny", but I was happy with it. Then, I was hit again Sunday and ended up with a really pretty black eye by Sunday night.

So yesterday I flew to New York for a meeting with the USA rugby board and new president to come up with the strategic marketing plan for the business and high-performance programs. On the flight to NYC, I forgot about my eye and blew my nose, which made a HUGE air bubble and it looked even MORE swollen and gross.

So yesterday morning I get to the meeting and the guys were like, "What happened?" When I said that it was sweet 16s, it was like it registered for the first time that women do, indeed, play rugby. Once I described Tiffany's injury and how she was booted, and then told the story of Meg being prone to facial injuries, they were all about using this as a marketing tool. So, end the end, the board decided to use the "two faces of women's rugby" as a marketing tactic. So they want to shoot pictures of a female rugby player who has a black eye-from one side, showing the beauty, intelligence and professionalism of the female athlete, and from the other side, showing the black eye [and all of the strength, aggression, and intensity of the high-impact of women's rugby].

Thanks,
Jen Joyce

2 NEW BLOGs! Put Me in Coach! and a U19 Girls Rugby:

Put Me in Coach! Check it out here...it looks really promising!

U19 Girls Rugby Blog.

Women's D1 Rugby National Championships:

Check out the website.

Some Team Pictures:

We picked up the bus last week and here are some pictures of the adventure!! (Click on any image to get a bigger version!)

First we have Jonathon and I waiting for the bus to be unlocked. My hands are in my pockets because it was surprisingly cold that morning!! I love how the front of the bus is square it makes it look FIERCE!!

The next pic is what you see when you first enter the bus. On the right we have the mini kitchen! This includes running water to the small sink, cabinets, overhead shelving, microwave and a little fridge! Very cute!

Next pic is of Jonathon and I sitting at the small card table. This would be an area for eating, reading, working, playing card games (poker!!), bullshitting or whatever. Its a cute table and holds 4 comfortably.

Finally we have the shot from the back of the bus, notice the bench style seating...we have talked about a few renovations for this part...including fluffier pillows and benches, possibly adding a platform to make the whole back a HUGE bed, or adding bean bags for comfort.

And if you were wondering what Jonathon was looking at....its our very own beaver bus toilet! Very strict that this is a #1 toilet only!!! No rule-breakers or you will clean it!! Also there is a rumor that this can be used as a shower in times of emergency.


Then there is a cute pic of Jonathon and I sitting in the driver's seat. Notice how BIG the steering wheel is!

And last but not least is a pic of the Beaver Bus parked at the House of WAM!! It fits perfectly in the driveway! Parked a little crooked, but we will work it out.

Thanks for taking a tour with me!

Some GREAT pics from the High Desert Tournament a few weeks ago. Use the dropdown menu to access the pics.

High Desert Pictures