USA Rugby just opened two new positions in Boulder, CO. The positions are: Director of Events and Director of Business Development & Sponsorship. More details can be found on USA rugby under Employment. The positions look like they need to be filled by 10/01/09, so if interested apply quickly!
The Director of Events will manage all aspects of the development and presentation of all international events hosted throughout the United States and be responsible for USA Rugby Marketing Services. The USA Rugby event calendar runs from spring to early fall and hosts 8-10 National Team events a year.
USA Rugby is recognized by the USOC as the National Governing Body for the sport of Rugby in the United States. USA Rugby oversees the development and promotion of the game at the youth, High School, Collegiate, Club and National Team Levels. USA Rugby has over 75,000 members nationally and organizes National Championship tournaments for all divisions.
For more information or to apply for this position, please check out the full job description here.
The Director of Business Development & Sponsorship will lead and execute all aspects of the organization’s commercial sponsorship sales. This position is responsible for selling and maximizing revenue from sponsorships of USA RUGBY and its national teams, events, member communication vehicles, broadcast partnerships and licensing programs.
For more information or to apply for this position, please check out the full job description here.
Have a Rugby WANTED AD request? Leave your info in the comments, email me or Facebook me.
John Birch of the Letchworth Girls Blog let me know that he found this site: girlsrugby.org.uk and it has over 1,000 pics from the U20s Nation Cup so far. The site is run by Vincent and he is a volunteer photographer. Vincent is happy for the photos to be used freely for personal use, and just asks for users to consider making a donation to The Nazareth Trust. Drop Vincent a line by clicking here if you have anything vaguely commercial in mind.
More updates from Bryn Chivers on the USA U20s in England:
Day 7 We had the early game so our schedule was up for breakfast, walk through the game plan in tennis shoes and off to Brunel for the game against England. We made nine changes to the team that beat Wales but they looked really good together yesterday so we were confident we could give England a good game. The game was a tough one and ended in what looked like a one sided 7-42 loss but the reality was that we gave England problems in a lot of areas and got beat for speed on the outside. They were big and physical but our forwards went toe to toe with them and their tries were all in the corners and unconverted. We actually finished the stronger and got a try from Brittany Rose in the sixty seventh minute and it was a good one. Asia Donaldson found some room on the outside and took the ball to the English twenty-two, She offloaded to Sadie and then a couple of quick offloads between the backs took the ball down to the English five meter line. A series of small rucks resulted in a penalty to the USA. Brittany was being treated for an injury when the play started and ran sixty yards to rejoin her teammates as Brittany Houston took a quick tap and gave it to Brittany Rose who took a couple of England players with her as she put the ball down on the goal line.
We lost a couple of players to injury as JozyGessner re-injured the elbow she hyper extended at the U23 NASC and Brittany Rose’s shoulder injury meant that she couldn’t continue. We have fingers crossed that they will both be available for selection for Wednesday’s game. The post game meal at Brunel was fun and the both teams seemed to get along well. We were back at the Orphanage by 9:00 pm and all the players were fast asleep long before lights out at 11:00 pm.
Day 8 Has it really been eight days? This was a free day for the players and they had options on where they could go. Jeff and Sue took a group south to Stonehenge and Bryn, Curt and Amy went up to the town of Rugby to see the birthplace of the game. The group that went to Rugby had a wonderfully relaxed day and the highlight was the players being allowed to run around on the field at Rugby School. Brittany Houston kicked three long range drop goals and didn’t stop smiling for an hour……..she was in rugby nirvana.
The group that went off to see the big stones had a good time. They found Stonehenge fascinating although Becky Holmes got distracted and went off to look at sheep. They spent the afternoon in Oxford on the way back and the players got to see some of the places that are used for the interior shots in the Harry Potter movies.
The day produced a great tour moment when Maggie Reidy got distracted by a window full of shoes and walked slap bang into a lamppost. One leg and one arm shot out in front of her as it stopped her dead in her tracks.
Just a reminder that Tornado Alley 7's is this weekend! - July 18th in Norman Oklahoma--hope you can come!!!
Directions to pitch --From I 35 go east on Hwy 9, take the Chautauqua street exit to the left (north), take first right on Blankenship-- Park behind Lloyd noble and take walking bridge into pitch. Please let us know if you plan to attend!
FREE RUGBY RAFFLE: USA 7s Jersey, USA Tshirt, AND USA Ball
This month's raffle is HUGE!! A huge raffle for a huge month of rugby! This raffle is inspired by our nation's birthday, the USA Eagle's International matches and the USA U20s nation cup! Its 100% "USA! USA! USA!" The July raffle includes a USA 7s jersey, a USA tshirt and a USA ball. (The winner may choose what size they would like in each.)
This free raffle is courtesy of Red Rhino Sports, a rugby merchandise shop located in Austin, TX. They service all teams in Texas and also do business in the rest of the US and worldwide. Red Rhino Sports offers a large selection of Rugby Equipment. They offer balls, boots, jerseys, warm-ups, equipment and more.
Since I (The Girl) was a big slacker in getting this posted, the last day to enter the raffle will be July 22, 2009. A winner will be picked around July 24, 2009 and will be notified via email and will be posted on this blog as well.
To enter the raffle, please either email me, Facebook me or leave your entry in the comments.
Please continue to donate items to this raffle so I can keep it going!
When I started out doing my monthly Free Rugby Raffle back in August 2008 I had plenty of free merchandise (thank you to everyone who donated!) to give away, but now my stash is running low! Please let me know if you would like to donate any items for the monthly Free Raffle!
Please email me at scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com if you are interested, and please pass the word on to any of your friends etc. The blog posts about your donation will never be removed and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers!
Have a new product that you want to highlight? Send it my way! Have old out of date World Cup jerseys, hats, balls or tshirts you need to get rid of? Send it my way and I will raffle it off! Anything rugby can be donated and I will raffle it off for free! Thanks for your participation and support!
I have been covering the USA U20's trip in England while they have been competing in the U20 Nations Cup. Go here for Day 1 in England, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day5, Day 6, Day 7 and Day 8. This week's video is a highlight from the USA vs Wales game from the U20 Nations Cup. Tyra picks off a dropped pass and speeds past the Wales defense to score in the corner.
Please keep sending me your favorite videos to scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com! Make sure to check out the YSCVimeo 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.
Through email and Twitter I have gathered the scores from USA vs England and Canada vs Wales today:
USA roster vs England
USA Under-20s Lineup:
1 Katherine Hathaway (Norwich) 2 Brittany Woodard (Virginia State) 3 Mallory Ives (Colorado State) 4 Rebecca Holmes (University of Nebraska) 5 Brittany Rose (West Chester East) 6 Erin LeGate (Maryville, Tenn.) 7 Jozy Gessner (Summit, Colo.) 8 Candace Barley (Maryville, Tenn.) 9 Brittany Houston (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) 10 Amelia Villines (Stanford) 11 Tyra McGrady (Indiana University) 12 Lisa Henneman (Seattle Women) Captain 13 Brooke LeGate (Maryville, Tenn.) 14 Asia Donaldson (Santa Monica Women) 15 Sadie Anderson (Penn State)
Reserves: 16 Erika Lane (Chico State) 17 Wendy Sherman (Colorado State) 18 Rachel Sommer (West Linn, Ore.) 19 Catherine Parkhill (University of Minnesota) 20 Erica Cavanaugh (University of Virginia) 21 Kathryn Johnson (Hopkins, Minn.) 22 Jessica Sexauer (Army)
More USA U20 updates from Head Coach Bryn Chivers: Day 6 The players had a free day today and we all went to London for the day. We split into three groups and each went exploring the city. All the players got back to the meeting point at 7:00 pm and we took the train back home and shared stories. We watched the video of the Wales game and ended the night by celebrating Asia Donaldson's birthday with cakes and a solo rendition of Happy Birthday by Jeff Noe. Fun day.
Day 5 Everyone was pooped this morning after walking all over London yesterday and it was another day of players falling asleep every time we stopped moving. Kurt got more great pictures of "Sleeping Beauties" so I thought I would post one. Practices were short and productive as the squad worked on tweaking the gameplan for tomorrow's match with England. Jersey ceremony tonight and selections include nine changes to the team that beat Wales. Brittany Rose and Brittany Houston have both been in the program for a few years but tomorrow will be their first U20 caps. We finished the night with a chalk talk and the players were in bed by 10 pm. We play England tomorrow and they looked really good against Canada. We know they are the clear favorites but the team is upbeat about their prospects. We hadn't beaten Wales before Thursday so we know that anything can happen.
It was a great day for the team. Had the bacon, sausage, egg, baked beans and tomato breakfast and it was very tasty. Found out that Adele who is the head cook at Stoke Mandeville took the players laundry home and did it in her own washer and dryer as we were having problems with the ones at the dorms. What a sweetheart! That lady will certainly get a tour t-shirt. Went out to Halton for the Jersey Ceremony and a walk through of the game plan. Lunch then off to Brunel for the game against Wales.....see following report. After match meal was a great opportunity for the players to socialize with the Welsh players. here is a snippet of video of the players right after the win.......emotional as eight of them were on the squad that lost by a point to Wales in 2007.
BOULDER, Colo. - The USA Women’s Under-20 Team beat Wales 7-3 today to win the opening game of the Women’s U-20 Nations Cup.
The USA started the game on its back foot as it struggled with the passion of its Welsh counterpart, but the young Eagles weathered several attacks by Wales before giving up a penalty in their own 22 that resulted in the U.S. Team trailing by three after 10 minutes.
After settling into the game shortly thereafter, the USA U-20s began to create opportunities of their own and almost leveled the game at 23 minutes with a penalty attempt of their own. Cat Parkhill’s long range attempt fell just short of the posts, however, and the rest of the half was a forward dominated battle played primarily in the middle of the field.
The USA came out very strong in the second half and got down to the Welsh five meter line only to knock on as they pushed for the first try of the game.
Fifteen minutes into the second half Erica Cavenaugh received a yellow card and despite being down a player the game began to swing in the American’s favor. The U.S. began to dominate possession and territory only to have several scoring opportunities thwarted by a swarming Welsh defense.
With the game approaching injury time the Welsh were awarded a series of penalties that took them out to mid-field. Although Wales looked to have weathered the storm, the USA’s Tyra McGrady pounced on a dropped ball and weaved 40 meters down the field to score in the corner. Cat Parkhill stepped up and kicked the conversion from the sideline and the U.S. bench erupted as the referee indicated full time.
“This was a well deserved result. We played most of the second half on the front foot and had several chances that we just couldn’t finish” said Head Coach Bryn Chivers. “The squad contained eight players from the team who narrowly lost 15-14 to Wales the last time the teams played (two years ago) and this proved an emotional win for our side.
“Jozy Gessner was all over the field and her work ethic was an inspiration,” Chivers added. “In a physical game you have to have someone who will step up and put in the big hits and Erica Cavenaugh did that today.”
The U-20s next game is Sunday, July 12, when they take on a strong England side that beat Canada 45-0 in the second match of the Nations Cup today.
The England under 20 team got off to a flying start with a dominating 45-0 victory in their first game. The team took on Canada at Brunel University in their first step to defending their Nations Cup title.
The team started applying pressure right from the starting whistle, with the first try being scored in the third minute by Worcester’s Samantha Bree, her first of four in the match.
The team gained momentum throughout the game, which was helped further still when Canadian Tyson Beukeboom was sin-binned in the second half, giving the English side a one-man advantage.
Clare Garner of Leeds RFC also had a great game, contributing massively in the second half before Bree sealed the victory with her fourth try of the match.
England U20s Head Coach Giselle Mather said: “I’m thrilled with this performance and how the players stepped up to the challenge. This performance was a massive step up from our game against Wales earlier this month. They have taken on to the field everything we have worked on in training. The next three games are certainly an exciting prospect.”
The team will next face the USA side on July 12th at 3.30pm (GMT)
Vanessa Kersey, Sportsister The Women’s Sports Magazine
The USA U20 team is currently in England for the U20 Nations Cup. Bryn will be sending me updates and I will pass them along as the week progresses. Of course if you find a score let me know and I will update!
Under 20s Nations Cup Schedule:
USA U20 WNT Team Lineup against Wales:
1 Wendy Sherman (Colorado State) 2 Erica Lane (Chico State) 3 Rachel Sommer (West Linn, Ore.) 4 Katie Humphreys (Kent, Wash.) 5 Maggie Reidy (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) 6 Candace Barley (Maryville Tenn.) 7 JozyGessner (Summit, Colo.) 8 Katie Johnson (Hopkins, Minn.) 9 Cat Parkhill (University of Minnesota) 10 Sadie Anderson (Penn State) 11 TyraMcGrady (Indiana University) 12 Lisa Henneman (Seattle Women) Captain 13 Brooke LeGate (Maryville, Tenn.) 14 Erica Cavenaugh (University of Virginia) 15 Jessica Sexaur (Army)
Wednesday July 8th Good day of practice and some light moments off the field. The forwards really took it to the scrum sled this morning and they looked tighter and more focused than we’ve seen before. The backs made some adjustments and all of them are competing for a starting spot. Narcolepsy is running rampant as the effects of jet lag results in players falling asleep every time we stop moving. A classic moment happened at lunch when Brooke Legate fell asleep while sitting on the lap of her twin sister Erin, who was also asleep. Kurt got the moment on camera and it’s only fair that we share it with the world. =)
We got back tonight to find the Welsh team had moved into the Orphanage with us. It’s going to be interesting with them in the rooms down one end and us in the rooms at the other. They look considerably smaller than us but we know from experience that tomorrow they will be ferocious competitors despite the size difference. Feeling amongst the players is very upbeat and the general consensus that this is the game where we beat them. More after the game tomorrow.
Tuesday July 7th It was up early and off to breakfast. The new players had their first experience with a British breakfast……the thick bacon and baked beans came as a bit of a surprise. Practices are at the Airforce base at RAF Halton and the team practiced there twice today. They spent the morning working on the breakdown and in the afternoon the different units got to work on some of the situations that had caused problems for the team at the U23 NASC in June. The team ate lunch and dinner at RAF Halton and then returned to the dorms at Stoke Mandeville in the early evening. The accommodations are best described as basic and the players lovingly refer to the place as “The Orphanage”. The forwards are in one room and the backs are next door……although they are only separated by a low wall and can talk between the two groups.
Monday July 6th The U20 Women’s National Team arrived in London on Monday afternoon and made short drive to their base at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. The players were clearly jet lagged and most were fast asleep long before curfew.
WANTED: Kansas State Women's Rugby Announces Coach Search
YSC,
The K-State Women's rugby team is looking for a coach. We lost our coach at the end of the fall season 2008 and were coached this past spring season by one of the veteran girls who graduated in Dec. We are definitely a rookie team, considering almost all the girls that join the team have never played or seen rugby. The coach position has always been volunteer in the past, and we'd like to keep it that way because we get very little funding from the university. We practice 3 nights a week 8pm-9:30 and have games most weekends Sept-Oct and March-April. If you know of anyone who might be interested, have them email me at jkinkade@ksu.edu or message me on facebook!
If you are interested, please contact the Kansas State team at the above information. Have a Rugby WANTED AD request? Leave your info in the comments, email me or Facebook me.
USA Rugby just opened two new positions in Boulder, CO. The positions are: Director of Events and Director of Business Development & Sponsorship. More details can be found on USA rugby under Employment. The positions look like they need to be filled by 10/01/09, so if interested apply quickly!
This free raffle is courtesy of 
Rucking Zone
Keystone Premiership Team
ScrumQueens
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