UPDATE: We have 2 volunteers already, we would like at least 2 per team, so keep 'em coming!
YSC is proud to announce that we have entered into an agreement with USA Rugby to provide coverage of the upcoming Women's Premiership League! In order to accomplish that we need some help from the YSC readers. We need a few YSC interns for each Premiership game that would like to volunteer to work closely with YSC. You don't have to be a player on the team, you can be a fan, alumni or someone who just loves rugby!
Intern Duties
Be present at your assigned match from kick off to the final whistle.
Send live updates by text, email or phone to YSC during the match.
Submit a match report within 24 hours to YSC.
Have a good time and represent YSC! Of course you will be given a YSC Intern shirt as a reward for your efforts and all posts will be appropriately credited to said Intern.
Please email ysc@scrumhalfconnection.com if you are interested and we will go into more detail at that time. Thank you for volunteering and I promise it will be fun!
Great news this morning! The USA vs Canada match in Glendale, CO two months ago has finally been posted to the USA Rugby Media Center. The video is not embeddable so you have to visit their site at here to view it.
You can either view the at Scrumhalf Connection or go directly to the Ustream site here. Each match will also be archived and available at Ustream.
Please keep sending me your favorite videos to scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com! Make sure to check out the YSCVimeoChannel or my Youtube channel...and you can subscribe to both if you like, but keep in mind that all new videos will be onVimeo only as they are recorded in High Definition.
from USA Rugby: OAKVILLE, Ontario – The USA Women’s National Team notched a convincing six try victory over South Africa in Nations Cup competition on Sunday afternoon at Appleby College.
Fullback Christy Ringgenberg led the scoring charge for the Eagles with 14 points, while Phaidra Knight and Vix Folayan dotted down a pair of tries each, and Beckett Royce added one more to the tally.
The USA took control of the game right away, as Knight powered through the stiff South Africa defense to dot down the Eagles’ first try inside three minutes. Ringgenberg successfully kicked the extras to put the U.S. ahead 7-0.
Due to a strong defensive effort and powerful hits, the USA maintained possession through the bulk of the first half, only allowing South Africa one major scoring threat in the later minutes.
“Something the U.S. team excels at is playing hard, physical defense and given the speed of the South Africa team, especially on the outside, we knew we’d have to shut down their backline early on. Our centers did a great job and came up with some huge tackles,” Ringgenberg said.
With under 15 minutes gone, Knight caught the offload from Ashley Kmiecik and dove in for second USA try on the day; however, this time around Ringgenberg’s foot did not quite go the distance, holding the tally at 12-0.
Looking to redeem herself, Ringgenberg nearly scored for the USA at 26 minutes, evasively maneuvering past the South African defense before being brought down and knocking the ball forward at the line. The USA recovered with a quick break that saw Vix Folayan dive in beneath the posts at 28 minutes, but Ringgenberg’s kick bounced off the post.
Frustrated but not defeated, South Africa picked up the tempo in the final 10 minutes of the first half and looked to score when they broke deep into U.S. territory, however the South African fullback knocked the ball on just short of the tryline.
As the half wound down, repeat penalty infractions sent South Africa scrumhalf Saloma Booysen to the sin bin and with all around fluid play, the USA was able to keep their opponents out of the tryzone and hold the line at 17-0 at halftime.
When the second half picked up the USA continued to apply its strong defensive pressure and capitalized on several penalties against South Africa to steadily grow its lead.
Within the first 10 minutes, the USA crossed in for two additional tries. Off a quick tap at 45 minutes in, the USA drove a rolling maul over the line, and flanker Beckett Royce eventually touched down. Ringgenberg effortlessly kicked from the outside to bring the score up to 24-0. Less than three minutes later, Vix Foloyan notched her second try of the game to extend the margin five points further.
As tensions continued to mount in a physical second half, South Africa again saw yellow, with #17 Portia Jonga (60 min) and #22 Cherne Roberts (66 min) each taking a trip to the bin.
“With players missing from the South Africa scrum, our forwards were able to take advantage. All throughout the game our pack stuck to the gameplan of keeping the ball tight and forcing turnovers,” USA Women’s Head Coach Kathy Flores said. “We also benefited from the strength of our bench in the second half. They helped put down the speed of the South African team and really pushed the game to the next level.”
With the upper hand in a 15 on 13 situation, the USA took advantage. Fullback Christy Ringgenberg’s boot accurately footed a chip penalty kick to go up 32-0 with less than 15 minutes left to play.
Inside minute 72, Ringgenberg capped off the Eagles’ scoring run with a try of her own and converted to set the scoreline firmly at 39-0, where it remained at the final whistle.
With the win, the USA secures 5 total points in the Nations Cup standings – 4 points for the victory and a bonus point for exceeding 4 tries.
The team now moves on to face cross-border rivals Canada when play resumes at Appleby College on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
“This win was huge for us, not only in terms of gaining a bonus point in the table standings, but in terms of mental toughness. It is a great confidence booster for the team and we hope to carry that momentum into our game against Canada,” Flores said.
“We have played Canada a great deal and we know each other’s playing styles very well. We’ve stayed competitive with them in our past matches and hopefully this time we will come out with the upper hand. “
USA 39, South Africa 0 (Halftime USA 17, South Africa 0)
from Rugby Canada: Though unable to score a try, France held a firm grip on their IRB third place ranking over Canada, scoring all of their points on kicks to take a 12-7 victory at the 2009 Nations Cup.
Canada was never able to convincingly force France off their game, as the French side dominated the majority of contact situations. For the Canadians and the weather, the game was played uncharacteristically tight to the breakdown.
Canada looked to start well as winger Julianne Zussman successfully contested Canada’s kickoff in front of a raring home crowd at Appleby College, but Canada was not able to carry the momentum in a game interrupted by costly penalties.
France’s fly half Aurelie Bailon easily split the uprights 10 minutes into the match after a Canadian penalty was called under the shadow of the posts, foreshadowing the outcome of the game.
The two countries traded possession and territory, but the Canadians were unable to solve the French’s solid defense, until fullback Cheryl Phillips laced her way through a gap and opened up the backline.
As the catalyst, Phillips’ break brought the ball to France’s two metre line where Barbara Mervin was able to cross for the try. Fly half Anna Schnell successfully converted, bringing the tally to a misleading 7-3 in Canada’s favor as France were very much still in the game.
The visiting team kicked well for territory, and though countered well by Canada’s back three, was able to slowly make its way downfield.
Canada’s defensive line, led by captain Leslie Cripps’ governing tackles, did not break for the full 80 minutes. This forced France to turn to the boot of Bailon whenever she was within her range.
When France did momentarily break the red wall, holes were quickly filled with try-saving tackles by backrow players Barbara Mervin, Jen Kish and Heather Jaques.
Both teams looked relatively fresh in the 30 degree heat as France took a narrow 9-7 lead into half.
The second half would be a points stalemate until, after consistently slowing down Canada’s ball, France capitalized on another Canadian penalty directly in front of the posts to reach the game’s final score of 12-7.
Canada’s forwards played strong in the set piece and were able to disrupt France’s ball on scrums several times, led by scrumhalf Julia Sugawara, who cheekily turned over the ball but was unable to link up with the rest of her team.
A late surge in the game, after substitutions Marlene Donaldson and Laura Stoughton stepped on the pitch, saw Canada battle its way downfield after holding up a France try to get within scoring position, but were not able to translate the opportunity to the scoreboard.
A yellow card against France’s no.8 Gabrielle Mutis for a repeat infringement of not releasing the ball looked promising, but Bailon used her boot once again to solve her team’s player shortage.
Today’s result does not rub out the fantastic work the Canadian side has done thus far as a group. Rather, it provides a measuring stick and a mirror for the work that has yet to be done before Wednesday’s game, and ultimately the 2010 World Cup.
Head coach John Long was somber but not disheartened after the match.
“We’re working on our game management and the little things let us down today; we lacked a bit of execution. Of course it was not from lack of effort. We scored the try but gave up too many penalties.”
Danielle Rowlands, Tara Eckert and Ashley Macdonald made their debuts for Canada today, though Long says you would never know they were new.
“All three new caps did a grand job. It’s tough going into the cauldron of France but they all played very admirably and didn’t look out of sorts.”
Every quality international game presents an amazing learning opportunity and Canada will look to build upon the lessons learned in today’s close loss when they face USA on Wednesday.
“We’ve had good wins against the States and though they’ve all been very good games, we are viewing the match as a winning opportunity. It’s a process for us and we’ll keep building, not to be discouraged by today.”
Looking to amend today’s result, Canada takes on USA and South Africa will face unbeaten England on Wednesday in the fourth day of action at the 2009 Nations Cup.
from USA Rugby: BOULDER, Colo. – USA Women’s National Team Head Coach Kathy Flores has named her lineup for the Eagles’ second Nations Cup match versus South Africa on Sunday, Aug. 16 in Oakville, Ontario.
The match at Appleby College kicks off at 2 p.m. local time (Eastern Time) and will be streamed live on UStream.
The Eagles head into the match hungry for points in the leaderboard standings, with five days of training between their first Nations Cup flight versus England. Despite attacking defense from the USA, the second half of the match eventually saw England surge ahead to a 36-7 final. After starting off with a 17-17 draw versus France, South Africa fell to Canada 35-17 in its second Nations Cup venture against Canada on Thursday; however, Flores knows the South African team’s speed will pose a threat to the Eagles.
"The South African team is very fast in the open field and are quick to transition from defense to offense if they turn the ball over,” Flores said. “Our challenge will be to control the our breakdowns and retain possession and forward attack."
Since facing England on Aug. 10, Flores has made several changes to her starting lineup for the USA’s match versus South Africa on Sunday.
Leading the pack, Farrah Douglas comes off the bench to start at loosehead, while Jamie Burke slides over to tighthead and the two will prop for Kittery Wagner, who gets her start at hooker. In the second row, Stacey Bridges retains her place at lock and is joined by Sharon Blaney. After filing a replacement role versus England, Phaidra Knight will start at blindside flanker, while Beckett Royce makes the move to openside and Blair Groefsema holds strong at No. 8. The backline sees a full change of face and is lead by Kim Magrini at scrumhalf. Mel Kanuk steps in at flyhalf, with Victoria Folayan and Ashley Kmiecik adding fresh legs on the wings. Emilie Bydwell and Lynelle Kugler will see time in the center, while Christy Ringgenberg takes her start at fullback.
USA ROSTER VS SOUTH AFRICA 1 FARRAH DOUGLAS 2 KITTERY WAGNER 3 JAMIE BURKE 4 STACEY BRIDGES 5 SHARON BLANEY 6 PHAIDRA KNIGHT 7 BECKETT ROYCE 8 BLAIR GROEFSEMA 9 KIM MAGRINI 10 MEL KANUK 11 VICTORIA FOLAYAN 12 EMILIE BYDWELL 13 LYNELLE KUGLER 14 ASHLEY KMIECIK 15 CHRISTY RINGGENBERG
Replacements 16 LARA VIVOLO 17 MARI WALLACE 18 JENNY MENKE 19 KRISTIN ZDANCZEWICZ 20 CLAUDIA BRAYMER 21 STEPHANIE BRUCE 22 ASHLEY ENGLISH
NATIONS CUP DAY THREE PREVIEW
from Rugby Canada: Of the four teams competing in the third day of games at the 2009 Nations Cup, Canada is the only team with a win to their name. After France and South Africa drew the first match of the tournament, they, along with the USA, are still searching for a win.
South Africa and USA will kick off first at 2pm on Sunday at Oakville’s Appleby College. The two sides play vastly contrasting styles. The Americans rely on their physicality and commitment to contact across the field. The South Africans rely on their sevens athletes, with an especially potent 9-10 combination, and with kicks and offloads, play a very expansive flowing game.
The American 15s program has not had a significant win over an international side in a few years, but a win tomorrow over a rugby-reputable nation like South Africa would provide a huge boost heading into the 2010 World Cup. USA is a respected opponent for playing a very clinical, very physical game.
Unbeaten England has the day off but will be watching closely as they face South Africa on Wednesday.
Canada owes their IRB fourth place ranking to third ranked France; Canada has unsuccessfully faced France in the third place game of the last two World Cups. To say tomorrow’s match is heavily weighted would be an immense understatement.
The last time Canada beat France was in a pool game of the 1998 World Cup: 9-6 on kicks, including a 50m penalty from hooker Moira Shiels. Tomorrow’s result will be a bit of a lottery as both squads are using entirely different lineups from their previous Nations Cup games. Canadian Assistant Coach Kris de Scossa is expecting a tough challenge from their trans-Atlantic rivals.
“France is consistently competitive in every area of the game and we are looking forward to it. We need these challenges for our development and expect to learn a lot from the game. It will be interesting to measure our preparation method of North American camps against their preparation of having Six Nations experience.”
Several new caps are making their debut this tournament for Canada, including Ontario prop Tabitha Stavrou. De Scossa speaks very highly of her and says she has slid into the Canadian side seamlessly.
“John [Long] and I are really excited about Tabitha. She is measuring up to be a top player at the international level, and her discovery is a testament to the explosion in participation of women’s rugby in Canada.”
Canada and France kick off tomorrow at 4pm. All Nations Cup games are held at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario until the final day of games, Saturday August 22, when the matches will shift to Fletcher’s Field in Markham.
Canadian Roster for Canada vs. France: 1. LESLIE CRIPPS, LONDON SARACENS 2. KIM DONALDSON, BURNABY LAKE 3. TABITHA STAVROU, IRISH CANADIANS 4. MEGAN GIBBS, IRISH CANADIANS 5. DANIELLE ROWLANDS, CALGARY IRISH 6. JENNIFER KISH, EDMONTON ROCKERS 7. HEATHER JAQUES, CAPILANO RFC 8. BARBARA MERVIN, VELOX VALKYRIES 9. JULIA SUGAWARA, BURNABY LAKE 10. ANNA SCHNELL, BURNABY LAKE 11. TARA ECKERT, CALGARY IRISH 12. SARAH ULMER, LONDON SARACENS 13. BROOKE HILDITCH, YEOMEN’S WOMEN RC 14. JULIANNE ZUSSMAN, TMR 15. CHERYL PHILLIPS, TORONTO SCOTTISH
Replacements 16. MARLENE DONALDSON, VELOX VALKYRIES 17. ASHLEY MACDONALD 18. PAIGE BURDETT, CALGARY IRISH 19. GILLIAN FLORENCE, STE ANNE DE BELLEVUE RFC 20. KELLY RUSSELL, TORONTO NOMADS 21. LAURA STOUGHTON, CALGARY IRISH 22. MARIA GALLO, BURNABY LAKE
Thanks to Ros Chou (Austin Valkyrie but playing with SF Barbarians for this tourney) and Sheri Hunt (SoCal Head Coach) for sending in information and scores regarding the Invitational 7s Tournament in San Francisco this weekend.
Congratulations to NOVA!
Congratulations to Berkeley for taking 2nd place!
Congratulations to the Mudhens as they took 5th place!
Congratulations the San Francisco Barbarians as they placed 6th.
Congratulations to the Kansas City Jazz as they placed 7th.
A HUGE thank you goes out to Fog Rugby as they put on a great tournament. We heard that the weather was great, the food was great (yea for 2 vegetarian options!), the pitches were perfect...it was said to be the BEST rugby event ever! Congratulations to Fog Rugby as you worked hard and deserve the praise!
England proved to be late risers as they came back from 5-0 down to take their second win of the 2009 Women’s Nations Cup against France by a score of 43-8.
The defending champions were in fine form running in seven tries on Thursday evening at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario.
Just as in their opening match against the USA on Monday evening, the English woke with vengeance as they failed to score the opening try of the match.
French winger Emilie Moreaux was first to touch down before England released an onslaught of tries as it took Danielle Waterman just seven minutes to draw level.
France would take the lead just once more through the boot of Christelle Le Duff before England unleashed their back line on Les Bleus.
Katherine Merchant scored two tries and Katy McLean kicked both conversions to have England leading 19-8 at the half time whistle.
Merchant would continue her scoring ways as she opened the second half with a dramatic tackle-breaking-run to lead 24-8 before Alice Richardson, Danielle Waterman and Emily Scarratt would each go over for tries.
“It was a great team effort,” Merchant said when reflecting on her team coming from behind twice during the match. “Being scored on early lifts you and makes you realize you can’t just be moderate – you have to give it everything.”
Despite claiming two solid wins early in this year’s Nation’s Cup English Head Coach Gary Street was cautious about his team’s recent form.
“We’re still early in our season as this was only our second game,” he said of his side notching 43 points in their second match. “We always expect teams to come out and really give their all against us but we use that to just ride out the storm and do what we need to do.”
Nations Cup - Canada vs South Africa 35-17 Match Report
Canada’s much anticipated first game was played against powerhouse South Africa in the fourth match of the Women’s Nations Cup, a five team senior women’s rugby tournament being hosted at Oakville, Ontario’s Appleby College.
In a five try victory, Canada gave first year coach John Long a boost with a 35-17 score line.
Quick to set the tone of the game, a penalty kick from Canadian Ashley Patzer put the hosting team ahead, followed by a breakaway run by Brooke Hilditch from the centre line to make a touch.
After another penalty kick, Patzer managed to dodge several players to get a try. “It was my first international try with the Senior Women’s team, so I was pretty happy. We came out flying, which was really exciting.”
Attempts by South Africa were swatted away by an unrelenting wall of red, as scrum after scrum were returned in equal force.
The first half ended with a near try by the visiting team’s Onica Maoga but her hesitant steps allowed Canada to stop the play just before the posts, leaving the score at 30-0.
It was in the second half that the home team faced their oppositions rallying strength.
“We always expect Canada to come out strong,” said South Africa’s Head Coach Denver Wannier, “We played a much better game than we played France in the second half. We started off slowly, but we managed to pick away at them.”
A penalty kick by South Africa’s Zandile Nojoko gives her team a boosted confidence, as they quickly used the momentum to drive into Canada’s defence.
The first try to come to the southern hemisphere team came from a 30-yard run by Nojoko, with a second try to follow by Lorinda Brown.
Number 10 Nojoko really stood out, said Canada’s Head Coach John Long. “I think we started extremely well. In the second half, their forwards really started to dominate around the contact area, giving their half backs a good opportunity to play.”
The game progressed quickly as each team strived to remain on top. “We were lucky to hang on,” said Long. “They came back and hit us very well and it showed.”
Canada plays France on Aug. 16 at 4 p.m.
Other countries in the tournament include the USA, England, France and South Africa.
Canada vs South Africa As Zandile Nojoko shredded the French defence on Monday evening the South African squad rallied behind her and almost came away with the opening win of the 2009 Women’s Nations Cup.
From a distance Canadian senior women’s Head Coach John Long sat with his staff noting which players his team would have to shut down on Thursday evening when Canada kicks off their campaign in Oakville.
“Their fly half is extremely strong and has a great kicking game,” Long said on Tuesday night as he was finalizing his game day roster. “They’re a passionate squad and we have to be able to contain them and at the same time try and play our own game.”
Long’s squad features a number of Sevens players capable of handling South Africa’s abrasive style of play and while South Africa may rely on certain performers in their lineup, his game plan requires all fifteen players to step up to the plate.
“The whole dynamic of our team is that we work well together,” Long added. “We’ve got some backs that can do some damage so as long as we have our forwards set a good platform, I’m sure we can play some good rugby.”
In the end France rallied deep into regular time to score a try and tie the match 17-17 to open the tournament. England beat the USA 36-7 in the second match of the evening to give the English a temporary hold on top spot for the two week tournament. You can visit www.womensnationscup.com or www.rugbycanada.ca for more information on the tournament.
The match between Canada and South Africa (0-0-1) is set for 6:30pm EST at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario. In the opening match France(0-0-1) takes on England (1-0)
Canada team to Face South Africa 1. Tabitha Stavrou (Toronto Irish) 2. Lesley McKenzie (Johnsonville RFC) 3. Marlene Donaldson (Velox Valkyries) 4. Paige Burdett (Calgary Irish) 5. Marie Eve Brindamour Carignan (Town of Mount Royal) 6. Jennifer Kish (Lep Tiger’s) 7. Gillian Florence (Ste Anne de Bellevue RFC) 8. Kelly Russell (Toronto Nomads) 9. Laura Stoughton (Calgary Irish) 10. Brooke Hilditch Yeoman 11. Brittany Waters (Meraloma Rugby) 12. Stevie Schnoor (United RFC) 13. Mandy Marchak (Capilano RFC) 14. Marie Gallo (Burnaby Lake) 15. Ashley Patzer (Lethbridge) 16. Leslie Cripps (London Saracens) 17. Kim Donaldson (Burnaby Lake) 18. Heather Jaques (Capilano RFC) 19. Barbara Mervin (Velox Valkyries) 20. Julia Sugawara (Burnaby Lake) 21. Sarah Ulmer (London Saracens) 22. Julianne Zussman (Town of Mount Royal)
Coach: John Long Assistant Coach: Kris De Scossa Manager: Eva Havaris
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has recommended Rugby Sevens as one of two sports for inclusion in the Olympic Games. Golf was the other sport winning the committee's approval.
Bernard Lapasset, President of the IRB, said: “We would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for selecting Rugby Sevens from what are seven strong and diverse sports. We recognise the significance of this milestone in our campaign but are also mindful that the ultimate decision rests with the IOC members when they meet in Copenhagen on October 9 2009.
“The Olympic Games would be the pinnacle of the sport for all our athletes and the Rugby Family, providing the opportunity for the best men’s and women’s players in the world to showcase their talent on the world’s greatest sporting stage. The international Rugby community is united behind Rugby Sevens’ campaign and we now look ahead to October.”
Rugby was originally introduced to the Olympic Games by Pierre de Coubertin in 1900 and continued to be played at the 1908, 1920 and 1924 Games. The sport shares the values of the Olympic Movement and offers new potential for growth to help the Movement to thrive and reach more young fans worldwide.
Baseball, softball, karate, squash and roller sports were eliminated from further consideration.
UPDATE: We have 2 volunteers already, we would like at least 2 per team, so keep 'em coming!
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