Jan 28 - Review of HS & College Action!

Plano RC Wins 2012 SFA Tourney!

For the second year in a row, Plano procured the Purple Axe Handle (trophy) at the SFA Rugby Texas Youth Tourney! 
Plano's real success story for this tournament was their use of social media to inform their team of the need to get enough CIPP'd players on the USAR list so they could play in Nacogdoches. I watched this development on Facebook this week and must give props to the team administration that kept the posts positive and drove the process! Nicely done!

Referee Schmidtke-Young brings the JV Scrum together

Westlake held Stony Point scoreless in both the JV (55-0) and the Varsity (42-0) matches today. Westlake's well-coached athleticism proved too much for the tough and speedy, but relatively inexperienced, Stony Point teams.


Westlake Coach Jason Spodick lauded his forwards for their supporting ball-control at the breakdown in both matches. Scrumhalves Alex Rees (JV) and Justin Brown (Varsity) capitalized on the forwards' control by making their distribution decisions count for points.

SP Gold on the attack, a lineout and a big Westlake hit in JV action

Stony Point's Coach Rock stated that this "tough match against a well-disciplined and well-trained team" presented his boys with "a big life lesson." Stony Point hit Westlake hard and attacked their line with strength and speed, but mistakes cost them any advantage against a Westlake team that capitalizes on its opponents' mistakes well and often. Rock was pleased with Christian Ostberg's debut as captain and his new front-row, who provided a solid foundation at the scrums. Also of note was Reggie Terry's ball-running and the flankers' overall work-rate. Despite the outcome, Rock reports that his new players "all had a great time playing in their first game," with a summary of, "And, that my friend, is what it really is all about." Indeed, Coach Rock is correct!

The "Red Wall" of Westlake's Varsity defense

The Stony Point coaches chose a Westlake and Stony Point Man of the Match for each showdown. For the Westlake JV side, second row Garrett Cantor-Cox earned the honor. Spodick stated, "(Garrett's) downhill running off the edge of rucks kept Stony Point's defense on their heels all day." For Stony Point Gold (JV) MotM honors graced freshman scrumhalf Darien Houston. 


While Westlake's varsity pack had a dominant game, scrumhalf Brown garnered Man of the Match for his leadership of what Spodick tells us is a "young forward pack." For the Stony Point Blue (Varsity) side, scrumhalf Kyle Olzse played solidly with the ball and on defense, thus earning his own MotM honors.

Kyle Olzse and Christian Ostberg moving forward in the varsity match.

Stony Point hosts St. Thomas next Friday night, a tough match-up for certain. Coach Rock will use the positives from this experience to coach his forwards on breakdown control and his talented backline towards the in-goal. 

Justin Brown with the put-in

Westlake travels to Alamo Heights next weekend. What is Coach Spodick's Kaizen for this week? "We'll be looking to improve our fitness levels, in order to avoid late game handling errors and other minor infractions typically related to fatigue." 


It is interesting to note that both coaches mentioned their scrumhalves as stand-outs. Much punditry about the number of foreigners in the scrumhalf and flyhalf positions of American club rugby questions whether we are properly developing the decision-makers. With Spodick and Rock (and others!), RugbyTexas seems blessed with coaches dedicated to developing their decision-makers that we may see at the next levels in years to come.

The University of Texas turned its guns on Baylor today with a final score of 87-25. This win surges the Longhorns ahead of Rice for first place in the points standings of the SouthWest Collegiate Rugby Conference (SWCRC). Correction: This match was not considered a cup match as it was played in five 20 minute periods. YSC's Wendy Young "had a blast" handling the whistling duties for the match.

In a make-up match rescheduled from the fall, Renegade Rugby of Texas State defeated the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University by a score of 33-11 in San Marcos. The win bumps the Renegades past UNT to fifth in the SWCRC rankings, 

In the Mustang Special, Midwestern State blanked SMU >40-0 (official score 28-0). This played forfeit (SMU traveled with 11 players, but MSU made up the difference for a game to be played) put MSU in the hunt for the D3 lead. MSU Coach Rod Puentes reminds us that next week's matches (or cancellations) will decide the final order for Texas D3 and thus, the seedings for the February 18th Texas D3 Semi-Finals!

UTD rallied in the second half to overcome a well-coached UTSA team by a score of 15-5. With this win, UTD maintains 1st place in Texas D3. Because of SMU's forfeit to MSU, 2nd and 3rd place are undecided until the points are doled out according to the rules.


UTD's Coach Tony Wagner reported that this was an excellent match with the first half played between the 22s. But, near the end of the first half, a UTD player knocked on near in-goal. UTSA was awarded the scrum and drew first blood immediately before the end of the half. The conversion was missed.


The second half started off equally tight, but UTD dotted the equalizing score near 55 minutes and found some momentum. Just a few minutes after that score, UTSA conceded a penalty near the posts and UTD slotted the PK to take the lead 8-5. Shortly after the PK, UTD suffered a red card for a punch. Undaunted by being a man down, they pressed on, scoring the final try at full time and notching the conversion.


UTD's Man of the Match was fullback Ross Chan. Centers Dominic Prestia & Nathan Sohadasenci and #8 Stephen Hale stepped up to provide a needed second-half boost on offense. Coach Wagner seemed very impressed with his team's overall defensive effort on the day. He indicated that they played as one to keep the Roadrunners' offense slowed to a crawl.


On a personal note, my conversation with Coach Wagner revealed that his brother, Raymond Wagner, and I played rugby at Camp Lejeune, NC during the same time period. Ray practically taught me to play rugby and definitely infused a love of the game in a young, impressionable Marine (me!). It was always easy to see how Ray loved the game when he coached and played. It was that same feeling I wanted to attain when I attended the USARFU Club Coach Level 1 course at Duke University after my honorable discharge from the Corps. I've been blessed with a thousand great rugby days because of Ray. Thank you, sir!

UTD at UTSA on Saturday, January 28, 2012

Westlake/StonyPoint photos courtesy of Mats Ostberg. 
Plano photo courtesy of PRC FB.
UTD/UTSA photos courtesy of UTD rugby.
A special "THANK YOU!" to all the coaches who took the time to respond to my queries!!! YOU make this blog happen for the players!