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Written by Jackie Finlan    Monday, 03 October 2011 17:15    PDF Print Write e-mail
North Shore Back on Track
Clubs - Women's Clubs

If Chicago North Shore wanted to start a comeback, it began with this weekend’s game against Detroit. The alternative was falling to 1-3, with a tough match against the Austin Valkyries and a likely win against St. Louis to round out the season. But North Shore answered the call, and outlasted Detroit 10-5. Both teams are now 2-2 and very much in the hunt for the final two seeds to nationals (Glendale locked #1).

North Shore (green) met Detroit's physical game and came out with the win. (Dan Stearns photo)

Detroit is an extremely physical side, and they didn’t hold back on the visitors. “It was a rough one,” North Shore’s Jenny Lui said. “Both teams took a while to get any sort of flow going. It was a sloppy game, and there was a lot of wind that everyone had to account for.”

North Shore broke the ice with an early try after some nice phase rugby down the pitch. Close to the tryline, flanker Liz Baker-Jennings dotted down in the corner for the 5-0 lead.

There the scoreline sat for the remainder of the half, as the teams tried to build some momentum but just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities given.

“In the second half, we were able to pick up the pace of the game and had some nice attacking rugby,” Lui said. “But we still need to do a better job of capitalizing on our opponents' mistakes and finishing opportunities.”

Midway through the second stanza, North Shore found itself on the Detroit’s five meter with an attacking scrum. The pack set a solid platform that allowed No. 8 Kate Daley the room to push for the goal line. She put her head down, kept her legs driving, and forced her way over the line, 10-0.

Detroit answered about 15 minutes later, when wing Melissa Martinez scurried into the try zone, but the Trademen couldn’t close the gap any farther.

“We're glad to have the win, but I think we all know we haven't put together a complete game of rugby yet,” Lui said. “So we'll be working hard in practice this week to continue to improve and prepare for our next match.”

This Saturday, North Shore will host Austin, which downed Black Ice 109-5 this weekend. It will certainly be a tough match, and the hosts need to bank some bonus points to better their chances for playoffs.

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Written by Jackie Finlan    Monday, 03 October 2011 14:31    PDF Print Write e-mail
New York Celebrates First WPL Win
Clubs - Women's Clubs

Going into Sunday’s Women’s Premier League match, New York and Minnesota knew that it was the teams’ best chance to break their losing streaks. Hosting the Valkyries on Randall’s Island was certainly a boon for New York, and the home team ran out to a 56-5 victory.

Captain Rebecca Brafman led New York to its first WPL victory of the season. (Bill English photo)

“The team is very happy with the win,” New York captain Rebecca Brafman said. “Over the break, we had targeted this third game as the point from which we were going to turn our season around. We now have the opportunity to build on this win for the next three games, and give ourselves a shot at competing for a spot on the top four.”

It’s certainly a weighty challenge for the reigning WPL champ, as they must surpass San Diego or Twin Cities in the rankings. The two red conference leaders faced off on Saturday in the game of the season, with the Surfers emerging 22-17.

But New York’s fortune may be changing, especially with the reintroduction of wing Vanesha McGee, who had missed the first two games. She was the team’s leading try scorer the last two seasons, and her impact was immediately felt on Sunday.

“Vanesha McGhee will be involved in the rest of the season thus far,” Brafman said. “Aside from her athletic abilities, she will play an important leadership role both for the outside backs, and for the team as a whole, and we will all benefit from her experience.”

But even with McGee’s addition, New York has still struggled to get its full backline running together, as fullback Kath Ryan was sidelined with an ankle injury yesterday.

The Valkyries are all too familiar with personnel issues, and have been experiencing the same growing pains that occur with a young team.

“They relied heavily on the leadership of players like Sara Chobot at flyhalf, Kristen Zdancewicz at flanker, and Lauren Daly at No. 8,” Brafman said. “They were inspirational for them, providing a lot of go-forward ball and heart at the tackle contest.

“But ultimately we were a more mobile team, and were able to move the ball away from breakdowns quickly and find open space. There were moments in which we demonstrated the ability to play our patterns and create quick ball, as well as moments where we were able to apply a significant amount of defensive pressure.”

New York sent seven people across the try line, so it was a true team effort. The hosts had the opportunity to play many of its young players, three of whom scored their first WPL tries. The team was especially excited to roster Angie Rosario, who graduated from the club’s U-19 program.

“Obviously this will take a lot of effort on our part, and we have a lot of work to do in the next month,” Brafman said about turning the season around, “but it's a good starting point for a young team learning what it takes to win in the WPL.”

The rematch ensues this weekend, as New York flies out to Minnesota. Across the road, San Diego will be in town playing Twin Cities.

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Written by Alex Goff    Monday, 03 October 2011 11:52    PDF Print Write e-mail
Survey Shows Growth in Rugby Participation
Off The Field - People

In terms of sports Americans play, wrestling, softball, football, hockey and baseball are long-term losers.

The latest authoritative Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association annual report on U.S. sports participation, based on about 15,000 individual surveys and 24,000 households surveys, is out. The survey asks Americans if they competed in a specific sport in the last year. Several traditional sports are down, while rugby is up 51% to 1.1 million, part of a trend in the growth of nich sports.

 

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Written by RUGBYMag Staff    Monday, 03 October 2011 14:16    PDF Print Write e-mail
Men's DI College Top 25, Oct. 3, 2011
Rankings - Men DI College

(These rankings were originally run Oct. 3 in our premier section)

Davenport and Dartmouth continue to leave no doubt as to why they're the top two teams in the country, as both posted impressive scores over conference foes. Davenport probably won't be truly tested until Oct. 15 when the Panthers travel to Bloomington to face Indiana, the same day Dartmouth faces its toughest Ivy foe in Princeton.

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Written by RUGBYMag Staff    Sunday, 02 October 2011 21:42    PDF Print Write e-mail
RWC Attendance Top 1 Millions
International - Rugby World Cup

Nearly 1.1 million fans have passed through the gates of Rugby World Cup 2011 stadia with all 40 Pool matches of Rugby's showcase event now completed, Tournament organizers announced today.

The official attendance stands at 1.07 million after the final eight matches of the Pool phase were completed over the weekend. Nearly a quarter of a million fans alone attended the weekend’s matches, which included four sellouts.

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Chairman Bernard Lapasset said that the strong attendance across all of the venues is testament to the way that New Zealanders across the country have backed the Tournament and all the participating teams.

“The way that New Zealanders the length and breadth of the country have embraced the Tournament has been absolutely incredible,” said Lapasset.

“The atmosphere around the venues and host cities with New Zealanders and travelling international fans combining to give such vocal, passionate and colourful support to all of the teams will be an enduring memory for everyone who has experienced Rugby World Cup 2011.”

“The scene is now set for four compelling quarter-finals.”

Martin Snedden, CEO of Tournament Organiser Rugby New Zealand 2011, echoed Lapasset’s delight.

“That’s an incredible turnout – equivalent to filling Eden Park around 18 times,” said Snedden.

“We are thrilled that so many fans in New Zealand have taken the chance to get a taste of the fun and excitement of RWC 2011 action. Games have been full of great colour and passion from fans both local and overseas and that has added a fantastic flavour to every match.”

“We promised a unique experience as our Stadium of Four Million fans warmly embraced the teams and their supporters and that’s exactly what happened.”

RNZ 2011 also announced that the momentum in ticket sales has continued with 1.34 million tickets now sold. This has pushed ticket revenue to NZ$262 million.

“This is an excellent place to be with eight major matches of the Tournament yet to be completed.”

Just NZ$6.5 million of sales are now needed to meet the Tournament end revenue target of NZ$268.5 million.

“I have no doubt we will reach our goal despite the major challenges we have faced, both with the tragic Christchurch earthquakes and the difficult economic climate,” said Snedden.

Tickets are still available for seven of the remaining eight matches and can be purchased online at www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets and at selected Ticketek outlets. 

“Now that the quarter-finalists have been confirmed, we expect strong interest ahead of the weekend’s four showdown matches,” said Shane Harmon, General Manager Marketing and Communications for RNZ 2011.

Ireland play Wales in the first quarter-final in Wellington on Saturday, followed by France against England at Eden Park. On Sunday, South Africa play Australia in Wellington and New Zealand take on Argentina in the last quarter-final at Eden Park.

There is good availability across most categories for the Auckland quarter-finals with around 16,000 tickets available for the England v France match and 10,000 for the New Zealand v Argentina match.

“This is where we expected to be as these matches were relocated from the much smaller Stadium Christchurch following the earthquakes and have only been on sale for about 12 weeks,” added Harmon.

Tickets are more limited for the Wellington quarter-finals with under 4,500 remaining for the first match and under 5,000 for the second.

“We are at the crunch point of the Tournament. It is do or die so these will be terrific matches and we urge fans to move fast as we fully expect to have near capacity or capacity crowds for all four quarter finals,” added Harmon.

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