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Written by Pat Clifton
Saturday, 06 August 2011 23:57 |
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Utah Wins Pool of Death, Controversy |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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| Utah's Mike Palefau. Dobson Images
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| Peter Tiberio going to ground. Dobson Images
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| JP Eloff wrangling in an SFGG ballcarrier
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Pool A, better known as the Pool of Death, was highly competitive. Glendale, a well-respected team with a lot of talent and some friendly scalps in their pouch from this summer, went 0-3. And if it weren’t for a forfeit, the pool would have been decided by a three-way tie.
Chicago scored the first big win of the day when they sacked SFGG 26-12. The Lions’ trio of college all stars proved too much. Rocco Mauer, who graduated from Bowling Green in the spring, scored Chicago’s first two tries and Arizona’s Peter Tiberio the last two. JP Eloff of Davenport was integral in the effort at flyhalf.
In the second round of games, Utah, who had handled Glendale easily earlier, faced SFGG in a rematch of the Pacific Coast championships. The hosts won a thrilling contest when Mose Timoteo slammed down the game-winner at the death. But, as it turned out, SFGG would forfeit.
An SFGG player who started the game and subbed out came back on the pitch in the final moments. He did not check in with the fourth official, which is protocol, and the head referee permitted the substitution. There was no blood, so the move was illegal, as pointed out after the match, resulting in a 5-0 win for Utah.
Had the original score held true, SFGG would have still had something to play for in the final round of games. If their loss held, Utah would have needed a win over the Chicago Lions. Despite having already advanced, the Warriors bagged that win, utilizing their superior physicality.
“Chicago’s one of the best teams in the country about staying on their feet in contact. We knew how good they were on their feet,” said Utah player/coach Jason Pye. “We do have a trademark in being physical, and we knew we had to bring that, and I’m glad the guys did bring that to the game.”
If SFGG hadn’t forfeited, they would have needed a big win over Glendale to overcome Utah via point differentia. They got a big win, 29-7, but it wouldn’t have been big enough. Of course, there’s nothing saying SFGG wouldn’t have put the necessary 16 more points on Glendale if it would have meant advancement.
In the end, SFGG did forfeit, and Utah did beat Chicago, taking the Pool of Death. Pye says that more than validation, the win over Chicago gave them confidence.
“It went a long way for us on morale…The guys just hadn’t played well yet all tournament, and we just needed to play well. I was just happy that the boys came out and started from minute one and played a full game of rugby.”
For winning the pool, Utah is rewarded with a quarterfinal match against Marist. Chicago draws Belmont Shore.
Pool scores
Utah 28-5 Glendale
Lions 26-12 SFGG
Utah 5-0 SFGG fft. (original score was SFGG 22-19)
Lions 31-7 Glendale
Utah 12-5 Lions
SFGG 29-7 Glendale
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Written by Alex Goff
Saturday, 06 August 2011 22:23 |
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Eagle Eye: A Close Loss Pros and Cons |
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RUGBYmag Premier -
Columns and Opinions
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Alex Goff examines the USA v. Canada match, and what he'd think if he was writing about Canada, and also what he thinks about the Eagles.
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Written by Pat Clifton
Saturday, 06 August 2011 22:47 |
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Belmont Cruises Through Pool B |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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All photos by Dobson Images
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| Shalom Suniula for Belmont
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| Marist in green with ball
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| Boston being defended by NOLA
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Belmont Shore didn’t just win Pool B, they dominated it from start to finish, outscoring their three opponents by a combined score of 115-14. The only team to keep pace at all was Marist out of Hawaii, but even that game was never in doubt.
“Mission accomplished for day one, but like I keep telling the boys, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Belmont Shore coach James Walker. “We expected to go through. We thought some of the games would be a little bit tighter, but we just clicked and the result was the result, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
The leading try scorer for Belmont Saturday was wing Alex Ross with five. The former San Diego State All American is a capped Eagle, and he showed why Saturday, leaving many opposing wings in his wake en route to pay dirt.
“It was more so the playmakers playing inside me just kind of putting me into space and making my job easy,” he said. “I think any wing in 7s, you’re on the field to score tries. My teammates made that pretty easy for me today.”
Walker says Ross had a hand in his handful of tries, too.
“I think Alex is a confident player, and I think he’s been playing in our system for the summer and he’s just gotten better and better. He’s definitely got the talent, and now that his confidence is coming back, the sky’s the limit. He’s got serious gas.”
Finishing second in Pool B was Marist, who is Hawaii’s first representative at Nationals. Marist gave Belmont its toughest pool game, and then dispatched of pesky New Orleans 17-12. The Hawaii club’s scoreline against Belmont, versus that of the pool’s other contender, would prove to be the difference in who moved on.
Like Marist, Boston lost to Belmont and beat New Orleans. But unlike Marist, Boston lost big to Belmont, 48-7. And when Marist scored a centered try at the death of day one’s final match, which converted forced a 17-17 tie, the Hawaiians’ point differential is what pushed them into the Cup Quarterfinals. Pool scores
Belmont 24-7 Marist
Boston 19-7 New Orleans
Belmont 48-7 Boston
Marist 17-12 New Orleans
Belmont 43-0 New Orleans
Boston 17-17 Marist
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Saturday, 06 August 2011 22:11 |
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Men's Pool Play Box Scores |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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Editor's note: The scores and statistics shone here were kept by the fourth officials, not RUGBYMag.com
POOL A (Will only have five games. SFGG forfeited to Utah for use of an illegal sub)
Lions 26
Tries: Mauer (2), Tiberio (2)
Cons: Peterson (3)
SFGG 12
Tries: Barrett, Okusi
Cons: Timoteo
Utah 28
Tries: Unufe, Nichols, Palefau (2)
Cons: Pye (3), Nichols
Glendale 5
Tries: Gordon
SFGG 29
Tries: Barrett (2), Aswega, Okuis, Okusi
Cons: Timoteo (2)
Glendale 7
Tries: Reed
Cons: Malifa
Utah 12
Tries: B. Nichols, Palefau
Cons: Pye
Lions 5
Tries: Mauer
Lions 31
Tries: Degutes, Harrington (2), Tiberio, Thiem
Cons: Harrington (2), Franco
Glendale 7
Tries: Winbush
Cons: Malifa
POOL B
Boston 19
Tries: Quick, Marshall, Rude
Cons: Marshall, Rude
New Orleans 7
Tries: Rude
Cons: Rude
Belmont Shore 24
Tries: Howden (2), Suniula, Sio
Cons: Suniula (2)
Marist 7
Tries: Vaka
Cons: Umeda
Belmont Shore 43
Tries: Hamilton (2), Boyd, McKenna (2), Ross, Pitts
Cons: Pitts, Palamo (3)
New Orleans 0
Boston 17
Tries: Creighton, Goonan, McAlliston
Cons: McAllister
Marist 17
Tries: Tufuga, Talaimanu, Umeda
Cons: Umeda
New Orleans 12
Tries: Allen, Phillpot
Cons: Reuther
Marist Hawaii 17
Tries: Peni (2), Tufuga
Cons: Vaimasanuu
Belmont Shore 48
Tries: Ross (4), Kelm, Williams, Pitts, Suniula
Cons: Suniula (4)
Boston 7
Tries: Quick
Cons: Quick
POOL C
Middlesex 33
Tries: Collinson (2), Daley, Mullane, Mahoney
Cons: vettese (3), Mullane
Atlanta Old White 7
Tries: Kamba
Cons: Kamba
Woodlands 19
Tries: Tofte, Guillen, Kolka
Cons: Mack (2)
Pittsburgh 5
Tries: Heinle
Middlesex 17
Tries: Mullane, West (2)
Cons: Veltese
Pittsburgh 7
Tries: Heimle
Cons: Wilk
Woodlands 24
Tries: Mack, Guillen, Rogers, Moonlight
Cons: Mack (2)
Atlanta Old White 24
Tries: Kanda, Muchugia, Barford, Omondi,
Cons: Kanda (2)
Atlanta Old White 36
Tries: Tanui (2), Barford (2), Wentzel, Muchugia
Cons: Barford (3)
Pittsburgh 7
Tries: Heinle
Cons: Koon
Woodlands Exiles 22
Tries: Tofte, Mack (2), Moonlight
Cons: Mack
Middlesex 5
Tries: Mahoney
POOL D
Denver 10
Tries: Cramer, Ramirez
OMBAC 5
Tries: Kanto
Schuylkill River 24
Tries: Purcel, Burch, Wright, Ambrogi
Cons: Wright, Blower
OMBAC 5
Tries: Barnard
Denver 10
Tries: Haapapuro, Drury
Youngbloodz 12
Tries: Augspurger, Johnson, Schatz
Cons: Molloy
OMBAC 5
Tries: Claros
YoungBloodz 21
Tries: Benda, Jonhson, Molloy,
Cons: S. Augsburger (3)
Denver 14
Tries: De Achaval, Hapapuro
Cons: De Achaval (2)
Schuylkill River 21
Tries: Ambrosia (2), Boyle
Cons: Wright (3)
Schuylkill River 21
Tries: Boyle, Wright, Ambrogi
Cons: Ambrogi, Wright, Knipscher
YoungBloodz 12
Tries: Schatz (2)
Cons: Blower
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