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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release    Saturday, 18 June 2011 23:34    PDF Print Write e-mail
Saxons Too Much for Canada in Churchill Final
Canada - Men
Ian Muir photos



The powerful set piece and skillful flyhalf play of the England Saxons has ended the Canadian men's hopes of leaving the last-ever Churchill Cup victorious.

Canada challenged the Saxons defensively and had moments of brilliance in attack, but the game opened up in toward the end, leaving a disappointed Canadian team on the wrong end of a 37-6 scoreline in the Churchill Cup final.

In a bitter-sweet end to the tournament, New Brunswick flanker Chauncey O'Toole was named the Sky Sports tournament MVP.

Near lost for the words following the game, O'Toole appeared gutted by the loss.

“It's a disappointing way to end,” he said. “I don't really feel we put our best foot forward today, but we'll learn from it.”

With the win, the Saxons capped the nine-year history of the tournament in the same way they opened it at the first fixture in 2003.

Despite the loss, all the signs were there to indicate Canada's hard work on the training pitch was paying off.

Defensively, for the majority of the game, they're hard-nosed approach to the tackle zone shut down many of the Saxons threatening outside runs.

And while they lacked a desirable amount of possession, when they had the ball their attack was enterprising, but resulted in only half breaks more often than not.

In the end though, as coach Kieran Crowley had predicted, the Saxons set piece proved a dangerous and discouraging launching pad for attacking raids on the Canadian line.

Canada found themselves in better shape than the Saxons' other Churchill Cup opponents at the half, down by just nine points, 15-6, after a couple of lapses in an otherwise strong first half.

The Saxons'  intentions were shown early, as the defending champions were attacking the line for several phases before kicking for territory and putting the challenge out there for the Canadian lineout.

In an early indication of just how much preparation the Canadian team has done in the build up to the final, Canada handled their defensive responsibilities well in the opening stanza.

However the set piece proved to be dangerous early, as the Saxons won short-hand penalties on two of the first three scrums.

Canada's lineout looked much better, while their first throw resulted in a turnover, their second was a shining example of their belief in themselves.

Camped within five meters of their line, Canada threw to Jamie Cudmore, brought the ball down and mauled it out of the danger zone.

The deadlock broke 11 minutes in when Brian Erichsen was called offside in a maul close to Canada's line and man of the match Rory Clegg kicked the first points for the Saxons.

Canada were right back in it three minutes later when they managed to trap the Saxons in their own end and set up for an Ander Monro drop goal on a penalty advantage.

Then, midway through the first half, the Saxons strength in the scrum led to a charge down the wing before flanker James Gaskell crossed over for an unconverted try in the corner.

Canada's troubles only deepened shortly afterwards when Miles Benjamin snagged an intercept on a Canadian counter attack. Clegg added the extras and the Saxons led 15-3.

Pritchard added a penalty kick before the close of the half to take cut the Saxons lead down, 15-6.

An early penalty to Clegg put the Saxons on the front foot in the second half, but some adventurous attacking play from Canada showed they would not die wondering.

In the defensive zone, Canada narrowly avoided embarrassment when Ciaran Hearn scrambled to clean up a loose ball inside his 22-metre line and threw a wild pass, which was mercifully cleaned up by Pritchard inside the in-goal.

Canada showed signs of breaking through the Saxons defenses, including a huge run from Skye Sports tournament MVP Chauncey O'Toole, but each time the favorites were able to scramble in defense and shut the opportunity down.

Realizing the Canadian defense and work rate were solid enough that no simple act of rugby would break the game open, Saxon fly-half Clegg chose another avenue.

With 20 minutes left in the game, Clegg sent a well-weighted kick into space, allowing his winger Benjamin to snatch it up and dive over for a converted try.

As the game wound down, mistakes began to creep into the Canadian game and the Saxons were able to capitalize when a simple box kick was left to bounce and winger Charlie Sharples was able to field the ball and force his way to the try line.  

The Saxons' victory was secured beyond doubt in the final five minutes with a converted try to flanker Jamie Gibson.

The 2011 Churchill Cup fixture was the final year of the tournament, as both Canada and the United States will participate in the International Rugby Board's global rugby calendar as of 2012.

Canada 6 – England Saxons 37.
Canada penalty goal – James Pritchard.
Drop goals – Ander Monro.

England Saxons tries – James Gaskell, Miles Benjamin (2), Charlie Sharples, Jamie Gibson.
Conversions – Rory Clegg (3).
Penalty goals – Clegg (2).

Canadian squad
Name-Club (Hometown)
1. Hubert Buydens - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Saskatoon, SASK)
2. Pat Riordan (Captain) - B.C. Bears/CRC (Burnaby, B.C.)
3. Jason Marshall - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
4. Brian Erichsen - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
5. Jamie Cudmore - Clermont Auvergne/PRO (Squamish, B.C.)
6. Jebb Sinclair - The Rock/CRC (Fredericton, N.B.)
7. Chauncey O'Toole - The Rock/CRC (Belle Isle, N.B.)
8. Aaron Carpenter - Plymouth Albion/UK (Brantford, ON)
9. Sean White - B.C. Bears/CRC (Victoria, B.C.)
10. Ander Monro - Ontario Blues (Victoria, B.C.)
11. James Pritchard - Bedford Blues/UK (Parkes, NSW, Australia)
12. Ryan Smith - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Caledon, ON)
13. Phil Mackenzie - Esher/UK (Oakville, ON)
14. Ciaran Hearn - The Rock/CRC (Conception Bay, NFLD)
15. Matt Evans - Unattached (Duncan, B.C.)

Replacements
16. Andrew Tiedemann - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (St. Albert, AB)
17. Scott Franklin – Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Regina, SASK)
18. Tyler Hotson - Plymouth Albion/PRO (Vancouver, B.C.)
19. Nanyak Dala - Prairie Wolf Pack/CRC (Saskatoon, SASK)
20. Jamie Mackenzie – Esher/UK (Oakville, ON)
21. Nathan Hirayama – B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)
22. Conor Trainor - B.C. Bears/CRC (Vancouver, B.C.)

Staff
Coach Kieran Crowley
Assistants: Geraint John, Clive Griffiths, Neil Barne
Video Analyst: Calum Ramsey
Manager: Rodger Swany
---
Referee: Romain Poite.


 

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Saturday, 18 June 2011 23:28    PDF Print Write e-mail
Kutztown Collegians Take Club Qualifier in Wilmington
Sevens - Club Sevens
DJ Wolf photo
DJ Wolf photo
DJ Wolf photo

The Kutztown University 7s team made a big splash Saturday, winning the Wilmington 7s Mid-Atlantic Qualifier bracket, and securing a place in the MARFU territorial club 7s championships.

The KU team is an all-student team that is being coached by Kutztown alumni Jeff Reiss and Paul Presinzano. The team checked carefully with USA Rugby to ensure they were allowed to compete in the club competition.

“We’re excited about the team,” said Presinzano. “MARFU had no problem with us competing, Our whole agenda is, this is going to be an Olympic sport. We want to be involved and have our players compete as much as possible. Kutztown wasn’t invited to the [USA 7s] CRC; that’s fine, we understand. But we still want to get as many athletes experience as we can to give[USA 7s coach] Al Caravelli a bigger pool of players.”

KU went 1-1 in Pool Play, defeating the NOVA 35-10 and losing to Wilmington 22-12. That put them in the 4th seed position in the quarterfinals, where they met the Pittsburgh Harlequins.

Curiously, the Harlequins had on their roster a KU student. Perhaps they needed more as the Bears won 17-7 to make the semis.

In the semis, Kutztown faced Schuylkill River, champions last week at Lehigh Valley and big winners in their three previous matches.  But Kutztown prevailed 28-17 to make the final.

That set up a final against the Maryland Exiles. Both teams were beat up by this point, and in a tense match KU led 7-5 at halftime. Kutztown scored early in the second half and then a few minutes later to lead 19-5 late. The Exiles put in a try and rushed to kick off again, but Kutztown retained the ball and kicked to touch to end the game, 19-10.

“The guys played good, unselfish, team rugby,” said Presinzano. “Tim Acker was a big scorer for us in the 15s season, but he spent the day setting up tries.”

Matt Hartwell, a new Kutztown student who has transferred from Shippensburg, and Gareth Lourens led the team in tries, while Bruce Dolan toughed it out through a groin i9njury and scored the final try in the championship game.

The tournament victory puts Kutztown in the MARFU finals, along with Schuylkill River. Schuylkill still leads the points standings while the Exiles earned their first points of the season.

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Saturday, 18 June 2011 19:16    PDF Print Write e-mail
Petri Gets Go-Forward Chance
National Teams - USA Men

Mike Petri sends the ball out against Russia. Ian Muir photoOne of the choices for the USA lineup that raised an eyebrow or two was that of Mike Petri at scrumhalf.

It’s not that Petri isn’t worthy; more it’s that Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan has been picking Tim Usasz, for the most part, in test matches.

“I wanted to give Mike a shot, to be fair,” O’Sullivan told RUGBYMag.com. “If you look at the last few games Mike had started, they were against Saracens, Scotland A, and the Saxons. He hadn’t been behind a pack that was going forward and giving him good possession. So I wanted to see him when he wasn’t getting harassed, and I thought he did well.”


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Written by Will Dietrich-Egensteiner    Saturday, 18 June 2011 21:33    PDF Print Write e-mail
NRU Takes South Shore Qualifier Cup
Sevens - Club Sevens

The women’s qualifier pool of the South Shore 7s tournament on June 18 in Braintree, Mass. was dominated by the NRU Developmental side, which went undefeated on its way to the cup title.

The qualifier pool was made up of the NRU Developmental side, Boston Belles, Falcons, Boston Women, Village Lions and Northland. Right behind NRU were the Boston Belles, who only lost two matches, both to NRU, in the first and last women’s matches of the day.

NRU beat the Belles in the cup final, 24-5, in a match that was closer than the score line indicated. NRU got on the board quickly with a converted try and regained possession of the ball after the kickoff to force their way downfield for an unconverted score. The Belles had a chance to respond when they intercepted an NRU pass but NRU got the turnover and scored again by fighting through a tackle with determined running, making the score 17-0 at halftime.

NRU showed their discipline by defending in a line and forcing the Belles back on the next possession. The Belles managed to score when the scrumhalf took the ball off a scrum and shot the gap to sprint over 50 meters for the try. The conversion sailed wide and the score stood at 17-5.

NRU added one more converted try by outpacing the Belle defender down the left sideline and into the try zone. Both teams had excellent days on the pitch but NRU forced contact and played on their terms while the Belles looked to avoid contact. “They drew us into contact, we were trying to avoid contact,” Belles coach Bryan Hamlin said. “Obviously they’re very strong at the breakdown and they did a very good job of stealing the ball from us in contact. We didn’t get our hands on the ball enough.”

In the plate final, Falcons faced off against Northland in a match that was only decided in the final moments. The teams looked evenly matched and tied when they met in the pool stage, but the Falcons pulled out the win at the end, 29-24.

Northland started off the match well by kicking off and regaining possession after a few Falcon phases. They took advantage of the turnover by scoring quickly and converting it for a seven-point lead.

Falcons wasted no time in responding by returning the ensuing kickoff down the left wing for a try that went unconverted.

Northland used good hands and slick offloading to extend their lead to 14-5 at halftime.

Falcons were hurting themselves in the first half by knocking the ball on and not taking advantage of their scoring opportunities, but that changed in the second half. They scored soon after the kickoff and landed the conversion to close the gap to two points.

Falcons had another chance to score but a foot in touch ended the threat. They won the lineout in Northland territory however and one pass saw the flyhalf cross the line. The conversion was good and the lead switched hands, 19-14 to Falcons.

Northland fielded the kickoff and kicked to space in the Falcons’ half. A good chase by a Northland player resulted in the pick up and try, but the conversion fell short, leaving the match tied at 19.

Falcons answered by spreading the ball left to the touchline before passing back inside for another try. A missed conversion brought the score to 24-19.

With time running out, Northland had to score quickly and did just that, popping the ball up from the ground to keep possession alive and gain ground before finding a gap to score. Northland could’ve gained the lead but the conversion missed and the score was tied at 24.

With time left for one last possession, the Northland kickoff rolled into the Falcon try zone where a Falcon player touched down the ball. Falcons took the quick tap at the 50-meter line and worked the ball left to space where the winger slipped a tackle and scored the decisive try.

The bowl final saw the Village Lions take on Boston Women. Neither team registered a win in pool play, but the Lions found their stride for a well-earned 26-5 win.

Boston Women started the match off better than their previous ones, earning a penalty deep in their half early on. They kicked from this and chased well to recover and sprint over for the try. The conversion missed and the Boston Women held a 5-0 lead.

Following this, the Lions turned it on to score three converted tries. They crossed from 40 meters out, recovered their own kickoff to score and sprinted around the outside of the Boston defense. Boston found themselves in a 16-point hole late in the match.

Boston did manage a consolation try before the Lions slammed the door shut with another try. The conversion missed but the Lions had already won.

For a full list of women’s qualifier scores from the South Shore 7s, go here.

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Written by RUGBYMag Staff    Saturday, 18 June 2011 18:14    PDF Print Write e-mail
Final Final for Churchill Cup
International - International News

Ian Muir photoEngland Saxons won their 7th Churchill Cup Saturday by beating Canada 37-6, and it will be their last, as this weekend marks the end of the nine-year-old tournament. 

Born out of England's 2001 tour of North America, the Churchill Cup was named after Winston Churchill, a hero to all English and Canadian people, and an honorary US citizen for his role in helping lead the allie during World War II.

When England took basically a 2nd side to the USA and Canada in 2001, while most of their top players toured with the British & Irish Lions, everyone reveled in the more competitive games the tour provided.

Maybe, then, a new event could pit the USA and Canada against an England side (later dubbed England A, and then the England Saxons). After a three-tournament event in 2003, more teams were added. Held in the USA and Canada most years, the Churchill Cup did its job, and provided international competition, for a trophy, when both the USA and Canada sorely needed it.

The model has now been adopted by the International Rugby Board for the Nations Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup.

But things have changed, and the Churchill Cup is no more. Canada and USA have been included in the new IRB strategic investment tournaments and tours schedule and have confirmed June inbound home tests against Tier 1 opposition in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

They also have a full November test match program against other Tier 2 unions in Europe, and the Americas Rugby Championship, which will provide both unions with a highly competitive and relevant international match schedule for their elite players.

This has has led to a joint decision taken by the RFU, USA Rugby and Rugby Canada, in consultation with the IRB to end the Churchill Cup agreement.

RFU Business Operations Director Paul Vaughan and a member of the Churchill Cup Executive, said: “The Churchill Cup has provided what we had all hoped for – regular international competition for USA and Canada in a showpiece event, which has been hosted in 17 venues and included 13 participating nations since 2003. It has also given refereeing and coaching opportunities for all three unions and ultimately strengthened the relationship between us. We would like to thank all those who have made the Churchill Cup a success, including previous sponsors Barclays and our broadcast partners Sky Sports.

“The initial period of the alliance agreement was five years (2002-2007) and was subsequently renewed on a two-year rolling basis. The latest agreement will expire at the end of the current tournament and it was felt by all parties that Canada and USA should be fully integrated into the existing portfolio of international strategic investment tournaments.

“In addition the success of playing additional fixtures in Australia and New Zealand in 2010 and the need to support three Tests Series, has led to the conclusion that the development and performance of England’s elite and potential elite players is best delivered in the future with midweek matches alongside the Test matches.

“We will continue to support USA Rugby and Canada as we much as we can and wish their teams all the best at Rugby World Cup 2011.”

Nigel Melville, Chief Executive of USA Rugby, said: “I would like to thank all those who have supported the Churchill Cup over the last decade, especially the Rugby Football Union for their unerring commitment to the alliance between them, ourselves and Rugby Canada. We cannot underestimate the benefit the tournament has given to our players.”

Rugby Canada Chief Executive Graham Brown added: “It has been a real journey from that first tournament in Vancouver back in 2003 and credit should go to all those who have made the Churchill Cup happen, from the participating unions through to sponsors and the IRB. It gave us regular international competition when there wasn’t any and we can now look forward to being integrated into the match schedules built on a foundation of having had those June Tests for the last nine years.”

 

Churchill Cup History:
2003 1st England; 2nd USA; 3rd Canada
2004 1st NZ Maori; 2nd England A; 3rd Canada; 4th USA
2005 1st England A; 2nd Argentina; 3rd USA; 4th Canada
2006 1st England Saxons; 2nd Ireland A; 3rd NZ Maori (Plate); 4th Scotland A; 5th Canada (Bowl); 6th USA
2007 1st England Saxons; 2nd NZ Maori; 3rd Ireland A (Plate); 4th Scotland A; 5th Canada (Bowl); 6th USA
2008 1st England Saxons; 2nd Scotland A; 3rd Ireland A (Plate); 4th Argentina Jaguars; 5th Canada (Bowl); 6th USA
2009 1st Ireland A; 2nd England Saxons; 3rd Argentina Jaguars (Plate); 4th Canada; 5th USA (Bowl); 6th Georgia
2010 1st England Saxons; 2nd Canada; 3rd France A (Plate); 4th USA; 5th Russia (Bowl); 6th Uruguay
2011 1st England Saxons; 2nd Canada; 3rd Italy A (Plate); 4th Tonga; 5th USA (Bowl); 6th Russia

USA record: Won 5 Lost 20
Canada record: Won 9 Lost 15

 

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