Counting the USA 7s Collegiate Rugby Championship, in his last 136 minutes of rugby, Peter Tiberio has scored 11 tries.

Three of those came on Saturday for the All Americans team as he sparked his squad to a 60-17 defeat of New Zealand Universities.

The key moment came early in the match. With the score 0-0, the New Zealanders were camped on the All American goal line.

It was a tough-minded goal line stand by the Americans. They held New Zealand University and finally forced a turnover. The ball hit the deck and Tiberio was on it, fly-hacking downfield and chasing after it. Tiberio dribbled the ball on, gathered, and ran in for a 90-meter momentum-changer.

It’s rare to see an American player soccer-kick a ball on the floor, but in the right circumstances it can be a smart move.

“It’s one of the simplest things you can do,” said a proud captain Blaine Scully. Just hack it downfield and chase after it like a pack of wild dogs. Peter did a great job and it turned the game around from us being defending our goal line to us being up 7-0.”

Tiberio went on to score two more times, but he deflected person praise when asked about the game.

“It was a very good result from a lot of hard word,” Tiberio told RUGBYMag.com. “The guys have come together well. The one thing I was most impressed by was our defense. Early in the first half we were under a lot of pressure from them but we stayed in our defensive shape and were able to create turnovers that led to points for us. Also our forwards put in some big scrums for us that prevented them from attacking how they wanted to.”
For Tiberio, this is another step forward for a player who earned his first USA 7s team cap this spring.

Tiberio scored four tries in only four College Premier Division games this season, two tries in two tournaments for the USA 7s team, eight tries for Arizona in the CRC, and now three for the All Americans.

The All Americans shocked New Zealand Universities Saturday at the Little Q in San Diego, defeating the tourists 60-17 in the first match of a three-game series between the two teams.

The All Americans scored early with a 90-meter kick-and-chase by wing Peter Tiberio, and then Ryan Roundy scored, set up by Loyola Marymount hooker Zach Fenoglio. The Americans continued to put in the tries, and led 33-5 at halftime.

The New Zealanders scored twice in the second half, but they were never really in it. The All Americans dominated. In a turnaround compared to many games between a USA team and teams from top rugby nations, it was the New Zealand Universities that was punished for miscues, not the Americans.

“The team made very few mistakes,” said USA Rugby age-grade director Matt Sherman. “So far this has been a very strong group. Their off-field professionalism and, obviously, on-field performance have been very good. They were organized defensively, and overall it was an impressive performance.”

Sherman said the result was mitigated by the fact the New Zealanders just arrived in the USA. They bounced from a chilly New Zealand winter to 85-degree weather in Southern California.

“We expect, as they have more time here, things will be different,” said Sherman.


All Americans 60
Tries: Tiberio 3, Roundy, Besser, Jones, Fenoglio, Grossheider, Muhn, Cooke
Convs: Eloff 5

15 Blaine Scully (University of California – Berkeley)
14 Peter Tiberio (University of Arizona)
13 Duncan Kelm (San Diego State)
12 Gareth Jones (Temple University)
11 Dustin Muhn (University of California – Berkeley)
10 JP Eloff (Davenport University)
9 Chris Saint (Penn State)
1 Mike Su’a (BYU)
2 Zach Fenoglio (Loyola Marymount)
3 James Besser (University of California – Berkeley)
4 Chris Parker (Texas A&M)
5 Nate Brakeley (Dartmouth)
6 Garrett Lambert (Life University)
7 Derek Asbun (University of California – Berkeley)
8 Ryan Roundy (BYU)

Reserves:
16 Matt Crawford (St. Mary’s College of California)
17 Andy Cooke (St. Mary’s College of California)
18 Mark Bonham (BYU)
19 Cam Dolan (Life University)
20 Pat Sullivan (Arkansas State)
21 Kyle Grossheider (Life University)
22 Benji Goff (University of Tennessee)
23 Ray Forrester (BYU)

NZ Universities 17
Tries: 3
Convs: 1

(Click on team photo for larger image)

The All Americans squad is full of players who have at least a little bit of international experience.

But even those who are new to this level of rugby have jumped in with both feet.

“It’s been a really good assembly,” said co-captain Blaine Scully, who toured with the All Americans in 2009 and has played for the USA at 7s and 15s. “Playing rep side rugby, and coming together quickly as a team, is a really difficult task. You have to learn a new system and implement a game plan, and it requires everybody to be on board 100% and willing to learn.”

The players ran a 1K fitness assessment run, but haven’t done a huge amount of fitness because there’s no time. Players were expected to be fit when they showed up, and they are.

“The guys are handling the international pace well,” Scully told RUGBYMag.com. “We’ve got people coming from all sorts of programs and all sorts of different backgrounds learning a new system. In the end it’s a matter of execution, and hopefully for the guys in their first experience at this level, their training kicks in. I am really confident in the players we have.”

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The 23 Men's Collegiate All-Americans set to suit up against the New Zealand Universities Touring side on Saturday have been named.  The game will kick off on Saturday July 9, 2011 at 3 p.m. at The Little Q, the home of Old Mission Bay Athletic Club (OMBAC).

The All-Americans have been in camp this week at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. to prepare for the Series.

In addition to rugby-specific skill work and training, the All-Americans visited a Navy training center in the area and took part in a workout used by the elite operations force, the Navy SEALS.

The All-Americans will play two more matches after Saturday’s fixture.  The last two matches will take place on July 13 at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif. and Steuber Rugby Stadium in Stanford on July 16.

Men’s Collegiate All-Americans
15 Blaine Scully (University of California – Berkeley)
14 Peter Tiberio (University of Arizona)
13 Duncan Kelm (San Diego State)
12 Gareth Jones (Temple University)
11 Dustin Muhn (University of California – Berkeley)
10 JP Eloff (Davenport University)
9 Chris Saint (Penn State)
1 Mike Su’a (BYU)
2 Zach Fenoglio (Loyola Marymount)
3 James Besser (University of California – Berkeley)
4 Chris Parker (Texas A&M)
5 Nate Brakeley (Dartmouth)
6 Garrett Lambert (Life University)
7 Derek Asbun (University of California – Berkeley)
8 Ryan Roundy (BYU)

Reserves:
16 Matt Crawford (St. Mary’s College of California)
17 Andy Cooke (St. Mary’s College of California)
18 Mark Bonham (BYU)
19 Cam Dolan (Life University)
20 Pat Sullivan (Arkansas State)
21 Kyle Grossheider (Life University)
22 Benji Goff (University of Tennessee)
23 Ray Forrester (BYU)

2011 MEN’S COLLEGIATE ALL-AMERICANS v. NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITIES SUMMER TOUR
July 9: Little Q (Old Mission Bay Athletic Club) | 3 p.m.
July 13: Harder Stadium (UC- Santa Barbara) | 6:30 p.m.
July 16: Steuber Rugby Stadium (Stanford University) | 1 p.m.