** MATCH REPORT ** Red Mountain RFC @ Camelback/Storm A great day for rugby, and the Storm boys played the full B Side match, including a Man of the Match award to a Storm Rugby player, but more on that later... A SIDE MATCH Once again Storm Captain Tony Alonzo was forced to sit out todays matches as he recovers from an injury sustained 2 weeks ago. Camelback player, Steve E was the lone Storm alumni in the lineup for the A Side as we took on the Warthogs from Red Mountain RFC (Mesa, AZ). It was our last match of the season taking on a Division 2 foe. We were missing 5 starters (4 from the forward pack) today and so others had to step up and most had to play 80 minutes today. Steve E had to move from his usual spot in the Second Row as Lock and play Prop in the front row for 80 minutes and did well. The Warthogs went up 0-14 in the first 10 minutes and then things settled down a bit. Eventually they went up further 0-19 before we got on the board with an unconverted try 5-19. On the last play of the half we gave up another try and the halftime score was 5-24. A score that was reflective of strong effort as we had good possession and moved the ball well when we had it. A few times we got caught with defensive lapses where the strong Div 2 side from Mesa was able to take advantage and score. The second half became tougher as the lack of a deep roster today played a roll as tired legs found it tougher to keep up with the level of play from Red Mountain. The FINAL SCORE of 5-71 was a bit disheartening, and yet the effort from the guys was tremendous given the lack of depth on the sidelines. There were positives to take out of this match to highlight over the next couple of weeks in practice, as well as some things to work on. B SIDE MATCH 6 current and former Storm players took the pitch for the B Side pitch which was played as a 10s match today. Lenny Nap from the Storm was asked to play the match as ScrumHalf. Normally he plays wing or outside center. Having never trained at the #9 position one would think we may be in trouble…….well it never was a factor. Napi played the position well for the first time with enthusiasm and aggressiveness. On offense, he had great moments. Once at scrum time he took the ball from the base of the scrum and delivered a solid pass out to the Fly Half and proceeded to loop and receive back from the Flyhalf and skip it out to the center. On another scrum, he took the ball straight up the blind side after recognizing the opposing #9 had taken away his passing lane. Meanwhile, being around the ball….he was making tackles and rucking like a forward! Maybe too much rucking for a scrummie, but he was having a blast being around the action, not like when he has to be patient out at wing and cant curtail his energy. Yes, we had El Paco at fullback, Rickey Hodinh at wing and Marquelus Graham at Prop. and all had moments. Each ran the ball up the pitch, made tackles and did some rucking today. Rickey especially made some great defensive plays. He took the man down once then popped up and chased the play and made a second tackle and popped back up in defense. Never giving up and eventually preventing a try. Ultimately the Warthogs B Side tok this match too, but as all 3 coaches noted….we may have a scrummie for the B Side. Man of the Match for A Side went to Gayle at the Flanker position as he played a monster game in the A Side match and a half of the B Side match. Napi took the honors for the B Side match as his teammates on Camelback recognized how hard he was working and the successes he was was having at the #9 position. And it was his first time there too. DIVISION 3 STRETCH RUN Great job to all the lads. Now we get a deserved weekend off next weekend while we gear up for the stretch run against our Div 3 opponents and a chance for the A Side to make the playoffs. On March 22nd we have our final home match as we host Old Pueblo from Tucson. On March 29th we travel to Flagstaff to take on the Landsharks of Northern Arizona. And we conclude the regular season on April 5th in Tucson with our rematch against the Tucson Magpies. Get healthy boys!
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:44:38 +0000
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