Tigertown 2016

The Women's National 15s Team is back for another round of NASCs at Tigertown. I've been writing about Tigertown for a few years now, as USA Rugby has been holding camps here since forever (find some of those old blogs here). Tigertown, in Lakeland, Florida, where no one knows the winter season, is the site of the Detroit Tigers' spring training and a bunch of little baseball whippersnappers (I feel like I'm old enough to use that word), who run around with little spacial awareness but make up for bumping into everything by holding doors for the women rugby players.

We're here until January 3 competing for a spot on the 35-ish players who will lead the WNT into the upcoming World Cup. The senior side will have two top teams, and those teams will have two matches over the next five days, and performance in those matches will be one of the primary selection vehicles for the World Cup. There will also be two developmental teams that will have two matches as well. Players from the developmental sides will also have the chance at making the squad.

The format of this camp varies slightly from the past NASCs at Tigertown. We've had both selection and developmental camps here, but this time the top tier matches will pit those players the coaches think are their top 15 against those they think are the next-best 15, with others distributed evenly as subs.

For the players here, this is an exciting event. In theory, the best two players at each position will be on the field at the same time playing against each other (I say "in theory" because I don't want to discount the players who couldn't make it or who have yet to be discovered). Right now, we've just finished with Day 1 of camp, which was The Day of Logistics, and are winding down for the night. Day 2 should be a lot more fun--full of rugby and not travel. I'll try to keep all of my awesome readers updated throughout the next five days. At the very least I hope to post the results of the matches.

From Tigertown, in the swampy humidity of Florida, this is Sam Pankey signing off.

Wrapping It Up In France

If you follow my blog, you probably follow women's rugby (to some extent), and so you know that we dropped our second match to France, so I won't go into too much detail there. I will touch on a few general tour notes and give you all a little insight on how we spent our time in France. This blog entry will be a melange of tour notes and observations.

The Second Match
In a similar story line as the first match, France took advantage of scoring opportunities and we did not. We had fewer trips into France's 22 and played more defense this time. Our set pieces were still competitive, but could get better, and we weren't able to attack wide that much. This pretty much sums up France's 31-6 victory.

What's under it all is that we're not consistent and tested enough. A problem that has plagued the Women's National Team over the years is that we don't get a chance to assemble and play together enough, and we certainly don't play enough in general, both domestically and internationally. Our staff and players have been working on these obstacles over the years. This is why the 15s Residency Program is exciting. This is why a few of our top players are deciding to play overseas, where they will get more rugby. Of course, there is still work to be done, and we have a ways to go yet, but our future is promising.

Thanksgiving in France
This is the second year of my life in which I spent Thanksgiving in France. Obviously, the French don't celebrate this very American holiday, so we had to make the best of what we had. What we had was very little in terms of Thanksgiving fixings--no turkey, no stuffing, no cranberry sauce, no fall decorations--so we had chicken and fish (if you read my post on how the tour was progressing midway through, you won't be surprised by this), we made decorations for our tables, and we all expressed how thankful we are for the people and positive things in our lives.

It certainly wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving, but we were among family, we shared good food, we expressed our gratefulness together, and we made the most of what we had--sounds like the embodiment of the Thanksgiving spirit. Also, take a look at the table that team Hippos decorated. Looks like something out of a magazine, right? That table should've catapulted us straight to the top of the inter-squad competition. Instead, it got us a lame tie for third (thanks for nothing, Roshna).

Tourist Things in Montpelier
On our day off, after the first match, we had the chance to do tourist things. The lovely Kelsi Stockert has a friend who is from Montpellier, so she, JoJo and myself got a wonderful tour of the city and got to visit the Mediterranean, courtesy of Tom, Zoe and Lola.

The blustering wind blew us around a little seaside town as we explored the Mediterranean. We were only at the sea for about an hour, but we got to walk down a canal and see a bull fighting rink. Bull fighting is very popular in Southern France, but not so in the rest of the country. In Southern France, bull fighters participate in course libre bull fighting, in which the bull fighter attempts to grab a rosette from the head of a young bull.

In the city of Montpellier, we visited the cathedral. The building's high, arching ceilings loomed over us, and the cloudy sky cleared long enough for a little sunlight to streak through the stained glass windows and tint the inside with color. It was beautiful. We also walked around the shops and cafes through the narrow streets and cobblestone roads. I think I would really enjoy living in a city like that--full of history, where the closeness of the buildings and the slimness of the streets push lives together.

One of the best parts of the day was the sampling of desserts we did. We had crepes, macaroons and an assortment of other sweet delicacies. And then, we visited a couple of shops where we bought more sweet things for our friends and family back home.

All in all, our trip to France, though we had a tough time in our matches, was a wonderful experience. We learned a lot about our team, and hope to build on what we believe is a great foundation. We had a lot of fun in the city and with each other, and we met some great, hospitable people.

Brief Recap of USA v France #1

Where oh where do I start in this bruiser of a match? It was indeed a bruiser, as it always is with the French. In general, we played the fourth best team in the world close. We matched their first try with one of our own and took an early 7-5 lead. Then the French scored again, but we tied up the match 10-10. That was the story of the first half—trading blows—and France landed the final jab to take a 17-10 lead into halftime.

In the second half, we let ourselves down for about 20 minutes and gave up 19 points in that span. However, we tightened up our defense and closed the match without conceding another point. On the offensive end, we failed to get through the French defense in the second half. We had opportunities, but could capitalize.

Though we lost, there is always a learning opportunity—always take-aways and areas in which to grow. Handling errors plagued us on the attack. We dropped 7 balls, when we were within or close to the France 22. Those errors leave points on the field. The second half lapse is something that has haunted us over our last few matches, and we experienced that once again. And we learned that we need to be patient in our system—that our system works, but sometimes that takes multiple phases.

We also took away some positives and hope to build on those. Our set pieces were good. We won most of our lineouts and stole some of theirs, and our scrum not only hung in with one of the best in the world, it pushed them around at times. Our back line had moments of line-breaking brilliance. We saw space well and hit the occasional offload.

Going forward, these are the things we will fix and build upon. Our errors aren’t those that are hard to sort out, and we are confident in the things we did well. Tomorrow’s match should shape up to be a close one, and with the work we’ve been putting in, we hope to wind up on top.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to our three new caps—Alev Kelter (my fellow ginger), Kate Zackary (“Sam and Kate on 3”) and Abby Gus-gus…the big 6-footer!

WPL Nationals: A Recap

This little recap of the WPL Nationals is coming a little late, as all of the competing teams are now back home and likely recovered from the intensity of play last weekend, and USA Rugby has already posted articles detailing most of the matches from the tournament. However, I will recap anyway, because I like doing it, and a player's take on the match-ups from Nationals may differ from an onlooker's observations.

Let's first delve into the opening round of games. In the lower tier, Berkeley took on Atlanta and DC faced ORSU in the early matches. There were no upsets in either match, as the top two seeds advanced in both.

DAY 1
Atlanta v. Berkeley
Atlanta came with the pressure in this one. From the kickoff, they had Berkeley scrambling to play out of their own end, and even blocked a few attempted clearing kicks, scoring off one of them. When they weren't blocking kicks, they were pressuring the Berkeley defense, threatening to score for much of the first half, though they would only do so twice.

Berkeley, playing like the much improved squad they'd become toward the end of the season, mustered enough go-forward ball to get on the scoreboard toward the end of the first half and midway through the second half. However, as the story has been during their rough-and-tumble season, their defense let them down and gave up 26 points by the end of 80 minutes.

The result of this match-up surprised no one, as Berkeley has struggled to put points on the board all year, and Atlanta has consistently competed with the top teams in the East. However, the game, though a bit sloppy and full of scrums, was a close one, and Berkeley deserves a lot of credit for some stellar goal line defense at times.

ORSU v. DC
The second game in the lower tier also ended as expected with ORSU winning 37-5. ORSU controlled the pace and ball for most of the game, and they held DC scoreless for about 60 minutes, despite receiving two yellow cards in the contest.

Though DC only touched the ball down once, they threatened quite a few times. ORSU's physicality around the breakdown often left them exposed on the outside, and when DC was able to move the ball, they broke a few lines. But they couldn't mobilize enough support to finish off good long runs.

This was the story of the match--physical play by ORSU (on offense and defense) that led to hard hitting line breaks, and sporadic and short-lived effectiveness in the DC offense. ORSU was led by their forwards, as they have been all season, and DC, slow to the breakdowns, couldn't string together enough phases to gain momentum.

NY v. Glendale
What should've been one of the best games at this year's WPL Nationals wound up being a Glendale runaway. The first match of the top tier opened with a Glendale penalty kick and subsequent try, followed by a NY penalty kick. The first half, though a bit sloppy on both sides, was a close one and saw some great runs by both teams.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, Glendale kept that momentum going and ticked off another 19 in the second, finishing with 37 for the match. NY couldn't keep up with the fury of Glendale's pace. They only added a try to their total and the match ended 37-13.

Though NY finished their season undefeated, without any serious challenges to their spotless record, they had no answer for Glendale, who had a couple of challenging matches during their regular season. The difference in this matched seemed to be the level of preparedness. Glendale came in battle-tested, while the match-up against the defending National Champions was their first true test of the season.

SD v. Amazons
San Diego has been riding the wave of their fast-paced scoring momentum this entire season. Their lowest points total on the season was 26 in their opener against Glendale. However, in this match-up, the Amazons brought the pressure defense and held SD to only 12 points in the first half, while managing to put a penalty kick through the uprights.

The second half was a different story, as SD decided to play the quick ball game that got them to the top in the West. They doubled their first half total in the second and ended the match giving up only one try in a 36-8 victory.

This match was perhaps the most physical that SD played all season. The Amazons effectively controlled the pace of the Surfers in the first half, but the SD squad was able to break free and run in the second.

DAY 2

Berkeley v. DC
This match-up would see one of these two teams pick up their first win of their respective seasons. Though seemingly evenly matched, Berkeley proved to be the hungrier team. They scored early and often in the first half and went into halftime with a 26-0 lead.

DC's defense got four points better in the second half, but that still meant 22 Berkeley points, and their offense put up a try. The effort was, of course, not enough, as Berkeley saved their best performance for their final match in a 48-5 win.

Both of these teams will have a lot to do in the off-season to get their programs ready to compete next year. Of course, both squads have their share of talent, and it's only a matter of doing the work now.

ORSU v. Atlanta
Just as the WPL championship match was a nail-bitter, the final match in the lower tier was as well. Both ORSU and Atlanta faced formidable opposition this year, and both squads grew and improved as a result, which made for a bruiser of a match.

Atlanta played catch-up for most of the match, falling behind 5-3, then 10-3, and then catching up 10-10 as the match entered its final minutes. In the final 20 minutes of the game, Atlanta's goal line defense kept ORSU from touching down the ball about six times, but couldn't handle a seventh, as ORSU scored in the last minute to clinch 5th place 15-10.

These two teams will look to build on their momentum in the off-season. As contenders this year, they will, no doubt, be hungry for the podium next year.

NY v. Amazons
In the regular season, NY took both games against the Amazons by fairly big margins. This time around, the Amazons would keep the game close for about 60 minutes before running out of steam and letting NY pull away.

The match was a physical one, with both teams challenging hard around the breakdowns and trying their best to truck their opposites. NY, playing into the Amazons' smash-and-bash style, couldn't muster any momentum and were held to 12 points with only 20 minutes remaining, while the Amazons kept it close, tacking on 10 points.

However, the Amazons' tank hit empty with 20 minutes left in the match, and NY pulled away and ended the match with a 29-10 victory. As the top two teams in the East Conference, both NY and the Amazons want to end the West coast dominance and will be working hard in the off-season to bring back a title to the East.

SD v. Glendale
Yet another three-peat match-up, the final match of the tournament was perhaps the best. With some smashing hits and dynamic breakaway runs, the fans got all the excitement and anxiety they could ask for.

San Diego jumped out to an early 12-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the match, but Glendale would close that gap and continue to apply pressure throughout the match. After trading tries, Glendale put a penalty kick through the uprights to close the gap 19-8 going into the half.

Glendale would hold SD scoreless for about 38 minutes of the second half, while closing the gap to three points, 19-16. Each team had some try-threatening runs and try-saving tackles with the game on the line, but it would be a late SD scoring drive that would put away the match and send the Surfers to the top of the podium.

This year, both the final two teams combined talent with hard work and an effective game plan to make it to the top. Their only losses on the season came to each other. With most players planning on sticking around for both squads, next year promises to be even more competitive in the WPL.

WPL Nationals on the Horizon: First Round Action on Friday

The 2016 Women's Premier League regular season has concluded, and the National Tournament peers over the horizon. This season saw a shake-up in the standings. Perennial favorites, and last year's conference winners, Glendale and Twin Cities, were bested by two clubs that haven't fared so well in the WPL in recent years, and last year's WPL National Runner-Up, Berkeley, finished last in the West Conference. 

As a San Diego Surfer, I'm not going to pretend to give an unbiased report or prediction here. In fact, my bias says, "Nope Sam, don't even delve into predictions." So, I just want to give a brief run-down of what the women's rugby community will see in the first round of the WPL Nationals on Friday.

The regular season wrapped up with New York on top of the East Conference and San Diego winning the West. Last year New York finished in 4th place in the WPL Nationals and the Surfers 5th. With some lineup additions and polished veterans returning on each squad, both are now the top contenders for a National Championship. 

The two top seeds will have the two late games on Friday evening. New York will face the defending National Champions, Glendale, and San Diego will take on the Amazons. New York comes into the tournament undefeated, with the lowest Points Against total in the league, but may have their biggest challenge of the season, to date, on Friday. Glendale, after taking their only loss of the season, in their final match of the regular season, will be hungry to get back on track and defend their National Title. 

The Amazons had quite the challenge in their final match of the regular season, when their match against Atlanta went down to the wire. Averaging about 35 points a game, they will look to use their physicality to get on the board against the Surfers. On the other end of the field, the Surfers have scored more than any other team in the league (about 58 points a game), and outscored their opponents by an average of 41 points a game. 

In the lower tier, there will be no shortage of good rugby. Berkeley will meet Atlanta in the first match of the day. Though Atlanta only have two wins on the season, their last match, in which they nearly upset the Amazons, proved that they've continued to grow over the course of the season. Berkeley also had a down-to-the-wire thriller in their last match, in playing ORSU to within 12 points. Both teams are looking to build on their end of the season momentum. 

The second match of the day will see ORSU take on the DC Furies. The Furies, like Berkeley couldn't manage to pull out a win on the season, but they will be hungry for one on Friday. ORSU played in a tough West Conference, and though they couldn't break into the top 4, they hope to win the bottom tier. 

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to recap the games for all of my loyal readers (all 6 of you) on Saturday, and I won't hold back my commentary in the recaps. If you want to catch the games yourself, just head to The Rugby Channel. Games start at 10am EST. 

Scion Takes the MAC Championship

It's no surprise, after dominating performances in the first 3 Qualifier tournaments, that the Scion Rugby Academy would take the MAC Championship tournament. However, they would have to survive the punishing Virginia heat and get through a feisty NOVA squad, in the finals, to bring home the trophy. 

With only four teams fighting for the top two spots (only the top two from MAC get a berth to Nationals), the tournament was an abbreviated one for the women--the teams all played each other and the top two played in the finals. 

Scion breezed through pool play, holding their opponents scoreless while tallying a total of 124 points in three games. Just as in past tournaments, the Sirens had possession of the ball for well over half the time, in each of their matches. Relying on their breakdown savvy and offensive scheme, they were able to turnover ball quickly, run their offense smoothly and score often.

Though pool play was a breeze for Scion, the championship match would prove to be the antipode of ease. NOVA came out swinging, and hit Scion with an early score. Their scrappy defense turned the Scion offense sloppy at times, and the Sirens weren’t able to find a rhythm.

However, rhythm or no rhythm, the women of Scion are a versatile and resourceful bunch and were able to out-scrap NOVA. They pounded the ball at NOVA and put up 24, hard-earned points. NOVA was able to claw their way to 12 points and made MAC Championship a bit of a nail-biter.

Both teams will head to the USA 7s National Tournament in Glendale, CO, in a couple of weeks, and both hope to bring back some hardware to the MAC Region.  

Scion Rolling Through Competition in the Mid-Atlantic

As the 2016 7's Season is approaching its culmination at Nationals, several teams are emerging as powerhouses in their respective regions. The Scion Academy has become the dreadnought of the Mid-Atlantic region, winning the first two MAC Qualifier tournaments, and last weekend's Qualifier, in Rocky Gorge, MD, was no different.

Not only has Scion been winning tournaments, the elite side has only lost one game this season (in a non-qualifying tournament, without their full roster), and they win most of their games by 20 points or more. In fact, few teams actually score against Scion, and this past Saturday, Scion's opponents couldn't manage to put a single point on the board.

Scion rolled through NOVA B, in their first match, and then the DC Furies, in pool play (the Academy did play itself in a cross-pool match, and mixed their elite and select squads for a fun, fast match). In the semi-finals, they routed Philly, and were geared up to continue sailing through the competition when a summer storm hit Maryland. Due to lightening, the tournament final was cancelled, so Scion and NOVA A split the Qualifier points.

Scion's ability to shutout opponents is partly due to their connection and physicality on the defensive end, partly to their success in the breakdown, and partly to the seamless way they seem to run their offense. It's hard for a team to score when they don't have the ball, and Scion keeps the ball from their opponents. They turn over ball quickly and frequently, and then they take care of the ball and let their offense work.

This weekend, the Scion Academy will look to win the MAC Finals in Richmond, VA. With the momentum they have going into this tournament, it will be hard to stop them.

Eagles Fall Short in Utah, But Look Forward to Growing

The 2015 Super Series saw the Women's National 15s team cap 17 new players, and during this year's event another 8 players played in their first test matches. With only 4 players, who played in the 2014 World Cup, on the roster, and over half the team entering the event with less than 4 caps, the Eagles were not only looking to make a statement with their athleticism, but also get their young squad some field time.

This year's Super Series, hosted by First15 Sport and Utah Rugby, brought two European teams, in France and England, and two North American teams, in Canada and USA, together to compete over two weeks. Though the Eagles couldn't muster a win out of the three-match Super Series, they learned valuable lessons in each of their contests.

In their first match, against France, the USA WNT failed to hold on to a first half lead and let France tick off 3 tries in about 20 minutes, early in the second half. This momentary lapse in otherwise solid play, coupled with missed opportunities, were the Eagles' undoing. Those missed opportunities included 7 trips to France's 22 in the first half alone, and with only one try to show for their effort, the Eagles missed having a larger cushion to start the second half.

They also missed a scoring opportunity at the end of the match. Battering on the French defenses, the Eagles got to within feet of scoring, with no time left on the clock, and a clutch French steal after about 5 minutes of unwavering defense, cemented the French win, 19-13. Though the Eagles out-played the French for most of the match, they couldn't manage the win. Lesson learned: scoring opportunities are rare; be aware and take advantage of them.

The Eagles' second match, against Canada, shaped up differently than the first. Canada had the momentum for most of the match, and the Eagles couldn't seem to find a rhythm. Handling errors and set-piece woes also plagued the Eagles, which could've been the reason for their lack of flow.

At halftime, the 17-5 score didn't have the feel of a Canadian trouncing of the USA, but the second half saw the Canadians adding to their tally, while the Eagles fell silent. Canada continued to cause trouble in the scrum and turn over Eagle ball, and in doing so, ran up the score for a 33-5 victory. Lesson learned: It's hard to get a rhythm, when you're having trouble in the set piece.

In their last match, the Eagles' set pieces tightened up, but their defense let them down. The match started with some crushing hits by the Eagles--one that sent the English flyhalf to the sidelines early--however, the USA offense took a while to warm-up. A penalty kick, with 5 minutes left in the first half, finally broke the Eagles' scoring drought, and sent the teams into the second half at 17-3.

The Eagles were able to put 10 points on the board in the second half, but they allowed 22 from England, including some vicious line-breaks. The hard-running Eagles had some breaks of their own and moments in which they looked better than any of the teams in Utah, but again they couldn't finish, and England took the match 39-13. Lesson learned: consistency, consistency, consistency.

While the 2016 Super Series may not have turned out the way the USA would've liked, the Women's Eagles learned and grew over the two week series. Players and coaches realize that the WNT needs more rugby time together, and over the next year, the Eagles hope to convene more so that they can hone their skills. With some exceptional talent and a fine group of athletes, the USA WNT has a great foundation to build a world class rugby team.

The Scion Rugby Academy Takes the Championship in First Two Tournaments

The Scion Sirens have started the 2016 7's season undefeated with two tournament wins.

The Academy kicked off its inaugural 7's season, as an official ODA on June 1 with its first practice. Two and a half weeks later, the Scion women took the Monk Vaughn 7s tournament in Richmond, VA.

With four of the elite side players (Stacy Bridges, Kiki Morgan, Sam Pankey and Kimber Rozier) sidelined in preparation for the upcoming Super Series, the college players, like Dana Briosos and Kathryn Hobbs, stepped up and played some excellent rugby. Their play, along with consistent performances from Niamh Byrne and Kylie Noll, as well as some smashing hits and runs from Abby Gustaitis, Sarah Parsons and Emily Fulbrook combined to turn Scion into an unstoppable force.

Scion won their pool play against a tough DC Furies side and the always-formidable NOVA squad, put down James River in a cross-pool match, and then went on to dominate Norfolk and NOVA B in the semi finals and finals respectively. Not only did they go undefeated, the Scion Sirens only allowed their opponents a total of 4 tries on the day.

Their second tournament of the season was a MAC Qualifier in Wilmington, DE. Scion opened the day with a thrashing of Doylestown, 44-5, followed by another whopping victory against NOVA B, 29-5. Again, it was a combination of consistent play and some outstanding runs and hits that led Scion to victory, and with the addition of Leigh Thierfelder and Maggie Myles to the roster, Scion added some depth.

The semi finals pitted Scion against NOVA A, and it would be the Sirens' toughest game of the day. Scion managed to pull out a 7-point victory against a strong NOVA squad. This win catapulted the Scion Rugby Academy into the finals against Philly.

Philly would give Scion another tough match, though not quite the nail biter that NOVA gave them. Scion took home the championship trophy with a 24-14 victory against Philly, a 2015 National qualifying team.

Next up for the Scion Rugby academy is the fun-in-the-sun tournament in Cape Fear, NC. Though this isn't a MAC qualifier, the Sirens hope to continue their winning streak and take home some prize money.

Four Scion Academy Residents Will Represent the USA In July's Super Series

Among the 26 players chosen to don the red, white and blue for the Women's National 15s team in Utah, there are four Scion Academy residents. Stacey Bridges, Samantha Pankey and Kimber Rozier, three original Scion Academy residents, are no strangers to the international stage and will potentially add to their caps total in a couple of weeks. Kiki Morgan, from Brown University and current Scion Academy resident, will look to suit up for the Eagles in her first international match.

All four players recently competed in the WNT Top 50 camp in Greeley, CO, which Pete Steinberg described as "the most competitive camp I have had in my 5 years as the head coach of the Eagles."

The Super Series, hosted in conjunction with Rugby Utah and Utah Sports Commission, and produced by First15 Sport Performance, will feature 6 matches, pitting 4 teams from the Top 6 in the world against one another. The Eagles will play France on July 1 (5pm MT), Canada on July 5 (5pm MT) and England on July 9 (3pm MT).

The Eagles seek to ride the momentum of last year's Super Series, in which they beat Canada and played some wonderfully skilled and hard hitting rugby against New Zealand and England, and the uber competitive Top 50 camp into this year's event. Like last year, a good number of players, 7 to be exact, will potentially step on the field for the first time as Eagles.

Not only will four Scion Academy residents represent the USA, but 3 other players, selected to the roster and reserve roster have competed with past Scion teams--Cheta Emba, Alycia Washington and Lauren Rhode, This Eagles squad is an exciting mix of some young, explosive speedsters and experienced, athletic veterans, who hope to leave a mark, or several, in Utah this July.

Stay tuned for updates on where you can find the matches and post-match recaps.

Scion in Atlanta: Day 2

With both its Elite Side and High School Side in the semi-finals of the Atlanta 7's Festival, the Scion Academy had established the foundation for a successful tournament on their first day out. Heading into the second day of play, both sides were looking for more solid defensive stands and cohesive offensive series.

The Scion High School Side hit the ground running in the morning of the second day. Behind solid overall play, they beat a tough Summit team in the semi-finals, sending them into the finals against a very talented Atlantis team. Though they would strike first, Scion couldn't hold onto an early lead. The Atlantis offense was too much for them, and they wound up settling for second in the tournament. Of course, this isn't the result they wanted, however Scion can be proud of a second place finish with their first ever High School Side.

Day 1 for the Scion Elite Side was the Day of Defense, as no team could manage to put points on the board against them. However, Day 2 would start off on a very different footing for the Elites. The Northeast Academy came with their game faces in a snarl and with some great striking lines, were able to draw first blood against Scion. That first score for the NE Academy would also be their last, as the Scion Elites turned up the defensive pressure and turned on their offense. After ticking off 4 tries and an extra two on a kick, they beat the NE Academy 22-5 to move into the finals.

In the finals, the Scion Elites would face a familiar foe in ARPTC. In their first match of the tournament, the Elites held the women out of Arkansas scoreless. However, this recharged ARPTC would make the championship game a little closer, but in the end, not close enough. Scion was led in the finals by some strong runs from Emily Fulbrook and clutch decision making from Kimber Rozier, and they would beat ARPTC 24-5 and claim the Atlanta 7's Festival championship.

All in all, it was a great weekend for the Scion Rugby Academy. Not only were they able to come away with some hardware in their Elite Championship victory, but they sewed the seeds of growth in the Women's Rugby game by fielding their first High School side.

Scion in Atlanta: Day 1

The biggest news of the day, at the Atlanta 7's Tournament, was the USA's 12-5 defeat of New Zealand. Their victory against the Black Ferns landed them on top of their pool with an undefeated record, and gave the hometown crowd a great reason to fill the Kennesaw Stadium with a deluge of jubilant noise. It was an exciting game that gave USA Rugby fans something with which to ignite their American pride.

On the Festival side of the Atlanta 7's event, there was some great rugby as well from all divisions. The Scion Elite side opened the day with a shut-out victory against ARPTC. Led by powerful runs from players like Stacey Bridges and some great defensive play, including key turnovers from Abby Gustaitis, the Elite side maintained control of the ball for most of the game and continuously put points on the board.

In their second match of the day, the Elites once again shut-out their opponents. This time they gave Mad In Sevens a good thrashing. Elizabeth Trujilio was a menace around the breakdown, causing turnover after turnover, and on the offensive end, Sam Pankey put up a hat trick to give Scion a very large and sharp edge in this match.

The Scion High School Side played some stellar rugby as well. Like the Elite side, they went 2-0 on the day, beating the Norfolk Harvesters and Glendale. For the High School Side, going undefeated is a special thing, since this is the first time that some of these young ladies have ever played together.

However, with a team that was fully willing to work together and work with a wide range of talent-- bruisers like birthday girl, Hannah Moran, speedsters like Daz Williams, and work horses like Mikayla Lowe--the Scion High School Side was not only able to take the 'W' in both of their games, they showcased some great skill.

Both the Scion Elite Side and the Scion High School Side will compete in their divisions' semi-final rounds tomorrow morning, and both hope to bring home the cup from the Atlanta 7's Festival.

Scion In Sin City, Day 3

Unfortunately, Day 3 of rugby in Sin City wrapped up early for the Scion Elite side. They faced a tough South African side early in the morning, and though the Elites fought a good fight, they weren't able to put up enough points to grab the win against the Springboks.

South Africa jumped out to an early lead in the first half with a couple of tries. They were led by some physical play in the breakdown, and the breakdown was where Scion received a few penalties.

In the second half, Scion was able to control play a bit better, and with about two minutes left on the clock, they got on the board. However, South Africa wouldn't give up their lead, and put another try on the board following a good series of offensive phases, and the match ended with South Africa on top 17-7.

Though this wasn't the result Scion wanted, they, once again, played strong against an international side. Out of their five matches in Vegas, four of them were against international teams. Each of those four matches were were close, with 15 points being the biggest point difference (in the Great Britain match), and one ending in a Scion win (the Japan match).

All in all, the Scion Elite side left their mark on the Vegas 7s Tournament. They showed that they could play with the best in the world, and they will use their experience in Vegas to continue to build a successful 7s team and Development Academy.

Scion In Sin City, Day 2

So ends day 2 of the Las Vegas 7s Tournament. The Open Division wrapped up play today, and the Elite Division advanced through the quarterfinals. Both Scion sides, once again, played some great rugby.

The Scion Elite side started the day with a win over the Florida Selects. Florida came into the match without a win, and they were hungry for one. They played a physically intense game, but the Scion Elites matched that intensity and physicality. They maintained their composure, ran their system, and chalked up a 33-5 win behind some powerful play from forwards like Alycia Washington, Stacey Bridges and Sam Pankey.

In their quarterfinal match, the Scion Elite side faced a group of internationally capped players from Great Britain--players from England, Scotland and Wales. Once again, the Elites proved they could hang with some of the best in the world. However, they left a couple of scores on the field and couldn't manage to overcome a couple of early tries from GB. The Elites fell 15-0 to the GB Selects.

In the Open Division, the Scion Select Side won their quarterfinal match against Dark And Stormy, a Bermuda side, 29-5. Scion veteran players, like Leigh Theirfelder and Kylie Noll, are no stranger to Scion successes and would lead the Selects into the semi-finals against a British Columbia All-Star side.

A rough first half saw the Scion Selects down by a few tries, however they would rally in the second half to close the gap. Their second hand efforts would come up short in the end, and they fell in the semi-final match by a score.

Though the Scion Selects were hoping to come out on top of the Open Division, finishing in the top 4 isn't so bad. The BC team they faced went on to win the Open Division. Though that doesn't lessen the blow, it is a consolation knowing the only game the Selects lost was to the eventual champions.

Tomorrow will be the final day of play for Scion. The Elite side faces South Africa at 9:20am, and if they win, they will face the winner of Atavus v. Stars 1. The morning match will be the 4th international match for the Scion Elite side, and they hope to repeat their performance against Japan in pool play.

Scion In Sin City, Day 1

Day one of the Las Vegas 7s Tournament is in the books, and both the Scion Select and Elite sides had impressive showings, and both are in a position to compete for a place atop their respective podiums. 

The Scion Select side won all three of their matches. In fact, they handled their competition, not allowing any team to come close to victory against them. With speedsters, like Kylie Noll and Karmin Macedo racing around the outside of defenses and power runners like Jaime Albarelli and Jacie Vonada running through defenders the Scion Select side had no trouble scoring tries. And their defense was just as solid with some big hits coming from the likes of Megan Gilmore and Jasmine Harrison.

In the Elite division, the Scion Elite side opened the day of 7s with the first match of the morning against a strong French side. Though France bested the Elites, 12-0, Scion controlled the flow of the game, and had it not been for a few mistakes that turned into French breaks, the outcome may have been quite different.

Against a quick and scrappy Japan side, the Scion Elites played more composed and jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind some brilliant kicks from Kimber Rozier and streaking runs from Danielle Miano. The second half opened with another score from Emily Fullbrook, putting the Elites well ahead of the Japanese. However, Japan would rally and tick off a few tries in a row to close the gap to two, 26-24. In the end, Scion would hold on to that two-point lead and set themselves up for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow.

The Scion Elites will kick off the day for Scion rugby tomorrow morning at 8:20am when they take on the Florida Select side, in their last game of pool play. A win against Florida will, most likely, put them into the quarterfinals.

The Scion Selects have already wrapped up their pool play and will meet Dark And Stormy in the Open Side Quarterfinals tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Both sides are expecting another day of great rugby and some exciting wins.

One final note, check out the view of Las Vegas from the balcony of the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Pretty sweet backdrop for dinner after a tough day of rugby, huh?

So Much Rugby...

Since my last post, back in June of last year, there has been a ton of rugby that's happened in the USA and in my rugby life. The Women's 15s team competed in the Super Series, Iowa hosted what was probably the most competitive 7s National Tournament ever, Glendale took the WPL title, players have been traveling to numerous international 7s tournaments and NASCs invaded the Sunshine State (not to mention the 7s World Series kicking off, the Men's World Cup and all of the other international rugby the USA has been involved in). I wanted to revamp my blog, and hopefully be more consistent about posting, so I thought I'd update it with a quick recap of all of the rugby happenings, well, all of the rugby happenings that I've been close to or involved in.

Super Series
Following the June NASCs, at JMU (my last blog post), the Women's 15s National Team traveled to Canada to compete in the Super Series. The Super Series featured the 1st and 2nd place finishers in the 2014 Women's World Cup, England and Canada, and the team that's still arguably the best in the world, New Zealand, and of course, the physical, scrappy USA side.

The USA WNT brought a young, inexperienced squad to the Super Series, in hopes of giving younger players experience and building a strong and wide base for the 2017 World Cup. There were a total of 17 new caps on tour, with only 5 players returning from the 2014 Word Cup. An additional 5 players (including yours truly) had been capped before this tour.

In the first match, against England, 13 of those new caps made an appearance. The Eagles struggled early with England's pace, and their offense, still undergoing tweaks and changes, wasn't as efficient as they would've liked. They were still able to put 13 points on the board. However, just like their offense, the USA defense was a little disjointed and allowed 39 England points for a final of 39-13.

The Eagles faced Canada in their second match, and for a while, it looked like Canada would run away with the game. However, the USA rallied, and with some "cheeky" chip kicks from Jess Wooden, hard running lines by Jordan Gray and smashing hits from Hope Rogers, they pulled off a 36-28 victory over Canada, on Canada Day, mind you. That's right, the USA beat Canada on Canada Day.

Going into their final match against New Zealand, the USA was confident in their offensive scheme and excited to test their mettle against a strong Kiwi side. Fueled by their desire to prove themselves and their growing connections with one another, they put together a well-executed and strong first half, trailing the Black Ferns 15-14.

The second half was a different story, in fact, maybe it was a different genre of story altogether. New Zealand ticked off try after try and wound up adding 32 points to their tally, while holding the Eagles to a goose egg, making the final score 47-14.

Despite the second half, the USA Women showed that they could, in the words of Head Coach, Pete Steinberg, "play with the best...but we just couldn't do it for 80 minutes."

The Eagles finished 1-2 in the Super Series, but they consistently improved their play and honed their attacking and defensive patterns. With such a young and inexperienced team, it will be exciting to see how this foundation grows and develops over the next year and a half leading up to the 2017 World Cup. And let's not forget, we beat Canada on Canada Day.

2015 7s Nationals
This summer was a hot one, and not just the weather (excuse my corniness). The Women's 7s season saw the rise of new programs, the unseating of old champions and some of the most competitive games ever.

I threw my hat in with Scion Rugby for the summer season, and I am so very glad I did. We brought on some young talent, some old talent (I'm included in that group), some foreign talent and a lot of personalities to assemble a squad that could potentially be the best in the country.

At the start of the season, I couldn't participate, because of my involvement with the 15s WNT. I watched, cheering from the sidelines, as we took second to NOVA in our first tournament. This was a great start, but we faltered in our second tournament appearance, and finished 4th.

However, Scion would right itself, pulling most of the roster, which was spread out across the country, together in the DC area. By the end of the regular season, we had beaten NOVA by a pretty hefty margin to take a tournament title, before heading into regional play.

For the past 11 years, NOVA has been the team to beat in our region. They have won the MARFU playoffs each of those 11 years, and only the Furies have been close to taking them down. This year, it was Scion's turn. In the MARFU playoffs, we didn't lose a game--didn't come close--and in the Championship match against NOVA, we continued that winning streak with a decisive victory. For the first time in 11 years, the Mid-Atlantic region saw a new Women's Rugby 7s Champion--the Scion Sirens.

Scion tried to ride the wave of their MARFU successes into Nationals in Iowa. However, Iowa is in the literal middle of nowhere and has no beaches, so the wave petered out a bit. We had the eventual tournament champions, ARPTC, and tournament runners-up, Seattle, in our freaking pool play, and we drew ARPTC in the first match. Though we played them closer than any team that summer, we dropped the match 7-5.

That first match seemed to deflate our sails. Not only had the wave petered out, but we were in the rugby doldrums. The National tournament didn't go so well for us and we ended up going 3-3 and finishing god-knows where. Though it was a tough National Tournament, Scion built a foundation in 2015 for some exciting developments in 2016 (coming up later in the article).

2015 WPL Season
This fall's WPL season was the toughest season of rugby I have ever been involved in. Back in 2013, I was a part of the James River Women's Rugby Team when River first tried their hand at D1 rugby. We didn't win a game. That season was more enjoyable than this WPL season.

The DC Furies finished 7th in 2014, so there was plenty of room for improvement. However, going through some coaching changes, losing some key players and dealing with balancing a WPL side and a D2 side, caused the infrastructure to crack a bit, and the Furies struggled.

We lost our first 4 games of the season. The loss to Atlanta, in Atlanta, was a tough match, and we fought for that loss. We didn't play that well, but we didn't play badly, as we had early in the season. When they came to DC for our 5th match of the season, we controlled the match. However, we got ambitious. We tried to earn points for the standings, instead of trying to win the game, and we passed up a couple of penalty kicks in order to score tries. We wound up not scoring anything as a result, but neither did Atlanta, and the match ended in a 0-0 tie. Seriously, I'm not making that up. Two Premier League teams managed to play 80 minutes of rugby without scoring a single point between them.

In our final match of the season, against New York, were desperate to put one in the win column. We brought it to New York, with as much physicality as we could muster. Behind the foot of Kimber Rozier, we were able to put points on the board and gain field position. However, in the last couple of minutes of the game, we were tied, 10-10.

That's when yours truly decided to take some risks and jump the passing lane to pick off a pass from a lineout. Our back line subsequently ran a series of phases and put us within New York's 22, and a one, two punch from Ellen Triemel and myself sent me scampering, legs cramping, over the try line as time expired. We were able to end our tough season with a 17-10 victory.

The Furies ended the regular season on a high note, however we couldn't produce at Nationals and wound up dropping both of our games--the first to ORSU and the second to Atlanta. Though our matches didn't bring much excitement, the National tournament was full of excitement. The All Blues beat the Amazons in a nail biter, with Ruth Bryson making a game saving tackle as time has expired, and the Championship match was excellent, with Glendale eventually taking home the title.

Scion in New York and Tobago
Following the WPL season, I once again joined Scion Rugby to play some 7s in a couple of tournaments. In November, we trekked up to New York to compete in the New York 7s Tournament. Usually, I try to avoid any uncomfortably cold weather, but playing rugby in the cold is often worth the discomfort, and besides it was unseasonably warm this past November.

Scion took a lot of talented players, who had never played together, to New York. Despite lacking a practiced rapport, we we able to bond quickly and went undefeated in pool play. We won a tough semi-final match against the Northeast. However, we couldn't finish against an experienced Canadian squad, and we came back to DC with silver medals.

In Tobago, Scion added even more new faces to the squad. After a strong showing in the first couple of matches, we dropped a close one to Atlantis, who finished 2nd in last year's Tobago Tournament.

On the second day, we won our last pool match, and then came up against a strong all-star Canadian side in Aptoella. A few early mistakes put us behind the eight ball, and we couldn't quite rally sufficiently to pull out the win. However, a 2-point loss to the eventual champions wasn't so bad. We ended up beating the Northeast to claim 3rd in the tournament.

NASCs in Florida
Ahhh, good old Tigertown--the USA WNT has seen a lot of the Detroit Tigers training facility. This year Tigertown hosted about 250 women rugby players, from the high school lever up to the senior level.

I played on the Bruins senior side. In our first match, we smoked our opponents. Though a 55-5 point win was a lot of fun, our opponents weren't short on talent, and they went on to win their second match. On the other hand, we lost our second match.

However, the win/loss column wasn't what this assembly was about. This assembly was about selecting players for the 2016 WNT pool and developing the game in the USA. I believed we did both, and managed to play some of the most competitive 15s matches on US soil.

Upcoming
My next rugby adventure will land me in Vegas for the Vegas 7s tournament. Scion, which I didn't mention, has formed a National Development Academy, and we will field two teams at this tournament.

I also failed to mention that I was invited to the OTC to train for a week in a selection camp for the Sao Paulo stop on the HSBC 7s World Series Tour. Though I didn't make the squad, I relished in the opportunity to train with the USA 7s WNT for a change. I'm growing to like 7s more and more, and Vegas will be yet another opportunity to play against some excellent competition. Look for more posts in the next week, on our adventures in Sin City.