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.