Moto:   BASIC RUGBY, PLAYED WELL 

             AND TO PERFECTION AT PACE!

Sat, February 24, 2007

SEAHAWKS 25 – Diablo Gaels 24 

Referee: Mike Gadoua
This was a squeaker, the deciding point being a James Hinkin penalty

kick versus a conversion.

Seconds: Seahawks 5 – Diablo Gaels 31

Referee: James Hinkin
The rain was timed perfectly by the Rugby Gods as the weather held at

San Jose’s Watson Bowl until some sprinkles appeared at the end of the

B side match.
Both sides turned up to play in an exciting contrast of styles and strengths. 

San Jose appeared to have the edge in the forwards – being especially dominant

in the scrums – but lacked finishing in the back line.
Diablo seemed overwhelmed at times in the forwards but their back line – featuring 

Eagle legend Vaea Anitoni – were able to convert the ball they had into points.

The first half saw San Jose controlling territory and possession but they were unable

to score. 2 tries (one converted) by Diablo saw them to a 12-0 halftime lead.

The second half saw more of the same as breakaways from distance saw the 

fleet Gaels outpace and outmaneuver the Seahawk defense. San Jose had plenty

of chances but were always let down by an errant pass or a knock on.
The second try of the half for Diablo actually came from the restart of the first

 try as poor tackling and a lack of defensive discipline from San Jose allowed Diablo 

to take the kickoff all the way back to where it came from.
A third second half try sealed the match as the Diablo #10 swerved his way for 

50 meters with Vaea Anitoni at his side shouting for the ball and then shouting

encouragement as all tackle attempts missed.
San Jose was finally able to use its forward dominance to generate a try from a

lineout and maul as captain, warrior and #8 Mike Wynyard was able to stretch out 

and dot down for the score. Final score: San Jose Seahawk B – 5, Diablo B – 31.

Diablo Gaels 12 – HAYWARD 46

WHAT THE REF HAD TO SAY:

Referee: Paul Bretz
Hayward completely dominated play as they scored the first two tries

of the match and the last two tries of the match. Final score was 46-12.

Diablo failed to meet Hayward at the gain line and so Hayward was always 

going forward, both offensively and defensively. Diablo had some good runs

but the runners always seemed to get isolated and once they were taken to

ground turnovers were the result.

Seconds: Diablo Gaels 26 – HAYWARD 39 Referee: Joe Androvich
Assessor: Bryan Porter

Sat, February 11, 2007

BATTEN WAIR THELWELL HOISER

 

INTERNATIONAL PUB CRAWL:

SUNDAY: FEBRUARY 11

SOUTH AFRICAN BLOWS AWAY LOCALS:

The first Diablo Gaels International Pub Golf Tournament was held

under rainy skies on Saturday.  A strong field assembled at Stanfords for the 1st Tee time and then proceeded to play a number of liquid holes strategically placed around Downtown Walnut Creek.  Some of the holes were staffed by willing and enthusiastic personal  (Stanfords, Crogans, The Pyramid, Chili's and Tiki's were most accommodating) while others including Mr Lucky's, Dan's and even our favorite Stadium left a lot to be desired.  This however did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants and a very close tournament was on the go until the latter holes and mulligans started to take their toll on some of the players. The perennial journeymen  Chequer and Pearce were seen to be worse for wear fairly early during the round, however, tournament organizer Halls was seen to be emulating the "dance of a new born Wildebeest " by the time the last hole was reached.  Due to inclement conditions no play was allowed at the last hole. It was therefore decided once all remaining participants had made their way to Tiki's that a final speed golf hole would be used as a tie breaker.  Final participants included Newman (Barney's Brother), Richard Thelwell (aka Young Hooligan), PDA (aka Pooh Bear) and Kyle Batten (aka The Silent One). 

Kyle showing the skill and expertise that has attracted fame on the boat race circuit blew away the opposition to take 1st Place from Newman and Richard respectively.

Altogether a great time was had by all survivors and thanks to Bill Halls for his enthusiasm and organization even though he managed to select a course that was far too advanced for his Australian skills. He did however win points with the commissioner for demonstrating how his ancestors would use a ball and chain for exercise purposes hopefully without falling over and sticking their heads in the dryer.

Sat, February 10, 2007

WHAT THE REF HAD TO SAY:

SF/Golden Gate U23, 27 (5) – LAMORINDA U23, 43 (6) Referee: Lois Bukowski
Venue: Rocca Field, Treasure Island, SF
Field conditions: awesome
Weather: sunny, light breeze, 60s

It's February and the Bay Areas rugby fields are in amazing shape. We're in need of some rain; soften these pitches up a bit. So, while the globe continues to warm, we do benefit from not having a lot of reschedules or cancellations.
Kickoff at 11am with perfect conditions. It took the boys a little while to get settled in and decide to play rugby; too many penalties, not enough listening to the ref's instructions and plenty of scrums. But, finally, with 16 minutes gone in the first half, the Gaels were first on the board with a beautiful sideline break by their fullback after a series of phase play at the midway point. They put another one on the board with a pounding series of rucks and scored of an offside advantage almost between the posts. SFGG answered just 4 minutes later with their forward doing the dirty work and their perseverance was rewarded. We went into half at 17-5 Gaels.
The second half was a much different match. Both sides were game and wanted to run. SFGG made it an even more interesting game early by being first to score with just 2 minutes gone. The FH nicely anticipated a Gael pass, picked it off, then quickly dished it to the outside, one long break later and the lead was just 17-12. It took a little over 10 minutes later for the Gaels to answer. After a kick down and a nice break, they sent it out to the centers and with a nice crash, he was over for a 24-17 lead. SFGG had an answer, and so it went with back and forth tries until 4 minutes to go with the score at 29-27 Gaels. That was as close as SFGG would get as the Gaels finished them off with 2 more converted tries to seal the victory.
Overall, this was a good game of rugby. Once the players settled down, maintained some discipline and played, all were enjoying themselves. It bodes well for the state of rugby here that 2 U-23 programs exist, with a supportive coaching staff and are playing some good rugby.