Gael Gazette

USA RUGBY IN TALKS WITH BAZZA HIGH-ENERGY TEA

New High-Energy Tea Considered for Exclusive Sponsorship

Sat 27 January 2007

SAN MATEO 24 – Diablo Gaels 27

WHAT DID THE REFS HAVE TO SAY:

It was a quick dry off from the rain and off to Diablo Valley College for what I will confidently state was the game of the day played anywhere in the US. I realized Diablo started off 1-2 in league and San Mateo were undefeated, but this year’s NorCal Div 1 can truly be won by any of the top five teams. It is almost impossible to count anyone out and on any given Saturday, any team can win.

This was as wide open a game as I have seen in years with BOTH teams spinning the ball wide and showing the flair that put them among the best teams in the country.

San Mateo struck first with a try, 7-0. Diablo answered back with a beauty of their own, 7-5. San Mateo tacked on another, 14-5. Diablo answered yet again 14-10. San Mateo were awarded a penalty try to put them up 21-10 and tacked on another penalty kick to make it 24-10 going into the break.

As they say it was the tale of two halves and Diablo, not typically known as a second half team, took it to San Mateo for the second half. It wouldn’t be a fair statement to say that Diablo dominated San Mateo as the teams played about as evenly as they did in the first half, except Diablo managed two converted tries to tie the game at 24 with 13 minutes left and a San Mateo player in the bin.

The teams played a frantic pace the entire second half with the decider a long penalty kick with 8 minutes left to put Diablo ahead 27-24. San Mateo had several chances to pull this one out including penalties within kickable distance that were not taken to tie the game and they were stopped just 3 meters short of the goal line at full time.

Seconds: Diablo Gaels 17 (3) – SAN MATEO 41 (7)

Referee: Scott Wood
Location: Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA
Weather: Cold and wet (how is this supposed to be nearing a drought?)
Field conditions: Well marked, short posts, good turf

I left Sacramento with the A-Side TJs (S.O. and neophyte Jackie Finck) under sunny, albeit cool, skies. Driving across the Sacramento Valley we could see the overcast conditions covering the Bay Area. We arrived at DVC to find track and field, volleyball, baseball, and rugby events occurring at the same venue. Rob Hendrickson was being watched by Dave Williamson and Aruna Ranaweera as he refereed Lamo U23 v USF. He looked like he was enjoying the game.

Pete Smith refereed the A-side match between Diablo and San Mateo with S.O. and Jackie running touch. An interesting match that literally came down to the final seconds, but that's Pete's story to tell.

For the B-side match, San Mateo primarily consisted of players featured in the A-side match whereas Diablo had a mix of B-side players including U23s that participated in the USF match. Both teams played hard in the first half. San Mateo opened the scoring by being awarded a penalty try due to a dangerous tackle. Possession changed numerous times as both teams employed multi-phase tactics. It was refreshing to have a game where the players, for the most part, maintained positive discipline at the breakdowns. San Mateo entered the half leading 19-10. The Gaels appeared to be firing off different cylinders due to a lack of familiarity with each other.

The second half opened with San Mateo on the attack. A dangerous tackle by Diablo resulted in a yellow card and a stand-off for several minutes (?) as the teams stared each other down. A brief conference with the captains got everybody agreed that playing rugby was the order of the day, not "Who wants to be a soccer hooligan?"

Diablo scored a converted try and put up a concerted defense at breakdowns. San Mateo was able to use its intra-team familiarity to create overlaps and quick, long passes to score four second-half tries to finish the match 41-17. Thanks to both San Mateo and Diablo for a good match and great discipline and the captains, Nase Vaka and Mike Chequer, for their leadership.

DIABLO GAELS U23 71 (13) – U of San Francisco 0

Referee: Rob Hendrickson
Referee Coach: David Williamson
Saturday morning's 11:00 game at the Gael's home field of DVC's soccer pitch was the start of a great day of rugby. Notwithstanding the rain the night before, the pitch was well marked and firm underfoot, and the weather was perfect.

There was no score for the first 20 minutes before the Gaels settled down and scored 5 tries in the first half and went on to score 8 in the second. Most of the game was better contested than the score would otherwise indicate, with USF getting within the 5 meter line on several occasions but not being able to break the goal line.

The U23 Gaels are going to be a dominating team in their division this year.

Sat 20 January 2007

OLYMPIC CLUB 35 – Diablo Gaels 23

We scored first blood and battled back and forth for the first half and were down 18 -13 at the half. The second half saw us over take the host side but penalties plagued us and and we were tied up at 25 all. We had two lapses in the final 15 minutes which cost us each time. Cover defense was the culprit. When we played our game we were unstoppable. Lesson out of this match. Stick with what works and believe in yourselves. When we do these two things we beat teams and win matches.

WHAT DID THE REFS HAVE TO SAY:

OLYMPIC CLUB 35 – Diablo Gaels 23 Referee: Tony Latu
Venue: Treasure Island-SFGG field
Side line coaches: John Coppinger and Dan Hickey
Temperature: Great

After refereeing at sub-zero (well it was COLD) the week before, the OC versus Diablo was a bonus. I was looking forward for this game all week; great weather, great field (SFGG TI field) and great team. But crossing the bridge almost ruined my day...$4.00 toll, come on Arnie do something.
The game started well and ended well. OC drew first blood by a penalty in less than two mins into the game. But Diablo came back and scored on a great play by their backs. OC controlled the first half and it seemed that they might cross the line before the half. But a knock on and a long run by Diablo brought the score to 16-15 OC at the half.
OC stepped up another notch at the second half and they prevailed 35-23. I hung around to watch Joe Androvich controlling the second game. It was a good game and a great job by this young ref.

Seconds: Olympic Club 20 -Diablo Gaels 18

We played well and the boys did a very good job of attacking and defending the line. We as in the first match had a lapse in coverage which allowed a late score. B side played very hard and deserves credit for their efforts. Mike Chequer had a very good game at halfback as did new comer Charlie Smith.

WHAT DID THE REFS HAVE TO SAY: Not much!!!

San Jose State 22 – LAMORINDA GAELS U23, 58

The U-23 side kicked off against San Jose State and began the scoring almost immediately. The pack led by Barry Thompson and Jack Boyle did a great job of controlling the tempo. Our back line moved the ball very well and did a good job of tackling and keeping the San Jose backs in check. 28 - 5 at the half.

We scored 30 points in the second half and allowed the opposition 2 tries ending the match 58 -22.

WHAT DID THE REFS HAVE TO SAY:

San Jose State 22 – LAMORINDA GAELS U23, 58 Referee: Rob Hendrickson
The Lamo Gaels U23 team came out strong and fast in the first half at Watson Bowl scoring their first try in under 2 minutes and went on to score 7 tries in the first half. San Jose made corrections over the half time, the most significant one being to drop their tackles down to the legs, which resulted in a much closer second half, with Lamo scoring only 3 additional tries to San Jose's 2 in the second half. All in all, a well played with consistently good sportsmanship shown on both sides.

Sat 13 January 2007

WHAT DID THE REFS HAVE TO SAY: Not much!!!

Gaels U23 – SANTA ROSA JC Referee: John Coppinger
The referee’s scorecard is in his kitbag, which is in his wife’s car, which is at the airport.

He clearly recalls that the Santa Rosa JC won big.

DIABLO GAELS 29 – SF/Golden Gate 18 Referee: Rob Perle (Met NY)
Evaluator: Bryan Porter

Seconds: DIABLO GAELS 36 – SFGG 8 Referee: Rich Anderson

Friday January 19, 2007

USA Rugby Announces the Under-19 Men’s National Team Chosen For the Next Two Assemblies

BOULDER, Colo. – One hundred and three Under-19 rugby players converged on Glendale, Ariz., in late December to complete a High Performance Winter Camp, which included five days of fitness testing, skills analysis, unit work and team play, in an effort to make the USA’s Men’s U-19 National Team that would travel to the upcoming assemblies and ultimately the 2007 World Junior Championships, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, March 31 - April 22.

The U-19 squad has been active since winning the World Championship NAWIRA Qualifier match in Guyana this past July. With help from the IRB high performance grant in 2006, the squad was able to assemble in October and November to practice and play against collegiate opposition. In the Dallas Cowtown Tournament the U-19’s won the premier division over Texas A&M, and then defeated Arizona State and the University of Arizona the weekend before Thanksgiving.

“The fall assemblies allowed our team the opportunity to develop patterns and at the same time test new players,” Head Coach of the U-19 Men’s Team Salty Thompson said. “With over forty players having experienced U-19 fall scrimmages, the winter camp allowed us to quickly find the best athletes and accelerate their development.”

The excellent player to coach ratio (10-1) at this winter camp allowed for in-depth coaching and evaluation. As a result 44 young men have been chosen to move forward as players and/or reserves for the next two training assemblies in Atlanta (Feb. 9-10) and back at Glendale, Ariz. (Feb. 17-18). The opposition will be Life University on Feb. 10, Ohio State University on Feb. 11, then Canada in both an 'A' game and a full U-19 test the following weekend on Feb. 17 –18, respectively.

Following the Canada games the roster will be trimmed to the World Championships 26 player limit, with eight players in reserve. The Under-19s will then have a final weekend assembly in March before flying to Ireland on March 28.

“The Junior World Championships is pretty much a mirror of the Rugby World Cup in regards to the quality of the event and the qualification process. So this really is a great opportunity for us to prove what we can do,” Thompson said. “We are going into this tournament as the bottom seed, so not many countries expect a lot out of us.

“But, this is the best situation we’ve been in since I’ve started as the U-19 Head Coach five years ago. There has been significant infrastructure improvement, and it will continue to show as we have more assemblies together,” he added. “I really think we are going to surprise some people.”

For more information on the IRB U19 World Championship 2007, please visit http://www.irbu19.com/EN/Home/home.htm.; For more information on the USA Men’s U-19 National Team, please visit www.usarugby.org.

The current squad is listed below, along with their position and club:

Mongo Angellella, prop, Hibernian High School Bulls

Ryan Fitcher, prop, Burnsville

Jimmy Jewison, prop, Sam Houston

Stevie Johnston, prop, Tempe Rugby

Steve Moore, prop, Chuckanut

Kyle Toombs, prop, Penn High School

Nicholas Cook , prop, Texas A&M

Mike Macdonald, prop, Arizona State

Derek Sagehorn, prop, De La Salle California

Zach Heath, hooker, Oregon State Univ.

Max Paginini, hooker, Purdue University

Bill Wynne, hooker, Norwich University

Kevin Erskine, lock, Budd Bay

Scott Lavalla, lock, Budd Bay

Shawn Pittman, lock, Chuckanut

Simon Kinet, flanker, University Of Arizona

Garrett Lambert, flanker, Life University

Austin Cella, flanker, Newbridge College

Zeke Sulzen, flanker, Rio Rugby Club

Eric West, flanker, LSU

Taylor Mokate, No. 8, Oklahoma University

Ryan Roundy, No. 8, Brigham Young Univ.

Travis Benson, scrumhalf, Peninsula Green

Bobby Johns, scrumhalf, LSU

Tommy Luckhaupt, scrumhalf, Westerville

Ethan Milton, scrumhalf, Westview H.S.

Pat Goldring, flyhalf, Wilmington Colts

Hamish Roberts, flyhalf, Texas A&M

Ty Siceloff, flyahlf, Brentwood College

David Williams, flyhalf, Maryland Exiles

Adam Ducoing, wing, LSU

Tim Maupin, wing, De La Salle

Travis Beattie, wing, Arizona State

Chance Doyle, wing, Maryland Exiles

Brian Gagliardi, wing, Jesuit, Sacramento

Zach Test, wing, Peninsula Green

Nick Johnson, center, Metropolis

Jack Tracy, center, Back Bay

Gareth Jones, center, Temple University

Hoseki Kofe, center, Southern Oregon U.

Adam Slupski, center, Westerville

Nate Ebner, fullback, Tri-Village

Tyler Maccubbin, fullback, Arizona State

Tim Moxness fullback, University Of Arizona

Thurs 11 January 2007

U23's

Diablo Gaels 25 vs

Cal State Maritme 15, Vallejo,CA

After weeks of training the U-23 Diablo Gaels played there first match against a well trained Cal State squad. The U -23's went up early on a nice movement from our winger. Maritime countered with a penalty kick. We then scored on another strong movement after numerous penalty for off sides. Again the host scored and it was a 10 -8 score. We came alive once more a on a forward drive and it was 15 -8 at the half. As most of these young players had not practice together there was some lack of continuity in the first half.

Under the captaincy of BJ Thompson the second saw the boys pick up where they left off in the first half and mounted strong attacks and played rock solid defense. Strong play resulted in another try and it was 20-8. However, we were repeatedly punished for off sides and eventually Maritime score and converted making it

20 -15. But once again we moved the ball wide and came into score 25 -15. But the try was held up so we scrummed down and this time pushed it in. With 6 minutes left and an injury to our winger, two of our players were binned for repeated off sides we held off the men from Vallejo and came away with an historic first win.

Great first effort by the boys who now play Santa Rosa, JC for the opening match at DVC.

WHAT THE REF HAD TO SAY:

Thursday, 7 PM
Maritime Academy 15 – LAMORINDA GAELS U23, 25 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
On an extraordinarily cold Thursday night, a late (or last) pre season match. Although the Maritime boys are fewer in number, this year's team has more grit. Which was needed against the new Gaels' U23 lads, a somewhat unpolished but very athletic side; lotta ''DVD Football'' shirts were to be seen.

The Gaels scored first, but it was only 10 to 8 in their favor at half. They began to roll it up in the second half, but then unfortunately the cards came out. Three Gaels were sin binned the latter part of the game, two for repeated infringements. Regardless, this was real rugby – a match contested and played with fervor and for a large measure of skill.

Sat 06 January 2007

Diablo Gaels 33 Sac Lions 35

In our first match of the season we played a vastly different Sacramento team that tested our metal. Both our backs and forwards played well at times, we just need to be consistent and use our discipline which will come with more playing time. We did allow them to stay in the game and did not use our fitness to our advantage. Walking to line outs and not playing up tempo gives sides like this the opportunity to rest. The portions of the match that we did keep them on their heals resulted in scores. We scored 6 trys but had 2 disallowed. In the end it came down to a late score and a conversion by Sacramento. Close matches require us to use our discipline.

We can build on these points for next week.

Focus for this week is discipline, discipline and discipline.

B Side

Diablo Gaels 10 Sac Lions 48

The first half saw our combined B and U23 side start off slow and it took time to start to gel as first season matches tend to do. The second half saw a different look as we began to attack aggressively attack the rucks and moving the ball which resulted in three trys. As the tide was turning, the hit on Simi on the penalty play brought what was a strong come back to a halt.

The B Side and Under 23 sides have tons of potential and we saw some of that on Saturday.

WHAT THE REF HAD TO SAY:

SACRAMENTO LIONS 35 – Diablo Gaels 33 Referee: Jim Crenshaw
Touch Judge: Mike Villierme, Scott Wood

One heck of a match!

We started promptly at 1:00, with both teams feeling each other out for the first 20 minutes or so. Both teams would make some ground only to lose possession. The Lions kicked a penalty kick about 10 minutes in to break the ice. About half way through the first half, the Lions winger Seta Paloma got a little room and a little room is all he needs. The conversion was good and Lions had a 10 point lead. About five minutes later the Lions fullback broke free and scored an unconverted try in the corner, to put the Lions up by 15. The Gaels came to life a couple of minutes later, with their half back scoring a try. The conversion was good, but the Lions kicked another penalty kick a couple of minutes later to make it 18 to 7. The Gaels came back with a converted try, only to have the Lions match it with one of their own at the end of the half.

Score at half Sacramento Lions 25 Diablo Gaels 14.

The second half started much as the first, with both teams testing each other and each teams defense meeting the challenge. The Gaels scored first about half way through the second half, with a converted try to pull within 4. The Lions kicked a penalty kick with about 10 minutes to go, to make it 28 to 21.

The Gaels scored another try a couple of minutes later, but missed the conversion to pull within 2 and then with only a couple of minutes to go, the Gaels scored a converted try to take the lead for the first time 33 to 28. The Lions got the ball back with less than a minute left in the game and their forwards just kept pounding forward, picking up the ball and driving into the next tackle over and over until they finally surged in for a try. The conversion was good, with the final score Sacramento Lions 35 Diablo Gaels 33.

Seconds: SACRAMENTO LIONS 41 – Diablo Gaels 10 Referee: Scott Wood
Referee Coach: Kat Todd-Schwartz

_________________________________________

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