DG - Cal Poly Friendly

We traveled to San Luis Obispo to scrimmage last seasons USA's #5 Collegiate Rugby Team .  Cal Poly has a good  program and had already played both BYU & Utah State prior to our match.  Starting two weeks ago and with a total of 4 practice sessions this match offered an opportunity to give us a chance to see where we are fitness wise.  Our side was a mixture of DI & U -23 players.  It did not take long to shake the cob webs out and both side played a conservative match with Poly using a strong Number 12 to consistently attack our line and daring us to stop him.  Our defense played well and continually put pressure on the Poly back line.  Countering with our back line and veteran John Kunz feeding ball to Lokini Taufa displaying his boot and running skills, Mike Checker, getting back into form, Dave Page played hard (spelled by U-23 Benni) and strong play by full back Epi Matitonga we attacked consistently.  U-23 player Tau also looked good.  The pack was very strong new comer Dan Wilson, Tri Valley and Sac State played well in his first outing as did Vaai, Mic & Jeff in the front row along with Aussie Bill.  Locks Mitch Cunningham and Barry Thompson Jr doing the chores and pushing Poly around the field.  The flankers Jaime Fernandez (off to Portland next weekend for the Grizzly Shield), Sione and # 8 Mark Wibholm did a credible job on both sides of the ball.  Also U-23 players from Tri Valley Rick & Neil at wings had some good touches with the ball and made their tackles on defense which given their experience level means that U-23 Coach  Barry Thompson, has some talent for this years' side.

With 4 practices, fitness was not our friend and Poly not being able to move the ball inside scored to trys by going wide at the closing 10 minutes. 
The fitness will come with more work by each of us.
The try of the match was a perfectly manufactured play starting with a good ruck then clean, quick ball from John Kunz to Lokini running at pace, who straightened up forcing the defense to respect him and then feeding Mike Checker at full pace with a perfect pass allowing Mike to go the distance and score under the posts.
This was a good opportunity to test ourselves in the very early season and measure our progress.  It gives us an opportunity to bond and come together DI and U-23 which is key to future growth.
Poly is an excellent collegiate rugby program from which many of our players have come and we hope to see more Poly players coming to our club in the future.

 

Guess Who Popped in at Maritzburg College

US Eagle, Chad Erskine, hands his match jersey over to his alma mater. Pictured with Chad are Headmaster Ron Jury, Director of Sport, Mike Bechet, and two of Chad's former coaches, Dave Anderson and Lance Veenstra.

US Eagles scrum half and Maritzburg College Old Boy, Chad Erskine, took time out from his short visit home after the Rugby World Cup to visit his alma mater. He spoke to the boys about the need to stay focused on your goals when the rest of your mates are out partying. Ever modest despite a glowing 1^st XV report, he admitted that he was never first on the team list for the College teams but achieved the great heights through hard work and perseverance. He also told of the huge tackle made on him by his old College team mate, Butch James. He originally thought it was Percy who had tackled him but then thought that "Percy didn't tackle that hard!" He looked up to see his fellow Old Collegian smiling down at him.

Chad presented College Headmaster Ron Jury with the jersey that he played in against the Springboks. It will be framed and hung in a place of pride by the school.

(Coach Harry  is an Alumni of  Martizburg College in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa)