Cleveland Rugby

Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, the Green Horde visited the Celtics in a rematch from the Fall season. In their first encounter the Green Horde beat the Celtics handily, but that was with most of their primary players installed and gelling with the rest of the starting XV.  This week’s competition saw key players in vital positions missing from the match, so the starting line consisted of shuffled starters and starting subs. Any team would be shaky with such a line-up, but the Green Horde aren’t any team. The team came out firing, with fill-in lock Miles Papa playing great support to finish off a great series of play to put in the first five of the match. The Celtics fired back and would continue to make nuisances of themselves throughout the game.

The first 40 saw the Celtics holding strong and keeping the game close by capitalizing on errors made by the Cleveland side. Scrums were zero sum affairs with the teams drawing stalemates after a majority of the engagements and lineout throws generally went to hand without any issue. The Celtics took liberties in the rucks and let their feet fly free, kicking at the ball while it was on the deck. The Green Horde held a bit more sway in the lineouts on solid throw-ins and solid mauls. The complexion of the set pieces changed in the second 40, though; and they changed decidedly in favor of the Men from Cleveland. Offensive rucks were secured and cleaned up, a switch in the defensive arrangement made it so Celtics’ lineouts weren’t safe and scrums became one-sided as the Green Horde continued to secure their own ball and made a mess of their opponents’ put-ins.

The Green Horde’s A side took a close 31 – 26 win back to Cleveland with them.

The B side put up another impressive showing. Unfortunately, their opposition managed to eek out a victory at the death of the match. Much like the A side, the B side’s scoring came at the hands of another debutante. New back line player – and new player overall – Wreck It Ralph, got a pass in open field and took off down the field. He still had a lot of work to do after receiving the pass, but he was too much for the defense to handle and he went over for the first five of the game. The Green Horde B side impressed in their match with Toledo, despite the sour outcome so expect to see two things in the future: solid B siders stepping up to the A ranks and more wins in the B side stat line.

The 2013 Rock n Roll 7s Tournament will be held saturday July 13, 2013 so mark your calendars and get ready to enjoy some stellar  7s action in the Summer sun.
This year’s tournament will be held at Donald Kruger Park in lovely Mentor, Ohio. The address for the park is: 7556 Chillicothe Road, Mentor OH 44060.

Information regarding entry fees and brackets will be coming soon so stay tuned! This year’s tournament will once again have a qualifier bracket so expect the area’s top levle teams to converge on Cleveland in their chase for points during the summer’s slate of tournaments.

See you at the pitch.

Three hours. That’s about how long it took for the Green Horde to arrive in South Buffalo on April 20, 2013 for their match. Three hours to play in bitter cold, blustery winds and a bit of snow – at least the sun was shining the bulk of the time.

The first half was a close contest. Both teams seemed to wrestle for possession of the ball in the middle of the field. Once each side was pushed back to its defending 22-meter they seemed to turn up their efforts, turn up the intensity and push back the oppressive attack. The Green Horde drew first blood in the initial 40 minutes, establishing a small and hard-fought lead on the cold-blooded Buffalo ruggers. Conversions for the Cleveland side were an issue in the first half, an issue that would persist into the second half as well. The strikes had the legs and accuracy to put points on the board but South Buffalo’s 16th man – the majestic Buffalo wind – kept the ball from splitting the uprights.

The final minutes of the first half and the initial minutes of the second half showed that Buffalo wasn’t going to lay down and let their cold Cleveland competitors take the day from them. Brimming with confidence after their first strike against the ESRFC, one Buffalo player could he heard proclaiming to his comrades that they weren’t defeated, that they were still in the game, that they were on the road to rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat. From that point it was on the Green Horde to respond; and respond they did.

Once a minor issue with the scrums was resolved, the Green Horde asserted themselves and proclaimed their dominance. The forwards pushed the scrums around and made short of the rucks in the open play phases of the game. The only glimmer of hope for South Buffalo was in the lineouts. The wind’s gusts often carried the ball into Buffalo territory or sullied a solid throw and turned possession to the other side. Those minor instances weren’t enough to stem the tide of Cleveland tries, coming from backs dissecting their opposites and forwards making massive breaks through gaps in the defensive lines.

What really saw the Green Horde over their also-green-themed-opponents was a combination of crisp passing and supporting runners. Moving the ball quickly and effectively allowed for players to make the breaks that they did. Continued support ensured that if the initial strike didn’t result in putting up points the second wave would most likely cross over the whitewash for five points. In an effort to stop the bleeding, Buffalo produced some try-saving plays and made a number of long breaks that threatened to turn the tide. Fortunately, the Green Horde managed to run down their players and snuff out whatever hope that remained.

The final score was 43 – 15. Buffalo has a different score line on their records, but the result was the same: ESRFC over South Buffalo.

Three hours. That’s how long it took the Green Horde to drive to Buffalo. Three hours for 43 points. Not a bad trade.