MARFU U23 Tournament, 2008

There is nothing like waking up two hours before the sunrise to start a rugby weekend.

Our game versus the VRU team had been moved up out of concern for the weather, so departure times had to be moved up as well. It was still dark all the way through DC and Baltimore as I drove to pick up teammates, but even when the sun did rise we couldn’t see it through the clouds and rain.

However, by the time we made it to Edgely Field, conditions had cleared up. The pitch was pretty water-logged, but there were no standing puddles and the sun actually came out a little. As we warmed up, the wind began to pick up, but the weather stayed clear.

Finally, we kit up into our white-and-red jerseys and shorts and took the field. It was my third year wearing the number 8 to represent the PRU, and I was nervous and excited. We played a hard match in the first half, but still let the VRU get four tries through. After the half and some substitutions, however, the PRU really pulled together and held the scoring even. Supporting from the sidelines, I was excited and proud by how well the team played – it was a clear improvement over past years.

At the end of the match, the Philadelphia Women’s Club awarded lock Laura Miller the Player of the Match award – well deserved for a great player!

Next we all stripped out of our no-longer-white uniforms and piled into cars for an adventurous caravan back to the hotel. After snacks and showers, a group of us took our sore bodies downstairs to take advantage of the hotel’s pool and hot tub (!!) before heading to a delicious pasta dinner.

Post-dinner, we had a brief team meeting to go over strategy and talk about strengths and weaknesses of our performance on Saturday. We then split into forwards and backs to talk about what to focus on for our match against the MARFU U19 squad on Sunday. Sadly, we didn’t get to watch a copy of the game tape as planned (I was really looking forward to this, as I’ve never gotten to observe myself play!) but Coach Kenny Pope and assistant coaches Tosan Tutse-Tonwe and Deanna Church had some great insights despite our lack of technology.

KP also announced that the time of our Sunday match had been pushed back and that the pitch had been moved to New Jersey. In light of our later kick-off time, everyone was free to stay up late, hanging out and getting to know each other and generally enjoying the concentrated awesome that occurs anytime a big group of ruggers get together. But we did, after all, have another game on Sunday, so eventually everyone headed to bed.



Sunday morning, after taking advantage of the complimentary breakfast buffet as only rugby girls can, everyone packed back into cars to follow a circuitous route (more so for some than others!) to our pitch in South Jersey. As we arrived one by one, it became very clear to us that this would be a COLD match – the temperature had dropped and the wind was blowing hard. But we were warmed up and ready when the whistle finally blew.

It was clear from the start that this would be a very close match. The U19 players were tough and ran hard, but we fought for the ball and made it clear that we wanted to win. The score stayed close the whole first half as the wind pushed kicks and line-out throws completely off-target. Towards the end of the half, however, the PRU pulled ahead with a full-team try, slowly but surely punching the ball forward meter by meter, calmly making the gain line every phase until finally the ball crossed the line to be grounded by team forward effort.

The second half began as the day faded into twilight. The U19 team scored another try to bring the score near even, but the PRU team answered with a try of our own, putting us back in the lead. Still, it was by no means a sure thing, with the U19s forcing us back into our own 22. However, we successfully defended our turf (“PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!” as Dominique reminded us), and before the final whistle, we pushed another hard-won forward try into the try zone to finish with a 22-12 win.

By the time the game was over, the sun had nearly set and everyone was frozen numb, but we were ecstatic. We’d worked hard and played hard and had a great weekend. We got together one last time for a team photo and for Philly to name Lyndsey “Nips” Gibson (the AU captain) Player of the Match, then bundled up to finally head home, cold and exhausted but happy.

Photos on my Facebook

Congratulations to all my teammates for a match well-played, and I look forward to playing with and against every one of you!

2008 PRU U23

Sarah Brown (American U.)
Sarah Buhlman (Chesapeake)
Dominique Bunai (MD Exiles)
Julie Butner (DC Furies)
Loretta Charles (George Washington U.)
Sarah Childers (MD Stingers)
Jane Dewire (Georgetown U.)
Jessie Garth (MD Stingers)
Lyndsey Gibson (American U.)
Sara Gimmy (DC Furies)
Tanya Gouws (MD Exiles)
Krysi Hermes (American U.)
Liz Hilliard (American U.)
Alysia Holsey (U. Maryland)
Sarah Holzman (NOVA)
Bridget Kapinus (Georgetown U.)
Maura McGraw (George Washington U.)
Laura Miller (St. Mary's C.M.)
Lindsay Nugent (American U.)
Anne Paschke (MD Stingers)
Olivia Payne (U. Maryland)
Caitlin Webster (U. Maryland)
Mary Emma Young (DC Furies)

Coach Kenny Pope
Assistant Coaches: Tosan Tutse-Tonwe and Deanna Church

Excitement

On Monday I crashed GW's practice to keep my head and body in rugby-mode - I want to be sure I'm prepared for the U23 tournament this weekend. I had enough fun that I'm going again today.

I'm sitting here at work, trying to get a little more work done before I have to leave, but I'm finding it hard to concentrate. I keep bouncing my foot and looking at the clock - is it rugby time yet? Now? How about... now?

And I realize that this is why I'm so committed to rugby. I've been playing for a few years now and been to dozens and dozens of practices, but knowing that in half an hour I'll be out on a pitch (albeit rocky, slanted, and covered in DUCKS), my adrenaline starts flowing and I start getting excited. Because soon, I'll be doing what I love - RUGBY!

PRU U23 selections

Just got the official selections for this year's U23 team! I'm really excited about the skill and range of the players - we have representation from all three local D1 women's teams and two of the D2 clubs, as well as players from both local D1 college sides. On Sunday, we had an invitational scrimmage to help K. Pope finalize selections. We played Chesapeake, one of the local D2 women's clubs headed to nationals this weekend, and I was really impressed with everyone's performance.

The PRU hasn't won a game in the MARFU tournament for a few years now... maybe this year's our year?

2008 PRU U23

Sarah Brown (American U.)
Sarah Buhlman (Chesapeake)
Dominique Bunai (MD Exiles)
Julie Butner (DC Furies)
Loretta Charles (George Washington U.)
Sarah Childers (MD Stingers)
Likfung Laurel Chor (Georgetown U.)
Jane Dewire (Georgetown U.)
Jessie Garth (MD Stingers)
Lyndsey Gibson (American U.)
Sara Gimmy (DC Furies)
Tanya Gouws (MD Exiles)
Krysi Hermes (American U.)
Liz Hilliard (American U.)
Alysia Holsey (U. Maryland)
Sarah Holzman (NOVA)
Bridget Kapinus (Georgetown U.)
Maura McGraw (George Washington U.)
Laura Miller (St. Mary's C.M.)
Lindsay Nugent (American U.)
Anne Paschke (MD Stingers)
Olivia Payne (U. Maryland)
Caitlin Webster (U. Maryland)
Mary Emma Young (DC Furies)

Schedule
November 15 (Edgely Soccer Field C)
11:00 Game 1 EPRU v MARFU U-19
1:00 Game 2 VRU v PRU

November 16 (Edgely Rugby Field)
11:00 Winner Game 1 v. Winner Game 2
1:00 Loser Game 1 v. Loser Game 2

Nationals part 2

Spent most of Sunday driving to and from the PRU U23 tryouts all the way out in Salisbury. Turn out was pretty low, owing to the location (sorry, Salisbury, but you're in the middle of nowhere) and to a number of PRU college teams having matrix matches. The day ended a bit earlier than expected, so my Furies carpool-mates and I stopped on the way home to buy pumpkins and feed goats.

We also got real-time text updates from Missouri on the Furies game vs. Beantown... as you'd guess from the final score (86-5), it was none too pretty. Bummer for them - looks like DC and NOVA are going all the way to Florida just to play each other!

Full results:

Day 2
Minnesota Valkyries 31, Keystone 0
San Diego Surfers 36, Philadelphia 8
New York 28, NOVA 5
ORSU 27, Glendale 24
Beantown 86, Washington Furies 5
Seattle 13, Chicago North Shore 12
Berkeley All Blues 64, Twin Cities Amazons 8
Atlanta Harlequins 19, Boston 5

And games for D1 national finals in Florida:

Championship Semis
Berkeley All Blues vs. Minnesota Valkyries
New York vs. Beantown

Plate Semis
Twin Cities Amazons vs. Keystone
NOVA vs. Washington Furies



Down in the Bahamas, the women's US 7s team lost 14-19 to Canada in the finals, qualifying both teams for the world cup. I believe the game will be posted online at some point... can't wait to watch it!

PRU U23 All-Stars 2007

Guys. Guys. Did I ever tell you how rugby is my favorite thing ever? And ruggers are my favorite people ever?

This weekend I went down to UVA in Charlottesville to play for the PRU U23 All-Star team in the MARFU tournament. For those of you to whom that means very little, basically I got to play select-side rugby with some totally awesome girls.

AU had eight girls selected (six plus one alumni plus one alternate), so we set off together in Garthie and Petrides' cars early in the morning Saturday. Once to the pitch, we engaged in (true to AU form) spooning and karaoke, before doing a walk-through with the whole team. Then we kit up and watched EPRU beat VRU2.

Once that game was over, we warmed up and prepared for our game vs. VRU1. I started at flanker, and played for a half. I was... well, not really happy with how I played. I cleaned it up somewhat before I was taken out at the 40, but still wasn't very happy with myself. The whole team was a little off, I think largely due to the fact that we didn't get any practice time together (last tryout was last Sunday, and it's logistically difficult to get girls from all over the area together for a weekday practice). The more we played, the better we look, but we basically got rolled over.

Not too disheartened, however, we all showered up at the hotel and then met at the Mellow Mushroom to fuel up for Round 2 vs. VRU2. In the evening, a bunch of us hung out and watched Free Willy 2 (that movie is surprisingly dirty, if you watch it with the right people). Afterwards, we tried to go hot-tubbing, but it being closed, a group of us ended up sitting in the "exercise room" just chatting for an hour or two before bed.

Sunday dawned bright and a little warmer than Saturday, and we rolled out of the hotel at 9am for our game playing VRU2. I didn't start (I was not surprised, considering how I'd performed the day before), but all the AU kids that hadn't started yet were in the starting lineup (even our alternate!). The game was much closer and much better played than the day before, but we still lost by two tries. I got in for the last 20 minutes and (go figure) played about ten times better than I did on Saturday.

And as Tosan said after the end of that, "Losing ain't a loss unless you don't learn from it." There's a lot I have to work on before the beginning of next season and before I go to MARFU tryouts in the spring, and a lot for the team to work on together. Definitely not a loss.

Then it was kitting down, a flurry of pictures, and back in the Garthmobile for the trip home. And my season is officially, completely over - I won't get to play rugby again until February. Depressing.

But I'll still get to play with ruggers! This weekend was an amazing experience not just for the gameplay, but for all the awesome girls I got to hang out with on and off the pitch. I'm totally looking forward to seeing them at games and tourneys and socials in the spring, and hopefully hanging with some of them before then!

I just took 2 ibuprofen.

Then, ten minutes later, totally forgetting I'd taken the ibuprofen, I took 2 dayquil.

My body is kind of spazzy and dizzy feeling, and I'm running a baby temperature.

More importantly, PRU HASN'T SENT OUT SELECTIONS YET!!!!

6:30 my ass.


ETA: THEY SENT THEM! I AM ON THE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHH PRU U23 2007!!!!!


ETA2: Okay, now that I have calmed down - I should point out my pride in AU's representin'. Out of the 22, we have SIX players (two of them ROOKIES) and ONE alumni, and one of the four alternates. That's like a quarter of the team! MAN AM I EXCITED!!!!

Oh, abusive lover

Last night I had so much trouble sleeping, as my plague-touched mind kept running through rugby scenarios (you're in a tackle, place the ball, get up off the ground, get back in the game, hit the ruck, back ten for a penalty, etc etc) and refused to settle down for some rest. Then at 7am I inexplicably woke up again, and the brain went straight back into rugby mode.

Sigh.

So I got up and did my gay class readings and found some breakfast and was internally whiny about how miserable I was (I have some sort of cold/flu/plague thing) and then packed up my shit for - another day of rugby! PRU U23 tryouts.

Three or four hours of passing drills and contact drills and scrumming and lineouts and full-on scrimmaging. I almost completely forgot about the plague and threw myself into it and I think I did okay. Wasn't my best playing ever - I couldn't hold onto the ball for love or money in one of the drills, my tackles were too high in the scrimmage, and I had some trouble locking - got folded in half by an amazing opposing prop.

Well, selections are supposed to be out by 6:30... I will sit here, plaguey and sore, and wait.

PRU Rugby All Stars '06

Today was one of the best rugby days of my life.

It wasn't quite as good as the day I played a game and a half after sitting on the sidelines with a broken wrist for a season... but it was DAMN close.

The day started off badly, when I either set no alarm or slept through it - anyways, Keen called me and was like, "Hey, we're here to pick you up!" and I was actually still asleep. BAD.

But we got to the pitch in Baltimore more or less on time, and everyone kit up for the MARFU All-Stars tournament consolation match: PRU Red vs. PRU Blue.

I was playing on the Red team which, of course, kicked ASS. Seriously, though, as a team we basically fixed all the problems we'd had the day before, and then fixed all the mistakes we were making during the game as well. Our scrums were amazing, our backs ran some terrific loops and switches, our defense was excellent, our rucks were hard and quick - it was a great game.

Not that the Blue team was doing shoddily at all - we weren't getting anywhere with our mauls, and we spent a lot of time inside their 22 with them holding us off - several times getting the ball and kicking it back across the 50 - Petrides did lots of good things on the Blue team. Also, neither team lost their mind up near the try zone, which is... well, very different from AU.

Personally, it was one of the best games I've ever played. Maybe because between waking up late and playing our own team, I wasn't thinking too much (something that always messes me up), but I was so proud of what I did in those 80 minutes. I even did okay with the captaining stuff - most of the time I looked to other people to try to figure out what to do, and Mel (the backs' coach) had to point out that I should probably stop my 8man picks near the try zone because they weren't working, but in the second half I decided to switch to Krysi throwing the lineouts instead of the hooker, and ended up doing (and calling) every offensive jump myself, and it was great to see how the choices I made change the effect of our play.

I love rugby. I love playing it, I love spending time with the girls who play it, and I don't know what I'll do with myself until next season starts.

On Captaincy

I'm filling out the medical form for PRUs, and there's a few differences from the average health form. For example, after the typical "Are you currently taking any Prescriptions or Non-Prescription Medications?" questions, there's spaces specifically for anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and pain medicaiton.

Rugby people are SO good to their bodies....

On a somewhat related note, I'm SO excited for this weekend. Playing rugby! In Baltimore! With a whole bunch of other ruggers, most of whom I haven't met before! What could be better?

I'm probably going to be 8ing, considering that's what I did during our scrimmage practice on Sunday (our cold, wet, muddy, miserable practice, which I wore shorts and socks to, which prompted my parents - who drove me from the Bungalow to campus - to rush-order me a pair of underarmour spandex pants. Go Mom and Dad!)

Considering Gabe had me captain my team both at the practice and the last tryouts, the other thing I might be doing next weekend is act as the on-pitch captain. I don't know why he had me captain - my personal guess is that with my hair, I'm easy to recognize and remember, which is an advantage in a select side team whose players don't know each other well - but it means that people tend to look to me to figure out what's going on.

Knowing what's going on is not my forte. To put it mildly.

I'm just to the point where I can kinda sort figure out where it's strategically best to go up in a line-out, and whether it's better to pass the ball off the top of the lineout or bring it down for a maul. But I have no idea which person should be jumping when (the PRU team runs line-outs where the jumper runs to the place they'll jump from). I'm a good jumper, but I don't know whether I'm better or worse than the other two jumpers, and when one of us should jump as opposed to the other.

Similiarly, the PRU team calls plays off of scrums (8man or scrumhalf pick). Which means I - even if I'm just an 8man, and not a captain - should probably be calling stuff. At some point. When, I'm not sure.

The thing is, even when I've had to call or do these things before, I've depended largely on Krysi or Sheri or whoever to tell me what I'm supposed to call, and relied on people knowing that I don't really know what's going on. The PRU girls don't really know me, and mostly likely assume that if I'm captain I'll know what to do.

I feel kind of silly worrying about this, also. Like it's egotistical to complain about being a captain, or even to assume I will be a captain. Or like it's in bad taste to even talk about Things I Am Good At. Except - seriously, you have to believe me - I have had a rock-solid self-image of me being Bad At Sports for many years now. I am slowly chipping away at that self-image, but I'm barely to "Okay, so I guess I'm not too bad at rugby, I mean, I'll admit I'm one of the top 15 on a team of 40 or so, but I'm still a total klutz and I don't know what's going on and that amazing 8man pick on Saturday that led to Sheri scoring a try was really Sheri's doing, I mean she told me to pick and I did, it's not like I can really play that well or anything." Believing that I'm one of the top 2 out of 44 select-side ruggers? HA.

Hence my theory that Gabe picked me as captain because my hair is pink.

PRU Tryouts, Part 2

Woke up this morning at 9:30. TEN HOURS OF SLEEP (13 counting my nap) HURRAH! Then I went over to campus to meet up with Keen, Scrappy, Krysi, and Sheri to go to the PRU all-stars tryouts. There were a lot more people there than there were 2 weeks ago, so we got to do a lot more, including scrimmaging at the end. (I have been playing rugby for long enough that I forgot what "scrimmaging" meant when one of the coaches announced we would be doing it... I thought, "Don't you mean scrummaging?!")

I ended up locking during the scrimmage, a position I've played exactly once before (during one practice this week), but did okay. The big surprise was that the coach, Andy, had me act as captain for my team. And I called most of the lineouts. What is this?! Responsibility?! I don't really know what I'm doing, I just pretend!

Honestly, I am still kind of surprised that I'm good at rugby. I've done sports most of my life, and been bad at all of them - not just not good, but atrociously lousy - but there's something about rugby that just gels.

Obligatory weekend rugby roundup

This Saturday was very similar to last Saturday: we drove two hours away to play a team that beat us pretty soundly. Except this weekend it was University of Delaware, and though we didn't even score a try in the Bside game, we kept them to much fewer tries and generally did much better - more coming up hard, keeping a defensive line instead of getting sucked in, everyone tackled, etc. I played all 80 minutes of the A-side game at wing, and after the games, I got a chocolate bar for being the best returner back of the day!!!!

After the games, we split up - half the team went back to campus, but the rest of us stayed to watch a little bit of the boy's game and then go social.

Then today (because I'm masochistic, apparently) I got up and went to the four hour long PRU development camp. There weren't as many people there as I'd expected - any female rugby player under 23 in the DC metro area was eligible to attend, but there were only 16 girls there, 9 of them from AU. It wasn't as exciting as I expected - the majority of things we went over was basic stuff that we do in practice anyways. However, it was good to get more practice (even on the basics), and some of the drills we did were new and interesting.

But now, I'm super tired. And sore (but no injuries besides bruises). And want to go to bed right now, except I realize I'd probably wake up at like 2am and my sleep schedule would be messed up. Sigh.