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April 9
Cross Over Weekend, CR3 Regionals
Westside Condors tops Nashville in Pre-Sweet 16 match
The Chicago Westside Condors have taken another step
forward in this years Division 1 national championship
by downing the South’s #1 seed Nashville 28-10
in territorial playoff action. Nashville opened with
a penalty kick by Pieter Van Vuuren inside the first
ten minutes, but that was to be their last score until
the 75th minute..
The game consisted of the Condors trying to open up
their opposition with some well-worked back line play,
and Nashville holding their line with defense and countering.
The Condors attacked the fringes of Nashville’s
defense that bunched close to the tackle area only to
be twarted by some last gasp defensive efforts or knock-ons.
The Condors finally broke the defense with a try by
Bobby Cheval on the wing, which was converted by Michael
Swetman. The Condors continued to question the Nashville
D and were again rewarded with a try from eightman Pat
Carey, who went over after some solid work by the Condors’
pack. And again Swetman converted to make the halftime
score 14-3.
As the second half began, the effects of the 80 degrees
heat was becoming evident with some of the Condors doing
their impression of Jonny Wilkinson by trying a few
dropped goals from just inside the halfway line (Since
Coach didn't do a match report, I grabbed this one from
their website. Obviously, you can read their stupid
comments and excuses... there were more, but I left
them our for the sake of their own embarassment).
After reason returned, the Condors went to work again
with Swetman breaking through and touching down between
the posts after some good leadup work by flyhalf Jacob
Mangin. Swetman converted to make it 21-3.
Nashville came back strongly with some solid forwards’
work and they drove the ball over for a converted try
on the last play of the game. Final score: Condors 28,
Nashville 10.
Sidenote: They also had Cayo
kicking the penalty in their match report, which was
obviously false since Pieter and Chris have been taking
kicks since game 2. I guess they wanted to use his name
to puff up their chests...
March 19, 2005
Nashville B 27
St. Louis Ramblers 41?
The Posse headed Northeast to St. Louis this past Saturday
12 strong + NRFC new addition Kevin Handerhan fresh
off the night shift in Lebabon, TN. Obviously a bit
nervous but positive about the experience. Got two players
from St. Louis to fill out our side and we were off
in the windy, chilly air.
The game started ugly as missed tackles led to two
quick tries for the Ramblers to make it 12-0. Nashville
then got on track with a run in from
lineout at the 30m, finished off by a storming run from
Rick Miller to do it under the post. Gower converted.
Then Greaser bowled over a few players after multiple
pack phases to score out wide. Gower converted with
a nice wind aided 'nanner. Lots of ball played in the
St. Louis end and good defensive pressure yielded a
penalty. Gower slotted to take a 17-12 lead for the
Black Marauders.
Then suspect tackling reared its ugly head again as
St. Louis used many pick and gos to seal most the defense
in, then they spun it wide to the right for an easy
score. Unconverted made it 17-17 at half.
The Ramblers got the wind in the second half and took
advantage with loads of sortees into the back three.
We lost the ball a few times and their backs went wide
easily through our defensive line to score 3 consecutive
tries. One converted. Nashville would not quit however,
and fought back with two great exchanges up the left
side in open play. Peter Dyer finished with a strong
run to the line to beat chasing defenders. Unconverted.
Then Brian Graeser had a nice pick and score juking
defenders after some nifty mauling and rucking started
by the backs. Unconverted.
Then St. Louis regained momentum and scored yet another
try out wide picking on their brand new player they
supplied us to end all hopes for the men in black. Converted
I think. So it was something like 27-41.
Some great efforts from dedicated Posse players like
Joe Gerome and Rick Miller proved rewarding. No real
bad injuries (I think) and a nice social with excellent
food and drink made it an overall enjoyable experience
as always. We retired to Willy's back home for a quick
night cap and sent Peter walking home to Vandy from
Wilhagan road (ask him, not me). I think he got home
about 3a.
1 Rick Miller
2 Joe Gerome
3 John Pledger
4 Larry Roland
5 Brian Graeser
6 Kevin Handerhan
7 Joe from St Louis
8 Scott Garber
9 Donny Mitchell
10 Chris Gower
11 Igor Ramoneda
12 Brad Wright
13 Mike Gower
14 Richie from St Louis
15 Peter Dyer
Nashville Rugby
Game summaries by: Coach Mark Williams
2005 SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT, Saturday / Sunday,
March 5-6, 2005
At Life University
Game # 1 Semifinal
Nashville 29
Atlanta Renegades 21
Referee: Parker Carlyle
It was sunny and warm with a fairly stiff breeze behind
Nashville in the first half and in our faces the second.
This would be Nashville¹s first
appearance in the South Division 1 Championship. Nashville
dominated the first part of the match almost scoring
on a few occasions early on, but it took 14 minutes
before Marc Sullivan finished off a multiphase movement
to score a try in the far corner. Hodgen Mainda capped
off the next movement 6 minutes later with a try. Nashville
held off several Renegade attacks, but some mishandled
kicks lead to huge territorial gains and swung the momentum
their way. Deep inside the Nashville half suspect tackling
lead to two unanswered converted tries giving the Renegades
the lead. At the 35th minute Jamie Ewton finished off
a movement that gave Nashville the lead at the half
15-14.
The second half was a stalemate for the first ten minutes
with neither side able to turn the tide. Nashville broke
the deadlock at the 10th minute when Hodgen Mainda scored
a try and Chris Gower added the conversion. Hodgen scored
another try giving him a hat trick on the day. Late
in the half the Renegades launched an all out attack
and scored a converted try cutting the lead to 8. Nashville
held out a series of attacks winning the game and moving
on to the finals.
1. Tom Forbes ©
2. Dusty Brown / Josh Harris @ half
3. Jonathon Pledger / Phil Maddox @ 60 minutes
4. Larry Roland / Andy Johnson @ 65 minutes
5. Brian Graeser
6. Scott Garber
7. Chris Ryan
8. Evan Bone (Andy Shirley blood sub)
9. Don Mitchell / James Maxwell @ half
10. Cayo Nicolau
11. Dave Osler
12. Derek Wolfe / Aaron Hice @ 42
13. Marc Sullivan 1T (Chris Gower blood sub first half)
14. Hodgen Mainda 3T
15. Jamie Ewton 1T / Chris Gower 2CK @ half
Game # 2 -- FINALS
Nashville 28
Life 12
Life opened the game applying heavy pressure on the
Nashville defense. The defense held and Nashville took
the changed the momentum when Chris Gower slotted a
penalty kick. This lead was short-lived as minutes later
Life blocked a kick and scored a try giving them the
lead. Nashville kept up the work rate and after a multi-phases
movement it was Cayo Nicolau who slammed his way through
several tacklers to score a try right behind the posts.
Gower added the conversion. Gower added an additional
penalty kick to giveNashville a 13-5 halftime lead.
In the second half neither team could gain an advantage
as both sides battled it out. At the 25th minute Gower
added a penalty kick that seemed
to spark some momentum. A few minutes later Marc Sullivan
scored a try in the far corner. With about ten minutes
to go it was Chris Ryan who was justly rewarded with
a try under the posts. Gower added the conversion. Nashville
kept up the pressure and while deep in their end a kick
was blocked and a Life player outpaced everyone for
a long range converted try. With only minutes remaining
Life launched an all out attack that was repelled with
big tackles from the Nashville defense securing the
SOUTH DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP.
1. Tom Forbes© / Dusty Brown @20 minutes
2. Andy Shirley / Josh Harris @ half
3. Jonathon Pledger
4. Andy Johnson / Larry Roland @ half
5. Brian Graeser
6. Phil Maddox / Lyle Jones @ 65 minutes / (Peter
blood sub)
7. Chris Ryan 1T
8. Evan Bone
9. Don Mitchell / James Maxwell @ half
10. Cayo Nicolau 1T ©
11. Aaron Hice
12. Chris Gower 3 PK; 2CK
13. Marc Sullivan 1T
14. Hodgen Mainda
15. Dave Osler
Nashville Rugby
Game summaries by: Coach Mark Williams
2005 SOUTH MATRIX SERIES Nashville vs. Renegades
GAME # 2 -- Saturday, March 5, 2005
At Vanderbilt Nashville, TN
Nashville 30
Atlanta Renegades 26
Referee: Al Klemp
It was ideal conditions for rugby in Nashville for the
Renegades rematch and the Nash U19 Tournament. Another
great job by everyone involved with the U19 Nash Bash
It¹s great to see the high school kids playing
and loving rugby so much. A lot of these young eyes
(and future Nashville stars) came out to watch this
Division 1 clash and they all got their money¹s
worth.
The first twenty minutes was dominated by the home team.
Dusty Brown scored the first try 3 minutes into the
match. Ten minutes later it was wing David Osler who
finished off a well-worked try. Chris Gower added the
conversion kick. At the 18 minute mark Toby Florek finished
off a series of
phases to score another try and Gower added the conversion
giving Nashville a 19 -0 lead. The Renegades aided by
some Nashville errors rallied back. Some shoddy Nashville
tackling allowed a break-away try at the 30 minute mark.
Nashville regained some momentum adding a penalty goal
before half making the halftime score 22-5.
With last weeks second half fiasco fresh in mind --
Nashville looked forward to a better showing, but several
opportunities were lost early in the half. The Renegades
mounted a series of offensive attacks that lead to a
Nashville player yellow-carded for a back 10 violation.
Just as last week this proved to be costly as the Renegades
scored two converted tries in the next 7 minutes. At
the 24th minute the Renegades took the lead 26-22 with
another converted try. Nashville fought to stop the
bleeding and regained some momentum with a Chris Gower
penalty kick a few minutes later. The game hung in the
balance with both teams mounting charges. At the 35th
minute Nashville re-took the lead as Josh Harris bulled
his way over for a try in the corner. The game continued
at a fast pace with the Renegades launching an all assault
against the Nashville defense which held for the victory.
This victory allowed Nashville to obtain the second
seed in the upcoming SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP. With the exception
of the first Renegade vs Life game all three teams
in the Matrix were equally matched and each game was
close.
1. Tom Forbes ©
2. Dusty Brown 1T / Phil Maddox @ 60 minutes
3. Jonathon Pledger / Josh Harris 1T @ half
4. Larry Roland / Andy Johnson @ 65 minutes
5. Brian Graeser
6. Scott Garber
7. Chris Ryan
8. Evan Bone
9. James Maxwell
10. Marc Sullivan
11. Dave Osler 1T
12. Derek Wolfe / Hodgen Mainda (blood sub for 7 minutes)
13. Cayo Nicolau
14. Chris Gower 2 CK; 2 PK
15. Toby Florek 1T / Jamie Ewton @ 47 minutes
Nashville Posse 24
Renegades B 12
Nashville had a solid backline unit, but some guests
and converted backs filled in the forward ranks. The
first part of the game was evenly matched
with the Renegades scoring an unconverted try and Nashville¹s
Peter Dyer scoring an unconverted try. Aaron Hice outpaced
everyone to score the go ahead points with a try that
Chris Gower converted. Phil Maddox turned in a strong
performance and he bulled his way through several would-be
tacklers to score a try. Chris Gower added the conversion
giving Nashville a 19-5 lead at the break.
In the second half the game see-sawed back and forth.
Mike Gower scored a try that finished off a nice backline
movement. Late in the game The
Renegades mounted a late charge scoring a converted
try, but time ran out on the visitors. The Posse turned
in another quality performance for the
second victory over the Division 3 Renegades II.
1. Phil Maddox 1T
2. Joe Gerome
3. Andy Shirley
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Nick
6. Dana
7. Lyle Jones
8. Andy Johnson
9. Chris Gower 2CK
10. Hodgen Mainda
11. Aaron Hice 1T
12. Brad
13. Mike Gower 1T
14. Igor Ramoneda
15. Peter Dyer 1T
Sunday, February 26, 2005
Nashville 13
Renegades 15
Renegades beat Rival Nashville (FROM RUGBYRUGBY.COM)
The match was fought Hard by both teams in tough rainy
and cold conditions. Nashville controlled a good portion
of the first half with the Renegades’s pressure
only amounting to a missed penalty kick to show for
their effort. Derek Wolfe scored a try and Cayo added
a pair of penalty kicks to take the lead at the half
13-0.
Immediately after the half scrumhalf Trent Randall
scored off a long run with Rich Minor converting 13-7.
With 20 minutes remaining after multi phase play against
a stiff Nashville defense, Minor put a well placed pop
kick over the defense and winger Andy Shields won the
sprint for the corner covering the ball. The conversion
failed leaving the Renegades behind 13-12.
Furious pressure was put on by the Renegades. A Nashville
offside penalty yielded a centered 30 meter penalty
kick from Rich Minor with 5 minutes left. Nashville
stormed back after the kickoff and put the Renegades
on their heels. 2 difficult attempts at goal went astray
including the final play of the match.
GAME # 2 Saturday, February 19, 2005
At Vanderbilt upper field
Nashville 23
Life 17
Referee Jerry McLemore
Touch Judges Bob Toomey, Dave Haines
In dry chilly conditions Nashville eagerly awaited this
rematch, but in the first half it was Life that dominated
most phases of play. Life obviously
came to play and they kept Nashville on the back foot
for most of the half. At the 7 minute mark they scored
a first phase try on a basic play that
could have come from our own play book. For some reason
we changed a defensive assignment that resulted in an
easy converted try for the
visitors. Cayo Nicolau got Nashville on the board at
the 15th minute with a 35 meter penalty kick, but for
most of the half it was Nashville¹s defense
that kept the game within reach. Life missed several
penalty kicks and Nashville made several goal line stands.
At the 30 minute mark Life added
a penalty kick that gave them a 10-3 lead at halftime.
A good crowd of supporters were present hoping to see
Nashville being the aggressor, but played with limited
passion and failed to accomplish the hard work at the
rucks. Even though the defense was good the tackling
was poor as we grabbed and caught the runners instead
of launching with intensity.
It was a tail of two halves. Nashville came to life.
Literally Nashville began to take the game to
them and quickly momentum turned in our favor. At
the 5th minute Cayo slotted a penalty kick. The game
swayed back and forth, but slowly Nashville mounted
pressure and with the help of fresh legs from the reserve
bench the tide turned. At the 25th minute Dave Osler
kept an attack alive as he kicked a loose ball ahead
soccer style but was taken out early by two Life defenders
just before he was going to fall on the ball in the
try zone. With help from the touch judge referee Jerry
McLemore awarded a penalty try. Cayo added the conversion
giving Nashville its first lead 13-10. For the next
ten minutes Nashville controlled momentum with aggressive
rucking and hard nosed defense. One try was lost when
the ball was knocked on in the tackle at the try line.
Cayo added a penalty kick. At he 35th minute Derek Wolfe
made a crunching tackle that forced a quick turnover,
James Maxwell secured possession and help set-up Jamie
Ewton who outpaced the defenders for a try. Cayo added
the conversion. The next phase of play seemed to last
forever. Showing their strong pride Life battled back
and after a long goal line stand Life scored a converted
try bringing them to within 6 points or a converted
try to win. With time still remaining Nashville kicked-off
and Life tried to mount one last attack well into injury
time. Several Nashville penalties extended the 52 minute
half and made supporters and players alike fearful of
Life¹s ability to score from anywhere. Nashville¹s
defense held and finally the whistle blew giving Nashville
it first win against Life and first Division 1 victory
ever.
Overall there were two outstanding games between these
two teams over the 1 week span. If you combined the
three matches in the last year then Nashville would
hold a slim 2 point advantage. With such close margins
either game could have been won by either team. Life
will rap up its matrix games this Saturday when they
play the Renegades, and then Nashville begins a home
away series with the Renegades in Atlanta this Sunday
then back in Nashville on March 5th. After these
games the South Championship will be held at Life on
March 12 -13.
1. Tom Forbes
2. Dusty Brown / Josh Harris @ half
3. Jonathan Pledger / Philip Maddox @ 60 minutes
4. Larry Roland / Scott Garber @ half
5. Brian Graeser / Andy Johnson @ 70 minutes
6. Chris Ryan
7. Evan Bone
8. Dace Shuck ©
9. Don Mitchell / James Maxwell @ half
10. Marc Sullivan
11. Dave Osler 1T
12. Derek Wolfe
13. Cayo Nicolau 3PK; 2CK
14. Jamie Ewton 1T / Chris Gower @ 75 minutes
15. Hodgen Mainda
Nashville played a 12 on 12 match against the Vandy
reserves which allowed all players to get some playing
time. It was spirited one way affair with Nashville
scoring many tries to one.
1. Andy Johnson
2. Rick Miller
3. Pat McRedmond
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Scott Garber
6. Dave Osler
7. Chris Gower
8. Toby Florek
9. Brad
10. Mike Gower
11. Aaron Hice
12. Jeff Walton
Nashville Rugby
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, at Life College
Nashville 19
LIFE 21
Sunny and low 60's with light cross wind. Nashville
started off with good pressure right away with their
attacking and strong rucking. Had a chance near the
try line and Life committed a penalty. Nashville misses
the attempt but got possession back and Life committed
another penalty, 3-0. Life counters with good ball movement
which designates their style of play and gets pk making
it 3-3. Traded field position again with strong Nashville
pressure and solid line-out play and was awarded another
pk. Cayo N. converts 6-3. Big hits and tackling in the
first half playing with pressure and Life seems rattled
by the visitors. However, lax on the outside wing and
Life dots down on a break-away to end the half. Conversion
made, 10-6.
Second half, Nashville puts more pressure on with defense
but continually kicks possession away. Strong pack play
in the home teams territory and forwards get huge go
forward. Two good pass around plays from the scrum and
from the forwards, D Wolf and Cayo take the ball in
for the try. Conversion made 13-10. Life counters with
penalty 13-13. Nashville kicks another penalty 16-13.
Then Life scores another break away around the wing,
conversion missed, 18-16. Nashville's line-outs and
set plays begin to deteriorate... However, Nashille
gets another penalty and goes ahead 19-18, and then
Life counters with another pk as well, 21-19. Nashville
works hard to go ahead in the end and get a chance with
9 minutes left, but miss pk. Time runs out... Could
have gone either way...
1. Tom Forbes
2. Dusty Brown / Philip Maddox @ 65 minutes
3. Jonathan Pledger / Josh Harris @ half
4. Larry Roland / Scott Garber @ half
5. Brian Graeser / Andy Johnson @ 70 minutes
6. Chris Ryan
7. Evan Bone
8. Dace Shuck ©
9. James Maxwell
10. Marc Sullivan
11. Dave Osler
12. Derek Wolfe 1T
13. Cayo Nicolau 4PK; 1CK
14. Jamie Ewton
15. Hodgen Mainda
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