after an eventful weekend at the Radford University Rugby Festival in Radford, Virginia. After a long trip down (longer for some!) to Radford on Friday evening we checked into the LaQuinta Hotel and rested up for a long day of rugby on Saturday.
Our first action of the day, and of the 2008 season, would be against the NOVA Rugby club from Northern Virginia. NOVA would prove to be a big physical club, which were very strong in the
scrum and aggressive in the rucks. Despite the strength of their forwards West Shore would strike first with Aubrey Moore touching down the first try of the season. Jake Fink would convert and
United was up 7-0. Soon after that Ryan would score, unfortunately for me, I forgot to write the last name of which "Ryan" scored. We have three on our team and they were all in the game at the
time. I'll have to consult Mr. Moore's video to figure out which one it was. Jake converted again and United had an early 14-0 lead. Chris Tilley would join the scoring parade minutes later
with another Fink conversion for a 21-0 West Shore lead. Tri-captain Scott Acri, who played great rugby the entire weekend, would touch down two more tries to end the first half. Jake converted
both the give West Shore a commanding 35-0 lead at the break. Several substitutions were made at the half, as many players would get their first real game action of their careers. The new players
played a strong half of rugby to help West Shore United close out their first victory of the season 35-7.
Next up for West Shore would be a very good and very physical North Bay squad.
Earlier in the day North Bay gave Nationally ranked Gonzaga everything they could handle but came up short in a very narrow defeat. West Shore would have to come out prepared to play hard rugby if they
were going to have a chance against the boys from North Bay. United came out fired up and ready to play. The game quickly took on the atmosphere of a play-off game as both teams were tackling
hard, rucking hard and running hard. West Shore would seize the early momentum with two Lee Hoover trys. Both conversion attempts failed, but West Shore had a solid 10-0 lead early in the
game. The rugged boys from North Bay refused to fold under the relentless pressure of the United forwards and capitalized on a long kick that took a bad bounce right into the hard charging North Bay
center's hands. He touched down under the post and the conversion brought North Bay right back into the game as they closed the gap to 10-7. United went right back on the attack and found itself
inside North Bay territory when the "worst case scenario" of the weekend occurred. Flyhalf Mike Tilley, who has been playing incredible rugby this season, cut through a gap for a nice gain before being
tackled by two North Bay players. Mike landed awkwardly on his shoulder, causing it to dislocate while at the same time fracturing his collarbone. The game was halted for about 20 minutes while
we waited for the ambulance to come and take Mike to the hospital. The sight of seeing Mike lying helplessly on the field was hard for the entire team. Mike has been one of the early season
leaders on this team and he appeared to be heading for a breakout season. His presence in the back line will be sorely missed. When play continued, West Shore came out fired up and determined to
win the game for Mike. Junior Rodriguez took a quick tap on a penalty and raced straight through the North Bay defense for an incredible try to close the half. West Shore's kicking woes would
continue as the conversion kick was missed giving West Shore a 15-7 half time lead.
The second half would turn out to be quite a nasty affair. Mark Donadee entered the game at second
row and after he rucked over a North Bay player, the player decided to put Mark in a headlock. As Mark was trying to free himself from the headlock North Bay's inside center came running over and
blatantly sucker punched Mark several times in the head and face while the other player held him. It was one of the most cowardly and disgusting acts that I have ever seen on a rugby pitch.
Somehow the referee, the touch judge and North Bay's coach all missed this disgusting act that happened right in front of the sideline in clear view of our entire team and all of our spectators.
Fortunately, Mr. Moore's video camera caught it all and after the game the guilty player was suspended for the remainder of the tournament after the referee's reviewed the tape. Despite the fact that I
shouted at our sidelines to "shut up and settle down" after the incident happened, I believe our players and parents showed incredible restraint by not running on the field to stop this player's blatant act
of violence that had nothing to do with the game of rugby. Unfortunately, this player's actions completely changed the tone of the game and things quickly got out of control with both teams losing
focus on playing good rugby and instead focused on trying to destroy each other in a game the resembled a gang fight. West Shore was able to settle down and Aubrey Moore barreled over a few North
Bay players for another unconverted try to increase West Shore's lead to 20- 7. North Bay would answer back with a try of their own, after an obvious knock-on to bring the score to 20-12. The
nasty play continued adding fuel to the already burning fire. West Shore managed to keep their discipline and scored another try, this one by Dustin Hicks, to put the game out of reach at 25-12.
North Bay added a late converted try to bring the final score to 25-19 in United's favor. Despite the victory I think our entire team was disgusted with the game and left the field with a bad taste in
our mouths. I hope that we never have to see or play in that type of game again.
After most of the team enjoyed a relaxing team meal at the Radford University cafeteria, we went back to the
hotel to rest up for our big match against Gonzaga College Prep of Washington, D.C. Gonzaga is a class program that is one of the best in the Nation. They finished the 2007 season with a #6
ranking in the USA. They are very well coached and play good, clean, hard rugby.
West Shore United came ready to go despite the loss of "A" side flyhalf Mike Tilley. Mike
leaves some big shoes to fill and since Mike and Ryan Tilley are identical twins, we figured they had the same genetic make up and as a result the same size feet, so we decided to move Ryan in from the wing
to fill those big shoes at flyhalf.
The weather at kick-off time was beautiful with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 50's. The game started off with West Shore dominating play with their
forwards. Several week side "leaches" led to Aubrey Moore touching down an unconverted try for an early 5-0 West Shore lead. Gonzaga would strike back with an unconverted try of their own to tie
the score at 5-5. The teams would battle back in forth in a battle of field position with neither team able to take advantage of their chances. Gonzaga was penalized just outside their 22m line
and Jake Fink was able to put United back in the lead with a penalty kick for an 8-5 United lead. United continued to attack using their forwards to suck in the Gonzaga defense. Carl Sheaffer,
who played and outstanding game, picked up a ball out of a ruck near mid field and ran weak side, stiff arming a Gonzaga defender before touching down for 13-5 West Shore United lead at the half.
The
second half would prove to be just as exciting as the first. Gonzaga would strike the first blow, scoring a converted try to draw within one point 13-12 in favor of West Shore. West Shore would
answer back with Aubrey Moore scoring his fourth try of the weekend. Jake Fink would convert to give United a 20-12 lead. Gonzaga would not quit and scored an unconverted try to close the gap to
three 20-17 in favor of West Shore with three minutes remaining in the game. Gonzaga looked like a team on a mission; playing their best rugby of the day with several good passes and runs through gaps
in the West Shore defense. Pat Connolly would make some great tackles to shut down the attack but United would be penalized inside their own 22m line and Gonzaga would score the equalizer on a penalty
kick. After another minute of play, the final whistle would blow leaving the final score at 20-20 in a classic West Shore United-Gonzaga battle.
Each time we play Gonzaga it is an intense, clean game
of rugby that always comes down to the wire. Playing against a class team like Gonzaga is what will make us better and bring us to the next level. I look forward to playing them again and hope
that we can continue this great rugby rivalry.
All in all this weekend was a great one for our team. We played good teams that pushed us to the limits and showed us what we need to work on. We
were also able to get every player that went down at least a full game. The loss of Mike Tilley hurts badly, but I have no doubt that we will be able to bounce back from it. We will only get better
from here as we get closer to our league season. Let's carry the momentum from this weekend into the York Tournament. Great job this weekend!
Congrats to this weekends "Warrior"
winners: Mike Tilley and Carl Sheaffer
Honorable Mention: Scott Acri, Gage Warner, Ryan "Sunshine" Heffernan, Aaron Wolaver, Allen Proper, Chris Tilley, Ryan Tilley and Aubrey Moore
Most improved rookie: Tom Connolly
Coach Sean Robinson
Head Coach
