Finally...

Goff updated the women's college rankings and finally mentioned us. We're not ranked but at least our rather strong fall season effort has been acknowledged.

"Honorable mention: California could easily be here but may have to wait a little, and the same goes for UCSB and Clemson. Teams that had decent falls but need to step it up a little in whatever competition they can get include Northeastern, Dartmouth, and UMass (who drop out this week because we decided Cornell isn't as good as we thought, so UMass' loss to them has a different meaning), as well as Clemson and possibly Virginia Tech. Watch out for Chico State - enormous will to win, as always - and UC Davis. It's very possible that the winner of this weekend's Oregon v. Oregon State game could break into the Top 20, as well."

Scrum by the Sea

This weekend was UCSD's Scrum by the Sea tournament. We left Friday morning by bus and then had two teams play Saturday. My team, the Blue team, played in the social division. We played 5 games and went 1-4 so we did not move on to playoffs Sunday. However, I don't think that reflects the improvements that we made from game to game. Our squad was entirely rookies except for myself and two other first year vets. There was some monster tackling and amazing effort. Also, a bunch of players tried positions they had never practiced at, including myself. It was just an amazing learning experience for the rookies and I'm proud of the way they handled it.

Our other squad, the Gold team, won all their games Saturday (UC Davis, CSU Sacramento, UCSD) and moved into playoffs seeded second behind ASU. They then won their matches against Chico (22-21) and UCLA but lost in the final against UCSD 7-24. It would have been nice to win the tournament for the second year in a row but second place ain't bad.

This weekend was really bad as far as injuries. By the second game Sunday, the Gold team roster was severly depleted, which probably contributed to our loss to UCSD. I think we had more injuries in two days than we had all of last year. In total we had a broken collarbone, a broken finger, a severe contusion, a possibly fractured wrist, a concussion, a badly sprained ankle, and several black eyes including one that caused the entire side of the girl's face to swell. On top of that we had two players get really sick. Luckily, we won't play again until league season starts so everyone will have plenty of time to rest and heal.

As for myself, I really enjoyed the weekend on several levels. Although I would have enjoyed at least a couple days warning and a chance to practice, I really enjoyed playing scrumhalf for two games. I think I'm a rather tall scrumhalf but it seems like a fun position and I wouldn't mind having another go at it. I was also a co-captain for the Blue team so it was interesting to be in an offical leadership position. Finally, I got to bond a little better with the rookies and that can never be a bad thing.

Lastly, the All Blues lost to New York in the final at Disney World, which makes me sad. I'm sure they must be a bit disappointed but second place is nothing to be ashamed off and next year they'll just have to come back even harder.

Flawed rankings...

I have a bone to pick with Goff. He recently updated the rankings for the women's college teams and I find the thinking behind the rankings a little flawed. I'm not saying that my team should be ranked but if we aren't then certain other teams shouldn't be ranked either. We placed second at the Stanford 10's. ASU finished below us and then lost 67-0 to Stanford. So why are they ranked?

Just to clarify, I know that I'm annoyed by something that doesn't really matter and I have no beef with ASU. I'm just a little miffed that ASU gets the benefit of the doubt while other schools with strong programs don't.

Happy Halloween!

The field we practice at on Tuesdays was super empty tonight. The hordes of elementary school soccer players must have had the night off for trick-o-treating. The All Blues also weren't there. I suppose they needed a break after this weekend. Congrats to them for making the final four!

Stanford 10's

The Stanford 10's tournament was yesterday and I'm really proud of what we did. I was on the Cal Blue team. We went 3-2 in pool play and then were eliminated by SF Fog in the first game of the playoffs. The Cal Gold team made it all the way to the final but lost to SF Fog. While winning again would have been great, taking second place to a good women's club team is great considering we're at the very beginning of our season. We played some good rugby. Our rookies really stepped up and there are some who are going to be phenomenal. A couple of our forwards also had some amazing runs that resulted in tries, which I think happens more in 10's than 15's. I also have to hand it to the vets who played game after game in the heat, some of them playing out of position, and who really gave it everything they had. Of course, the tournament exposed the things that we have to work on but there was nothing that cannot be fixed. We need to work on spreading out of defense and coming up flat. Also, we need to have one person to a tackle and better communication. However, given that in many of the games the lineup was majority rookies I would say that we did quite well.

The tournament showed me just how much I personally have yet to learn. I played three different positions: inside center, flyhalf, and then outside center. I wouldn't say I was horrible at any of them but I definately am not comfortable as a back yet. Plus, I really need to work on my speed and for some reason my dropkick deserted me for the game I played flyhalf. That was a bit embarrassing. I gave it everything I could though and I have the bruises to prove it, including a right knee that is gigantic and swollen.

On a different note, while I was sitting on the sidelines yesterday I noticed the different styles of the various coaches that were there. There were two teams who had rather loud coaches. The kind that go hopping down the touchline yelling stuff at their players, the other team and the ref. It made me grateful that I don't have a coach like that. I find it rude and I have difficulty respecting such a person. Calm leadership and disappointment work a lot better with me than shouting and anger.

Lastly, congrats to the All Blues for winning yesterday and good luck today!

Big Saturday!

Stanford 10's are tomorrow! We've got two teams in the tournament with a mix of vets and rookies on each team. I'm super excited. The rookies are finally going to get to play. This is gonna be fun!

Also, the women's club Sweet 16's are this weekend. Good luck All Blues!

Flyhalf again?

Tonight's practice was a really good one. We ran lines and did some tackling drills. Then we ran general motion although with 10 to a side instead of the usual 15 because we're gearing up for Stanford 10's. We ended up having enough for 3 sides and so we switched off playing each other. They stuck me at flyhalf this time around, which was rather interesting since I haven't played there since early last fall. As much as I like being the utility player I'd like to stick to one position and really get to know it inside and out. I don't feel like I have much experience at any one position. However, as a vet I do find myself talking more and that's always a good thing. Now if I could only get back my tackles...