Note: No preview was available for September 16-18 due to the 49th Annual Aspen Ruggerfest.
As the leaves begin to turn in the mountains, many teams similarly hope their early-season fortunes will turn as well. In Men's Club Division 2, Boulder Rugby got off to a slow start at home against Glendale, and will look to course-correct against the Denver Barbarians this weekend. Boulder is 3-0 against the Barbarians in the past two seasons, but it was also 3-1 against Glendale heading into last weekend's match. Boulder playmakers Sean Kilfoyle and Paul Rohr will have to elevate the team's play if it hopes to counteract the formidable Barbarian pack. In their home opener against the Harlequins last weekend, the Barbos saw prop Mark DeGuire go across the line twice, and the Barbarians are always relentless at the breakdown. In the Barbarian backline, both Lance Eberhard and Ryan Walker once again put a spark in the team's dynamism. The Denver Harlequins have a much more difficult road to climb - both literally and figuratively - as they travel to Utah to take on Park City Haggis. After a disappointing home opener, the Quins will hope to catch Haggis off-guard as Denver coach Angus Peacock takes the reigns for a second full year. Park City has struggled with player loss from the advent of the Rugby Utah Men's Division, and will likely be hurting for depth until Spring. That being said, the veterans that remain for Haggis should provide the club plenty of firepower. Harlequin wing Paul Bordenkircher was spectacular in week 1, and the Quins' ability to get him the ball in space could prove the difference in the final score. In Men's Club Division 3, the Northern Colorado Flamingos and Queen City Rams both look to get their seasons started against each other. Queen City is 14-2 in D3 in the past two seasons, but the Flamingos have been right at their heels, going 10-6 in the same time period. Last season, NoCo only lost to Queen City by three points (20-23), falling to a Ryan Clemons penalty kick in the 77th minute that sealed the game for Ctiy. For both teams, an early win in Fort Collins could give them significant momentum as they battle through a significantly-improved Division 3 schedule. Elsewhere in D3, the relegated Colorado Springs Grizzlies hope to continue their hot start against the defending champion Denver Highlanders. In week 1, the Grizzlies made short work of a Glendale D3 side that went 5-2 last season, defeating them at Infinity Park South by a score of 56-12. The Colorado Springs' attack is said to be much improved, and consists of a number of players that opponents often underestimate, including fullback Tim Cornelius. The Grizzlies are also guided by the steady leadership of Sam "Irish" McGee in the front row. The Highlanders are no pushover, however, and this match is sure to speak volumes about the direction of this year's competition. Against the Harlequins' reserves in week 1, the Highlanders were similarly impressive, defeating the Quins 57-14, with the last 7 of 14 only coming from a try at the death. The Highlanders have weapons at virtually every position, including arguably the strongest tight-five in the league, and have the steady hand of Adam Price leading them from the flyhalf position. Price was good for nearly 12 points/game in 2015-2016, and is known for putting his teammates into space for quick strikes from every angle. Division 4 action continues this weekend as well, as the Littleton Eagles hope to get off on a strong foot against the Colorado Springs reserves. The Grizzlies' D4 side defeated the Colorado Rush 90-7 in week 1, but will also be facing the Eagles on the same day their first team goes against the Highlanders. Littleton is something of an unknown entity, but they can be quite formidable when they have all their players in form. Both sides hope to finish in the top four of this year's 8-team Division 4 competition, and this match will go a long ways towards determining the ability to do just that. The Rush hope to be vastly improved this weekend as they take on the Boulder reserves. Boulder's depth was tested in week 1, winning a high-scoring affair with the Marauders. If their defense doesn't improve, there's potential for another shootout, as the Rush's ability to score isn't in question if they can keep the ball in hand. Getting, and keeping, the ball will ultimately decide how well the Rush execute this weekend as they look for their first win of the season. The Marauders-Harlequins Division 4 match has been postponed to Saturday, October 22. Glendale heads to Berkeley in the Women's Premier League, as the two-time defending WPL Champions must face the most historically-successful club in women's club history on its own home ground. The match is also a rematch of the 2015 WPL Championship Final. In the first two rounds of play, Glendale has ground out two tough victories over the San Diego Surfers and Oregon Sports Union (ORSU), but Berkeley has more or less seen its wheels fall off and will need this win to get its season back on track. Last week, the All Blues lost to the Surfers by a score of 69-7. The Boulder Babes host the Mid-Missouri Black Sheep in Women's Club Division 2 play. The Babes had a spirited exhibition session in Aspen last weekend, and look to return to the playoffs for the third year in a row. Hosting the Black Sheep should be a first step on that pathway, as the Columbia, Missouri-based side didn't offer much difficulty for the Babes last year in a match that saw Boulder victorious, 48-5. ----------------------------- In the college ranks, Wyoming travels to New Mexico in a match that is must-win for both teams. For Wyoming, a win will demonstrate their back on the ascendancy; for New Mexico, this is one of their most-winnable games on a very daunting West D1A schedule. In Salt Lake City, a high-profile friendly between Utah and Colorado State will have national eyes on it. Utah is a question mark to many at the moment, having shockingly lost to Air Force in their first match of the season. Whether Air Force is that good, or Utah is rebuilding, should be seen by the result against Colorado State. The Rams are an excellent team, and this match could be a big rankings-mover in D1A. Utah State makes its D1A debut against Air Force. The Aggies have scores of Utah-based talent that's graduated from the state's impressive high school system, but Air Force looks to be firing on all cylinders. This match will be a good benchmark game for both teams as the West D1A Conference slowly starts to reveal itself. In Men's College Division 2, Colorado Mines is looking to redeem itself after an early-season upset loss to Western State last weekend. They'll face a Colorado Mesa team that beat UCCS 17-13 last weekend, which was a much closer match than the contest between Mines and UCCS, which Mines won 46-10. Mines and Mesa will also meet in Women's College Division 2, though expectations might be trending the other direction. Mines looked impressive in their 55-10 defeat of Wyoming, but Mesa looked unstoppable as it defeated UCCS 101-0 last weekend. Wyoming and UCCS will face each other as well, and the South Division of the conference should have a much clearer understanding of itself after this round of matches. ----------------------------- Men's Club Division 2 Denver Barbarians D2 vs. Boulder Rugby Park City Haggis vs. Denver Harlequins Men's Club Division 3: Colorado Springs Grizzlies vs. Denver Highlanders Northern Colorado Flamingos vs. Queen City Rams Men's Club Division 4: Marauders Rugby vs. Denver Harlequins D4 [postponed] Colorado Springs D4 vs. Littleton Eagles Colorado Rush vs. Boulder Rugby D4 Men's College Division 1A: New Mexico vs. Wyoming #7 Utah vs. #20 Colorado State Utah State vs. #12 Air Force Men's College Division 2: Colorado Mesa vs. Colorado Mines Women's Premier League (Club): Berkeley All Blues vs. Glendale Raptors Women's Club Division 2: Boulder Babes vs. Mid-Missouri Black Sheep Women's College Division 2: Colorado Mines vs. Colorado Mesa UCCS vs. Wyoming **This report has been updated; it originally reported scores from the 48th Annual Aspen Ruggerfest.
Home team listed first; winning team in bold: NR = Not reported (yet) | Scores are reported by referees and/or CMS entry Men's College Division 1A #12 Air Force 66-26 #7 Utah Men's College Division 2 Colorado Mines 28-34 Western State UCCS 13-17 Colorado Mesa Air Force B 71-10 Colorado Mesa Montana State 20-0 Metro State Women's College Division 2 Colorado Mines 55-10 Wyoming UCCS 0-101 Colorado Mesa Men's College/Club Friendlies Colorado State 63-17 Denver Colorado State B 13-28 Northern Colorado Women's College/Club Friendlies Regis 15-24 Colorado ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Feature | 49th Annual Aspen Rugggerfest Report: 49th Annual Aspen Ruggerfest (Club) Men's Open Final: Goslings Dark 'n Stormy Misfits 47-20 Gentlemen of Aspen Women's Open Final: Goslings Gold MissFits 15-0 Black Ice Rugby Men's Over-35 (Masters) Final: Goslings Dark 'n Stormy Misfits 17-12 Gentlemen of Aspen Men's Over-45 Final: Goslings Dark 'n Stormy Misfits 30-8 Olympic Club Rugby Men's Over-50 Final: Virginia Cardinals 17-8 Boulder Rugby Men's Over-55 Final: Virginia Cardinals 31-15 Florida Gators Article by Alex Solomon | Originally published at d1arugby.com LAFAYETE, Colo. – The 44thannual Jackalope Rugby Tournament took place Saturday, Sept. 10, in Laramie, Wyo., and featured eight sides between four D1A West Conference programs. The yearly jamboree has served as an essential tool for West Conference teams preparing for their upcoming fall campaigns. This season, Colorado State’s A-side took first place after finishing the day a perfect 3-0. The University of Colorado supplied three separate teams, while Colorado State and the host, Wyoming, fielded two sides and West’s newly-minted Utah State brought one team to Jackalope. All four programs displayed both rust and moments of excellence, but Colorado State was the sharpest team on the day. Playing 20-minute halves, the Rams opened with a 21-5 victory over Utah State before putting together its best 40 minutes of the day in a convincing, 45-5, handling of Wyoming. In its third and final game, Colorado State took down the Buffaloes, 15-5. Article by Alex Solomon | Originally published at d1arugby.com LAFAYETTE, Colo. – The 12-team field and opening round matchups for the 2016 D1A Playoffs have been set. D1A’s postseason begins with a four-game first round April 16 and will conclude May 7 with the D1A Final, part of the 2016 USA Rugby College 15s National Championships at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif.
Indiana, Life, Saint Mary’s, and Utah earned first round byes after claiming conference championships, and won’t feature in the April 16 opening round of D1A’s four-week playoff. Instead, Air Force, Lindenwood, LSU, and San Diego State will have the luxury of playing at home in the first round, while Arizona, Cal Poly, Davenport, and Wheeling Jesuit will be on the road. Press release | Originally published at d1arugby.com LARAMIE, Wyo. – WellDog announced today that it has established a rugby student athlete exchange program between the University of Wyoming and universities in Brisbane, Australia. The exchange program, developed in partnership with the nascent Wyoming Rugby Organization, will allow Australian and Wyoming students to study and play at the partner universities for up to a year. Wyoming players also have an option to join the University of Queensland rugby academy. Several players from both locations will take part in the program in 2016.
“This program is an excellent opportunity for our players,” said David Finnoff, UW men’s rugby club head coach and University of Wyoming associate professor of economics. “Queensland is the home of some of the most elite rugby teams and training systems in the world. This opportunity for our players to get intensive training at the highest levels and for Queensland’s elite players to come to Wyoming will be a game changer for our programs and great for the University of Wyoming overall. Wyoming had strong success on the international rugby scene in 2015 with Wyoming alum Chris Baumann playing successfully for the USA Eagles and scoring a try in the 2015 Rugby World Cup in London. Cody Jerabek, a current Wyoming standout player, has just been selected to for the 2016 Tiger Select Side. We look forward to expanding on this success with the Queensland exchange.” “We look forward to sending our talent to the U.S. and receiving Wyoming players here in Queensland,” said Graeme Linklater, WellDog’s Asia/Pacific CFO and member of Queensland Brothers Rugby Club. “The learning opportunities for both sides are immense, and the opportunity to increase community interactions between Queensland and Wyoming is highly attractive. As the program matures, we will look to expand it to include other colleges and universities as well as other types of student participants.” UW women’s rugby club kicks off their season during the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament in Las Vegas in early March, playing an exhibition game against Wayne State University. The UW men’s rugby team travels this weekend for a brief northern California tour, playing a double header against 20th ranked Santa Clara University on Saturday, January 30 at 1pm Pacific Time, and against Stanford University on Sunday, January 31 at 11am Pacific Time. The University of Wyoming men and women teams started training this past Tuesday in the University of Wyoming state of the art indoor practice field complex. Wednesday, March 11
Men's College Division 1A Colorado 17-17 Wyoming Saturday, March 14 Pacific Rugby Premiership Denver Barbarians 42-39 Old Mission Beach Athletic Glendale Raptors 51-31 Olympic Club Rugby Men's College Division 1A Colorado State 59-21 Colorado Men's Club Division 2 Boulder Rugby 29-15 Glendale Raptors D2 Denver Harlequins 24-10 Denver Highlanders Men's Club Division 3 Glendale Raptors D3 18-12 Northern Colorado Flamingos Men's Club & College Friendlies Olympic Club Rugby II 34-22 Queen City Rams Boulder Rugby d. Northside Marauders Women's Club & College Friendlies Colorado 27-15 Boulder Babes Glendale Raptors II 42-17 Denver Black Ice Sunday, March 15 Men's College Division 1A Air Force 61-19 Wyoming Colorado State 59-21 Colorado Saturday, March 7
Pacific Rugby Premiership Glendale Raptors 35-21 Denver Barbarians Women's Premier League Friendly Glendale Raptors 51-17 Twin Cities Amazons Men's College Division 1A Colorado 31-5 New Mexico Colorado State 34-5 Air Force Men's Club Division 2 Denver Barbarians D2 33-29 Glendale Raptors D2 Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Champions Cup Semi-Finals New Mexico Highlands 73-5 Western State Colorado School of Mines 31-22 Denver Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Challenge Cup Semi-Finals Northern Colorado 50-14 Colorado - Colorado Springs Red Rocks 31-10 Colorado Mesa Men's Club & College Friendlies Queen City Rams NR Denver Highlanders (scrimmage also played with Glendale) Denver Harlequins vs. Northern Colorado Flamingos Colorado Springs Grizzlies 54-5 Northside Marauders Colorado College 43-0 Colorado State - Pubelo Women's Club & College Friendlies Glendale Raptors II 29-14 Colorado State Sunday, March 8 Women's Club Division 1 Twin Cities Amazons 36-15 Denver Black Ice Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Champions Cup Final New Mexico Highlands 46-27 Colorado School of Mines Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Challenge Cup Final Northern Colorado 41-20 Red Rocks Women's Club & College Friendlies Colorado College vs. Red Rocks |
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