This weekend brings a host of high-quality rugby to the Rocky Mountains, including a rematch of the 2014 WPL Championship and the always-scintillating local derby between the Glendale Raptors and Denver Barbarians at Glendale's Infinity Park stadium.
In November 2014, the Glendale Raptors (women) defeated the reigning (2013) WPL champions, the Twin Cities Amazons, in a classic match at Life University's Championship Rugby Field in Marietta, Georgia. Down 10-8 at halftime, the Raptors stormed back with the guidance of WPL MVP Hannah Stolba to eke out a 16-15 victory that was only secure when an Amazons' conversion attempt fell short with one minute remaining. This weekend's friendly rematch will serve as the stadium opener at 1:00 PM. Following that match, the 2014 PRP Finalist Glendale Raptors men's squad will take on the historic local powerhouse Denver Barbarians at 3:00 PM. Matches between these sides are usually the best men's rugby matches each year in Colorado. This year, Glendale and Denver enter the match sitting 2nd and 6th (respectively), after each squad struggled early on the road. With momentum now behind them, and fewer trips to California remaining, each side is capable of ending the weekend in the PRP's top two with a victory. Elsewhere in the Rockies, the Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference playoffs will take place at Infinity Park South and the University of Denver, and the premier division of men's collegiate rugby, Division 1A, resumes with high-profile matches between New Mexico and Colorado, as well as Colorado State and Air Force. Be sure to check out these matches live to support your local rugby community! Saturday, March 7 Pacific Rugby Premiership 3:00 PM - Infinity Park | Glendale Raptors vs. Denver Barbarians Women's Premier League Friendly 1:00 PM - Infinity Park | Glendale Raptors vs. Twin Cities Amazons Men's College Division 1A 1:00 PM - University Field | New Mexico vs. Colorado 1:00 PM - Colorado State Rugby Field | Colorado State vs. Air Force Men's Club Division 2 1:00 PM - Infinity Park South | Glendale Raptors D2 vs. Denver Barbarians D2 Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Champions Cup Semi-Finals 3:00 PM - Infinity Park South | New Mexico Highlands vs. Western State 4:30 PM - Infinity Park South | Denver vs. Colorado School of Mines Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Challenge Cup Semi-Finals 6:00 PM - University of Denver Rugby Field | Colorado - Colorado Springs vs. Northern Colorado 7:30 PM - University of Denver Rugby Field | Colorado Mesa vs. Red Rocks Men's Club & College Friendlies 9:00 AM - Infinity Park South | Queen City Rams vs. Denver Highlanders 3:30 PM - Parkfield Lake Park | Denver Harlequins vs. Northern Colorado Flamingos 4:30 PM - Williams Field | Northside Marauders vs. Colorado Springs Grizzlies 7:00 PM - Washburn Stadium | Colorado College vs. Colorado State - Pubelo Women's Club & College Friendlies 11:00 AM - Infinity Park South | Glendale Raptors II vs. Colorado State Sunday, March 8 Women's Club Division 1 1:00 PM - Dick's Sporting Goods Park #8 | Denver Black Ice vs. Chicago North Shore Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Champions Cup Final 10:00 AM - University of Denver Rugby Field | TBD vs. TBD Men's Small College (NSCRO) Frontier Conference Playoffs - Challenge Cup Final 12:00 PM - University of Denver Rugby Field| TBD vs. TBD Women's Club & College Friendlies 1:00 PM - Red Rocks Rugby Field | Colorado College vs. Red Rocks After snowstorms derailed the first two weeks of the spring portion of West Conference play, March 7 will finally see the Eastern Rockies clubs take the pitch. The sunshine couldn’t arrive at a better time as No. 11 Colorado State seeks revenge against No. 7 Air Force Saturday.
It’s likely that both the Rams and Zoomies would have preferred to reopen conference play against a lesser opponent, but it’s not like either team hasn’t played competitive rugby in 2015. Air Force was able to break a good sweat at the Las Vegas Invitational, while Colorado State earned its best win of the season in February – a 29-21 victory over Arizona. “Getting that big win in our first game [of 2015] has the guys feeling ready,” said Colorado State Assistant Coach Ryan Walker. The Rams lost out on opportunities to face New Mexico and Wyoming the past two weeks, while the Zoomies are equally disappointed to have postponed a conference match and cancel a trip to Provo, Utah, to earn quality minutes against BYU. Still, Colorado State doesn’t see any reason to come out sluggish against Air Force. “It hasn’t been ideal having our games canceled, but that’s been the only thing to negatively effect us,” Walker said. “We’re pretty fortunate to have some state-of-the-art facilities at Colorado State where we can practice indoors when the weather is bad.” Those indoor training sessions will have to have been productive for the Rams to challenge Air Force tomorrow. Back in September, the Zoomies welcomed Colorado State to the Academy and promptly picked them apart – 57-24. The 33-point loss is the only blemish on the Rams’ record. Colorado State fly half Lance Eberhard was forced to leave the pitch within the match’s first five minutes for an injury substitute, and his replacement at No. 10 didn’t last much longer before picking up an injury of his own. Even at full strength, the Rams have a few aspects of their game they will need to improve upon to upset the cadets at Infinity Park. “Physicality and aggression are two of the biggest things,” Walker suggested. “Air Force is guaranteed to be in shape and they’re always going to be physical. They’ve got everything going for them, so at the very least we have to match their physicality.” After postponing two trips to Colorado for conference matches the past couple of weeks, New Mexico hosts the Buffaloes tomorrow. The Lobos are seeking their first conference win of the season, while No. 19 Colorado is at full strength after dealing with an uncommon amount of injuries throughout the fall. Arizona was deemed the favorite in its top 15 showdown against Colorado State for no reason bigger than the fact the Wildcats were playing at home. It turns out the road team had plans of its own, as the Rams withstood a comeback from the hosts to upset Arizona, 29-21.
Displaying fluid attacking phases, Colorado State jumped out to an early lead on the strength of tries from scrum half Carmine Hernandez and full back Liam Wynne, and eventually went to intermission leading the No. 9 team in D1A Rugby, 19-13. Arizona looked to be the more determined side opening the second half, quickly taking its first lead at 21-19 after a try and penalty goal. However, the Rams never deterred from their gameplan, and fly half Luke Engelhaupt put his team back in front with a successful penalty kick with just eight minutes remaining in the match. Colorado State would go on to score a late try, putting an end to any hopes of a second comeback from Arizona, giving the Rams their biggest win of the season. Squandering a lead on the road to a team ranked ahead of you is a tough pill to swallow, and a situation that might have seen Colorado State board its bus to head back to Fort Collins with a loss in the past. The resilient effort in the desert shows that this year’s Rams team might just be different from teams of years past. “They are sick of being the underdogs, to be honest,” Assistant Coach Ryan Walker said of his team’s refusal to give up. “We are aware of our capabilities and have moved up in the ranks over the years, but when push comes to shove we’ve lost some of the big games. So, we’ve been emphasizing the importance of this game ever since we scheduled it.” Ben Pinkelman, an AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American from a year ago and a player the Eagles coaching staff has high praise for, was once again all over the pitch for the victorious Rams. “He’s definitely a lead-by-example type of payer,” said Walker of his star flanker. “His knowledge of the game is pretty comprehensive, so it doesn’t matter if we’re on defense, attacking, in a lineout or a scrum; he leads from the front and shows the guys what needs to be done.” Even though no play was bigger than Engelhaupt’s three-point boot with less than 10 minutes to play, and Pinkelman was Pinkelman-like, it was prop Jackson Brockway who was awarded Man-of-the-Match recognition from his team. “He was one of the smallest forwards on the field, but when he hits you it feels like a freight train has hit you, and he was leveling guys all day,” Walker mentioned of his front rower’s afternoon.Next up, the Rams host nearby men’s senior side Boulder RFC, where they will continue to iron out wrinkles before picking up the second half of the West Conference season Feb. 21 against New Mexcio. In a top 15 matchup, No. 14 Colorado State will head to Tucson to take on No. 9 Arizona Saturday, Feb. 5. The early-season showdown is important for both schools that have their sights set on the 2015 D1A Rugby Playoffs.
For Arizona, January saw Jekyll-and Hyde-like performances in its two matches. The Wildcats opened 2015 with a stellar 55-5 victory over Santa Clara, but followed up that showing by dropping an egg against a terrific Cal team – 76-0 in favor of the Bears. Saturday’s contest will be the first of two consecutive challenges from the West Conference for Arizona. Next week, Head Coach Sean Duffy’s team heads to Las Vegas to fend off Wyoming as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. The Rams from Fort Collins will not stack up the way Cal does, but are sure to provide heavier resistance than the Broncos were able to offer a few weeks back. Aside from a 60-minute friendly against nearby School of Mines, this will be Colorado State’s first match of 2015 following a successful fall. The Rams went 3-1 over the first portion of its West Conference schedule, with its lone defeat coming against No. 6 Air Force. While the 3-1 record was a nice start, the team was able to climb D1A’s rankings based on the convincing fashion of its league wins – blowouts over Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming by an average of 36 points. Still, Colorado State is lacking a marquee win to its name, and a defeat of Arizona would go a long way to securing its playoff spot for the spring. If the Wildcats can defend their home turf at William David Sitton Field, then the Rams might be feeling a bit of pressure to upset Air Force when the two Rocky Mountain sides meet for a second time this season March 7. One position to keep an eye on this Saturday will be openside flanker. AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Ben Pinkelman will be wearing No. 7 and captaining Colorado State, while vice-captain Matt Tomasetti will be his opposite and bring a similar skill set to the table as Pinkelman. The last time Pinkelman was on the pitch he was representing USA as a member of the Eagles Select XV at the American Rugby Championship in October. The University of Colorado takes flight for California today to begin a busy weekend in which the Buffaloes will play Santa Clara Saturday Jan. 31 and Stanford the very next day.
Colorado is coming off a disappointing fall campaign after giving up a combined 110 points to Air Force and Colorado State in losing efforts, and only managing a tie while playing on home soil against Wyoming. The Buff’s lone win came against New Mexico, a team that has struggled during its returned venture to the West Conference competition. The rough start to its 2014-15 season makes Colorado hungry for a big win, but its opponent Saturday will take the pitch with a belly growling for a victory as well. Santa Clara was embarrassed at home last week when Arizona trounced the Broncos 55-5. The 50-point loss can be partially chalked up to a combination of factors: Santa Clara is not yet clicking as a unit this early in the season, and Arizona, now ranked No. 9 in D1A, just might be a whole lot better than most people perceived at the beginning of the season. Either way, the Broncos will be eager to erase the memory of its defeat against Arizona with a quality performance that leads to a win over the Buffs. For Colorado, a sweep of the South Bay Area schools would not only boost its record, but also its confidence prior to diving into the second half of its West Conference schedule. Stanford could present the heavier task as compared to Santa Clara this weekend. The Cardinal gave Santa Clara everything it could handle before falling 22-19 in the match’s closing minutes. The fact that the Buffalos take on Stanford less than 24 hours after going a full 80 minutes against Santa Clara will make the second leg of the trip a difficult chore. Several of key players who were held out of action in the fall but were starters for Colorado in 2013-14 when they won the West are set to return to the first XV. This will surely give the boys in black and gold a boost, as they will need a to handle this weekend’s opposition with ease if they want to show they can avenge losses to Air Force and Colorado State in March. There may not be many D1A matchups this weekend involving two teams at or near the top of their conference’s standings, but there are plenty of teams that currently sit in the middle of the pack and need wins to get into a conference championship conversation.
Big Ten Universities Undefeated Michigan hosts Michigan State Friday night. The Wolverines have looked sharp out of the gates and are surely the favorites, but you cannot count out Sparty in a rivalry match. Minnesota has to be feeling good about its 2-0 start, but Saturday’s match against Ohio State should be its toughest test yet. The Buckeyes need a win to get their season back on track, while a Gopher victory will garner the attention of the rest of the Big Ten Universities teams. Rugby East It was relatively known heading into the season that the three newcomers to Rugby East would struggle against the four teams that previously occupied the conference. Up to this point, nothing has happened on the pitch to lead anyone to believe anything different. So, Buffalo and Iona should really be up against it when they play Penn State and Army, respectively. The one match out of the East that could stay close for a full 80 minutes is St. Bonaventure’s visit to Wheeling Jesuit. After playing Army tough, the Bonnies were blown out by Penn State, 81-5. If St. Bonaventure can compete at the level it did against West Point then it could pull off the upset against Jesuit. Kutztown is the type of program that does not like to take a weekend off, and they have shown that by scheduling tough nonconference opponents outside of its Rugby East schedule. This week the Golden Bears have Maryland, one of the better teams out of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League and home to the Cima brothers – AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Matias and MJAA and BHSAA star Ben. Red River No D1A game has more intrigue this week than Texas versus Oklahoma. Not only does the match represent one of the best rivalries in all of college sports, but the Longhorns and Sooners look to be the top two sides out of the Red River this fall. Check out D1A’s full preview of the Red River Rivalry. Texas Tech gets its first chance to hit someone in an opposing color when Baylor comes to town Saturday. After a solid 15s season last spring, Baylor has been a minor disappointment in the early going this fall. It is not that the Bears’ 0-2 record is something to hang their heads about – both losses came against quality sides in Oklahoma and Texas – but it’s the fashion in which they have dropped those games. Baylor has been outscored 105-25 in its first two Red River matches. Still, this game is anyone’s to win. West Air Force looks to be the class of the West so far, so Colorado will have to up its game in order to give the Zoomies a challenge. Of course, Air Force must have been flying high after an emotional victory over Navy last Friday, so if there is any letdown on their end, the Buffs could capitalize at home. Wyoming was disappointed to settle for a tie last week against the Buffaloes. A win against Colorado State should alleviate that disappointment, and the Cowboys have a good shot on Saturday as the Ram will be without stud flanker Ben Pinkelman who is in Canada representing the Eagles Select XV in Canada at the 2014 Americas Rugby Championship. D1A Independent squad Arizona will field a developmental side to play the West’s New Mexico. Several key players for the Wildcats will be in California competing at the West Coast 7s and a spot in USA Rugby’s 2015 College 7s National Championship. The match could be a tight one, as New Mexico is young and inexperienced, while Arizona will be suiting up a side made up almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Mid-South Nobody out of the Mid-South is afraid of a challenge. That is why Davenport is playing former conference foe Arkansas State and Lindenwood is playing Life’s Elite Training Group – a side combining the senior club team and undergrad team. Davenport will no doubt play with a spirited intensity, especially because it is a Friday night homecoming match, but it may not be enough to pull off the upset against the Red Wolves. Arkansas State impressed in a lopsided win over Glendale a few weeks back, plus Davenport will be without All-American prop Angus MacLellan who, like Pinkelman, is playing with the Eagles Selects. Lindenwood has already beat three quality senior club sides, including Glendale, but Life’s Elite Training Group should present them the most problems. The Lions can matchup athletically with any team in the country – college or club – but coaches Tui Osborne and Dan Payne will have their side technically prepared in ways few coaches can. Even with half of the West Conference schedule being played out in the fall, Air Force’s most important match of the semester is the battle of the Shea Cup against Navy, which took place this past Friday. To the thrill of the home crowd at the Terrazzo on the Air Force Academy campus, the Zoomies refused to relinquish the Shea Cup by overtaking a powerful Navy squad, 38-26.
The rivalry between Air Force and Navy is one of the very best in college rugby, and the importance of the annual encounter has only increased since the creation of the Shea Cup. Named after Lt. Col. Kevin Shea, who had ties to both the Air Force and Navy rugby programs and lost his life serving his country in Iraq in 2004, the Shea Cup will remain in Colorado Springs following Air Force’s 12-point win. Loose forwards Garrett Jameson and Greg Search combined for four tries to lead the Air Force attack. The win moves the Zoomies to 3-0 and pushed the first-place team out of the West to No. 7 in D1A’s Top 20. Air Force’s women’s side made it a complete sweet of the Naval Academy on the weekend with a decisive 47-22 win. For the men, Air Force’s next challenge comes way of an afternoon trip to Boulder to face reigning West Champion Colorado Oct. 11. |
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