2010's First Matches

Well, we finally got to play on Saturday, and here's what I saw/heard:

9-U: I refereed, and you guys did great. We still have to remember that rugby is not keep-away, that unlike football you don't run away from the opposition, you run directly toward them to bring the defense in to create space for your teammates. Our control and passing was good, as was our communication. And it was clear everyone was having fun.

11-U: I refereed this one, too. Still playing a little bit too much magnetball on defense, everyone crowding to the ball to get into the action. Then the opposition makes two passes out, and it's off to the races. That killed us on Saturday. Our ball control on offense was good, but too many players still running sideways instead of straight ahead.

13-U: I refereed this one, too. Almost everybody was standing right outside the action, waiting for the ball to come to him, and therefore we didn't do or get anything; the other team got into the action, they got the ball, and they scored, over and over. Hardly anyone wanted to go into the rucks or mauls, and we therefore lost almost every single one. We had no heart, no aggression, and no grrr, 11 guys all playing their own individual game instead of playing like a team. We finally started to get into the game in the 3rd period, and were doing well, but our defense, and lack of desire to close with the offense and tackle someone, doomed us.

15-U: Very impressive start, guys. We got good help from BRYC, and took it to Warrenton. Our guys did great, even though the scoring was all by BRYC players. We were best at defense, with some really, really good hard, safe tackling. Our offense was lacking, as too many of us are still unsure, not confident with the ball in our hands, and we therefore made a number of blind, panicked passes.

17-U: I heard good things about ball control and team play, and we won.

Girls Tackle: I also heard good things about teamwork, and unselfish play. I heard they were good on defense, with good, hard, safe tackling.

Keep it up, team. Only a month to go.