Charles River RFC v. Boston Maccabi RFC Match Report

April 13^th, 2013, 12pm

 Moakley Field, Boston, MA

Rats Match

Match Details: Nearly every game during this Spring Season and last Fall Season for the Charles River Rats has a common theme. The Rats start the game sluggish, evident by defensive errors and poor forward support, and concede multiple tries in the first ten minutes. Afterwards, the Rats get angry, shore up their defense and make smart passes. However, the early deficit presents an obstacle that the Rats cannot overcome. This week’s match against the up-start Boston Maccabi RFC followed the common theme to a tee.

The Maccabi stole the opening kickoff and marched through the Rats’ muddy territory thanks to their forwards’ powerful ball-carrying and solid ruck support. As the Maccabi powered through the Rats, they found a hole on the weak (their left) side and dashed for an early try. After a close conversion, the Maccabi lead 7-0. During their next possession, the Maccabi’s forwards exploited “Channel 1” mistakes by the Rats, which put even more pressure for the Rats’ backs to prevent scoring opportunities. The Rats do not make the necessary tackles to halt the Maccabi’s charge to the try zone, increasing the Maccabi’s lead, 14-0.

One of the highlights in the early portion of the match for the Rats, were the set pieces (scrums and line-outs) by the forwards. The scrums were powered by newcomers (Wentworth alums) Mike “Mes” Morrison and Spencer Seiferth. Despite their claims of being rusty, Morrison and Seiferth provided enough push in the scrums to evenly contest with the Maccabi. However, as the game progressed, the Maccabi stole a couple of scrums due to widespread fatigue by the forward pack, after some second-half adjustments, the Rats regained their solid platform, however the adjustments came little late for the Rats’ benefit as the Maccabi scored off of a stolen scrum towards the end of the first half[2], extending their lead, 19-0. Jerry Kenneally did manage to put the Rats on the scoreboard before halftime thanks to a penalty kick, making the halftime score 19-3.

During halftime, Head Coach Paul Clemens cursed out his team for their poor tackling, lack of hustle and poor rugby decisions. It was exactly what the Rats needed to hear (especially Wes Page, who showed more aggressiveness in the scrums for the 2^nd half). Also, helping the Rats’ cause were some key substitutions that provided fresh legs. The Rats played a more controlled game, using more forward picks and crashes to drive the Maccabi’s defense back. Within five minutes of the second half, a Maccabi player received a yellow card, giving the Rats a man advantage. It seemed the Rats would take immediate advantage of their situation as Kenneally broke the Maccabi’s line and was primed to score, however he was tackled a meter away from the try line and since he outran his support, he made a desperate attempt to score, but the referee called a penalty for “playing the ball on the ground.” After the Maccabi used the penalty to gain field position, the Rats picked up another yellow card from the same player[3], which ensured that the Rats would play the remaining 30 minutes with 14 players.

Instead of giving up, the Rats sacked up and scored, thanks to an Andrew Jackson run, which made the score 19-8. The Maccabi extended their lead when an uneasy line-out forced a bad pass in the backline, which was recovered for a try, making the score 26-8. The Rats closed the game by scoring two tries, one by Andy Dolan, another by Mike Morrison as time expired.

FINAL SCORE: Rats 20, Boston Maccabi 26

Men of the Match[4]

• Backs: Andy Dolan. A huge reason for the Rats’ late rally was the elusive and punishing running displayed by Andy Dolan. The former Club President displayed such toughness and aggression that other players had no choice but to follow suit, which come handy when the Rats had to play to a man down for the last 28 minutes of the game.
• Forwards: Alec “Ox” Tolivaisa[5]. Ox was one of the few players who played hard and hustled for the entire 80 minutes.

Honorable Mentions: “Black” Grant McAuslan, “President” Mike Fair, Jeff Garner, “Keyless” Jerry Calixte

Orange Whips Match

Match Details: The Whips won their third consecutive game, as they prevailed over the Maccabi’s B-Side, thanks to an outstanding effort from many of the Charles River Old Boys and Rookies. The Whips controlled scrums (thanks to Pete Arsenault, Garrett Quinn and Phil Adams), made brilliant passes (thanks to Stu Dunster and Mike Fair), broke tackles (thanks to Andrew Jackson, Andy Dolan and Scott Weish) and performed clutch tackling (thanks to Silas Leavitt and Jerry Calixte).

Andy Dolan was a nightmare for the Maccabi’s backline as he broke numerous tackle and scored two tries. Also scoring a try for the Whips was Scott Weish. Stu Dunster added a conversion kick for the Whips.

FINAL SCORE: Orange Whips 17, Boston Maccabi 7

Honorable Mentions: Silas Leavitt, Stu Dunster, Andrew Jackson, Scott Weish, Phil Adams

Rats Scoring Table

Season Results

Next Week

The Rats have a bye week; however, Jerry Kenneally, Grant McAuslan, Corey Lang and Alec Tolivaisa[6] will be playing in the Division II NERFU All-Star game in Worcester, MA.

The Rats return to action on April 27^th, against our archrivals, Old Gold RFC at Moakley Park.

Charles River v. Framingham Match Report       

April 6^th, 2013, 12:00pm

 Moakley Park, South Boston, MA

Rats Match

Match Details: The Charles River Rats earned their first victory of 2013, as they humbled the Framingham Exiles, 41-12. The Rats controlled the game early thanks to dominate scrumming, crisp passing and aggressive ball carrying.

During the first minute of the game, Corey Lang threw a beautiful pass to Jerry Kennelly, whom popped the ball to Grant McAuslan which led to a breakaway try, giving the Rats a 5-0 lead. Framingham was determined not to get blown out, evident by their excellent counter rucking and mauling. However, they could not capitalize on the Rats’ mistakes because they were constantly dropping the ball and giving up unforced turnovers. The Rats scored another try, thanks to a great pass from Lang to Kennelly, extending the Rats lead, 12-0. However, the try came at a great expense as Captain Ricky Friberg injured his ankle which forced him out of the game. The Exiles proceeded to play their best rugby as a beautiful counter-ruck lead to a try, cutting the Rats’ lead 12-5. The ensuing kickoff resulted in breakaway from the Exiles as they found a hole in the Rats’ pursuit. The Rats did chase down the ball carrier; however the Rats could not stop the Exiles from crossing the try line again, as they tied the score. Instead feeling discouraged, the Rats got angry and used the ball handling skills that have been taught at practice to fluster the Exiles’ defense. After the kickoff, Ray Camahort displayed his trademark power running, drawing multiple tacklers, which opened up a hole for Kennelly to exploit to give the Rats the lead, 19-12. The two squads proceeded to trade field position for the rest of the first half, until Camahort broke a tackle and dashed 80 meters for a try as the half expired, extending the Rats’ lead, 24-12.

During the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Exiles were primed to score as they drove the ball down to the five-meter line, however they could not score any points due to their inability to catch passes and the efficient tackling of the backline. The Rats penetrated the Exiles’ territory and added three points to their lead thanks to a Kennelly penalty kick. Five minutes later, McAuslan stole another line-out from the Exiles, which provided another scoring opportunity to Kennelly, extending the lead further, 34-12. With 8 minutes remaining, the Rats were 12 meters away from scoring another try, when the Exiles were guilty for putting their hands in the ruck. Sensing the Exiles’ confusion, a Rats forward “quick tapped” the ball, then passed it to an on-coming Wes Page, whom got the ball two meters away from scoring. After two more phases, the Exiles were again guilty of hands in the ruck on the try line, which prompted the referee to award a penalty try to the Rats. Page was the last player to touch the ball for the Rats, which gives him credit for the try, the first of his Charles River career.

One of many reasons the Rats prevailed was the significant improvement of the forwards’ pack. After a terrible showing against North Shore, the forwards stepped up (especially locks Dave Bloom and Mark Cassidy) and dominated the Exiles in the scrums as they did not lose any of their scrums. The success stemmed from a few tweaks by Head Coach Paul Clemens and the extra time in practice that the forwards took to clean up their scrumming form.

FINAL SCORE: Rats 41, Framingham 12 

Men of the Match[2] 

Backs: Corey Lang. For 70 minutes, the Rats had to play without their captain and half-fly, Ricky Friberg. Most teams would have gone into an offensive funk without their primary play setter; however, most teams do not have Corey Lang. With his guidance, the backs played spectacular rugby evident by their crisp plays, tough defense and their lack of “knock-ons.” In fact, during the first half, the Rats only had one knock-on. With 12 minutes left, in the game, Lang again had to switch position (to scrum-half) as Mike Fair[3] earned a yellow card. Despite the man advantage, the Exiles still could not break the Rats’ defensive line.

Forwards: Chris Gardner. Despite his rookie experience, Chris Gardner has shown great aggressiveness and tenacity with regards to his rucking and ball handling. Also, Gardner won the Rats’ March Madness pool, despite watching zero college basketball games this year.

Honorable Mentions: Grant McAuslan, Jerry Kenneally, Dave Bloom, Wes Page, Stuart Dunster, Mike Fair

Orange Whips Match

Match Details: Thanks to key tries by Dave Bloom and W.E. David Halbert, the Whips prevailed over the Exiles’ B-side, 12-10. The Whips were fortunate to come away with a victory as an Exile wing broke the line and dashed for a go-ahead try. However, the player dropped the ball as he entered the try zone, preserving the victory for the Whips.

FINAL SCORE: Whips 12, Framingham 10

Rats Scoring Table

Next Week

The Rats host Boston Maccabi RFC this Saturday at Moakley Park. Time TBA.

March 30^th, 2013, Dilboy Stadium Somerville, MA

A-Side Match

The Charles River Rats kicked off their 40^th season against North Shore RFC. Despite a great second-half effort, the Rats could not overcome an early 15-0 deficit, as they fell to North Shore, 22-7. Due to field permits, the A-Side Match consisted of two 30-minute periods, which did not give the Rats the necessary amount of time to stage a comeback. North Shore scored their first try thanks to an errant pass inside the Rats’ 10-meter line, which North Shore converted into a try, giving them an early 5-0. The Rats looked poised to respond to the North Shore’s score thanks to a stolen kickoff by Jerry Kenneally, however the Rats could not capitalize as they conceded too many penalties, which allowed North Shore to march down the pitch. Another penalty inside the Rats’ 10-meter line allowed North Shore to score their second try, extending their lead to 12-0. The Rats stole the kickoff again, however due to bad scrumming; the Rats could not have controlled possessions. Another penalty gave North Shore a chance to extend their lead, which they after converting on a penalty kick, making the score, 15-0. As time expired North Shore was regained possession inside the Rats’ 5-meter line and their scrum half found a hole in the Rats’ defense, however thanks to a held-up ball in the try zone, North Shore was unable to extend their lead.

The Rats defense improved in the 2^nd half thanks to key substitutions and better tackling. Ten minutes into the period, North Shore was primed to score another try due their inside center finding a hole in the Rats’ defense, however Corey Lang made a try-saving tackle and forced a knock-on. The ensuing scrum set the stage for the Rats’ play of the game. After a shaking scrum, Ricky Friberg had too much pressure to successful kick the ball away, so he passed the ball to Jerry Kenneally, who broke the North Shore line and raced 50 meters downfield with Friberg and Corey Lang in support, after an offload to Friberg, the North Shore pursuers where guilt of a penalty inside the 10-meter line. Friberg decide to execute a “quick-tap” at the penalty mark due to a numbers advantage on the wide side, as Friberg attempted to pass to Kenneally, a North Shore player intentionally knocked the ball on, prompting the referee to award a penalty try to Charles River, cutting the scoring gap, 17-7. A big reason for the improved Rats’ defense was the scarcity of penalties they conceded. In the 1^st half, the Rats gave up 10 penalties; in the 2^nd half the Rats only give North Shore one penalty opportunity.  Late in the second half, North Shore finally broke the Rats’ defensive line thanks to an overload, as they scored an insurance try.

FINAL SCORE: NORTH SHORE RFC 22; CHARLES RIVER RFC 7

Man of the Match: Mike Fair. Thanks to his aggressive play and smart defense, Mike Fair was the biggest reason why the Rats clamped down on defense in the second half. He also had the hit of the game when he literally picked up a ball carrier and drove him back five meters.

Honorable Mentions: Dana Etherington, Ricky Friberg, Alex Swayne and Ray Camahort

B-Side Match

Thanks to some Old Boys (Frank and Dan Lewis), some eager rookies (Alex Swayne, Mark
Cassidy, Chris Garnder and Silas Leavitt) and an aggressive defensive effort, the Orange Whips prevailed over the North Shore’s B-side. W.E. David Halbert, Dominic Ferrante and Alex Swayne scored tries for the Orange Whips.

FINAL SCORE: CHARLES RIVER RFC 17, NORTH SHORE RFC 5

Man of the Match: Andrew Jackson. J-Hole was responsible for setting Halbert’s try and provided great defensive intensity for the Orange Whips. Since he is on the sober train, he did not par-take in the Man of the Match boat race, however Jerry Kenneally took his place and the Rats once again won the boat race.

Honorable Mentions: “Keyless” Jerry Calixte, W.E. David Halbert, Dave McVey

Scoring Table

Charles River had a great weekend in Savannah.

On Saturday morning we played Providence’s social side and won handily, 41-12.  The next game was against a talented alumni team from Clemson.  It was a high scoring, thrilling match that came down to the final minutes.  We lost on a last minute try.  There were many tries scored on Saturday including Jerry (2), Adam, Corey, and a few from the Showponies who joined us for the tour.  I am sure there were others that escape my memory.  Also we need to recognize Dan Lewis for playing through some major injuries that he sustained in the first game.  On Sunday many of us overcame injuries and played with a spirited effort against a tough squad from Rocky Gorge.  We lost despite a highlight reel worth try from Jerry.

Throughout the entire weekend we competed hard, then partied hard in true River Rat fashion.  In addition, our club is now famous in Savannah.  The local paper, The Savannah Morning News, chose us as one of the two teams to featured in their article about the tournament.  It included two color photos, and an interview with Ricky in their Sunday edition.  There is also a video from the Providence match on their website.  Here’s a link to the article:

Charles is sad to see its most recent recipient of the Orange Whip and Most Improved Player awards Nate Dias head for Chicago. Apparently the draw of deep dish pizza and the worst accent, second only to Philly was too much to resist. He will be missed, but not his big ass mouth.