A club-wide weekend of wins for Charles River
Get out the brooms, we’ve got ourselves a sweep!
Charles River men and women faced off against their respective counterparts of the North Shore RFC and came away victorious on both sides this past Saturday.
Charles River Women [12] – North Shore Women [10]
CRWRFC breaks up line out from their NS opposing line
It was a sunny day at Medford High as Charles River WRFC faced off against local rivals North Shore women. A windy day at the top of a hill, the breeze was a factor from the very beginning of the game, sending North Shore’s kick off straight out the back of our try zone. CRWRFC took a scrum back on the 50 yard line, and the game was off. A new scrum half/fly half combo of Alex “Z” Zadel and Michelle Chambers, back for her second start as fly, saw to get the possession rolling for the match. The Lady Rat’s controlled strong rucks, maintaining possession for a majority of the game, allowing some kinks of new positions to be worked out. In set pieces, Charles River’s scrums were dominant all day, helping to control possession.
A try midway through the half by a strong number 8 from North Shore brought the game to 5-0. However, the Lady Rats wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Some good phase play and forwards ball saw CRWRFC march back up the pitch into scoring territory. Captain Traut took a solid forward ball and was able to offload to flanker Steph Cox who did a little sideline dance to break by her opponents and score to even the match. A successful conversion kick by Z put the Rats up 7-5 and lead them into half time.
Both teams came back strong in the second half and it was a battle of rucks between the 22s for the majority of the half. North Shore was able to capitalize on a penalty 10m out from their try line to poke one in and go up 10-7. However, the Lady Rats were not content to stay down and turned on the fire to power down the pitch towards the opposing try line. Some aggressive, hungry play by CRWRFC put North Shore on their back foot and drew several penalties from them to continue forward momentum for Charles River. After a few good banger takes from forwards, fly half Michelle saw an overload and called for the ball to the backs. A strong break of the line from new inside center Ellie Sanchez gave the backs some space and outside center Becca “Rx” Nashett was able to swing around wide at pace and run into the try zone to touch the ball down. The Lady Rats took the lead 12-10 with 7 minutes left, and they would hold on to control and the lead for the rest of the game.
Another successful team game of 15 as 1 rugby saw a win for CRWRFC, putting them 4-0 on the season!
Bitch of the Pitch FORWARDS-Susan “Sugar” Lackey
Bitch of the Pitch OPPONENT CHOICE-Steph Cox
TRIES: Steph Cox, Becca “Rx” Nashett
Charles River Men [26] – North Shore Men [0]
Charles River held a strong scrum all day
Looking to add to last week’s win, Charles River’s solid defense carried over, resulting in Rats controlling the ball for much of the first half. Despite the time spent in North Shore’s half though, they were unable to punch through the bend-but-don’t-break defense. North Shore caught a break as forwards captain Dan Lewis was shown the sin bin before half time, but were unable to turn it in to any points, and the match was 0-0 as the whistle blew, ending the 1st half.
The Rats kicked off to start the second, still a man down, and John Gill was able to tip the ball backwards to a charging Ellis Patrick, who took the ball 30 yards before offloading the ball to fullback Colman Mulkerrin who was pushed out of bounds 5 meters out. They weren’t to be denied for long, and on the ensuing line out, Jake Mehlman was able to steal an overthrown ball and fight his way in for a try. Corey Lang made the conversion, and River took a 7-0 lead.
Constant pressure from the Rats paid off, and shortly afterwards, fly half Ricky Friberg was able to turn back the clock, if only for a moment, and juke and slide his way in from the 22 to put the score at 12-0. Just as North Shore looked as if they had a chance to mount a comeback, as rookie Devin Doherty took the ball from his own 22, past midfield, before passing it off to his supporting cast, which resulted in Patrick Cavallario beating his man out wide, and taking it 40 yards for the try. Corey Lang easily converted, increasing the lead to 19. River controlled the ball for the majority of the second half with some dominating forwards play, and John Gill’s crushing tackles. Not to be out done by his good friend, Mulkerrin lead the backs with his timely kicking, and multiple deep runs, his last of which resulted in the Irishman touching it down in the corner. Corey Lang continued his solid kicking performance, and popped over his 3rd conversion of the day to end the game at 26-0.
Corey Lang Hit of the Match-John Gillk