Match Report

September 21, 2013 – 1:00 PM

Northeast Athletic Club, Pembroke, NH

Rats Match

Match Details: With a productive week of practice and a reasonable commute, Head Coach Paul Clemens felt that his players, the Charles River Rats, could pull-off the upset against the ruggers from the Granite State, Amoskeag RFC. Those feelings for optimism were quickly dashed when Amoskeag instantly proved that they were the more talented, improving their season record to 4-0, while the Rats have yet to win a game this season.

Match Report

September 21, 2013 – 1:00 PM

Northeast Athletic Club, Pembroke, NH

Rats Match

Match Details: With a productive week of practice and a reasonable commute, Head Coach Paul Clemens felt that his players, the Charles River Rats, could pull-off the upset against the ruggers from the Granite State, Amoskeag RFC. Those feelings for optimism were quickly dashed when Amoskeag instantly proved that they were the more talented, improving their season record to 4-0, while the Rats have yet to win a game this season.

The match started with the Rats receiving the opening kickoff, thanks to a couple of penalties, the Rats had an immediate chance to score the game’s first points, however a 30-meter penalty kick was unsuccessful. For the first eight minutes of the game, the Rats had control of the ball inside Amoskeag’s territory thanks to clean line-outs and solid scrumming, especially from Props Paul Clemens and long lost Rat Mike Tura. After the missed penalty kick, Amoskeag received a penalty and regained lost territory from the Rats’ attack. Amoskeag started to get their offense in motion which featured a forward crash, then a wide pass to the backs, another forward crash towards the inside of the field and a final wide pass to their backs which led to a breakaway. The game’s first try was scored by Amoskeag using their inside-out ball motion in the game’s 12^th minute. The Rats were becoming exponentially exhausted, as too many defenders were forced to sprint touchline to touchline to make tackles.

The backline of the Rats pushed the ball into Amoskeag territory again, which forced another Amoskeag penalty, 35 meters away from the try line. Again, the Rats elected to kick for points; the kick sailed wide to the right as the Rats continued to find their first score. Amoskeag scored two more tries as the Rats expended all efforts to make a solid defensive stand, however Rats could not maintain their defensive wall for multiple phases. With 18 minutes left in the half, the third time was a charm for the Rats as they nailed a penalty kick just in front of the 22-meter line, getting their only score of the game.

A big reason why the Rats were winning the territory battle was the outstanding kicking from Fly-Half Ricky Friberg and Fullback Zack Cox. It seemed each kick was placed at a spot where there was not a single player within 5 meters. Wing Charlie Punches also contributed by making tough tackles on the outside, forcing Amoskeag to make passes that were frequently knocked-on or forward.

As noted earlier, the Rats did well in set pieces and on first phases, but the fitness and substitutes needed to maintain that quality of rugby was a scarcity for Charles River. During halftime, the Rats were trying figure out how to stop Amoskeag, but too many players were either too hurt, exhausted or both to execute any defensive plan.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, the Rats stood tall and kept Amoskeag out of the try zone, despite playing a man down. The key for this small success was a controlled offensive set, where Scrum-Half Dana Etherington allowed his forwards time to setup running pods and the rest of the forwards busted their asses to arrive at breakdowns to secure possessions from Amoskeag’s powerful counter-rucking. After the ten-minute dry spell, Amoskeag brought on substitutes with fresh legs and soft hands, allowing them to take advantage of the defensive lapses from the Rats. Flankers Grant McAuslan and Jerry Calixte were making all the tackles that came their way, but Amoskeag did an excellent job of recycling the ball quickly, catching the rest of the Rats on their heels. With fifteen minutes left in the game, the floodgates opened as Amoskeag scored at will as the Rats did not have anything left, physically.

A big upside was that the Rats did not quit once during the entire match, displayed by the amount of hustle and passion by all players who suited up for the Green and Orange.

FINAL SCORE: Rats 3, Amoskeag 67

Man of the Match: Dana Etherington. Towards the end of the 1^st half, Etherington had to temporarily leave the match because of a thumb injury. After a quick tape job, Etherington re-entered the game[1] without any hesitation or reservation, as all of his passes were spot-on and tackles were sure-handed. Etherington’s management of the forward pack was the biggest reason why the Rats held Amoskeag without any points while playing a man down.

Honorable Mentions: Mike Tura, Grant McAuslan, Charlie Punches