Georgia Tech vs OGRES - Sunday 18th October 2009

This weekend GT rugby hosted the Alumni (OGRES) in the annual homecoming weekend. Prior to the game GT rugby showcased some great High School rugby
with three local teams participating in the morning followed by the Alumni
game at noon.
It was a great afternoon shared by both sides as each team played for fun
allowing all ruggers to get at least some playing time. In the end the OGRES
did what they have for the last 11 years defeating the underclassman 64-24
in a fun filled game of laughs and good rugby.

We would like to thank all our alumni for the great effort this weekend and
especially for all the donations to the GT men's rugby club. As always the
social was fun allowing everybody to mingle at Rocky Mountain Pizza.

The alumni have stated that they will continue to match any donations to the
GT men's rugby team if the underclassman can beat the OGRES.
Maybe next year?

Rene Daniel

 

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Georgia Tech Takes GRU Tourney

October 10th 2009

This past weekend the Georgia Rugby Union held its annual collegiate tournament in Statesboro, Ga. With temperatures in the low 90s and scattered thunderstorms all day, it was less than an ideal rugby climate, but the players pitched up with enthusiasm and endured rain delays and the heat to get their seasons started.
Georgia Tech began on Saturday by defeating Armstrong Atlantic, 45-7. After a two hour rain delay, Tech booted up to face Auburn. The Yellow Jackets tackling and backline play anchored by former GRU MVP and flyhalf Nathan Bruce proved to be too much for Auburn, and GT rolled 55-0.
Later on Saturday, GT faced its toughest test yet, host team Georgia Southern. After trailing most of the game, GT interecepted a pass ten meters from the Southern line and the resulting try gave Tech the 8-5 win.
The final pitted rivals GT vs University of Georgia. The game was heavily contested but Georgia was unable to penetrate the Tech gainline. Still that pressure led to two penalty kicks for the Bulldogs.
Tech battled back and scored twice to win 10-6.

The 3rd/4th game had Kennesaw State take on Georgia Southern. The game was a defensive struggle and was deadlocked 0-0 at the end of full time. After an amazing six overtime periods (each five minutes long) the score remained the same. The referees announced a shootout kicking would decide the game. After both teams kickers missed from 50 meters, they both made from 40. KSU missed from 30 meters, and when the hosts' kicker slotted the 30-meter kick it ended the longest game in GRU tournament history.

- Alex Whigham
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GT vs Sewanee of Tennessee 
 Saturday October 3rd 2009
 
 
GT Men's rugby hosted D-3 Sewanee of Tennessee on Saturday 2pm kickoff. Sewanee came into this game undefeated in fall rugby.
 
Weather Sunny and clear. Field Conditions Dry
 
Due to Fall break Georgia Tech was not in school and the game with Sewanee gave us the opportunity to showcase several of our first year players who had been playing well in the past week. The selection was also based on who had been a regular at practice. GT was missing almost their entire first team backline from Fly half to Outside center. GT moved flanker's Carlos Ayala and Pat McDonald to inside and outside center. This gave us the opportunity to start two first year players Nate Claggett and Tyler Manee. The lineup also included Mike Garcia starting at Fly half and Zimu Yang getting the start on the wing. The pack mostly stayed in tact from the front row and second row using most of our regular line up.
 
The first half Sewanee played well and showed some good skill both up front and in the backline. GT's kicking game was going well however some basic tactical mistakes behind our own 22 were still present. Brian David played well at Full back even with very little wing support. Sewanee did well shutting down the backline. A bright spot for GT was the maul which seemed to show more consistancy and team organisation than in the past. GT managed a solid mauling drive in the first half to allow freshman Nate Claggett to score. In the lineout's GT was missing Carlos Ayala as he joined the backline this lead to inconsistent lineout's. All this along with inconsistent throwing lead GT to make some significant changes at half that were needed. In the first half GT was not playing the kind of rugby they are capable of.
 
Half Time Score GT 5 Sewanee 10.
 
In the second half three changes were made. Moving Robert DeBernard from second row to Fly half allowed the backline to attack more both through running and the foot. Carlos Ayala was moved back to flanker allowing much better lineout's. Pat McDonald moved to inside center and James Curier came from the bench to go to outside center to provide us with a better defensive advantage. Jason Griffith then filled in the wing replacing Zimu Yang. This new lineup certainly cleaned most if not all problems GT had in the the first half.
 
The second half certainly got better and GT wasted no time getting into rhythm. GT settled down from a poor first half performance to play their style of rugby. Sewanee had many opportunities to take advantage of GT especially in the air as GT was staring right in to the sun. Instead they decided on a ground attack doing very much what they were doing in the first half since it worked well. Robert Debernard played well at Fly half and certainly would have been a candidate for Man of the Match had it not been for a sin bin in the second half that removed him from any consideration. His second half try was a very nice fake off the inside center. Senior Pat McDonald also played well in the backline with a solid defensive performance. GT managed to score 24 points in a second half surge while at the same time playing solid defense to not allow any points from Sewanee.
 
In all it was a good day for GT. As with any game you learn from you mistakes and many were evident. Tactically we can be better and need to stop making basic mistakes especially when under pressure. This weekend however gave GT a great opportunity to try different lineups to see what will and will not work for our A side.
 
GT Man of the Match was Scrum Half Carl Parkinson.
 
GT 29 Sewanee 10
 
We would like to thank Sewanee for coming to Atlanta and wish them the best of luck in their future season.
 
Georgia Tech will next be playing at the annual Georgia Rugby Union All-Star tournament. We will be the number 3 seed and will be bringing a strong lineup with no current injury's on the roster. We will play Armstrong Atlantic and Auburn University in pool play.
 
Rene Daniel
GT Rugby

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UNC Game Report

(written by Rene Daniel, asst. Coach GTRFC)

Friends of GT Rugby,

Yesterday GT rugby hosted the University of North Carolina at the Burger Bowl for a 9:30am kickoff. The game was moved from Walker park to the Burger bowl due to the threat of rain. Georgia Tech was also hosting parents weekend and the GT football team was hosting the UNC team later that afternoon. The UNC rugby team has a great reputation as one of the top 5 D1 teams in the South. They are well organized with great facilities.

GT knew this would perhaps be the toughest game of the fall on our schedule and we knew UNC would be in for a surprise since our last match in the ACC tournament in January. In our last match GT sent a team of mostly new and learning players along with some veterans to the ACC tournament. Today UNC met a very different GT team. With 5 total changes in our rotation from last week of which two involved starting this week with freshman Clark Howell (Flanker) and Drew Bachman (Winger). Other changes included moving last weeks Scrum Half Carl Parkinson to outside center and starting Tim Keogh at Scrum Half. First year player Tanner Hall has been playing well and got promoted to the A side starting at prop.

Weather Conditions - Dry no rain / Field Muddy

The game started off well for UNC as they played in GT's territory mostly running the ball with their forwards doing an excellent job off loading as they went into the tackle. GT seemed to take a little bit of time to get comfortable especially on defense with UNC's fast attacking style of play. GT however showed their discipline and soon found themselves in UNC's territory running an nice mixture of open plays both from the forwards and the backs. At the 10 minute mark GT substituted hooker Matt Perry for flanker Daryll "Tex" Leeson. Matt Perry had been sick recently with the flu. Pat McDonald moved from Flanker to Hooker. UNC at this point started loosing a little discipline and found themselves on the first of many penalties for the day. GT kicker Tim Keogh put GT ahead 3-0. Within minutes UNC was back in GT territory and scored in the corner to go ahead 7-3. UNC again found themselves in GT territory and with a nice grubber scored in the corner. UNC 10 - GT 3. GT came back driving against UNC when once again they were called for either hands in or diving over. GT's once again made two more penalties to to bring it within a point. Just before the half GT's Nathan Bruce made a fantastic drive to score but with no support from his team came up short. Unfortunately we would loose Fly Half Nathan Bruce to a knee injury on the same play having to be taken off at half-time.

Half Time UNC 10 - GT 9

The second half went back and forth between both teams with both playing good territory and UNC making lots of little mistakes either through knock-ons or penalties. The only problem is UNC was totally dominating GT scrum after scrum winning all of their scrums plus over 60% of GT's put in's. Even with UNC's mistakes UNC was able to get the ball back and wear down a very solid GT defense. GT was just unable to take advantage of many of NC's non penalty mistakes. One of the few bright pictures in GT's scrum was the addition of flanker Carlos Ayala who managed to shut down his side completely to any UNC attack. GT also showed great improvement compared to last week in the lineout.

70th minute: GT set up a very nice set piece off the backline that put Outside Center Carl Parkinson right between the defense of UNC for a hard earned score. On the penalty side of things GT had no problems kicking penalties from anywhere on the field in their half. UNC at the same time was very strong up front however their backline was playing way to deep trying to make fancy switches and set moves well before the gain line. GT's solid backline defense played well upsetting many good efforts by UNC. UNC still however managed to put another two scores across as they were wearing GT's defense down by keeping the ball in their hands for most of the half.

In the last 10 minutes UNC was ahead 24 - 22 when again they were called for a penalty. With 5 minutes to go GT went ahead 25-24. GT just had to maintain the ball and burn down the clock. Unfortunately they once again lost it in the ruck and UNC managed the winning score by going wide and finally being successful to go ahead. They then did a great job clearing the ball for territory and burning the clock to take home the victory.

Final score UNC 31 GT 25

In all it was a very good game with two very closely matched teams. Both UNC and GT played well on the day with the exception of too many technical mistakes creating penalties. We would like to thank UNC and their fans for making the trip to Atlanta. We look forward to returning the favor in the future.

The second match featured the GT and UNC second 15's. UNC 27 GT 7

GT now faces 3rd division Sewanee of Tennessee in Atlanta next weekend a team we have socially gotten along with very well and look forward to hosting.

Rene Daniel
GT Rugby

 

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Sept 19, 2009
 
Georgia Tech vs Kennesaw and North Georgia
 
GT rugby players and supporters,
 
Today GT rugby played 2008 GRU champion and Battleship tournament champions Kennesaw State at the Burger Bowl. Our Second 15 side played North Georgia College. In Atlanta we have had 5 days of rain and the Burger bowl was a mud bath.
 
GT put together a talented side in all positions with many players returning from last years team plus the addition of two new players to our starting fifteen. Todays game was the first game of our fall season outside a tournament environment and gave us the opportunity to pick up from last year, show improvement and showcase the skills of our new recruits.
 
We played extremely well as a team and able to attack Kennesaw State with both the forwards and the backs. Ball possession was really good given the conditions and the kicking game was outstanding putting constant pressure on the KSU back three. KSU played well in the lineout's and when attacked wide did very well but just could not finish. The combination of Nathan Bruce and Rob McFeeters back playing together was extremely hard for KSU to defend. In all it was a great team effort that lead to a well deserved victory against a talented team. It is a great starting point for fall rugby program and gives us a great platform to build from.
 
Georgia Tech  39
Kennesaw State 10
 
Our second side played extremely well on Saturday and certainly we can see the benefits of coach Tomas Carbini are paying off. The team was well organized and certainly played well given the fact for most players it was their first real game of rugby. The future of our team with these players getting better and better certainly looks good.
 
Georgia Tech 19
North GA College 10
 
Next week GT hosts the University of North Carolina. UNC has one of the best rugby programs in the South and has benefited greatly from an excellent High School rugby program in the state of NC. Kickoff time to be announced.
 
Rene Daniel
 
 
 
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 Date: Monday, September 14, 2009, 4:03 PM
 
Vanderbilt Tournament - Game Summary

Players and supporters of GT rugby,
 
GT rugby took 21 players to Nashville, TN this past weekend for the first annual Vanderbilt Collegiate Rugby tournament. We had a nice mixture of experienced players along with our rookies.
 
Even though GT won 2 games and lost 2 games it gave us a great platform to work from. Our new players played extremely well and we had many other players play some of the best rugby I have seen them play. The back support of 2nd year full back Brian David and winger Daniel Varseeken was outstanding. Certainly showing they are strong candidates for future selection to the GT first team. Current forward Robert Debernard showed much improved kicking filling in at fly half while Simon Skates came off the bench in the first game to prove a summer of kicking practice has set him apart when it comes to kicking for post. As always flanker Carlos Ayala and eight man Rob Whelen proved they may be some of the best players in their specific positions in the GRU. Many teams had problems with Timmy No at scrumhalf who is playing better every game as he gains experience.
 
In all the day was extremely long we played 4 games back to back with as little as 20 minutes between two of the games. The game between us and Auburn originally had us with no resting time while Auburn played the night before coming in with fresh legs. Each game consisted of 25 minute half's and at the end of the day in the last game GT and Ole Miss we only played two 10 minute half's due to safety concern of both teams. Basically both teams were tired and beat up by the end of the day. With only 21 players on our roster it proved too much. The tournament's concept of as much as 8 games in a two day period proved to be too exhausting for any team showing up on Saturday and certainly the future concept of this tournament will have to be changed.
 
At the end of the day I was very proud of our team and the way we played. We certainly had more positive accomplishments in team and individual play than we do negative on the weekend. Our biggest loss was loosing loose head prop Ian Lehm for the season due to injury. Our man of the match was first year player Tanner Hall who played outstanding as tight head prop and showing he may have a good future ahead of him in rugby.
 
Scores below
 
GT 19 -  College of Charleston 12 (win) 25 min/half
GT  7 -   Auburn University 42 (loss) 25 min/half
GT 19 -  Western Kentucky 12 (win) 25 min/half
GT 10 -  Ole Miss 26 (loss) 10 min/half
 
 
 
Rene Daniel
 
 
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August 2009 -  Panama City Beach 7's tournament
 

      

GT players and fans,
 
Georgia Tech entered three teams in the Panama City Beach 7's tournament this weekend and used the weekend for many of our new players to get to know each other with an introduction to rugby.
 
Our first team played extremely well defeating everybody they played in pool play including 8 time champion Baton Rouge Exiles (made up of players from LSU, New Orleans and Baton Rouge Men's club) Many of our regular summer 7's players did not make the trip as we filled in our first team roster with 15's only players such as Flanker Carlos Ayala and Eight man Robert Whelen. Each more than held their own throughout the day. We went undefeated in pool play and in our first playoff game defeated Panama City Beach. We then faced a very skilled Mobile team. We again won. In the finals and our sixth game of the day we played the Exiles once again. They had noticeably been improving all day long and unfortunately managed to defeat us in the final game.
 
Our Iron man award goes to Matt Perry. He played every minute in all six games. The Man of the Match was awarded by Captain Rob McFeeters to scrumhalf Carl Parkinson (England).
 
The first team roster: Clark Howard, Carlos Ayala, Brian David, Robert Whelen, Rob DeBernard, Carl Parkinson (England), Rob McFeeters, Patrick Starnes, Mitch Neopolitan(??), Matt Perry.
 
Many of the new players played extremely well and showed some great future promise for the Georgia Tech Rugby Program. The second place trophy will be coming to Atlanta and given to CrossFit Atlanta for display later this week.
 
We would like to thank PCB for hosting a great tournament and thank all those players that made the effort to play this weekend.
 
Rene Daniel
GT Rugby
 

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June 2009  coaching changes : Tomas Carbini

 

Rugby Players and supporters,
 
We are proud to announce today new coaching changes effective immediately. Tomas Carbini will be joining the GT men's rugby coach staff and will be in charge of new players development and GT men's rugby second 15's squad.
 
Tomas is currently a student at Georgia Tech studying Industrial Engineering and will be graduating this December. Tomas is originally from Argentina where he played in "Banco Nación" a first division club in Buenos Aires from age 5 - 19. In the USA he played for many clubs including Atlanta Old White in 2005 (South Champions), Georgia Collegiate Selects 2006 (South Collegiate Champions), 2006 South Collegiate Select side, Life University and most recently Georgia Tech in 2009. Tomas will be attending the USA Rugby coaching certification course hosted by Georgia Tech August 22nd & 23rd. We would like to congratulate Tomas to this appointment and welcome him to our coaching staff.
 
GT rugby is also proud to announce we will be offering scholarships for the first time in the clubs history effective late fall of 2009. Our director of Alumni affairs Rob Feltus has been working hard in this area and just received initial approval for this to occur. You will be getting details including how to apply very soon as the scholarship executive committee board is formed.
 
With good recruiting by our officers and summer players this year, a strong fall schedule and coaching changes to focus on improving the overall quality of rugby for Georgia Tech student/athletes it looks like a very exciting year is ahead for Georgia Tech Rugby.
 
Please forward to new recruits and post on the web.
 
Thank you,
 
Rene Daniel
GT Rugby

 
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