CLUB INFORMATION
2006 Regular Season Match Reports
Pasadena vs. OMBAC III - 3/25/06
Pasadena vs. San Diego Armada - 3/18/06
LA Rebellion vs. Pasadena - 2/26/06
Pasadena vs. ERAC - 1/28/06
SOC Gators vs. Pasadena - 1/14/06
2006 Preseason Match Reports
2005 Pasadena Rugby 15s Tournament - 12/10/05
Pasadena vs. San Luis Obispo - 11/19/05
Gurkhas vs. Pasadena - 11/5/05
Pasadena vs. OMBAC III - 3/25/06
Day started early again... very early. The men of Pasadena RFC were on time and ready to go by 7am. And this time their president remembered to bring Roadhouse. Good Times. We arrived at the OMBAC pitch even before OMBAC did. We had ample time to warm up, and we did just that.
Pasadena kicks off, El Presidente taps the ball back to Matt Hetterman, who thunders down the pitch for a few meters... and then... a penalty, which was the first of many to come. Deano slots the kick, and OMBAC is on their heals. Then Pasadena decides to take on their share of penalties, and OMBAC gets in range of the posts, its good. Tie game. OMBAC then drives right down and scores a try, plenty of time left in this soon to be hard-fought game. Pasadena then decides to get too excited, and start talking... a lot... and almost drive our captain to utter insanity. What is that all about Dena! The ref was getting pissed, everyone seemed as if they came possessed. Bring out the voodoo, knock that crap off!
Mid half, Andy gets the ball on the short side of the field and runs miss to Deano the Machino, who is a full 220lbs at full pace (which is movin'). Deano breaks some tackles and after a couple solid rucks near the try-line, Headwound goes head-first in the try zone.
More great and aggressive play from the back line - Andy, Bart, Grant, Doc Mike, Headwound all played well and ran hard out there. OMBAC didn't make one successful cut back,and ourtackling was onpoint.
Forwards were setting mauls and driving 10-20 meters down the pitch out of lineouts. OMBAC was getting frustrated. John John was punishing with his penalty runs, and Tanner came in and did just the same. Keegan and Matt were all over the pitch, all day long. Boyle and Angelica were in support all day.
So, the game comes down to the whistle, and OMBAC slips ahead on the score board. The men of Pasadena let another OMBAC match slip away. But it was nothing to hang our heads about. It was a strong game, and yet again, another building block for Pasadena. We must carry this intensity into this weeks match. THE BUCKS.
The Bus ride home was classic as always, although we missed the usual bus trip legends such as Rooney, Angelica, Tanner, and HPR. It was a spectacle. But what goes on on the road stays on the road.
Man of the Match, Backs: Deano the Machino. Running hard and never giving up. Taking the ball at pace, fielding all of Hinkin's God-forsaken kicks to space that we didn't even know existed. Well done.
Man of the Match, Forwards: Tyler. Tyler was all over the pitch, making his usual textbook tackles. He was all over the ball in the lineouts. His match performance on Saturday earned him Man of the Match.
YeHaWW
Garrett
Pasadena vs. San Diego Armada - 3/18/06
The day started off to the tune of 7:14 am, struggling (for some) to make to the bus, after a fun and excercised St. Paddy's day. So... we all board the bus, some exchanging stories of conquest, some rubbing their hands with wet naps trying to recall the events that transpired the night before. Flanker Dan comes charging into the parking lot, and we set off to Chula Vista. Shame on El Presidente for forgetting ROADHOUSE, not that the DVD player worked anyways, so we ended up watching "Hang em High." Classic piece of cinematography. VHS. Good times. Most guys happily slept.
Arriving at the Armada pitch, we quickly kit up, and get ready. With a 15 minute warm up, our ref (who will remain nameless) starts the game.
The men of Pasadena came strong out, receiving the kick off, and driving right down to score immediately. Staying on point, we continue to apply pressure and work on phase ball. The Armada is relentless with their aggressive tackling and opposition. This shut down the Pasadena breaks for gain, and forced Dena to play their game. And we did. At one point, our very own Aaron Tanner takes a nice punch and goes to pass to Danny on the outside.... But wait, it was a DUMMY. Tanner keeps the ball and before the defenders knew what was going on Tanner was in the try zone on his back taking a break. I'm sorry... the usual "Minute." Nice work Tanner. It was great to have you out on the field.
15 Minutes into the 1/2, Noah gets tackled, suffers a major leg injury, confirmed later as broken leg. The ambulance came and he was ushered off to an ovation and hoots of praise. God Bless Noah, you are in our thoughts.
After this, the game resumed and it seemed the the men of Pasadena had lost a little fire. The Armada came out hard, and luckily Pasadena fended them off. Huge play by Bart, for stepping up to Scrum Half and doing quite well. Well-played games were had by Grant and Headwound also, both taking huge runs straight up the field and fielding the ball nicely.
Play in the forwards strongly resumed in the second half, with Brothers "FOOOOOOOTZ" in the front Row. Kevin taking some crashing runs. The big stinking "Cheeseburger" had a blinder of a game at 8-man. NGD�found his spot�in the second half and dished out a little�hate.�
The game was going�just as we wanted, clean, disciplined, until Keegan's arms were magically attracted to the�necks of the Armada players. I just�thought we was having flashbacks�from... whatever planet he came from. But no, he just likes to let�our nameless ref know that he�means business.�So as Keegan is choking out the poor Armada wing (Yes, we have pictures), we are�all getting back 10. TWICE. Don't worry Keegan, I got�in a little tussle with�one of the Armada,�booted the crap out of Bart, and then�pouted under my breath.��
Three cheers to the Armada for playing a strong game. Welcome to D3, thanks again for the game!
The after party was at.... The Hole: A pretty much world famous dive. Yes, that is the entire name. We enjoyed Pizza and mighty mini pitchers of beer.
The bus trip home was relatively calm. But you have to consider the company. This is the list of usual suspects that weren't on the bus: HPR, Angelica, Tanner, Frazier, Baggz, Noah, Corey, and anyone else that I forgot. So it was left up the rest to fill in, but everyone was calm and just got pretty housed. It took us quite a while to get home. And the rest stays on the road.
Man of the Match, Backs: Headwound. For not hurting his head, and for playing hard and consistent. A couple of nice solid runs, and running in support of your mates on the outside. Not letting the ball get around you. Committing and making those tackles. Well done Jeff.... Shit, I mean Headwound. Now I have disclosed your real identity.
Man of the Match, Forwards: Flanker Dan went from hooker, to lock, to waterboy, to coach, to bus driver. The damn Korean food he hate the night before came at him with a vengeance, so he needed the help of ol' Cheese to help pound the mighty mini pitcher. Well played Dan. We are glad to have you as a member of Pasadena Rugby.
Shame Award: Well, Yours truly got the shame award... again... for the second week in a row. I forgot ROADHOUSE, I forgot the MOTM Glasses, and I forgot to add anything on the robe, and I forgot something else, but I forget. Matt Hetterman proxied for me, and we got to see his already chewed pizza come up in the trash can. Thanks Matt. Well done.
YeHaWw
Garrett
LA Rebellion vs. Pasadena - 2/26/06
Pasadena Rugby hosted the LA Rebellion on God's Day. That's right... Sunday (not Saturday, that is a "different Gods" Gods' Day.) It has been a long time since we played a game on a Sunday and I am suddenly reminded why I hate Sunday games. I am sitting at work and can hardly lift my shoulder or turn my head to the right. But I digress.
Another unusually hot day and 85% of the team gathered earlier than normal to "fine tune" some elements of play we can't seem to work on at practice. It seemed to help and it just goes to show how actual practice with players that are SUPPOSED to start show up. Now, if we could just get everyone to practice. Our mission for the day was to play as a team and not rely on individual performance.
The day started with Pasadena Kicking to the Rebellion at our adopted home field in Azusa. The pitch was hard and skinny... kinda like Terry Mclean. The first 20 minutes of play were sketchy from Pasadena in the sense that guys were trying out their latest circus pass or trying to drag two guys 10 meters before falling to the ground. The Rebellion showed dramatic improvements since our last meeting and looked to try and use their forward girth anytime they could. Speaking of "girth." What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Stitches! John-John reminded a Rebellion forward that it is always better to tackle low. As expected, tries were scored in bunches, but towards the end of the half, guys really started to come together and work well as a unit. Lineouts were precise and organized. Scrums were tighter. We were supporting better and not commiting too many guys in rucks. Playing the Rebellion is NOT like playing the Bucks, OMBAC or SOC, but I hope this game serves as a reminder for how the game is SUPPOSED to feel.
Several players need to be "acknowledged." First, our "big scrum-half" (that is how the ref described him and as Allen Rooney says "Pasadena Rugby, home of the 165 pound forwarded and 220 pound scrum-half." Then again, Allen Rooney says a lot of things) was hanging all over their scrum-half as his defensive ploy in the scrums, I couldn't tell if he was being aggressive or wanted to eat him. I think at one point the ref started grabbing Christian by the shorts to get him to stop. The second player of note, our own Doc Bryant. Trying to amend for a knock on that would have led to a try... has a try disallowed for running out the back of the try zone. At some point, Judd left the game after a tackle. The general consensus was that he was running almost completely straight up and down, and was dumped yet again because of this "running style." Thank god for Judd... he make me look like I am a compact runner. Danny B. came into the game and was his usual self. While running, he almost looked annoyed when they would try and tackle him. I am not going to go through the list of good plays/bad plays in the first half... mostly because I wasn't playing yet. The biggest surprise of the day was the heads up play by John. He played 2nd row like a veteran, ran with the ball well and has a juke move that would make Noah shiver like he is getting a blow job that makes your toes grip the carpet. Speaking of Noah, why is he such a hot head in these games? Somebody should talk to him and the way he yells at people.
The half ends with Pasadena leading 70-0. In games like these the score is not important. We looked to make improvements in our support play, communication perfecting the "technical" aspects of our set plays. Several substitutions were made at half, including inserting a solid second row player that bears a striking resemblance to a young Robert Redford. Hey, I just call it like I see it.
The second half starts with much the same results. We have slowed the game down a bit and are working on getting two to three players ONLY to each breakdown. People were taking punches at pace and presenting the ball correctly. One negative, we had a ton of knock-ons. Someone did say, "We had a lot more knocks than them..." I can only say, "Well... I think we had the ball a lot." However, we did tend to force some passes that should not have been made. For example, what the hell was our second row player thinking? First he takes a punch and scampers, ohhhhhh, 35 yards? Then he attempts a 10-yard pass that would make ANY fly-half produce a dribble of pre-cum. Unfortunately he was throwing to a stone hands prop. Perfect example of a how a Pasadena Player should have been more athletic (I know, if is difficult to exceed ultra-athletic) and made a better choice of waiting for support to help.
The half will be remembered in the following weeks more for spectacular runs in the open filed, than for anything else. Great runs by Deano and Andy come to mind. However, it was the little things that impressed me. Passes were crisp, communication was better (calling for support, letting people know where the maul is going, passing to an open man, etc.) I would also like to point out the incredible job of kicking for points. I think we only missed one Point after attempt. Dean and Noah did an excellent job and hopefully have "found the golden boot" again.
That is it... the game ended 136-0. Keep in mind, I make most of this up and should not be considered "accurate." If you scored, or did something really "cool" and I didn't put it in here... I either forgot or don't like you.
Man of the Match: John-John. Well played rookie, don't let it go to your head. And next time, save the forehead splitting runs for OMBAC.
Pasadena vs. ERAC - 1/28/06
As expected, the day started off well. Everyone made it to the pitch without getting caught in any gang crossfire, or trapped and carjacked in any alleys, and we all ended up at the Eagle Rock pitch, kitted up. The premise of this week led to an interesting line-up. Pulling Big Matt Hetterman out of the pack and delicately placing him at inside center, with Bart playing Outside. A comment was made that the combined weight of our 9,10, and 11 out-weighed our entire back row, plus a couple of wings.... Interesting. It was good times though. Cheeseburger and Kevin Foutz started in the front row for the Black Roses on this day. Well done gents. Tulele, our super ringer was a bit late, but entered the game at the 20 minute mark, and tore it up. Thanks Guys!
Game starts as Pasadena kicks to Eagle Rock. Pasadena quickly charges down the field and the game begins. The ball goes back and forth from the Pasadena half to the Eagle Rock half. Some hard running and hard tackling. After one of the 7,452 penalities, scrum down to Pasadena. All of a sudden we hear a smack, a couple swear words, and our scrum half is taking a knee, mumbling words of death... allegedly took a huge punch to the head. Some say it was a right cross. I didn't see it. My head was between Peter and Angelica's hips (you wish). We take a minute, Christian gets his bearings, and play resumes, but things are starting to get choppy. Up and down the field we go, Noah and Deano were kicking like madmen all game, with great kicks for space, and for touch. So... a small winger from Eagle Rock fields the kick, and proceeds to run up the field. Danny Boyle and I converge on the target. He's looking at me, but doesn't see Danny Boyle until the last minute. The young fawn decided to jump... oops, and Danny B. connects with the hit of the year, takes them both in the air, and removes the wind from the poor guy's sails. Ref stated after the hit that justice was served. That was my favorite part.
A few minutes after the Danny Boyle hit there was a breakdown. Well... they weren't really breakdowns. The rucks looked like someone smashed a pinata and all the little kids were reaching for pez on the rugby pitch. Hands were in the whole game, not to mention diving over, and just laying there. In this particular breakdown, Angelica took a punch which ended with 6 stiches and a yellow card. Later I found out that Chris didn't even get to hit anyone. Now Dena is playing with 14.
The game ensues, and sooner rather than later Eagle Rock breaks through and puts in a try after a series of penalties and not-straight lineouts by yours truly. Shame. So, we make a couple of subs. We bring in our wounded captain, and Tulele. I move up with Cheeseburger and Rooney in the front row. Allen Rooney, the man, the myth(?), the legend had a strong game, and is probably the best hooker I have ever seen. The guy not only stole many of their puts, but gave Caulfield a lovely schooling.
At the half, Dena rallies together and come out strong. There was a team decision made at the half and I have never seen our team unleash the boots as we did. There were a few times that I honestly thought that our entire team was storming the beaches of Normandy and scrambling up the sand dunes dodging machine-gun fire. At one point, a player looked up at me and said "What is that?" I calmy and politely replied, "That is my boot."
Coming down to the last 5 minutes of the game, and Bart takes a storming 1-3 switch and breaks down the field. Keegan Hornbeck is right there with him and takes the pop, floats it out to Boyle, who takes it all the way down to the try line. Takes the tackle and maintains possession. Peter the Great drags at least 9 guys into the try zone and all you see is a cloud of dust. After the dust settles... held up. Unlucky. 5 meter scrum, dubious penalty, and Eagle Rock kicks the ball out of bounds. The Ref blows the whistle with relief. Damn.
Eagle Rock wins 5-0.
Man of the Match, Backs: One of our newest addition to the club. Bart played a super tough game this weekend with crushing runs and excellent tackling. He never gave up. Well done, and well-deserved, Bart.
Man of the Match, Forwards: Matt Hetterman took the MOTM Saturday 1) because he played in the backline, and played well, 2) because he wore gloves, and... 3) because he played in the backline. Oh, and he turned 40.
Shame Award: Well, Peter's addition was quite the feast for the eyes. And I know that Peter was proud of it. Peter attached a Extremely Large Rubber Penis on our very own Robe. HPR recieved the Robe of Shame for going to San Francisco this past weekend instead of playing Eagle Rock. 'Nuff Said. Noah proxied for Richard, and did well.
SOC Gators vs. Pasadena - 1/14/06
On the Saturday of January 14th, 2006, Pasadena RFC took on the South Orange County Gators, from... South Orange County. Anyhow. Father Time and Angelica's keen sense of precipitation resulted in nothing less than a wet and slippery game played on our Alhambra High School pitch. As the Gators trickled in, Dena came out from under the EZ-ups and began to warm up. Keegan came out of his cave with a lingering flu, and Peter showed up just as we began stretching our quads. Somehow I looked up and Peter didn't have a shirt on while he was stretching. Don't know how that happened. Dena gets a good warm up, and no less than 10 minutes later we're receiving the kickoff.
Hetterman fields the kick nicely, hangs on to the ball, but unfortunately gets taken out of bounds. Not much he could have done. Protect the ball, possession. Gator lineout. The Gators brought their A game with them, but Dena had their game faces on as well. For the first 20 minutes Dena applied constant pressure and played in the Gator half. (Don't forget it's still raining.) Sticking to the game plan, Dena attempts to kick for points a couple times with little success. Unlucky. (Again) It is raining, slippery, and windy, for crying out loud. After a few 22 drops, Gators begin to put the pressure on and Dena is back on their heels. Playing fire drill defense, just trying to stop the momentum, kicking to space. Just getting the ball out of our half. Noah, Deano, Graeme and English Tim all kicked the ball well Saturday and got us out of trouble many times.
SOC Kicks for points and score was 3-0 SOC. Ball returns to SOC and they proceed to drive back down the field and score a try near the right post. Nothing to worry about, Conversion good, and SOC is up at the half. Dena brings it in. Not many of us are happy with the performance of the first half, let alone the weather was not helping. But heads were up, and subs were made.
Dena kicks to SOC and the game ensues. SOC chose to run hard at us, which resulted in many missed tackles for Dena. But the ruggers of Pasadena RFC never gave up. SOC began to put the pressure on the Dena defence again and we were once again on our heels in our half of the field. After a scrum down in the western corner of the field, SOC ran an inside switch at our Keegan Minister O' Hate. Keegan... steps in, lowers his shoulder, and takes him down. Once Keegan got up, he realized that he had de-cleated the ref mistakenly. Unlucky, but a nice form tackle. Ref shook it off and play resumed.
SOC puts another try on the board, and Dena suffers a couple of hard fought injuries. English Tim went down with a, quote "Pulled Fallopian Tube," and our Minister suffers for our sins with a shoulder injury. In come Boyle and Frasier. For the next 20 minutes Dena is feverishly attempting to come back. Doing everything in our power. Dena drives down towards the try line after a penalty, Peter the Great takes a couple of crushing weak side runs, Fras digs it out and swings to our horses. Deano the machino takes at pace and battles his way in for the sliding try. Nice hands work gents.
At one point, SOC's jumper went down with a large gash under his left eye. A good bleeder. Angelica goes over the help the guy out and asks, "Do you know where you are, what time it is, can you see out of that eye...?" Response from the SOC Rugger, "Everything is cool, I can't see out of that eye anyhow, I took an IED roadside in Iraq." (I think that's a land mine or a missile, whatever it is, this guy is a stud.) He scuffles off the field, bummed because he is bleeding so much. Dena presented this guy with MOTM, just on principle.
Unfortunately, this was not enough for the men of Pasadena RFC, and SOC takes the win home with them back to... South Orange County (who managed to score a couple of more times than we did throughout the match).
Directly after the game we had a 10s game so everyone could get a run. Looked like a hard fought match. Everyone played well. Running hard and straight. Well done guys.
Man of the Match, Backs: Captain Deano - Running hard and keeping spirits up in the back line. Protecting the ball, and fielding many kicks throughout the typhoon in Alhambra.
Man of the Match, Forwards: Coach Angelica - Always at the breakdowns and Protection Pasadena Possession. Great tackling and hard-nosed support rugby.
Shame Award: Peter the Great - For showing up late every to every damn rugby function that ever existed in Pasadena RFC history. And for allegations of servicing before a rugby game. Although, he did take a completely full boot. Before he took his "Peter Size" boot, his warm up face was something to see. Could have been perceived as a cross between a pissed off lion getting shot with a tranquilizer dart, and the face your girlfriend makes when you just caught her farting. Down in 3, no help.
2005 Pasadena Rugby 15s Tournament - 12/10/05
1st Place Bracket:
- LA Rugby Club
- Gurhkas
- Aztecs
- Riverside
- Pasadena
- San Fernando
- SLO
- Finlanders
- Bucks*
- APU
- Eagle Rock
- Rebellion
Tournament MVP (voted on by all the referees): Keegan Hornbeck
Honorable Mention: Christian Harris
* Bucks opted to play in this bracket and allow San Fernando to play in the 2nd place Bracket - Bucks had a 1 and 1 record, whereas San Fernando was 0 and 2.
Pasadena vs. San Luis Obispo - 11/19/05
Meeting at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning is hellish for anyone, unless it is to play rugby. Everyone was on time for the most part, and as soon I called Frank, sorry, it is Sean at this point, and got him out of bed, we were on our way. We are just going to call the vans Deano's and Garrett's at this point. As we head off, small banter ensues, Rooney being his usual self, displaying his uncanny abillity to move mountains with the acute ability to take a subject of non-sense and turn in into a Japanese Haiku with his brilliant use of vocabulary.
As we approach santa Barbara, the freeway stops.Not slows down, not sputter, stops. We exit Santa Claus lane and begin what turns out to be a 3 hour traffic jam of epic proportions. People are getting out of their cars.Our guys were walking from van to van, urinating on the side of the road, it is trying all of our patience.At the 190 minute mark, we emerge out of the forest of Montecito to HWY 192, where a realtor gave us directions for a short cut that took us 5 minutes and we hit the freeway running.
We all finally get to SLO and we are boot up and get ready for Go Time. With a lap around the field and a great stretch, captains do their thing, and we are off. We are kicking the ball to the west. Dena comes out strong with big defensive stands, and the first half beings. We have decided before the game that we were going to play three 30s. Being division 3, we are used to bush league play calling, but this ref was incredible. All most every ruck that was formed, SLO's hands were in, or they were diving over, and no penalties were being called.
No scoring results midway through the first 30, and we are still seeing incredible forward play, hard running and rucking from Matt, Sean, and Keegan. Then we have a dreaded flashback. The game began to take shape of the OMBAC playoff last year, with an enormous amount of scrummage. At the 15 minute mark, we were already at more than 6 scrums. Plus, their front row was boring, and trying to take down our pack. Our front row, Sean, Rooney, and Tyler all had big games. They took what was theirs. Great game guys. Pasadena dominated in the lineouts as Keegan stole every one of their lineouts, as well as won ours.
At one point, the ref awarded Pasadena with a penalty, for SLO, yes, diving over. And our coach / scrum half takes the ball to kick it into touch. Shank.... Not out. OK, no problem, it was a funny angle. Pasadena again, with incredible forward ball, smashes it down into the SLO red zone. Play stops and we go for points, to Deano's unlucky kick to wide left by two lengths of a... a couple feet. By now, the backline is still having small communication problems, and have had a couple of runs at it. Ben, and Raf, we truly appreciate your help this weekend.
We are in a maul situation, coming from a lineout, and we begin our dominate maul striding down the field, rolling beautifully, when all of a sudden we see a tattooed arm jabbing at the head of a SLO guy in the maul in fisticuffs. Later to find the that SLO player was trying to rip Keegan's finger off. Reason granted, no yellow card, penalty awarded to Pasadena. I thought for a second it was little bunny foo-foo all over, but then again, there were no pentagrams on the field. My bad....
Half ends with a score of 0-0 and a fired up Pasadena side ready for more. Pasadena receives the ball and with a thundering run from our very own Sir Peter The Great, it starts us on our way down the field. The ball quickly changes possession, and with a couple exchanges of kick and counters, Pasadena is back on their heals in their own 22. Our new scrum half / coach Christian decided that he wanted to the be the ref's new buddy and started talking to the ref, the entire game. At this point, Coach Chris is yelling at the ref after a penalty - the entire Pasadena squad stops to listen like moths to a porch light while SLO takes a quick walk into the try zone, but does not convert. 5-0 SLO.
Pasadena kicks off and charges down the field. The dena forwards puton some roadhouse type moves, and get the ball back, ball goes out wide to the Dena / Shanghai backline for some solid running. Doc Mike takes a couple fo SLO Defenders for a ride, and we end up kicking for points from another SLO Penalty. Deano the machine-o and his USA socks slot a kick for points from 30+ meters out to bring the score to 5-3 SLO. This fires Dena up, but the pack is getting tired due to all the scrums. Another SLO Penalty, and we are aiming to kick the ball into touch, Coach says, "I got this," hooks right to the SLO full back who immediately goes into shock, then realizes that he is playing rugby, and begins to chase the ball. A great tackle from our winger Graeme puts us in great field position. This puts us in range again for some points and Deano slots another one, putting the game in the hands of Pasadena to win.
Another blunder after kick off, but guess what, a penalty and coach actually hits touch.... I think that was the 4th attempt for touch, but he made it happen when we needed it - Cheers! Lineout comes down, and goes to the backs, to Ben, to Doc Mike at whom we are yelling to "Put is Down". Doc decides to kick it out of the try zone. Doc boots it, but is goes completely laterally, and slightly backwards, hooks back into our try zone, and luckily Graeme puts it down on the floor, for a 5 meter scrum. Pasadena maintains possession, or otherwise known and DOMINATION in the scrum, kicks it to touch, and the game is over. Or at least the first game.
Third game, Pasadena puts in our subs, for a healthy, competitive match. What could be considered a lethal injection of fury was unleashed by the Pasadena Rugby Football Club and the leaders of this injection were Sonny Band-aid, Doc Smook, and Frenchy taking the field with a serious hate, and not letting up. At one point, Sonny almost gave himself a black eye with his own knee he was running so hard. SLO decided to be jackholes and keep their horses in, and give them a run. At one point, they were walking on top of the rucks with their boots. Our benches almost emptied. The Foutz brothers and new guy Dave brought some hate as well.
All in all, we one the game, and took away some pride that SLO kept in their pocket. We are right where we wanted to be. Our goal was to ruck, maintain possession, tackle, and win. Pasadena, after a long, tough, van ride, did just that, we won.
We ate all their tri-tip, and went to he after party to drink their beer. Sean said the salad was soggy. Frank isn't much for greens.
Man of the Match, Backs: Graeme Fordyce - Who played a great, strong, consistent game at wing, and whom no one turned the corner on. We also gave Graeme the MOTM because he has definitely stepped his game up this year. That is what we like, Graeme, Great Game!!!
Man of the Match, Forwards: Me, Garrett. Couldn't really tell you why they gave it to me. Keegan will have to email you all that. I would say that all the forwards played well. And the small problems with over-committing can be easily worked out. Great job, Forwards. I am going to keep the glass though. Keegan is also going to tell you why I had to pound Jalapeno juice twice. I would have rather kissed Frank.
Gurkhas vs. Pasadena - 11/5/05
Pasadena hosted the visiting North County Gurkhas, a DII side from the San Diego area. We played the Gurkhas last preseason and it was more memorable for a rookie forgetting the jerseys and us looking like a bunch of rag-a-muffins, than for Pasadena's "stellar" play on the field.
Would this year prove to be different? Initially, it looked like the bad luck would be for the visitors as it was the traveling Gurkhas that arrived unprepared to play. With a full squad of Pasadena players chomping at the bit to play, only 6 Gurkhas were kitted up one hour before game time. Slowly, North County players began to stumble and grumble to the field. At game time, the Gurkhas had managed 13 players and poached two from Pasadena. I want to thank Josh Starbuck and Kevin Foutz for helping to fill the depleted Gurkha side. You both played well and had some good experience playing with some veteran rugby players.
The first half saw an interesting line up for the home team. In the tight five, we saw new guys Peter and Matt step forward from 8-man and lock into the front row, a prop (Garrett) step back to 8-man and two old grizzly veterans (Chris and Aaron) stand completely motionless at 2nd row. Simon, Keegan and Bart rounded out the Forwards. Frazier, Noah, Doc Bryant, Rich, Dean, Jeff and Cory rounded out the backs.
The game started late with Pasadena kicking to the visitors. Pasadena's defense was strong and aggressive as we kept the Gurkhas pinned into their own half for much of the initial play. The Gurkhas, having little luck driving the ball out of their 22, nor were they able to run it out wide, resorted to trying to make space by kicking out of pressure. Dean, supported by Cory and Rich, fielded the ball nicely and put North County under pressure with excellent kicking for position. After another strong back play and good loose forward support. The ball was spun from the far side to the near. Garrett drove into the corner just short of the line, setting the ball up nicely to his support, allowing Frazier to pick up and squirrel under the Gurkha players to put the ball down for the first 5 points of the game. The conversion was just "barely" missed putting Pasadena ahead, 5-0.
Play continued at a good pace, but with many kicks to touch by both sides. Each team trying to get "the better" field position and settling for the other team having the ball. Lineouts by each team were not spectacular. Poor timing, bad lifts, crooked throws plagued each team. Fortunately, Pasadena won most of our ball, but didn't steal very many of the opposition. Scrums were another story. From the first to the last scrum, Pasadena dominated. Pasadena either stole or turned the Gurkhas to 45 in 5 of the first 7 scrums. Noah was often belligerent towards the ref and had to be settled down several times (OK, it is just a recurring theme I have... he never talks... that is why it is funny people... live with it.)
Pasadena put more points on the board from a Gurkha penalty. From 45 yards out, Noah had plenty of room to spare and put Pasadena up 8 to 0. As to be expected form a well-coached team, the Gurkhas started to put pressure on Pasadena and finally started spending more time on offense and in Pasadena's territory. Strong defensive stands held the Gurkhas for a short time, but a penalty by Pasadena killed the stand. With the strong Gurkha forwards only 5 meters out, three strong takes and they found themselves in the try zone for the first time. They made their conversion to make the score 8 to 7. Pasadena was able to take possession of the restart well and again applied pressure onto the visitors for several well run phases. However, our aggressiveness often left us exposed in the back three.
As we are becoming accustomed, Dean-o the Machine-o took the ball at pace on several strong runs and put the defenders on their heals. Matt and Pete, our "rookie" front rowers dominated in the scrums and in open play with excellent defense. Our back line played with much more precision than previously seen in games or practices. The only dark spot on in the first half came just before half.
After one of Dean's counter attacks, the Gurkhas counter-counter attacked and found a lot of room to kick the ball behind our backs. Noah chased down the ball and while attempting to scoop it up, performed the good old "Jean Claude Van Dam" splits routine. Needless to say.... Anyway, Noah took a break on the sidelines. I think there was a Pasadena Penalty kick that was made and a Gurkha penalty kick that was missed somewhere in there and I am pretty sure we ended the half with the score 11 to 7. If that is not right, feel free to call your mother and complain.
The second half began with many of the out of position players back in their more familiar positions and a few new players stepping in and... you get the idea. Substitutions were made. Pasadena has been in this position before. Up at half, but we somehow let the team back into the game. Would we do the same this year? Several Pasadena penalties allowed the Gurkhas to increase the pressure and test our defensive abilities. After more than one Pasadena player leaving their feet in the ruck, the Ref commented, "you guys will get penalized every time in division II for doing that... you need to practice coming in correctly." It seems the ref thought we were the DII team. WOW. Back to the action.
The forwards were very active in support throughout the game, but there were not a lot of punches to draw the defensive line out. Peter and Matt were able to punch through the gain line several times and often took three defenders along for a ride to coral them, but for the most part, Pasadena took one punch and spun the ball wide. Luckily, our backs were having a very good game. As mentioned before, Dean was stellar from Fullback. Cory showed great promise with strong runs, good defensive instincts and a great boot. Jeff, although a forward, filled in nicely at wing and made several nice sideline tackles that saved a few trys. Rich and Doc Bryant played as expected with hard running and stellar defense. Simon, Garrett, Keegan, Bart (later Danny and Tyler) were great in supporting the backs all game. But the real star of the game was Frazier.
At every breakdown, he is digging balls out and delivering them with precision (OK, as long as he is facing the right way... they are precise.) Defensively, he shut down his opposite number and he never gave an inch to even the toughest opponent. Pasadena found ourselves again driving inch by inch into the Gurkha territory led by our fearless number 9. After multiple phases, he cajoled the forwards to batter (no Frazier... not that batter) the line again and again until Peter was able to leap (yep... 6'5"-- 280 pounds of leaping mountain) into the try zone. Pasadena makes the conversion and is up 18 to 7.
Unfortunately, our stellar play took a nap. Shortly after the restart, Pasadena found itself looking like a D IV team, allowed the Gurkhas to steam roll down the field with multiple phases. With Pasadena on it heals and unable to press forward, the Gurkhas launched three phases to put their player into the try zone. The conversion was missed and Pasadena still leads 18 to 12. Feeling the pressure but confidant, Pasadena came out strong. A great weak side move allowed Dean to get into space. He drew several defenders and was able to offload to one of the fastest guys (and always in support) on the field... Mr. Frazier. Frazier sprinted down the field for a 50-yard run that put us up 25 to 12.
The Gurkhas were unable to rebound from that try and needed to plunder a few more players form the Pasadena side, most notably they took Angelica and put him at full back. Kinda' like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded automatic, eh. The first time Pasadena Kicks the ball deep, Angelica chases (well, runs like a semi-spry snuffalufagus from Sesame Street... if you know what I'm saying... is this thing on?) chases the ball down, turns and blasts a kick down field to relieve the pressure... wake up... wake up... he actually kicked it three feet and right to Laurent who picked it up and walked in for a try. The Gurkhas were not happy... nope, not at all. And I am gonna say that is where it ended. I am not too sure... there may have been another Gurkha try somewhere and we may have kicked another penalty. I know that both Noah and Dean kicked for points very well, so I hope you are not bummed that I didn't say that enough... boo hoo. I truly have no idea what happened.
Man of the Match, Forwards: Given to Matt and Pete. They played out of position, but looked like veterans. They have a certain reckless control that makes them a threat with and without the ball. We now expect that in every game. They are both assets to our club and everyone is happy they found us.
Man of the Match, Backs: Frazier takes home another pint glass for his stellar leadership. He was all over the field and delivered the ball with precision.
Shame Award: Given to Chris Angelica who has won it as a player, as a coach and now for playing on the other team. Good on ya'. Nice kick. Now Ciampa doesn't have the distinction as "Worst. Kick. Ever."
Oops,
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