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Ahoy....... If you are serious (or social) about Masters age (35+) rugby please go to my yahoo site http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/worldmastersrugby/ . We have 750+ similar old farts from around the world and loads of pictures, messages and links to team websites.........and it's FREE!! Thanks! Dan
It's been a week since the St. Patrick's Day rugby tournament in Savannah, Ga., and the hangovers have subsided while the bug bites still linger. I shall bravely soldier on and give all a rundown on America's second largest rugby tournament (www.savannahrugby.com) as well as the second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Savannah is simply an excellent small city to visit, and it seems by the growing number of visitors each year as well as the population growth that many agree with me. It is one of America's most historic cities and has a definite small town atmosphere. I'd recommend a summer trip there with the kids if you're looking for ideas.....just bring plenty of bug spray!
On my way up from the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area I stopped in for my yearly overnight buzz with Dave "Ongowa" Pirrung of the Jacksonville RFC. Dave lives in the Neptune Beach area (pretty hoppin') and is known by many as "Florida Dave" of the SFCA RFC (Speed Freak Clowns on Acid). He promises that one of these years he's putting down his tree surgeon stuff and heading north with me to partake of the tomfoolery but just is too busy playing Tarzan right now.
I got into Savannah Thursday afternoon and found the Marriott on the east end of the river already teeming with various fife & drum outfits from all over the U.S. practicing for the Friday parade. I was again the honorary old fart on a combo team called The Willing, most of whose players are either with or have played with the Belsize Park RFC of west London. This side won the premiere championship in the 2007 St. Pat's event over the Air Force, and I was invited along to be a sidelines nanny and buy a few rounds. I will speak more about BPRFC in a future separate post from this write up.
The team found its way in from the Savannah airport or by car from Atlanta's airport and after a welcoming round in the hotel we headed up the cobblestone/railway tracks that run along the river to a few bars. No play-by-play on the night's events here, except I found a piece of yellow and a piece of red posterboard and started giving red and yellow cards out when necessary. The yellow made the offender stand in the corner of the bar for five minutes and the red was a 10-minute penalty WITHOUT beer. Needless to say I was as popular as a spinster schoolmarm by the night's end.
This year's parade was held on Friday the 14th instead of the usual 17th because St. Pat's fell in the middle of Holy Week for the first time since the 1940s, and Savannah, as well as many other U.S. cities agreed to move the parade date (New York did not). The number of tournament entries definitely is affected by the parade date and this year approx 68 teams entered (compared to nearly 90 last year). The parade lasted four and a half hours, and I grabbed a window ledge perch by City Hall to watch and a few of my teammates wandered by with refreshments to keep me festive. BTW, City Hall is (quite fittingly) on BULL Street.
Everything was great all day and about 1:30 I saw the Savannah Shamrocks RFC march by, and I decided to jump off the ledge and join the parade. They had a float, I had a place on top to stand and I finished out the ride blessing the crowd. Oh Danny Boyyyyyyyyy..........
The Willing had an 8 am Saturday match vs. Metropolis, so some of the youngsters actually got in by midnight. I caught up with the Univ. of Central Florida girls team who were our cheering section last year, the "More Than Willing" and we were ready to go. We beat Metropolis (the MWRFU # 4 Div 1 seed) 17-5 in a very "dewy" game and at noon made a comeback on the Air Force Academy to steal a win also. Hence, we made the Sunday Premiere finals by 1pm and I set off for the 35+ matches at the nearby stadium field.
The Masters division at Savannah is still a work in progress. I spent a good amount of the weekend talking with tournament director John Schomburg and past tournament director Steve Keller about ways to make the early round games more competitive for the better teams and more fun for the uber-oldsters like the U of GA Blind Pigs, many of whom were at the first Savannah tourney in 1979! The two tournament directors promised that they will look into having separate 35+ and 45+ divisions as well as a 50+ match for all comers at the end of the day next year.
This year's six sides were the Cincy Greyhounds, Blind Pigs, Hilton Head Mullets, Old Thunder, Battock's Bombers (Air Force OBs) and TOXIC, which meant Thunderbolts, Old Yeller, X-Shamrocks In Cahoots. I picked up a few minutes w/Old Thunder guys (mostly Golden Isles & Thunderbolts) and hung out w/the Pigs who serenaded the crowd with their original UGA Rugby Anthem sung to the Marine Corps hymn. The Pigs bring out a handmade quilt of old UGA t-shirts to the tourney and are generally a great bunch to socialize with (as are all the Savannah Old Boys' entrants).
Quip of the weekend: TOXIC was beating the Blind Pigs big time and on a restart after another TOXIC try a Pig caught the ball about 9.99 yards from the 50 and the ref blew a penalty. I said from the sidelines, "Ref, sometimes ya gotta turn a blind eye to the Blind Pigs". Honorary pig-dom was bestowed upon me for the remainder of the day. Sooooooo-eeeeeeyyyyy!
The turning point of the entire tournament and big news of the weekend was the blackout that hit Savannah at 10:30 Sat night, just as the Riverfront area was filling up for the big party. The Willing were at the Chart House for a team dinner and as we were walking out to join the fun I saw on the TV a thunderstorm warning for the entire area. Less than five minutes later a transformer was hit and the entire city was in darkness until 8:15 the next morning. This not only kept the city and businesses from making thousands of dollars, but it got all of The Willing back to the Marriott by 2 am or so -- and most were near sober!
The old boys matches were played early and the Blind Pigs marched onto the field for their match with lawn chairs and coolers and won their game over Old Thunder via boat race and total team weight. The Sunday final saw the Cincinnati Greyhounds top the defending champs Hilton Head Mullets 24-10.
The Premiere Final was a rematch of 2007 with The Willing taking on the Air Force alumni squad, with many AF players flying in from as far away as Japan for revenge. The Air Force led from the start to the closing minutes by capitalizing on The Willing's mistakes. Bryan Wilmes intercepted a Willing pass and broke into the open field for the game's first try with Andy McQuade adding the conversion for a 7-0 edge early. Michael Hancock intercepted deep in Air Force territory and raced across the field, passing before he was tackled to winger Eric Walton for the try making it 12-0. After a try by The Willing's Brendan Walsh, the Air Force went up 17-5 on another miscue, as an attempt to keep a kick inbounds without any support led to a loose ball pounced upon by the speedy Walton, who scored the try seconds before halftime.
Despite our overwhelming sobriety, the first half was one Willing mistake after another and we huddled up for a pep talk from coach/organizer/benefactor/second row Cary Depel down 17-5. Somehow, we got better organized in the pack, stopped tossing the ball away and just generally said F*ck It and The Willing fought the Air Force with brute force, putting together drives and mauling the ball or using set scrums to get into the end zone. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective.
A pushover pack try followed immediately by a breakaway score off the restart made it 17-15 but the Air Force led 20-15 after McQuade made a key 3-point kick as the game wound down. However, there was enough time for The Willing to grind the ball in for the tying try at 20-20. In injury time winger Chris Copping skirted around the entire backline and dove into the corner as time expired to give The Willing a 25-20 victory. As we drank Guinness from the championship trophy, Cary Depel said to me, "Next year we don't show up sober".
Both sides later met at Murphy's Law for a few pints and 10 pizzas and generally had a good night. I chatted with Matt Godek and a few of the Battock Bombers and both sides agreed to meet again next year. Lookout!
Tags: Rugby St Patrick's Day
A few quick notes, quotes & anecdotes before I head to the Savannah St. Pat's insanity (ouch!).
I was waiting for the FTL guys (Fort Lauderdale Rugby Club) to update their website www.ftlrugby.com w/scores etc from the 32nd Ruggerfest, which took place in late February, before I wrote anything but that's not going to happen soon. Hence, a brief recap of the Masters things @ the 32nd Ruggerfest:
A strong storm socked the Northeast US on Friday canceling 1100+ flights and putting a good dent in the event. Many teams in all divisions were not full (the Super League Boston Wolfhounds dropped out of the club div and put everyone they had in the premiere side) and a lot of juggling of brackets/schedules went on all day. Palmer Chiro alumni (last year's 35+ champs) had 5 guys and set their sights on the drinking title instead.
35+ winners were the Daytona Beach Old Nuts led by lil' Bokkie Sauer van den Berg, Gerry Keating and the world renowned "Buckwheat." They topped the White Plains Classix 14-0 for the trophy with the Pelidactyls, Va., Cards, S Pittsburgh/W Palm Beach. Petalumington and Trinidad in a dead heat for third.
45+ saw a finals rematch for the umpteenth time of two of Masters rugby's best sides, the Virginia Cardinals and the Ontario based Myths & Legends. The M&Ls are multiple time Saranac champs and have had great success in FTL under a few different names (even once w/me on the side) and the come south loaded for bear or moose or anything else that gets in their way.
This time around the Cards got revenge for last year's Saranac with an 11-7 barnburner victory. The Cards came to the entire event w/60+ guys (3 set teams & motleys) and just had the overall manpower to hold off Jerry Gonnavash & his fur trapping friends. The other 45s were the Ancient Warriors, Niagara Old Boys (NOBs), FTL Silver Knights, Jersey Shore and the Life Chiro alumni who are still looking for Dr. Gary Bofshever to show up.
In 50 and 55 we had a big crowd of seniors that wanted at the Cards and we worked out a 50 match that saw VA take FTL 17-3 on Saturday and by a similar Sunday score also. Roy Brewer of Sacramento and Dennis Frisch of Boca Raton dragged 22 old Gators out of the Swamp and put a competitive Florida Old Boys side out in 55+ vs VA with the Cards taking a 10-5 win on Sunday and also a win in a motley Sat game.
63-year-old FOB Jim Beverly of Miami said, "Any game over 63 is like livin' life large, or somethin' like that". Dennis Frisch noted, "It's easier to get laid when you win," yet he still managed to have two kids. Bahamas ref John Wells reffed the 55+ match on his 45th birthday and said afterwards, "Hey Dan write that up would ya?"
Notable sightings included Dr. Tony Brooks playing club & premiere front row for Life at age 46, Steve Muldoon trying to teach his girlfriend's son how to pass the ball (which is like me teaching a healthy diet), Pelidactyl Pat O'Donnell's roving baRV on Wheels serving up Bloody "Larrys" and other sundry alcoholic delights, Ross Cuiffo coming in from Omaha and many other FOBs from all over for the 50 + 55 games, original FOB Dan Marvel and his monstrous son John who now plays for Life, former tagteam champs Sammy Hintz & Scott "Huey" Garrity of FTL and long lost Fred Krane, the former SD Charger QB turned FTL hooker from the late 70s to early 90s who is recovering from a lifetime of injuries, illnesses and excess. Love ya Freddie!
There are lots of new photos at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worldmastersrugby/ from the weekend. I understand that there was also a US military rugby reunion in FTL the same weekend but only a dozen or so vets came to the pitches. We salute you all nonetheless!
OK a few more things before the price of gas goes up another buck.......
CATALINA
www.catalinarugby.org is the website and the island just off Los Angeles is the place for the 14th Catalina Rugby Fest. Joe Hendrix says they have 11 sides signed up and will have a 50+ match at noon on Sat May 3.
Golf May 2 and hangovers May 4. Proceeds benefit The Wellness Community for cancer support.
VINTAGE & GOLDEN OLDIES
I have reports that 100+ teams are signed up for GO in Scotland www.goldenoldiessports.com and 30+ for Vintage in Christchurch http://www.vintagerugby.com/ . I've asked each tourney director for more info on teams and will pass it on when I get it.
4 LEAF 15s
The Village Lions are hosting the 5th annual 4 Leaf 15s in New York City on Sat. March 29 and will have an Old Boysdivision. Call Kieran Holohan at 212-587-7977 or visit www.villagelions.org for details.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!
The 51st annual Elizabeth (South Australia) 7s will be held Sat March 29 at Womma Park near Adelaide. The event is the longest running 7s tournament in the entire Southern Hemisphere and will include a 10 man 35+ division. Contact Phil Badcock at philb@brice.com.au for info.
N'AWLINS
The NORFC is hosting the1st French Quarter Festival Master's Tournament April 11-13 held in conjunction with the French Quarter Festival www.fqfi.org (formerly the Jazzfest). Great food and music in the Quarter and on the Riverfront with the rebuilt rugby complex and 6,400
sf. clubhouse only 10 minutes away. Contact Tim Falcon at tim@falconlaw.com or visit www.neworleansrugbyclub.com for hotel info.
EDMONTON
40th Edmonton Rugbyfest, May 16-18 inc. Old Boys Division (40+ & 50+ Divisions). Contact Eric Germain of the Antediluvians RFC at egermain@is2.ca or tel: (780) 991-0417
Caloundra (Queensland) 35+ Rugby 10’s May 11-15 . Contact Murray East cpoint@caloundra.net
4th Old Golden Prague / 6th Georg Holek Cup May 29-June 2 in Prague,Czech Republic
Contact: andrej.hronec@t-mobile.cz
Pacific Northwest Over 40s May 9-11 Vancouver, BC . Steve Baron
604-294-9934 or sjbaron@telus.net
Old Men of the Mountain June 7 Franconia, NH. Golf Friday afternoon, Reception Friday evening, Dinner Saturday night. Contact Bill Good brahmins15@hotmail.com
Got something good for the Masters crowd? Drop me a line at rugbydan@bellsouth.net
Tags: Rugby
Savannah St. Patrick's Day The second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the United States is held every year
in Savannah, Ga. So is the country's second largest rugby tournament. The 2008 St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament is March 15th & 16th and the parade this year is on FRIDAY the 14th! Info at www.savannahrugby.com or contact tournament director John Schomburg at jaass@bellsouth.net. There will be a 35+ Old Boys Division and possibly a 50+ match on Sat., Mar. 16th.
Aussie Aussie Aussie!
The 51st annual Elizabeth (South Australia) 7s will be held Sat., March 29, at Womma Park near Adelaide. The event is the longest running 7s tournament in the entire Southern Hemisphere and will include a 10-man 35+ division. Contact Phil Badcock at philb@brice.com.au for info.
Re-Born on the Bayou
The city of New Orleans is back in business and the NORFC is hosting the first French Quarter Festival Master's Tournament April 11-13. The tournament is held in conjunction with the French Quarter Festival www.fqfi.org (formerly Jazzfest). There will be great food and music in the Quarter and on the Riverfront with the rebuilt rugby complex and a 6,400 square foot clubhouse only 10 minutes away. Contact Tim Falcon, the chairman of the New Orleans Rugby Foundation at tim@falconlaw.com. Or visit www.neworleansrugbyclub.com for hotel info.
Tags: Rugby
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