The Baton Rouge's Redfish Seven's Tournament will take place on July 11, 2009. Please click here for tournament info.

 If you are interested in getting involved in Baton Rouge Rugby, now is the time. We are putting on a Summer 7's Touch Series on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 6:30 pm. No experience is necessary and everyone is welcome. Tuesdays are at the field next to Walk Ons on Nicholson and Wednesdays and Thursdays take place at our pitch at Highland Road Park. We are also hosting our annual 7's tournament on July 11th. You can find details here. Come check it out. On July 7th we are sponsoring the weekly 5k run at Happy's Pub downtown.

Also the Baton Rouge U-19 (under 19) side is beginning to practice on Wednesday nights starting June 17th in preparation for the Baton Rouge 7's Tourney on July 11th. Up to 10 La. High Schools will be attending. Practice will take place at the pitch at Highland Road Park.

Attention: Baton Rouge Rugby Football Club is looking for an experienced coach. Please contact Club President Craig Gothreaux if you are interested.

Baton Rouge RFC defeated Jacksonville in the South Playoffs, they moved on to the Sweet 16's in South Carolina where they were defeated by the Indianapolis Impalas. It was a great season for Baton Rouge Rugby. We look forward to next year and everyone continuing to work hard.

4-11-09 Baton Rouge @ Huntsville

Baton Rouge RFC made the 500 mile trek to Huntsville, AL for a South quarterfinal match up. This season, Huntsville RFC dominated the Central Pool matrix with an impressive 6-1 record. Minutes after kickoff, it was apparent why they had managed to score so many points earlier in the year. A humble match report cannot begin to describe the intensity displayed on Saturday afternoon.

Baton Rouge started out flat with several handling mistakes in the first few minutes. HRC soon capitalized on these and scored a try 10 minutes in. The score was converted. HRC 7 - BR 0.

At the onset of the next kickoff, BR put great defensive pressure on Huntsville, creating turnovers. However, strong defense kept BR out of the try zone. After 10 solid minutes in scoring territory, BR made one too many mistakes and Huntsville regained momentum. On a 2nd phase backline play, it looked like Huntsville had a chance to break a long run. BR wing Seth Stevenson stepped into the line and intercepted the pass. 40 mtrs later, Stevenson dotted the ball down in the try zone. Kick was good by Dan Rosenquist. Game tied at 7.

The next 20 minutes was back and forth. Both teams played tremendous defense and took advantage of turnovers. Neither side had a clear advantage in line outs. But both teams were quite good at getting penalties in the breakdowns. This choppy play ended the half tied at 7.

In the 2nd half BR came out swinging. Keeping Huntsville pinned in their side of the field led to an easy penalty kick 9 minutes in. The momentum swung back quickly. Huntsville kept BR pinned for the next several minutes. Huntsville had several opportunities for easy penalty kicks in front of the post but chose to go for the try. BR denied them on each occasion. The defense finally broke at the 16 minute mark, when Huntsville scored their 2nd try of the day. Score 10-14.

After the ball went into the adjoining pasture and fullback Blake Arbour got stuck in the barbed wire (while trying to retrieve it)... BR pounced. The kickoff resulted in Huntsville losing possession in their own end. 2nd row Ben Ruth scooped up the loose ball and set up a beautiful ruck. The ball was passed out to Rosenquist who scissored with Ryan Andre. Andre beat 4 defenders into the try zone. Kick was good. 17-14.

The next 10 minutes was mostly BR with some Huntsville surges. At the 29 minute mark Craig Gothreaux wove his way through several defenders for a wide pass to Arbour. He beat several defenders down field and made a perfect pass to a streaking Stevenson on the sideline. He would not be caught until the try zone. Kick no good. 22-14.

With an 8 point lead and 10 minutes to go, BR felt that things were going the right way. Huntsville made sure that they didn't. After keeping BR inside the 22 for several minutes, Huntsville counter-attacked a kick from their own 40m line for an impressive try. Kick good. 22-21 at the 35 minute mark.

At the 40 minute mark, the referee announced that there were still 7 minutes left to play. This extra time allowed Huntsville to keep the pressure on BR. After several good defensive stands and several penalties, BR committed another penalty 30m out. Huntsville kicker was perfect on the day as he connected again. Huntsville went up 24-22 at the 44 minute mark.

BR kicked deep to re-start. A charging Stevenson blocked the #9's attempt to clear the ball into touch. Several mishandled balls later, BR was awarded a scrum 10m out. The ball was passed out to Andre who made a run towards the center of the field. At the tackle, a penalty was awarded for Huntsville failing to roll away from the tackle and another player with hands in the ruck. Rosenquist made the high pressure kick and the final whistle blew. Final BR 25-24.

It was a great game to be a part of. Huntsville was a very good team that never stopped attacking. BR showed tremendous heart and never gave up. BR travels to Columbus, GA in 2 weeks to take on Jacksonville RFC in the South semi-finals.

3-28-09 Baton Rouge vs. Memphis

Baton Rouge RFC hosted the Memphis Blues for the final Rugby South (west division) cup match of the 2009 season. From the start, BR put pressure on the Memphis side. The first few minutes were played in Memphis territory. At the 7 minute mark, BR stole a 5m scrum and went weakside. #8 Troy Redman put flyhalf J.R. Vendetto away for the first score of the day. The conversion was missed. 

BR kept the ball in Memphis' end through stolen scrums and lineouts. The home team was able to score again when center Dan Rosenquist finished off a series of off-loads. 

The rest of the half was the same for BR. Scores by Josh Ott, Eric "Twig" Chris and Jason Mapp rounded out the first half scoring. All conversions were missed. Score BR 25- 0.

The 2nd half started out the way the first half had ended. After making several assists in the last few games, Redman was able to get into the tryzone. 19 minutes into the 2nd half wing Jordan Tabor finished a nice series in the corner. BR finsihed it's scoring at the 25 minute mark with Jacob Verret completing a series of forward phases. Rosenquist finally made a conversion making the score 42-0. 

In the last 15 minutes of the match, BR was able to get some rookies valuable playing time. Memphis put pressure on and stayed in BR's half most of this period. When awarded a penalty 22m out, towards the center, Memphis showed a lot of grit by going for the try and not the easy kick. They were denied and the game was called soon after. 

On the day, 8 different BR players were able to score. Support was good all day. Wing David Solberg and 2nd row Hunter Guidry each had standout games for BR.

After the game, some home cooked gumbo and refreshments were served. Thanks to Memphis for taking the long drive and playing hard. BR finishes the matrix schedule at 5-1-1.

3-21-09 Baton Rouge vs. Battleship

Baton Rouge RFC hosted Deep South rival Battleship RFC in a mtchup with playoff implications this past Saturday. Earlier in the season, Baton Rouge had eeked out a 14-13 victory in Mobile.

After the initial kickoff, BR was able to put pressure on for the first several minutes. Handling errors and solid defense kept BR out of the try zone. After what seemed an eternity (although, it was only 8 minutes), BR got on the board with a nice series of offloads culminating in flanker Hank Hughes dotting the ball down. The conversion was good by Dan Rosenquist.

The next 30 minutes was sloppy rugby by both sides. Battleship was able to keep BR pinned in their end for a majority of that time. BR played some hard defense and took advantage of some turnovers to keep 'Ship off the board. At the 39th minute of the 1st half BR snatched up a turnover and several passes later, Seth Stevenson streaked through the defense for BR's 2nd try of the game. Conversion by Rosenquist was good.

Stevenson again scored in the 41st minute after a 'Ship handling error. Score at half BR 21-0. At the last meeting BR was up 14-0 at half and seemed to have all the momentum. In that game, 'Ship pounded back in the 2nd half to make it an uncomfortably close game.

Not this time.

In the 4th minute of the 2nd half, BR made some nice passes in contact and had really good support. Seth Stevenson was in great position to get a gift pass under the post from Rosenquist, for his 3rd try of the day.

6 minutes later in almost the exact same situtaiton, Troy Redman put hooker Jason Mapp away under the post.

The game took an ugly turn as tempers flared on both sides. Both teams played with 14 for 5 minutes as a result. BR took the opportunity to keep the ball in the forwards for that time and really wear down the Battleship pack. At the 24th minute, after several BR forward phases, the ball was spun wide to fullback Blake Arbour for BR's final try of the day.

BR was able to play all 22 players, getting some rookies valuable field time. Battleship only travelled with 18 players on the year's first warm Saturday. The weather took it's toll on them. Their players showed plenty of toughness until the end.

On the day, Rosenquist was 6 of 6 on conversions. Aside from the try scorers, flanker and forward captain "Dutch" Joris van der Ham, wing Eric Chris and front row Jacob Verret all had outstanding games. BR hosts Memphis RFC next weekend in the final matrix match of the year. 

 2-14-09 Baton Rouge at Battleship

Brad "Hud" Hudson

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