Baton Rouge Rugby

This year in Baton Rouge Rugby...

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.

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.

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.

Greetings and welcome to another season of Baton Rouge Rugby. This year marks the return of BRRFC to the Deep South Rugby Union. We look forward to renewing old rivalries with New Orleans, Jackson, and Battleship.

As always, we are looking for new players. Whether you have previous playing experience with another club or just want to see what this sport is about. No experience necessary.

Practice is 6:30pm – 8:30pm at Highland Rd Park. Bring a pair of cleats and a mouthpiece. We’ll show you the rest.

And if playing isn’t what you had in mind, come out to the games and support the team. We hope to see new faces and some alumni/old boys at the pitch this season.

I am not one to write these amazing match reports about past games. I have only been playing and watching the game for 11 years, but I still miss a bunch of things that go on- like who scored, who did what, score changes, etc....so, this report will be quick and easy to read- New Orleans RFC beat Baton Rouge RFC this past weekend in our first cup match of the season. The end.

Ok, I can't end it like that. It was one hell of a great game! BR went down by 3 tries by the middle of the first half and fought our way back to tie the game by the middle of the second half. New Orleans came back strong and scored three tries at the end to pull away from BR- final score was 47 to 26. It was a very fast pace game played with a lot of passion- but teams wanted to win. New Orleans was a little fitter and took the game from BR. The forwards of both teams were highly motivated and fought a grueling battle. The back lines of both teams were very stubborn, but NO was able to win with a few missed tackles and bad plays on BR's part.

There is a lot of history between these two teams- huge rivals for years....now that BR is back in the deep south, the rivalry has escalated into something genuine! The New Orleans Old Boys have donated a cup to the rivalry- the first ever Causey Cup (named after Bob "Big Red" Causey- BR lock that played with USA Rugby in the 70s and now coaches LSU's forwards).
Whatever team wins gets to keep the cup- NO will have until next month when there will be a rematch!! (March 7th in BR)

On to the after match party....the Rugby Pub played host to the party with the BR men and women, NO men and women's teams participating in much debauchery and crap talking ensued. Toasts were made, Men of the match were chosen (NO was Jarrod Falcon and BR was Seth Stevenson), singing was done and chugging contest occurred (NO took this contest as well...).
Great times and great party!

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club got off to a fast start on the new season with a convincing 39 – 12 win over the Pensacola Rugby Club this past Saturday at Highland Road Park. A nice crowd turned out for the match and to enjoy the weather.

Pensacola had an athletic pack and pressured Baton Rouge in the early moments of the match, but squandered an early opportunity to take the lead on a missed a penalty kick. A Baton Rouge counter-attack after a Pensacola handling error yielded the match’s first score after only eight minutes. Baton Rouge then capitalized on another Pensacola breakdown soon after for a second score. This seemed to take some of the spring out of the step of the visitors and the match swung entirely in Baton Rouge’s favor in virtually every phase of the game. Two more scores followed before the end of the half with Baton Rouge holding a 24 – 0 lead.

Pensacola got on the board early in the second half when Baton Rouge failed to take care of the ball and scored a second try late in the match, but Baton Rouge added three more trys of their own to make the final score 39 – 12. The try scorers for Baton Rouge were Ryan Andre (2), Mike Dellafiora, Seth Stevenson, Junior Maiava, Morgan Landry and Rob Miller. Brett Somers captained the side and played an excellent match at flanker, as did Brent Worboys. Coach Brad Hudson would also like to thank all those who filled in to help make up the numbers for Pensacola.

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club put on their best display of the year in a 49 - 3 win over the Dallas Reds Saturday afternoon at Highland Road Park. It was a perfect afternoon for rugby with cool temperatures, a steady breeze and clear skies. A nice crowd turned out to enjoy the match. The first 10 minutes were fast paced and evenly contested. Dallas' big pack caused some problems in the Baton Rouge scrum. Playing with the wind at their backs, Baton Rouge eventually applied some pressure in the Dallas end and were awarded with a try from Josh Ott who broke a tackle and powered in from 5 meters out. Mike Dellafiora added the conversion and Baton Rouge led 7 - 0 after 12 minutes. Dallas immediately responded and threatened deep in the Baton Rouge end, but the hosts escaped when Dallas was judged guilty of holding on in the tackle just short of the Baton Rouge try line. Baton Rouge came back down the field and scored on a well executed driving maul off a lineout with Kevin Caliva touching the ball down. Dellafiora added the conversion and Baton Rouge extended the lead to 14 - 0. Baton Rouge upped the tempo, sensing a chance to knock the opponent out early, and got a lucky bounce on a missed kick to touch which an alert Jordan Tabor pounced on for the third try. Dellafiora's conversion made it 21 - 0. Now Dallas was struggling and Baton Rouge was swarming. Just minutes before the half, a poor Dallas clearing kick was deftly scooped up by Austin Fussell who returned it for the fourth try of the half.

With Baton Rouge leading 28 - 0, the teams switched ends. Dallas' big pack was not nearly as mobile as Baton Rouge's smaller forwards and the opportunities began to open up as the Dallas team tired. Baton Rouge got second half trys on nice runs from Danny Rosenquist, Craig Gothreaux and another try from Fussell. Dellafiora was a perfect 7 for 7 kicking for goal. Dallas avoided a shut out with a late penalty kick to make the final 49 -3. Standouts in the forwards for Baton Rouge were Joris van der Ham, Hank Hughes and Caliva. Fussell and Gothreaux stood out in the backs.

Dallas took the B-side match 51 - 17. Baton Rouge's record stands at 3 wins vs 4 losses in the Texas Rugby Union and at 9 wins vs 6 losses for the season overall.

LATE SURGE LIFTS BATON ROUGE PAST HOUSTON

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club scored two late trys to break open a tight match and secure an important 34 – 18 win over The Houston Area Rugby Club. The contest was played in Houston on a very warm Saturday afternoon on a surface slowed and rutted by the recent heavy rains. Baton Rouge broke on top inside of three minutes with a 30 meter penalty kick from Mike Dellafiora. Houston tied the match at 3 – 3 with a long penalty kick and then broke on top 10 – 3 with a try from a charged down clearing kick deep in Baton Rouge territory. But Baton Rouge soon leveled the match at 10 – 10 with run by Danny Rosenquist who dodged through three defenders over the final 20 meters. Houston nosed in front again 13 – 10 with another long penalty kick before Baton Rouge tied the match up with another penalty kick from 25 meters to make it a 13 – 13 match at the half with neither team having the better of the run of play.

The second half was only two minutes old when Houston scored a well executed try on a pick up off the scum and link up with their quick backs, but they missed an easy conversion, so their lead was only 5 points at 18 – 13. The match had been very much a 50/50 affair up until this point, but Baton Rouge began to get the flow going in their backline and took the lead fifteen minutes into the second half on a nice run by Jordan Tabor who beat his defender on the outside to put Baton Rouge ahead at 20 – 18 after Dellafiora’s conversion. Houston had a near miss on what appeared to be the go ahead try minutes later, but the referee ruled a Houston player had knocked the ball forward and Baton Rouge was able to clear the ball from deep in their own end. Baton Rouge then spurned a certain three points and instead went for a quick tap penalty, but turned the ball over just short of the Houston line. With 12 minutes remaining in a tense match, Jason Mapp finally gave Baton Rouge some breathing room with a fine try on a supporting run from ten meters out to make the score 27 – 18. Houston continued to persevere, but never mounted a serious challenge over the remaining minutes. Josh Ott got the all important fourth try five minutes from time to put the contest out of reach and earn the bonus point in the standings. Baton Rouge got excellent performances from Hank Hughes, Joris van der Hamm and Jacob Verret in the forwards and from Ott, Rosenquist and Jeff Ruether in the backs, as well as Dellafiora, who was an excellent 6 for 7 on kicks at goal.

Baton Rouge’s record stands at 2 wins vs 4 losses in the Texas Rugby Union and 8 wins against 6 losses for the season overall. The next match is Saturday, March 8 at 2:00 pm vs Dallas Reds at Highland Road Park.

Baton Rouge hosted the Austin Blacks this past weekend at Highland Road Park in a Texas Rugby Union match pitting last year’s National runner-up against a game, but outclassed Baton Rouge squad. It was a beautiful afternoon for rugby. Baton Rouge leaked a couple of scores in the first five minutes on unforced errors to put themselves in a 14 – 0 hole, but then seemed to steady and get into the flow of the match. Austin scored again to take a 19 - 0 lead after twenty minutes, but Baton Rouge countered with a penalty kick from Mike Dellafiero to make it 19 – 3. Baton Rouge penetrated Austin territory several more times before the half, but couldn’t finish off the scoring move that would have pulled them back into the contest and it was Austin which added a fourth try to take a 26 – 3 lead to intermission.

Baton Rouge came out scrapping in the second half, but the visitors simply had too much speed, skill and depth. Austin added several scores before Josh Ott broke through for a Baton Rouge try after some extended pressure on the Austin goal line. Baton Rouge quickly mustered another attack which nearly paid off, but in the end, turned the ball over to the Austin defense which was clinical for most of the afternoon. The final was 57 – 8. The sportsmanship on both sides was excellent and the refereeing was top shelf. Austin won a spirited B-side match by a score of 31 - 12.

Baton Rouge drops to 1 – 4 in the Texas Rugby Union and 7 – 6 overall for the season. The next match is in Houston vs Houston Area Rugby Club on March 1.

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club traveled to Shreveport on Saturday for a league match against the rival Shreveport Rugby Football Club on a beautiful late winter afternoon. Matches between these two clubs are typically hard hitting, closely contested affairs with the visiting team coming up short more often than not. Baton Rouge misplayed the opening kickoff and gifted Shreveport an opportunity in the first minute on which the home side promptly capitalized to take a 5 - 0 lead. It was to be a short lived advantage. Shreveport was guilty of a penalty in their own half and Baton Rouge leveled the score with a run from twenty meters out from Danny Rosenquist to make it 5 – 5 with only three minutes gone. The next half hour belonged exclusively to Baton Rouge. Jeff Ruether wove through the Shreveport defense on a fine individual effort to put Baton Rouge up 10 – 5. Moments later, Baton Rouge struck again with a spectacular length of the field run in which the ball passed through five different pairs of hands before Troy Redman ran through the final defender fifteen meters from the line and finished off the move himself to make it 15 – 5. Mike Dellafiero began to find the range with his foot as Baton Rouge added a pair of penalty kicks to stretch the lead to a three score margin at 21 – 5. As impressive as the offensive display was, Baton Rouge squandered numerous opportunities to pad their lead and knock Shreveport out of the game early. Shreveport finally got something going with a penalty kick of their own to make it a two score game at 21 – 8 with five minutes remaining in the half, but Baton Rouge had the final say before the intermission on a powerful run from Josh Ott to make the score 28 – 8 at the break.

The second half saw the game tempo change from a wide open running affair into a grinding, physical contest with Shreveport’s huge pack pounding the ball into the defense over and over and Baton Rouge’s smaller, quicker forwards bending but not breaking for a full eighteen minutes. Shreveport eventually got their try to give them a glimmer of hope at 28 – 13, but they had simply expended too much energy for too few points and time was becoming Baton Rouge’s ally. Baton Rouge promptly slammed the door on Shreveport’s hopes with another run from Ruether to make it 35 – 13. The game got a bit scrappy at that point and Baton Rouge forced Shreveport to pay for a brief lapse in discipline with a quick take on a penalty from Redman who bulled over for his second try from five meters out to make it 40 – 13 with thirteen minutes left. Shreveport added a consolation try with a very strong run from their Number Eight, but the match ended at 40 – 20 in favor of Baton Rouge. Standout players for Baton Rouge were Rosenquist, Ruether, Redman along with Ott, Brett Somers and Joris van der Ham, who all turned in excellent defensive performances. In addition, Mike Linton gave a good account of himself while playing out of position at scrum half.

Baton Rouge won a very competitive B-side match by the score of 21 – 19. Baton Rouge’s record in the Texas Rugby Union is 1 win against 3 losses. They have 7 wins against 5 losses on the season overall. Baton Rouge will host the Austin Blacks next Saturday, February 16 at Highland Road Park. Kickoff is 2:00 pm.

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club took on national powerhouse Dallas Harlequins at a very wet Highland Road Park on Saturday afternoon. After a tense and physical first twenty minutes, in which neither team had the upper hand, Baton Rouge narrowly missed a score in the corner which would have been a huge boost in momentum. However, it was Dallas which drew first blood twenty-five minutes into the first half on a powerful run from one of their back row players to take a 5 – 0 lead to the break. Baton Rouge began the second half playing as they had in the first, but a mistake deep in their own end led to a second Dallas try to make the score 12 – 0. Field conditions began to deteriorate making handling and attacking play difficult and Dallas soon collected a third try on another Baton Rouge mistake deep in their own territory to make the match score 19 – 0. But, Baton Rouge won a scrum deep in Harlequins territory and spun the ball wide to Seth Stevenson who beat the defender to the line to make a game out of it at 19 – 5 with twenty minutes to play. The Harlequins collected another try five minutes from full time to make the score 22 – 5 and effectively settle the issue, but Baton Rouge gamely fought back with a brilliant run from Danny Rosenquist to make the final 22 – 10. The entire Baton Rouge pack had a fine match, but Troy Redman and Brett Somers stood out among the forwards. Danny Rosenquist and Josh Ott had strong performances in the backs. Dallas took the B side match 28 – 0.

Baton Rouge fell to 0 – 3 in the Texas Rugby Union and 5 – 5 for the season overall. After a one week break, Baton Rouge will be on the road February 9 to face the Shreveport Rugby Football Club.

The Baton Rouge Rugby Club took on The Woodlands Rugby Club in The Woodlands this past Saturday. It was a sunny afternoon, but extremely cold and windy with slippery field conditions. Baton Rouge broke out fast and had several early scoring opportunities, but missed two penalty kicks in the swirling wind. The Woodlands team scored midway through the first half after some extended pressure to make it 7 – 0. Baton Rouge answered a few minutes later with a great individual run for a try by Danny Rosenquist to make the score 7 – 5. But, The Woodlands used their superior size and weight to grind out another try just before half to make it a 12 – 5 match in their favor.

The second half was intense, with neither team gaining a clear upper hand. Both had near misses for tries. Baton Rouge scored on a penalty kick to close the gap to 12 – 8 with 15 minutes remaining and missed another kick with 9 minutes left that would have closed the gap to a single point. Woodlands sealed the deal with a try with six minutes remaining and tacked on another score on the final play to make the score 24 – 8. Troy Redman was named outstanding player of the match. Danny Rosenquist and Josh Ott also had strong performances.

Baton Rouge took the B side match 22 – 5. Brandon Leon scored his first try for Baton Rouge and was named man of the match for the B side.

Baton Rouge’s record drops to 0 – 2 in the Texas Rugby Union and 5 – 4 overall for the season. Baton Rouge will host the Dallas Harlequins on Saturday, January 26 at 1:00 pm at Highland Road Park.