Mid-Atlantic Men’s Division III Playoffs: Brandywine Rugby vs. Reading Rugby:
Mid-Atlantic playoffs arrive this weekend, with Men’s Division III getting the proceedings underway. They are kicking off with a bang too, as Brandywine Rugby gets ready to take on Reading Rugby. Two teams with two strong records, Brandywine at 6-2 and Reading with 5-3 record. Both feel confident in their ability to make a run deep into this year’s playoffs, but Saturday will prove only one of them correct.
This is Brandywine’s first year in Division III after, having played several years at the Division II level. The change has done wonders for the men from West Chester, PA. They went from not winning a game last year to winning 75% of their fixtures this year. While the drop down in a division may have helped, Brandywine’s head coach Joe Cassidy was quick to down play that notion, and play up his players’ new found commitment to the club. “We’ve brought in some new blood,” started Cassidy. “The team has seen increased buy in, which has translated to the pitch.”
For Reading, the success this year has come, similarly, from a vastly improved sense of commitment from the team. Reading’s coach, Raymond Bickley puts a lot of it down to general excitement around rugby in the local community. “We’re a club team so we don’t always have the numbers; but when our numbers show up, the results show up. Our area has little kids playing, high school and middle school, that’s exciting for our guys too, to see there is a future in this.”
Despite of where they are coming from and the history of the clubs, there is a tremendous amount of excitement swirling around about the matches. While more seasoned teams may be trying to keep the energy level before the playoffs relatively tame, both teams this weekend are excited for the challenge and know this game will not be like any other they’ve played this season.
Cassidy put it pretty simply when asked about how Brandywine is viewing the encounter, “we’re playing with house money.” Which is an exciting prospect, to know they will be chancing their arm with every opportunity they get, as they know there is no looking back from this point onwards.
Bickley wasn’t as cavalier when offering his view of Reading’s approach to the game, but did acknowledge the team was getting pretty excited for what lies ahead. “They just want to play ball, we do better when we play our game. We just worry about what we’re doing.”
One of the biggest aspects of Reading’s game plan is their ability to create turnover ball. Reading’s forward pack, which is highly skilled at pilfering, are like pigs in mud at the breakdowns. For Bickley if his team is able to get their hands on the ball quickly, they will have taken large steps on their way towards winning the match. It’s an area which has not gone unnoticed for Brandywine, Cassidy mentioning they will have to protect the ball, if they are to be any chance of advancing through to the next round of the playoffs.
Poaching the ball will only do so much for Reading, if they are to succeed they will need to counter Brandywine’s ability to transfer the ball wide. Brandywine will look to use the speed they have on the outside, to nullify the effects of Reading’s big and bruising forward pack. If the outside corner is established early, it could spell a long day at the office for Reading.
To help shut down the outside corner, Reading will need to act as a team, something which they have been successful at all year. When asked who their standout player was this year, Bickley was hard pressed to offer up one singular player, “It’s hard to say, there are a lot of individuals on the team, but when they start playing together they go great.” If the edge is shut off from Brandywine, expect them to turn to Andrew Kneisly. Who Cassidy singled out as providing tremendous leadership and direction for the club.
Overall, it’s going to be a great eighty minutes of rugby between two very strong sides; with the winner, ultimately, being decided by whoever is able to control their game plan with higher efficiency.
Empire Women’s Division II Playoffs: Danbury Mad Hatters vs. Uticuse Hellbenders:
Women’s playoffs in the Empire Geographic Union kickoff this weekend, and the big matchup coming into it looks to be the Danbury Mad Hatters hosting the Uticuse Hellbenders. These two squads are facing each other for the second time. Uticuse had a strong season going 3-3 in a very competitive upstate competition; while the Mad Hatters saw a massive turn around and went undefeated in the Connecticut competition. The first time these two squads met, there was a decent gulf between them, with Uticuse falling 29-5. However, the women from upstate have since turned a corner and are surging into the playoffs. A lot of their surge is in large part thanks to their fullback Amber Codiroli who has scored ten tries in the season. While Danbury has been assisted by their flyhalf Alyssa O'Neal who has dotted down eight times. Both teams play exciting rugby and it will be interesting to see how far Uticuse has come since their last encounter.
Pacific South Women’s Division I: Santa Monica Dolphins vs. Belmont Shore Rugby:
Winner takes all, this weekend when the Santa Monica Dolphins, duke it out with Belmont Shore Rugby. The two teams, entering their final fixture of the season are second and first respectively. Currently they are only separated by one competition point. This will be the second time the two sides have met, on the first occasion, victory was snatched from Belmont Shore in the 78th minute when Santa Monica scored the game winning try. They’ll be looking for a shot at redemption and for their chance at the top spot on the ladder. Belmont will be leaning heavily on the expert play of their outside center, Pricilla Gardner. In only four games Gardner has scored eight tries, leaving her with a strike rate of two. The Dolphins, share the scoring around making them hard to defend against. It will be a close encounter and one where the passions run high. Expect plenty of points to come out of the match, but expect even more drama than last time.
Rocky Mountain Premiership: Park City Haggis vs. Boulder Rugby:
It’s a must win match for both teams in the Rocky Mountain Premiership this weekend, as the Park City Haggis welcome Boulder Rugby into town. Park City had one of the most impressive fall seasons out of any team in 2018, going 4-0; while racking up an average winning margin of 51 points. However, they suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, when they lost to the defending Division II National Champions, the Denver Barbarians. They recovered and beat the Denver Harlequins the following day, but the loss has opened the door to a three way race for the top spot. One of the teams in contention is Boulder Rugby, who are enjoying a renaissance of sorts, after a 2017-18 campaign that fell short of their expectations. However, a loss to the Haggis on Saturday could spell the end for their turnaround; while a win would, well and truly, put them back in the driver’s seat. It’s all there to play for this weekend as the race to the top reaches a bottle neck. With neither team able to afford a loss and each desperate for a win expect a game filled with passion, emotion, intensity and drama.
Pacific Northwest Men’s Division II: Eastside Tsunami vs. Boise United:
In another, do or die, affair, the Eastside Tsunami will host Boise United. The Tsunami were last year’s Pacific Northwest champions; however, their opponents this weekend are a new team made up of last year’s second placed team, Snake River. Heading into the meeting the Tsunami are in first place, on 49 points; with Boise United trailing them by two. Where things really spark up, is the fact Boise has a game left to play after this fixture, whereas this is the Tsunami’s last outing. If the Tsunami lose, their homefield advantage in the playoffs goes out the window; but if they can win, Boise’s job to secure the top seed becomes exponentially harder. Both teams know how to score tries, both have scored a hair under 500 points this season. Expect plenty of enthralling rugby over the weekend.
Empire Men’s Division III Playoffs: Long Island Rugby vs. Danbury Mad Hatters:
If history is anything to go off, the winner of the Long Island- Danbury matchup will likely win the Empire GU men’s division III competition. Long Island were last year’s national runner-up, and they dominated teams throughout the entirety of the competition. This year they have kept that tradition alive. They amassed a point differential of 500 points in only six games, and then last weekend they won their first playoff game by 61 points. Danbury, in a similar fashion have a penchant for scoring points in droves. In their eight regular season games, they accumulated a point differential of over 300 points. However, they have shown vulnerability at times, dropping their first game of the season to White Plaines D3 and then only beating last weekend’s opponent, Greenwich Rugby, by 8 points. It will be a hard fought game and Long Island certainly will be a tall order to tackle; however, Danbury is more than capable of handing Long Island their first loss to an Empire GU team since 2016.
