Saturday saw both clubs playing quarterfinal playoffs games to continue in national competition but in very different locations. Division III played host to Hilton Head (South Carolina) RFC while Division II traveled to Charleston, SC.
At the Central Florida Fairgrounds Division III saw itself down 10-3 at half behind a determined Hilton Head side. At half they were able to re-gather and put two tries across the line converting on one of them. Despite repeated pushes into scoring range Hilton Head was unable to put any points on the board due to a great defensive effort and solid conditioning. Division III moves on to the South semifinals in Jacksonville on April 26 and will play Montgomery.
There is no real way to detail Division II’s match against the Charleston Outlaws other that to sum it up by saying it was the poorest individual and team performance of the season. Div. II struggled to play well in a phase of the game and was easily moved around the field to territory Charleston preferred. The final score was 19-17 in favor of Charleston. Thanks to all who traveled to SC, especially Raoul and Amy Weir for their support. This should motivate all to drill hard in the off season. Since the merge of ORFC and Orlando Ironhorse the Division II has compiled a 21-3 record and has won 2 Florida Cups however has not passed the first round of playoffs in the national competition.
Orlando traveled to Jacksonville on Saturday to play a division II pool match. Once again Orlando found itself in trouble early with penalties that led to a Jax penalty kick within the first 5 minutes of play. Orlando played the next 10 minutes inside the opposition 22 but was unable log any points. More poor play led to three tries let in by the Orlando defense. All conversions were missed by Jax making the halftime score 18-0. After a stern talking to by the coach, Orlando looked like a different team throwing ball around the pitch with the best display this year of forwards linking with backs and vise versa. Marcel McKinnon-Allen was able to put the first try through for Orlando. In the end Orlando had given away too many points in the first half and despite playing much more disciplined rugby in the second half they found themselves on the losing end 23-15. Special thanks and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Todd Cherner (leg), Kiwi Jason (ankle) and Tom Murphy (knee).
The loss is the first for the club in FRU or USA Rugby competition since August 07. Orlando will refocus and be ready for another tough opponent in the Gainesville Hogs who come to town Saturday March 29. Kick off is at 1:30. The match will be the first of a double header as Orlando Div. III will play their pool championship match against Treasure Coast following Orlando Div II v Gainesville. The kickoff is scheduled for 3:30.
Man of the Match
Pati Tanuvasa
Both Orlando Men’s teams took a week off from USA Rugby South pool play to travel to Savannah, GA to play in the St. Patrick’s Day Tournament. The boys had a good Saturday recording two wins first against the Atlanta Renegades and a late afternoon win against the He-man Women Hatters. The two wins on Saturday placed the men in the Social pool final on Sunday at 10a.m. Despite playing a very technically sound game the men were defeated 26-18 by the traveling tournament side Gypsies. The Men’s Division II team will resume pool play Sat. March 22 in Jacksonville to face Jax RFC. Kickoff will be at 2:00.
Orlando Women traveled to Savannah as well. Due to lack of competition and the fact that truthfully no one would play them in a final Orlando women came away with 2 wins on Saturday. They defeated University of North Dakota and University of Michigan by a combined score of 129-0. These two wins combined with two wins against Ft. Lauderdale and Miami a fortnight ago have put them as the South favorites in championship play. Congratulations to them and head coach Raoul Besse.
Both Orlando teams traveled to Tampa this weekend to take on Bay Area Krewe for the second straight week. Although the games were different in pace and style, the results were the same with both Division II and Division III securing wins.
Division II started immediately on the back foot and played an entire first half that saw the opposition control not only possession but territory as well. Lack of discipline at the breakdown and poor handling by the back line were all causes Division II found themselves down 10-0. Division II’s lone trip into the opposition 22 yielded 3 points before the half whistle.
In a complete reversal of there first half performance Division II spent a majority of the time in the opposition 22 and a result were able to secure field position that turned into three penalty goals. Krewe made a late push into our 22 before a crucial knock on and subsequent turnover led to the ball being put into touch and the final whistle being blown. Division II will travel to Cocoa to play Brevard on Sat. March 8th.
Final Score Orlando 12- Krewe 10
Scoring
Penalties: Matt Wise 1 (48th minute) ;
Ger Houlihan 3 (48th, 56th, 68th minutes)
Division III played a tough hard, fought back and forth game that saw both sides exchange long runs, mixed with good rucks and mauls to keep possession. Good team tackling by Division III led to a halftime score of 5-5. The second half was more of the same physical play that dominated the first half. A crucial point in the second half came when Krewe was caught off sides deep in their own territory. Orlando was able to put a penalty through in the 67th minute that sealed a win. Division II will travel to Ft. Pierce to play a grudge match against Treasure Coast next Saturday March 8.
Final Score Orlando 8- Krewe 5
Scoring
Try- Anthony ( 23rd minute)
Conversion: Rabi Ratesner 0 for 1
Penalty- Miles Charlesworth (67th minute)
Congrats to the Orlando Women who did outstanding in the Ft. Lauderdale Ruggerfest! On Saturday they beat The Naval Academy 17-5 followed by Ft.Lauderdale about 17-0. On Sunday in the finals against D.C. Furies, a D1 top ten team, they lost 3-5.
