Rugby is growing in leaps and bounds in the northern Denver metropolitan area. Over 500 HS boys joined coaches, referees and family gathered for the Colorado Youth Rugby Spring Fling Tournament at Northwest Open Spaces athletic fields in Northglenn on Saturday, March 13th. Ruggers and rugger huggers alike relished the first spring-like day of the 2010 season.
The 10:00 start was perfect for a full day of non-league matches for Tigers Rugby, though the initial 41-5 loss to a nationally ranked Denver East HS was a tough breakfast. Always moving forward, Tigers Rugby faced the reigning State runner-up, Aurora Saracens, made up of a friendly and diverse group including a number of Polynesian players. The Tigers were outscored, but not outplayed in the first match against the Aurora A-side 12-5. The Tigers’ B-side displayed an inspiring and organized attack and upended the Saracens B-side, 17-15. Immediately following, Tigers Rugby’s B-side played the Fort Collins A-side, and showed the depth of improvement as a club, in a narrow 7-5 loss to the Division II A-side with predominantly Freshman and Sophomore Tigers. The rested Tigers A side then took advantage of a tired Fort Collins side to practice a number of positional shifts. Valuable success in the execution of the Tigers attack was seen in a 45-0 victory . Throughout the day we saw the following players score points for Tigers Rugby: Albert Whitemore, Jared Riemer, Andrew Hutchinson, Bobby Stomski, Peter Loving, Braden Thunell, Christian Wallis, and King Medlin.
A tournament record of 2 wins and 4 losses on the day was a reasonable expectation, given the competition level in this great union. The day’s goals of sportsmanship, and skills and teamwork were clearly met. The stature, progress and potential of the Tigers and Colorado Youth Rugby were well demonstrated on this gloriously sunny day.
Tigers Rugby A side 5 , Denver East 4 – Try by Daniel Sargeant (Alec Walter Missed Conversion)
Tigers Rugby A side 5 vs. Aurora A side 12 – Try by Bobby Stomski (Daniel Sargeant Missed Conversion)
Tigers Rugby B side 17, Aurora B-side 15 – Try by Braden Thunell
Tigers Rugby B side 5 vs. Ft. Collins A side 7 – Incomplete scoring at the time of this report
Tigers Rugby A side 40, Ft. Collins A side 0 – Tries by Albert Whitemore, Jared Riemer, Andrew Hutchinson, Bobby Stomski, Peter Loving, Braden Thunell, Christian Wallis, King Medlin.
Tigers Rugby B-side 0, Denver East B-side 30
Tigers Rugby Alumni 16, Boulder RFC Men’s B-side 38 – Tries by Kevin Scherr and Donny Haupt (Missed Conversions by Mike O’Brian and Tony Costello), Drop Goal and Penalty Goal by Mike O’Brian
Our current overall record is 7 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie. As a matter of comparison, the 2004 team’s record was only 8-8-3 for the whole year as a Division II team. We are just now celebrating the thaw of winter, with a lot of experience building under our belts. The other good news is that the warmth of spring is yet to come. Don’t miss a day. You will miss all the fun.
