Virginia Rugby Football Club

Virginia Rugby Football Club Alumni Weekend
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Charlottesville, VA


Intra-squad match:
The day got started with a warm-up match, with alumni and current players mixed together on the Blue and Orange teams. Blue struck first when fly half James Fealey took advantage of a penalty to feed wing Kerry Griggs for an unconverted try in the corner. Orange took the lead a few minutes later when fly half Evan Davis fed flanker Michael Bischoff at midfield, and Bischoff beat the defense for a 50 meter try. Davis' conversion gave Orange a 7-5 half time lead.

Blue took back the lead ten minutes into the second half on a quick tap penalty near the Orange goal line. Ian Mills passed the ball to Colin Crawford, who crashed through the defense to score. Fealey's conversion put Blue up 12-7. Blue extended their lead ten minutes later after they were awarded a lineout on the Orange 22 meter line. After a few phases, the ball made its way to Fealey, who once again fed Griggs for a try in the corner. The unconverted try gave Blue a 17-7 lead with only a few minutes left to play.

Orange charged back into the match, however, with three tries in the final minutes of the match. The Orange kickoff after the previous try was stolen back from Blue, and Davis chipped over the defense and dove on the ball in the back of the try zone. Davis converted his own try to bring Orange within 3 points at 14-17. On the ensuing kickoff, after a series of passes, the ball made its way back into the hands of Davis, who burst through the Blue defense to score untouched. The unconverted try gave Orange a 19-17 advantage. Orange scored once again on the next kickoff, when after a few phases Davis chipped the ball deep into Blue territory. Shawn Johnson dove on the ball, and the unconverted try brought the final score to Orange 24, Blue 17.


Alumni match:
The second match of the day featured alumni facing off against current players. The alumni set the tone early when fly half Mike Puopolo and center Rob Christian fed the ball to center Johnny McNulty, who burst through the defense to score under the posts in only the first minute of the match. Christian's conversion gave the alumni a 7-0 lead.

The current players struck back in the 13th minute. The alumni were awarded a lineout deep in their own territory, but eight man Damien Blanchon stole the lineout and and beat the alumni defense for a solo try. A missed conversion by Davis left the alumni with a 7-5 lead. Near the end of the first half, Fealey received the ball wide and made a break through the alumni defensive line. With one man to beat, he fed scrum half Matt Staples for a breakaway try under the posts. Staples drop-kick conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but the current players had taken a 10-7 lead.

The second half featured a number of scoring opportunities for both sides, but the defenses held strong. At the final whistle, the current players had earned a hard-fought 10-7 victory over an impressive alumni side.


Photos