Virginia Rugby Football Club vs. Severn River Rugby Football Club
1:00 PM, Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Richmond, VA

The Virginia Rugby Football Club's home pitch was rained out this past weekend, leaving their match against Severn River in doubt. The Richmond Lions came to the rescue by graciously offering to let the two clubs play at their Seven Pines Field. Severn River had much of the early momentum on the neutral pitch, but Virginia finished strongly to record a 36-26 victory.

Severn River struck first with a try from a penalty ten meters out in the eighth minute. Virginia struck back in the 15th minute on a well-orchestrated play by the forwards. A lineout ten meters from the Severn River try line was collected by eight man Marc Breton. The Virginia pack drove the resulting maul into the try zone, where the ball was downed by lock Damien Blanchon. Fly half Evan Davis converted to level the score at 7-7. Severn River regained the lead four minutes later on another quick tap penalty. The conversion gave them a 7-14 lead. Virginia had a number of scoring opportunities throughout the rest of the half, but dropped passes and knock-ons prevented Virginia from converting any of the promising attacks into points.

Virginia came out on the offensive to start the second half. In the 44th minute, Virginia was awarded another lineout deep in Severn River territory. Once again the ball was collected by Breton, the forwards drove a maul to the Severn River goal line, and Blanchon dove in for his second try. A missed conversion left Virginia within two points at 12-14. Severn River caught Virginia off guard on the ensuing kickoff. After stealing the ball and working through two quick phases, the ball was swung out wide to their fullback, who scored untouched in the corner to give them a 12-19 lead.

The Virginia pack's domination in the scrums finally paid off in the 51st minute. A Severn River scrum five meters from their own goal line was stolen by Virginia. Scrum half Todd Applebaum fed the ball to flanker Michael Bischoff, who dove through the defense for a try. Davis' successful conversion leveled the score at 19-19. Four minutes later, Virginia turned defense into offense once again. Virginia chipped the ball into Severn River's 22, with wing Ken Duvall giving chase. The Severn River fullback's attempt to clear the ball was charged down by Duvall, who dove on the bouncing ball in the try zone to give Virginia its first lead of the match at 24-19.

Virginia further extended its lead only three minutes later. Eight man Jason Gaviria broke through the Severn River defense and offloaded in a tackle near the goal line to fullback Matt Staples. Staples played the ball back to flanker Matt Pawlowicz, who dove in for a try. Another conversion by Davis gave Virginia a 31-19 lead. In the 65th minute, Virginia was awarded a penalty 10 meters from the Severn River try line. Bischoff crashed into the first wave of defenders. The ball was quickly retrieved and fed to Gaviria, who dove through the defense to score and give Virginia a 36-19 lead.

After four straight tries by Virginia, Severn River finally got back on the board in the 70th minute with another try scored on a quick tap penalty, bringing the score to 36-26. After that brief lapse, however, Virginia's defense held strong for the final ten minutes of the match, earning the team a hard-fought victory. Virginia's dominating performance in the second half, outscoring Severn River 24-7 over the final 35 minutes, should provide the team with a boost of confidence heading into its next match.

Tries:
Damien Blanchon (2)
Michael Bischoff
Ken Duvall
Matt Pawlowicz
Jason Gaviria

Conversions:
Evan Davis: 3/6


B-Side Match: VRFC 46, Severn River 0

Tries:
Daryn Curry
Pete Alonzi
Anthony "Mongo" Montgomery
Patrick McCann
Evan Davis (2)
Karen Vandecar
Ken Duvall

Penalties:
Diego Hernandorena: 0/1

Conversions:
Matt Staples: 0/1
Tim Davis: 3/5
Evan Davis: 0/2

More photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/VirginiaRugbyFootballClub/VRFCVsSevernRiver20100327