OSU vs. Willamette U. Match Report (10/6/2018)
In our last friendly match before beginning our league season against U. Washington (Oct. 13, 1 pm Kickoff in Seattle, Intermural Field on Montlake near Husky stadium), the Beavers faced a scrappy Willamette side on OSU Peavy grass field.
Last year Willamette beat us in our very first competition under a new coaching staff, with many totally new players, problems with ball handling and penalties. After a year of learning how to play better rugby we were determined to produce a better showing, and in the end we did. But it took a little while to get in gear.
Due to issues with Trainer availability, kickoff time was delayed several times. We had an uninspired warm-up and came out pretty flat. Seven minutes in, off a Willamette 8-man pick we lacked defensive cover in our back row and a couple missed tackles in our backs put us down 7-0. The next 30 minutes were pretty ugly. Lots of scuffles and mouthing off between teams, poor ball handling and failure to use the wide channels on offense created a bigger challenge than necessary. On the other hand, the phase ball and field positioning we’re learning to play kept us in Willamette’s territory for 80% of the half, very encouraging. At the 25th minute, a well-executed penalty play on Willamette’s 15 meter line concluded with some nice footwork by winger Dane McKinney, with Tejas Godbole converting. 7-7 at half time.
The halftime huddle was productive – some serious statements about pulling it together and playing our game led to a very one-sided second half. We continued to play largely in Willamette’s half and our ball handling was far more certain. At 48 minutes Tejas Godbole made a nice solo run up the touch line, out racing several defenders for a try. 12-7. We continued to dominate possession and wear down Willamette. At 55 minutes Cameron Castle scored in the corner off extended phase ball possession. 17-7. And at 65 minutes rookie Jackson Davis showed again some quick footwork to allude a couple defenders and score our final try for the day. Tejas’s conversion was true and the Beavers took a comfortable lead 24-7. At this point we were fully dominating the game it looked like a runaway in the making. But Willamette said they had enough and quit. Literally. At the 65th minute. A strange close to a strange game.
We had good film footage and conducted a good classroom session on Monday, reviewing what we did well and the areas where improvement is needed. The boys are excited our first league match vs. UW this Saturday and are determined to continue to improve our game and build on a solid start to the season.
Snapshot of UW Game by Geoff
After playing in a scrappy game against Willamette last weekend the team spent sometime this week focusing on playing our type of game and not letting the other team get in our heads. The game against the Huskies was a major improvement in this department. We will be a team that does not talk smack or allow itself to be taken out of its game by a team that is not disciplined. During the warm ups it was apparent that we were focused and that Washington would be out manned if we played our game. The game was clean and well officiated. I will be getting a coaches summary to share later in the week with player interviews and some drone footage of the game but for now I will leave it at a final score of 83-7 with all players traveling getting significant playing time.
Upcoming Game - BSU Broncos
Big game this weekend against a much stronger opponent in the Boise State Broncos in Corvallis. The A side will start at 11:30 on Student Legacy intramural field and the B side will be at 1pm. it would be great if we could get a big showing of Alums in support of the team. On another note this week we had a great group of high school All-star red hawks come to practice Tuesday. It shows that the word is getting out and these kids are seriously considering joining the program and attending OSU. Final note is that our website has a placeholder while we decide what content would be best so your patience is appreciated until its launched soon. All the best!
Geoff Wookie Latham