Recap from Tucson
I was a great experience for our club at the nationals. A little drama with cancelled flights delaying the team getting acclimated to 95 degree weather and 2600 foot elevation but they had trained hard and were ready to take on the challenge. In the first game the team seemed a little out of sorts with a few key mistakes that Florida international University took advantage of and we fell 24-10. In the second game of day one the club took on Mary Washington the eventual #2 team in the country but were able to score a nice try in the second half to fall 24-7. However, something about that game lit a spark in the team and they were not going to lose another game that day. They came out prepared and focused with an almost flawless throttling of the University of Nebraska 24-0. Our defense was stellar and our offense was mistake free. Whenever that happens we can compete. Unfortunately in the Nebraska game we lost one of our solid starters to a broken ankle and it left us really thin for day two. We played the waiting game to see if we would make the cup final (top 8) for day two. Several teams with the same record were tied and due to our point differential we made it as the 7th seed for the cup final on Saturday.
On day two the Beavs drew eventual national champions Lindenwood-Belleville and they were hands down the best club at the tournament. Our score of 36-5 was actually better than the differential in the Championship game between Lindenwood and Mary Washington so I felt good about that one. In game two of the final day we had a rematch with Florida International and the boys left everything on the field while they avenged their earlier loss with a 12-19 win to put them in the plate final against Stanford deciding the 5th or 6th place team in the country. Late on another hot day the starters had very little rest and they just did not have anything left in the tank as they fell 43-5. All in all it was a very good effort by a team that had not made the tournament in recent memory.
I was able to get a quote from one of my rugby brothers from back in the 80's who live's in Arizona. He made the trip and had some nice things to say;
I relocated to Phoenix in 2006, which has been great but the downside is it obviously limits my visits to OSU to keep up with the rugby team. The Beavs have traveled to the desert a couple times and it was a real treat this weekend to watch them compete in the National Collegiate 7's Championships in Tucson. The competition here was incredibly strong with the likes of Lindenwood, NC State, U Arizona, and many others. The Beavers put in a great showing and earned the respect of this rugby knowledgeable crowd. Yells of "Go Beavers" could be heard from many wearing a variety of school jerseys.
Coach has them prepared and confident and they handled the ball very well. In tournament 7's with 7 minute halves it only takes a couple misses to be the difference between win or loss and that was the case. A strong showing and win over Florida Int'l Univ. was fantastic putting the Beavs into the finals competing for 6th place nationwide.
Looking forward to what these men can do in the fall after this great experience in both team bonding and skill testing.
Go Beavs!
Jeff Dalton '87
After the tournament we found out that our star Juwan Johnson had been chosen to the Tournament Dream Team. I have attached the list of all seven players below. Coach Troy put together a little video clip of behind the scenes in Tucson that you should enjoy watching.
We've turned the corner, now the club needs your support. Join us August 3rd for most important fundraiser of the year. It turns out our tournament is the day before the Winnco PGA so the course should be immaculate. Lets get the word out and make it a huge success!!
Click Here - Sign Up for the Golf Tournament
The OSU Rugby Club is the most winningest sport in OSU history. The last 10 years have been overshadowed with transition and rebuilding, but thanks to great strides from our players, alumni and coaching staff, we are back on track. Our OSU Rugby 7's team just qualified for nationals and we need a well funded program to keep the momentum building towards our goal to establish OSU as an institutional powerhouse in USA collegiate rugby. OSU RUGBY NEEDS YOU! COME JOIN US!
Join the OSU rugby family at this signature Beaver Rugby fundraising event. Connect with current players, coaches, alumni, parents and supporters of all things OSU Rugby on the championship golf courses of Pumpkin Ridge.
Anyone interested in volunteering to help make this tourney a huge success please feel free to reach out to me at wookiebeav86-88@nickyusa.com. We could use help securing sponsors, filling foursomes, setting up the auction and securing auction items. Their is a ton to do so any help is appreciated. You can click on the link above or below to go right to our Eventbrite site and join us on august 3rd for our biggest fund raiser of the year.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/osu-rugby-alumni-golf-tournament-tickets-61140121750