Boston Women’s Spring Recap

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As the team closed out the Spring Season – we wanted to give a quick update on Spring 2013:
 
March 23 – Four Leafs – Semi-Finals – Boston Women’s defeated the Village Lions and Danbury to face Beantown in the Semi-Finals. We came up just short of victory – but everyone saw playing time in our first set of matches in the spring season! 
 
March 30 – Beantown- L 34-17 Boston’s A Side faced Beantown in our first 80 min opener of the spring season. Always a tough game, the Boston ladies brought in 3 tries with one converted – but Beantown made the most of their opportunities with six tries in the match and two converted. It was a tough but competitive match for both sides that served to prepare us well for the season ahead.
 
April 6th – Boston Volunteer Weekend – Boston took a week off from games to participate in two valuable philanthropy opportunities. Boston Women’s participated in the Fenway Health Women’s Dinner – volunteering to set up and assist in the auction for the fundraiser for Fenway Health. Always proud to be sponsored by and represent such a great organization – it was a tremendous night for the club and for Fenway Health. The following day, Boston players went to Lincoln Sudbury High School to volunteer for the MYRO Girls Rugby Jamboree – a day of clinics for High School Girls Players (run by BWRFC Alum: Sarah Greeley). Boston Women’s Rugby was so proud to participate in both opportunities!
 
April 12th – Portland Women’s – W 17- 14 Boston B-Side faced Portland Women in a tough match up…the 2nd Side worked hard to match the hard hitting Portland side and scored three tries (1 converted) in the 2nd Half with a big rally at the end. Their dedication and fitness won the day as Boston left Portland with a W.
 
April 20th – Boston Women’s Alumni Game – Boston invited their alumni to return and play with them on April 20th at Moakley Park. The entire Boston Squad played 3 30 minute periods – and everyone was a winner. Days after the Boston Marathon Bombings, this alumni day was filled with Boston Love, exactly what everyone needed, and continued on to a spirited Boston social at the Banshee!
 
April 27-28 – Ruggerfest Weekend – There is a recap written below – but Boston faced matches with WPL teams:  NY Women’s Rugby Club and the DC Furies and D1 competition: Philadelphia and NOVA and in a huge championship match, Boston defeated the DC Furies 15-14 for the title of 2013 Ruggerfest Champions! It was an amazing weekend for the team – please check it out in an earlier posting! 
 
May 4th – Charles River – W 29-10 - Boston’s B-Side faced a home-town match up with Charles River Women’s Rugby. All the work from the season paid off as the team worked together to play aggressive rugby against the River Rats. We walked away with a victory of 29-10 and both sides played great rugby at Moakley Park.
 
May 11 -12 – NERFU Tournament – Boston started at 8:40am with a match vs Beantown’s WPL side. While Beantown took the match, it served as great preparation for the D1 teams we faced later in the day. The next match up was vs. the Albany Knickerbockers and Boston took the game and prepared to face Providence Women. This final match of the day was a tough match up that pushed both sides to play great rugby. Boston ended the match victorious and faced Beantown on Sunday in the Championship match.  25 Boston players saw time in that game, giving much of our squad the chance to play in our well-earned championship match. While the WPL team had the victory, we walked away as the top Division 1 team in the Northeast and ready to take on our competition in the fall.
 

Team Photo on the hill at the NERFU Championship Match in Newport!

 
So all and all – a great season for Boston Women’s! But we’re not resting – Summer 7s practice is right around the corner and we can’t wait to see you all at Cape Cod 7s on July 13th in Eastham. Be there for a Disney-Themed great day of women’s rugby!

BWRFC Wins 2013 Ruggerfest Tournament

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On April 27-28 Boston Women’s Club traveled to Washington DC to take part in the 33rd Annual Ruggerfest Tournament hosted by the DC Furies. The club was excited to face fierce rematches against D1 rivals from the fall: NOVA and Philadelphia Women,  and new competition from WPL teams: New York Women’s and the DC Furies. As our first match after the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston Women’s sported “Boston Strong” t-shirts and played wearing black armbands to honor those lost or injured in the attacks. Ready for lots of rugby, these 24 traveling players looked forward to representing their team and their city in this tournament.

The Team in "Boston Strong" gear on Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning started with a kick-off versus the New York Women’s Rugby Club. The notoriously hard-hitting club did not disappoint, particularly with a strong 8-man, but the Boston team came at that game with a pace and intensity that was unmatched by their competition. Boston emerged with a 12-7 victory over NYRC Women, and prepared to face the DC Furies. If Boston had all the pace in their first game, they seemed to lose it in the second while struggling to adapt to the overloads presented by the dynamic Furies backline. Boston backs worked extremely hard to support and cover the field, and the team posted two tries to the board, but could not find an answer for the Furies style of play ending the tough game with a loss 48-12. The team assessed their play, prepared to face NOVA next, and came roaring back with a vengeance defeating the “Big Purple” NOVA squad 52-0. After a long day, Boston players recuperated and readied to play Philly Women in the morning.


On Sunday Boston players took to the hill, knowing that a victory over Philly would mean a chance to play for the tournament championship. Having lost a tough match to Philly in the fall during league play, Boston knew they were facing a fierce pack of forwards, and all 15 stepped up dedicated to making it to the finals. Philly’s hard-hitting style did not waiver, and the Boston forwards stepped up to stop every advance they threw at the team. A five-minute standoff on the Boston try-line came to symbolize Boston player’s dedication to each other, and Philly found no answer for the lines and supporting style of the Bostonbackline. Boston emerged victorious 15-0 and faced a rematch against the DC Furies for the finals.


This time it was a tested and hungry squad that stepped on the pitch to face the Furies. Boston came out strong, with pace and huge support, making offloads, and ready to immediately clear out offensive rucks and maintain ball possession. Scoring two unconverted tries early in the half, Boston gained a quick lead and though the Furies tried, they could not find a way through Boston’s defensive wall. At the end of the half, the Furies finally found a reply punching through the the Boston hinge bringing their score card to 7 and the teams went into the second half with Boston up 10-7. Both sides worked to find a weakness in their opposition and at about 15 minutes left in the game, the Furies scored a second try and with the conversion they claimed the lead in the game, 14-10. But the relentless Boston team did not give up. All fifteen players working together to tackle, ruck, and support, they marched back down the field and with minutes left, Boston scored another try in the corner, and though unconverted, they regained the lead 15-14. The sidelines were in a frenzy through the final minutes of the game as both teams worked tirelessly to gain the upper hand, but with the final whistle it was the Boston squad that emerged victorious, having won against a team that had evaded them the day before, and having earned the title of 2013 Champions of Ruggerfest!

 The team after a 15-14 victory over the DC Furies to win Ruggerfest!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our "Trophies" for winning the 2013 Ruggerfest Tournament

Danielle Miano and NRU All Stars win National All Star Sevens Championship

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BWRFC’s captain Danielle Miano helped the Northeast Sevens All Stars clinch the national championship this weekend, with 6 tries over the course of the weekend, the most of any women’s player at the tournament.


After a rocky first day on Friday where the NRU all-stars lost two close games, they regrouped on Saturday defeating the West 33-7, then paying back Pac Coast 19-12, and finally facing the Stars & Stripes USA developmental side in the final. Miano set the tone at the start:

Danielle Miano started the scoring for the Northeast, and in fact would end up with six tries for the weekend, the most of any women’s player. She scored her second to put the NRU up 12-0 minutes into the game. But Katie Johnson got one back for the Stars & Stripes. Right before halftime the teams traded tries (Jessica Peterson for Northeast, Rebekah Siebach for S&S) to make it 19-12 NRU at the break.


After that, though, it was all Northeast. Peterson and McGee both scored, and after Siebach zipped in for another for the Stars & Stripes, any hopes of a comeback were dashed as Deven Owsiany and Miranda Previte scored late for the NRU.

Final score: 41-17, NRU. Congrats to the NRU All Stars, especially Captain Meow!

Source: Rugby Mag

Middlesex 7s Bowl Champions

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BWRFC took home more hardware this past weekend at the Middlesex 7s tournament. Sarah Wilson, Stacy M, Erin, SAM, Meghan, Chantal, Amanda with our awesome rookies Tory, Katy and Krispy played hard despite injuries and guest coach Matt Wilson helped shepherd our side to victory.

Boston started out a bit shaky with losses versus Worchester and the Belles. Unfortunately early on we lost Chantal Levoie in the first match to a broken ankle and almost lost Katy from a hit to the nose, but she continued to play. After the first match Matt quickly developed a drill to focus on a playing style with more creativity, communication, cohesion and generally the more organic style of rugby as head coach Paul Harrop has espoused.

 

BWRFC ended up winning big against the Falcons 29-7 to move onto the bowl semi finals. In the semi round they faced Seacoast, and Erin, after sacrificing her body all day long with amazing tackles and fast footwork, was hit hard and got a concussion. But despite finishing the game with 6 players, the side again won big to move onto the bowl finals.

At that point between injuries and the tournament running so far behind, Boston was down to 5 players. We recruited two Middlesex girls, Shinnon and Devin, and Boston played the Falcons again and won 27-5. It was truly an inspiring transformation between the first and last games.

Keep it up Boston!