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Coaches corner:
Overall, both teams faired well in their first week of 7's play.
Offensively we went into too many tackles, didn't use space and
lacked support around the ball. Defensively, we
had problems marking men, counting on kick off and loose play. We have a lot to
work on, but the numbers were good (23 lads) and we never gave up in any of the games.
I will give each player an individual item to work on this week.
Please work out on your own or attend a sprint workout with Box or JB,
As you found out on Saturday, its a lot more fun if you are fitter.
Cheers,
Duma
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Irish Green Place Third
Rosecroft Raceway- June 9, 2007
Saturday out at Rosecroft Raceway the Washington Irish placed two teams into the Pick 7s Tournament sponsored by Washington RFC. It was a pretty representative cross section of the Irish clan as there were props to wings, whatever age Damian is to a recently graduated Tim "TIMMMYYYY" Donovan, and skill levels from Dan Pinto Testicle Ford's rugby ability all the way to Pinto's drinking ability. While the results were good, they could have been better, but all totaled it was a positive day for the Irish.
Irish Green, led by on the field captain Nate Kusner started the day off against a quick skilled PAC club. With about 4 lead changes with 3 minutes left to play it was obvious that the team who had the ball last would probably pull this one out. The Irish were on the receiving end of some generous calls and in the end managed to pull out a victory by a little less than a try.
Irish Green over PAC
The second match saw the Irish play against Maryland Exiles "2nd Side" The quotes are due to the fact that MD mixed their two sides all day, but this was predominantly their 2nd side. In the first 3 or 4 minutes the Irish were probably a bit over confident and definitely careless as defensive miscommunications and unlucky bounces put the Irish at a 3 score disadvantage. The Irish came firing back but ultimately one cannot spot a team 3 scores and expect to win- a lesson the Irish also are learning in 15s.
MDII over Irish Green.
The third match of the day was some old fashioned Irish on Irish violence. While Irish White may have been a bit over matched in a few go's on Saturday, do not make the mistake of saying they were out hustled, out classed, didn't give scares to each team, and didn't make some players from the other team walk off wishing maybe they had off loaded the ball about a second earlier. An early try from JB, who had an incredible day, off a 20 meter bounce pass from Brad "Box" Burns saw Irish Green go ahead with a lead they never relinquished. Some cagey play from Casper (yeah, Casper) pulling the "call for the ball from Box
playing scrumhalf even though I am on the wrong team" gave Irish White a bit of a spark and Chris "Putty" Putnam showed both versatility and ball handling that perhaps the Irish 15s back should be taking notes on
as he ran scrum half much the day for Irish White.
Irish Green over Irish White.
In the final pool play match of the day Irish Green pretty much had their backs against the wall. They badly needed a victory over MDI to have any hope of moving into the Semis. The Irish defense finally came together and communicated very well and held a very explosive MD team to only 2 scores. That staunch defense allowed Nate Kusner to pick off an errant MD pass and take it in for the first Irish score. A well
placed kick by Jon "Head" Hanson was taken into the try zone by a MD player and a 5 meter scrum was given to the Irish. In a manner that could only be described as "Solly-esque" Kusner drew penalties on 2 separate occasions in the scrum that resulted in Irish free kicks. On this occasion the kick was taken quick by Burns who dove over for the to put the Irish up by two tries. MD would mount a minor comeback but their standout player seemed a bit more interested in posterizing Burns (which he was successful in doing) than moving the ball to other team members and the Irish went on to win. Notable event: While it was good to see an old-fashioned Tom Rege log roll on a tackled MD player the resulting yellow card forced the the Irish to finish the game short handed. So thanks for the flashback, but let's try to keep our defense
properly staffed...
<Irish Green over MDX I
In the semifinals Irish Green faced old familiar PRU foe Severn River. The Irish showed their inexperience in art of 7s and found themselves chasing on defense and all to often caught in contact. All the same the Irish jumped out to an early lead. As quickly as the lead came it vanished as Severn River exploited scrambled Irish defense and put across two back to back tries to put them ahead for good. The Irish will have to do far better to put themselves in a position to qualify for MARFU championships next week at the NOVA tournament.
Severn River over Irish Green
The Man of the Tourney for Irish Green was new comer Chris Bayhe. While he did put over a couple tries and made some good runs, his play was most spectacular in that he has been with the Irish for 2 weeks now and managed to blend in with players both old and new with differing styles. He was a rock in the middle on defense and playing hooker and got the ball to Irish play makers JB, Pat Fritz and Nate Kusner. Other notables were Damien Maguire who it is always good to see wearing green. His no-mistake defense along with all the little and intangible things he does on and off the ball were a huge asset as they always are. Pat "The Cat" Fritz gave a clinic on how there are other ways to beat defenders other than around the end, making defenses look like false walls in "The Legend of Zelda." JB also spent the afternoon making huge runs on the outside showing off both his speed and fitness that he has been working on largely by himself at various tracks in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. James Thomson who largely served as a reserve came off to spell Irish Green players and murdered defenses with ball handling that is not even comparable to his skills only two years ago.
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Irish White Give A Good First Showing
Rosecroft Raceway- June 9, 2007
Like Irish Green, the Irish White fielded a mixed group that included forwards and backs, as well as rookies and veterans. Although they had a tough day at the Pick 7s the group played together well under the leadership of Chris "Putty" Putnam and kept up the fight against teams of experienced and athletic 7s players.
Vs. PAC
The Irish kicked off and put points on the board in short order, as an aggressive Irish defense put PAC on their own try line and scored when Casper spotted a loose ball and dove over the try-line for the first Irish points of the day. PAC responded with a pair of quick tries, but solid play resulted in another Irish try shortly before half-time. Hard running, crisp passes and strong support play gave the Irish another
pair of tries in the second half but it was not enough to contain PAC, who exploited gaps in the Irish defense to put the game away in the final minutes.
PAC over Irish White
Vs. MDX I
The Irish White did not fare as well against a Maryland Exiles team that had plenty of pace and agility. The Exiles scored early and remained patient, shifting the ball away from contact and giving the Irish few errors to take advantage of, resulting in a disappointing match that saw no tries for the hard working Irish. Chris Putnam put forth an excellent display, however, distributing the ball to his teammates and giving them great on-field leadership, and Evan Gallagher played with great composure at fly-half.
MDX I over Irish White
Vs. Irish Green
The Irish vs. Irish match was a spirited and hard fought affair that pitted many A-side standouts on the Green against a team that had not played together before on the White. Chris Putnam again was in the thick of the action, giving clean ball to his teammates from the scrum and directing the defense. Unfortunately the Irish White were unable to contain the speed and agility of JB, Pat Fritz and others, but refused to give up and fought to the final whistle.
Irish Green over Irish White
Vs. MDX II
Given just 10 minutes to recuperate from their fratricidal encounter with Irish Green, the Irish White that took the field for this final game did well to mount a robust effort against another fast and experienced Exiles side. Some lapses in defense gave the Exiles an early lead but the Irish remained committed and fought to finish the day on a high-note. Although they again finished the game without a try, the Irish White gave another admirable performance that will surely be improved upon in the weeks to come.
MDX II over Irish White
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