Texas, Pacific NW Win All Star Challenge

The Rugby Breakdown produced the women’s portion of the most recent USA Rugby club rugby update. For the full article, click here.

The Texas Rugby Union (TRU) held its fourth and largest women’s All Star Challenge last weekend at the Austin Huns rugby complex. Texas and Pacific Northwest won their respective tiers, and USA Women’s 15s head coach Rob Cain was on hand not only to evaluate talent but also lead clinics for participants.

“The 2019 TRU All Star Challenge was a fantastic event with eight teams participating,” enthused TRU Administrator Wendy Young, who helped organize the event alongside tournament director and esteemed referee Kat Roche. “Rob Cain was in attendance and held two pre-event clinics for coaches and players, and scouted throughout the weekend. Rob was very impressed with the level of play and was excited to let us know that he will be reaching out to 5-6 players after the event and tracking 5-6 more.”

See all eight teams’ rosters here.

“I thought that was huge,” Old Glory and NOVA scrumhalf Bri Kim said of Cain’s presence. “It meant a lot, as a club player, to see Rob take time to come out and watch almost exclusively club players. It showed his willingness to look beyond the WPL and college varsity landscape to find new players that have potential yet to be uncovered. Anyone who has interacted with Rob knows how straightforward and open he is – both in personality and in philosophy and vision as the Women’s National Team coach. It’s important for him to continue to take advantage of these smaller opportunities to show how we as a country can continue to be successful in advancing the level of play of our Eagles by continuing to light the fire at the grassroots level. It helps show that we’re all in on this journey to the 2021 World Cup.”

TEXAS TAKES TIER 1

Returning teams Texas, Old Glory Selects (Capital), Mid-America and the Midwest competed in Tier 1. The host wasn’t able to significantly practice as a unit before the tournament, but did benefit from familiarity within the ranks.

“A lot of the teams in Texas have a really good relationship with each other, because we play each other so often,” TRU and Austin Valkyries flyhalf Jordan Heller said of game-day chemistry. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and were able to apply those strengths in different areas and positions. … But generally, we wanted to keep it simple: Be creative off each other in the back line and use the forwards’ power to our advantage.”

TRU head coach Luis Sanchez dispersed the leadership responsibilities to team captain and USA Eagle Nick James, attack captain Heller, defense captains Veronica Houck (Saturday) and Geri Thomas (Sunday), lineout captain Leslie Schroeder and scrum captain Britt McGhee.

“Our coach is great but he always says that, during games, he’s not doing anything. We’re out there relying on each other,” Heller explained the multiple point people. “It worked well, having those leaders in certain situations that occur a lot – like set pieces – or leading the aggression on defense. And Nick James did a really good job bringing the leaders together before the game and asking us what our goals were for the day. It got us thinking about what we wanted to say to the team to get them pumped up.”

Texas started the weekend with a 75-5 win over the Midwest.

“It came together really well,” the flyhalf said. “Having played in the Gold Cup last year, we played some teams from the Midwest and knew what to expect. We have really good speed and hands in the back line and knew that played to our advantage.”

The back three in particular had a good day, but after watching the Old Glory Selects defeat Mid-America 30-19, the team knew it’d have to adjust strategies for Sunday. Heller recognized several NOVA backs from the DI club national championship and anticipated a bigger ask of the Texas forwards on day two.

“What really showed through was our forward pack. They had 3-4 tries right down the middle of the field – getting together, driving through and touching the ball down,” the flyhalf said of the 43-3 win against Old Glory Selects. “It just shows the diversity and talent in the squad, and that we were able to adjust to different situations and strengths of different teams. We can shine in different areas. If our backs don’t have quite as much speed on the other team, then we can push the forwards through.”

Heller called out Thomas, who scored multiple tries and was the emblem of that determined go-forward.

“Head coach Nancy Fitz emphasized at the beginning of the weekend that one of the aims was to give everyone playing time, which made sense given the money and time investment each of us put into the weekend,” explained Old Glory scrumhalf Bri Kim. “New combinations and varying levels of experience were a challenge we faced on the first day, but it was significantly more prominent the second day against Texas. We knew TRU would have a dominant, mobile pack but we were still unable to address this challenge and it proved to be the ultimate difference.”

“The after-game speeches were all about being proud to represent Texas,” Heller said. “Last year the Austin Valkyries went to the national championship, and we wanted to begin the season with a bang to say: Texas is here again and we’re ready. Everyone’s energy was up, especially with all-star teams from around the country here in Austin, and for Texas to be able to win it all, it was a powerful statement.”

The other two Texas teams also benefited from the outing. The U24s received a better understanding of the senior ranks, and the motley players got the opportunity to push themselves.

“It’s a really cool space for them to see the talent in Texas and the level that could play at in the next couple of years. It’s also a really good recruiting environment,” Heller said. “And the fact that Texas was able to put a motley side together, it’s awesome to see that much interest and enthusiasm to play at this level.”

In the Tier 1 consolation match, the Midwest beat Mid-America 10-5. The latter brought 17 new all-stars to Texas, representing eight clubs in the GU.

“We wanted to highlight the best players from all our women’s teams, not just one or two teams, and provide an opportunity for growth across our region,” Mid-America coach KJ Abel Ruch explained. “The players and staff were pleased with how well we played, especially when you look at the make-up of the competition and the number of players from Capital and the Midwest that play a higher level of rugby on a more regular basis. The ability to hold our own and keep the score close in both games shows that the level of rugby in Mid-America isn’t that far behind other regions.”

Abel Ruch, who co-coached the squad with Jody Lawrence, hailed the leadership of captain Anna Albrecht and Amy Spafford, who both represented the USA Club All-Star team in the summer; locks Mandy Smith, Cooper Horning and Oksana Goretaya, who are new to the all-stars but experienced in the game and set the standard for work rate; and breakout Gillian Stuart, who has only been playing rugby for 10 months. The staff also lauded the flexibility of players like Hannah Reid, a back-three who played scrumhalf, and Essence Bell, a loose forward who played prop.

“The experience [that 20 of 26] players gained playing rugby in college is invaluable and we are starting to see more of an impact on programs, not only in our region, but as individuals move to our region due to career changes,” Abel Ruch added. “Like Sabres player Sloane Hecimovich from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Jazz player Jessica Tharp who comes to us after playing 7s for Air Force, along with CRFC player Emily Lessner who played at Virginia Tech. Players who were key in our backline being organized and able to stop some of the speed Capital and Midwest had in their backline.”

PACIFIC NORTHWEST PREVAILS IN TIER 1

Tier 2 featured new all-star teams and also teams new to the tournament. The Pacific Northwest brought players from eight clubs, ranging from Division II to the Women’s Premier League and B.C. Premiership.

“This, being our first official fixture, we really didn’t know what to expect, either from ourselves or our opposition,” Pacific Northwest Selects head coach Lance Pruett noted. “We hoped only to create a positive experience that might motivate players to want more and better rugby for themselves and their clubs. We feel that we accomplished that, and then some.”

The Pacific Northwest opened with a 127-0 win over the Texas U24s and followed with a 41-5 win over USA Rugby South in the Tier 2 title match, thus securing its spot in Tier 1 next year.

“The team came together wonderfully,” Pruett lauded the performance. “The players played together, played for each other, and got along great. We were pleased with the performance on the field, as well. Winning both our matches earned us promotion to the top tier for 2020, so we are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for the trophy.”

Pruett credited the leadership of ORSU’s Adrienne Acosta and Claire Lundy for keeping the team focused; Seattle Saracens’ Stefani Bergerhouse for an MVP performance; and impact player of note Talisa Sobieski (Bend, Ore.).

USA Rugby South made its debut at the all-star challenge, too, but as a program has been very active. The Panthers brought four players from the RAN 10s, and that quartet provided a leadership foundation, and nine other players who have represented the South in different capacities.

“Ten rookies meant we had a lot of work to do to get them thinking in the ‘South way,’” explained USA Rugby South program director Chris Martin, who led the group alongside head coach Joel Bonnaud. “Our goal is to grow expert decision-makers through skilled field vision and complete player ownership in all positions. So part of that is not establishing structure, and instead teaching attack concepts, which allows players that buy in to transfer quickly into our culture.”

The South defeated Texas Motley 80-0 on day one before falling to the Pacific Northwest on day two.

“Sierra Watkins had a breakout performance, and both Stephanie Alliev and Ashley Prusak showed massive growth since their last appearance with us,” Martin highlighted standouts. “We had lots of rookies that showed well, and many will most likely see the field again with the South.”

In the consolation match, Texas Motley defeated the Texas U24s 55-19.

“We wanted to bring back ITTs and NASCs. There is clearly a big gap between the WPL, D1, D2 and D3. This is one way to look at bringing some of those gaps together,” Young recapped the purpose of the all-star event. “Looking ahead, the TRU All Star Challenge would like to have eight GU senior teams and multiple U24 teams compete in 2020.”

“If we’re to grow the level of play at the grassroots level, we need to not only be coming together to help drive the overall skill levels higher but also to help develop better rugby IQ,” Old Glory’s Kim closed. “I know a few teams may have gotten together a few days prior to the weekend but it would be interesting to see the benefits of teams making these weekends a little bit longer, where you do have 1-2 days of actual practice, prior to the games. From there I think you’d start to see this mirror more of the NASC structure. It of course requires more time off on the players’ and coaches’ part, but a little bit of this would go a long way in driving the quality of these games higher, besides just watching the standouts make a big play here and there.”

TRU ALL STAR CHALLENGE RESULTS

TIER 1

Texas 75-5 Midwest

Old Glory 30-19 Mid-America

Cons: Midwest 10-5 Mid-America

Final: Texas 43-3 Old Glory

TIER 2

Pacific Northwest 127-0 Texas U24

USA Rugby South 80-0 Texas Motley

Cons: Texas Motley 55-19 Texas U24

Final: Pacific Northwest 41-5 USA Rugby South