Malibu
03-06-2006, 05:20 AM
Big upset this weekend as collegiate national champion Cal defeats Men's D1 champion New York Athletic Club.
This would be the equivalent of a college football team defeating an NFL team. I was at the game, and it was not as close as the score indicated (33-27). NYAC was down 33-15, but scored two tries in the final three minutes to get close. As anyone would suspect when 30 year old men compete against 18-23 year olds, the Bears were the fitter team, while NYAC was bigger and more powerful.
Here is the write-up on the game, courtesy of goffonrugby.com:
March 4, 2006 ? It was a game that meant nothing. No championship, not even a change in standings or rankings or seedings. It was, in essence, just a rugby game.
But the cool wind whistling up Strawberry Canyon and across Witter Field carried with it something of an ominous bite, and everyone ? everyone ? was there to watch it.
"I made sure our team didn't have a game today so I could be here for this," said one fan.
It was the University of California, the most successful college rugby program ever, a team that remembers every loss, against Super League champions New York Athletic Club, rough and tough and smart and silky. And older. Average age for NYAC's starting XV was 28.3, Cal 20.6. The fronts rows were 34 and 20.
The book, then, was clear. More mature bodies against youth. NYAC would be stronger and more forceful, while Cal would be a little fitter and quicker on the wings. NYAC had experience ? players who had decades of rugby behind them. Cal would have volume ? five days of training and in the middle of their season.
There was the volume of the packed rugby ground, too, but not all shouted for the Bears. Many, but not all.
That was the book, then, and how the book got it wrong. So wrong. There was so much more to it. In the first few minutes Cal got their first lineout, and all saw Lou Stanfill boosted to the sky, well above the grasping NYAC hands. Strong coaching, and a fearlessness in trying the plays perfected on the training ground, gave Cal the confidence to do what they had to do. And in the lineout, the forwards jumped, "supported", moved and mauled beautifully.
If there was one thing he knew his team had to work on, NYAC head coach Mike Tolkin said later "the lineout? I think we won, maybe one lineout? Yes, we'll be addressing that."
More to come in the opening minutes as one player left the field with a blood injury (one of those forehead cuts that take forever to stop bleeding). Not a Cal guy overcome by the physical Winged Foot assault. No it was NYAC No. 8 Matt Rader. He would not return and Frank Sharpe "got on the field about 75 minutes earlier than I expected."
And right after that, the first scrum. The scrum, where NYAC won the Super League, where experience counts for so much, and Cal stole their put-in.
Physically Cal was the surprise, but in one sense shouldn't have been. College athletes in America are known for putting it all on the line for the Big Game. This they did repeatedly, and in a way that surprised NYAC.
"I think we got there, but not until much later in the game," said center Dominic Mara. "That was something we had to adjust to, possibly it being so early in the season for us."
Meanwhile Cal dominated early. A penalty missed and then a kick to the corner, a lineout and drive into a sweet rolling maul. Pass to the wing on the weak side bursting in, and fearless Chris Mayo stopping Scott Kidd right on the line. Another pass, a scissor with Ryan Donnelly, and the All American in for a try that saw the Bears pound each other in the head with the fury of knowing they can do it.
But if the New York Athletic Club is anything, they are a team of grown-ups. They've been behind before. They've lost big, they've won big. And they've won in hostile environments. So they came back and didn't panic. Flanker John Cronin took up where he left off last year, slotting a penalty goal and it was 7-3.
But no one had the upper hand except in the lineouts. Both teams had no interest in playing it safe. They wanted to win by playing rugby with a capital R, and they did. Cal's backs took the ball at a dead run, but the NYAC defense more often than not hammered them down. The NYAC backs put in more moves, more sidesteps, and usually got a shoulder in the gut for their efforts. NYAC's forwards may have been bigger and stronger, but if you're faster to the breakdown and aggressive, you will win the ball. Cal, of course, was.
And having a 44-cap international hooker help coach you means you learn a few tricks of your own.
NYAC took their only lead of the game 28 minutes into this virtual stalemate as some hard running from Dominic Mara on the counter from a kick set up a NYAC weakside gallop that eventually saw fullback James Brady in.
10-7 halftime for NYAC. We had a game. Oh did we have a game. The point of contact was palpable throughout and if the youngsters thought they were the man, they knew now they weren't. And if the old men figured they intimidate, they realized now they could not.
The critical turning of a game with several came early in the second half. NYAC had a scrum thanks to a not-straight lineout throw. It was a decision that spoke volumes. We know we can't win that lineout, but we are confident in our scrum. Led by a superhuman effort from Cyus Dorosti up front (the Cal prop has been injured and assistant coach Tom Billups said they were patching him up as best they could), Cal did the unthinkable and rolled over the NYAC pack. It was a shove born out of teamwork and commitment ... and fearlessness, and it shocked the Winged Foot men to have it happen to them.
Turnover ball, Cal put-in, and from there they pressure. No score, but from there a critical moment. Aidan Mara lines up to punt the ball away from his in-goal. He stood about three meters in front of the dead ball line and, it turned out, that was about three meters too far. As he kicked scrumhalf Brendan Wright launched himself to block. This he did, and as the ball bumbled about in-goal flanker Joe Welch raced in. Seems he might have grazed his fingertip on the ball as it lay on the ground before Mayo curled around it. Try Cal.
Wright paid for the block, getting the full force of the ball in his gut, and he would later leave with a shoulder injury after an excellent day. After the try Welch stood and started pounding his buddy for setting the try up. Wright was clearly uncomfortable and lock Lou Stanfill stepped in.
"Leave him alone," he said to his excited teammate. The passion was rising in this players like magma.
And one eruption happened the restart; the the ball spun wide and David Poettcker scores an open field try of majesty. 19-10. Dominic Mara got his team going again and the forwards from NYAC smelled blood and a comeback. So it wasn't that long before Aidan Mara slipped in to make it 19-15.
Turning point number two. From the restart Cal wins the ball and send it wide to Kidd, who is unstoppable on the wing. 26-15.
From there NYAC dominated much of the possession. They hammered tight and they hammered wide. They kicked, they juked. They didn't score. And with about eight minutes to go they set their teeth against the wind. A two-on-one on NYAC's left wing looked certain for a score.
Now, an aside here. Cal head coach Jack Clark isn't stupid and he won't put young players who can't stand up physically against a championship club. But when Jason Lee took the field as a substitute wing there was something of a murmur in the crowd. This kid looks 15. He's easily the lightest guy on the field. I bet he's scared.
Lee was the one facing the two-on-one. He was the one with the Grant Batty courage to jump between the attackers just as the pass let fly. He was the one to speed 82 meters (boy that kid can run ... ohh, that's why) for the try to force a possible 14-point turnaround. 33-15 now and the moment when Cal runs in two or three more tries just to put their stamp on the game.
NYAC's comeback fell short, but it was no less stirring. Within minutes they had refocused and pounded the Cal line again, Farley going over untouched to cap a slick passing move. Right off the restart they moved again, with Mayo ever present with his heart and soul on his sleeve. Eventually it was Lou Ferrari bursting through the defense, taken down but unheld, and up again to reach for the line.
Total silence among the Cal crowd as they considered the very real potential for a comeback. But 33-27 it stayed.
It was a beautiful rugby game played with great passion from both sides, and passion was really was both teams understood as they cheered and congratulated each other. Both sides showed excellent class. Referee Kevin McCasslin, beaming before the match at the prospect of being in the middle of it all, didn't have to worry too much about the dirty stuff and simply managed a fine rugby game.
And both sides learned something about each other.
"It wasn't kids against men," said Mayo. "We're all men here. They took it to us and completely deserve the victory. What stuck me, though, was the passion and heart they played with. And how tight they are as a team. That's what matters."
"This was the greatest game I've been involved in," said Cal captain Andrew Lindsey. "It was a great opportunity to play them."
Added Donnelly. "We're happy to win this game, but there won't be much celebration. You're too tired after a game like this to do anything but rest."
It wasn't the first game between club side and college side, but it was the champions against the champions, each putting their top side on the field, and that's what made it special. Cal showed that athleticism and and consistent, everyday coaching can match experience and excellent but twice-a-week coaching. They showed and proved that Cal boys can play with passion and can handle adversity. NYAC showed they have heart and class.
33-27, sure, but did anybody really lose?
This would be the equivalent of a college football team defeating an NFL team. I was at the game, and it was not as close as the score indicated (33-27). NYAC was down 33-15, but scored two tries in the final three minutes to get close. As anyone would suspect when 30 year old men compete against 18-23 year olds, the Bears were the fitter team, while NYAC was bigger and more powerful.
Here is the write-up on the game, courtesy of goffonrugby.com:
March 4, 2006 ? It was a game that meant nothing. No championship, not even a change in standings or rankings or seedings. It was, in essence, just a rugby game.
But the cool wind whistling up Strawberry Canyon and across Witter Field carried with it something of an ominous bite, and everyone ? everyone ? was there to watch it.
"I made sure our team didn't have a game today so I could be here for this," said one fan.
It was the University of California, the most successful college rugby program ever, a team that remembers every loss, against Super League champions New York Athletic Club, rough and tough and smart and silky. And older. Average age for NYAC's starting XV was 28.3, Cal 20.6. The fronts rows were 34 and 20.
The book, then, was clear. More mature bodies against youth. NYAC would be stronger and more forceful, while Cal would be a little fitter and quicker on the wings. NYAC had experience ? players who had decades of rugby behind them. Cal would have volume ? five days of training and in the middle of their season.
There was the volume of the packed rugby ground, too, but not all shouted for the Bears. Many, but not all.
That was the book, then, and how the book got it wrong. So wrong. There was so much more to it. In the first few minutes Cal got their first lineout, and all saw Lou Stanfill boosted to the sky, well above the grasping NYAC hands. Strong coaching, and a fearlessness in trying the plays perfected on the training ground, gave Cal the confidence to do what they had to do. And in the lineout, the forwards jumped, "supported", moved and mauled beautifully.
If there was one thing he knew his team had to work on, NYAC head coach Mike Tolkin said later "the lineout? I think we won, maybe one lineout? Yes, we'll be addressing that."
More to come in the opening minutes as one player left the field with a blood injury (one of those forehead cuts that take forever to stop bleeding). Not a Cal guy overcome by the physical Winged Foot assault. No it was NYAC No. 8 Matt Rader. He would not return and Frank Sharpe "got on the field about 75 minutes earlier than I expected."
And right after that, the first scrum. The scrum, where NYAC won the Super League, where experience counts for so much, and Cal stole their put-in.
Physically Cal was the surprise, but in one sense shouldn't have been. College athletes in America are known for putting it all on the line for the Big Game. This they did repeatedly, and in a way that surprised NYAC.
"I think we got there, but not until much later in the game," said center Dominic Mara. "That was something we had to adjust to, possibly it being so early in the season for us."
Meanwhile Cal dominated early. A penalty missed and then a kick to the corner, a lineout and drive into a sweet rolling maul. Pass to the wing on the weak side bursting in, and fearless Chris Mayo stopping Scott Kidd right on the line. Another pass, a scissor with Ryan Donnelly, and the All American in for a try that saw the Bears pound each other in the head with the fury of knowing they can do it.
But if the New York Athletic Club is anything, they are a team of grown-ups. They've been behind before. They've lost big, they've won big. And they've won in hostile environments. So they came back and didn't panic. Flanker John Cronin took up where he left off last year, slotting a penalty goal and it was 7-3.
But no one had the upper hand except in the lineouts. Both teams had no interest in playing it safe. They wanted to win by playing rugby with a capital R, and they did. Cal's backs took the ball at a dead run, but the NYAC defense more often than not hammered them down. The NYAC backs put in more moves, more sidesteps, and usually got a shoulder in the gut for their efforts. NYAC's forwards may have been bigger and stronger, but if you're faster to the breakdown and aggressive, you will win the ball. Cal, of course, was.
And having a 44-cap international hooker help coach you means you learn a few tricks of your own.
NYAC took their only lead of the game 28 minutes into this virtual stalemate as some hard running from Dominic Mara on the counter from a kick set up a NYAC weakside gallop that eventually saw fullback James Brady in.
10-7 halftime for NYAC. We had a game. Oh did we have a game. The point of contact was palpable throughout and if the youngsters thought they were the man, they knew now they weren't. And if the old men figured they intimidate, they realized now they could not.
The critical turning of a game with several came early in the second half. NYAC had a scrum thanks to a not-straight lineout throw. It was a decision that spoke volumes. We know we can't win that lineout, but we are confident in our scrum. Led by a superhuman effort from Cyus Dorosti up front (the Cal prop has been injured and assistant coach Tom Billups said they were patching him up as best they could), Cal did the unthinkable and rolled over the NYAC pack. It was a shove born out of teamwork and commitment ... and fearlessness, and it shocked the Winged Foot men to have it happen to them.
Turnover ball, Cal put-in, and from there they pressure. No score, but from there a critical moment. Aidan Mara lines up to punt the ball away from his in-goal. He stood about three meters in front of the dead ball line and, it turned out, that was about three meters too far. As he kicked scrumhalf Brendan Wright launched himself to block. This he did, and as the ball bumbled about in-goal flanker Joe Welch raced in. Seems he might have grazed his fingertip on the ball as it lay on the ground before Mayo curled around it. Try Cal.
Wright paid for the block, getting the full force of the ball in his gut, and he would later leave with a shoulder injury after an excellent day. After the try Welch stood and started pounding his buddy for setting the try up. Wright was clearly uncomfortable and lock Lou Stanfill stepped in.
"Leave him alone," he said to his excited teammate. The passion was rising in this players like magma.
And one eruption happened the restart; the the ball spun wide and David Poettcker scores an open field try of majesty. 19-10. Dominic Mara got his team going again and the forwards from NYAC smelled blood and a comeback. So it wasn't that long before Aidan Mara slipped in to make it 19-15.
Turning point number two. From the restart Cal wins the ball and send it wide to Kidd, who is unstoppable on the wing. 26-15.
From there NYAC dominated much of the possession. They hammered tight and they hammered wide. They kicked, they juked. They didn't score. And with about eight minutes to go they set their teeth against the wind. A two-on-one on NYAC's left wing looked certain for a score.
Now, an aside here. Cal head coach Jack Clark isn't stupid and he won't put young players who can't stand up physically against a championship club. But when Jason Lee took the field as a substitute wing there was something of a murmur in the crowd. This kid looks 15. He's easily the lightest guy on the field. I bet he's scared.
Lee was the one facing the two-on-one. He was the one with the Grant Batty courage to jump between the attackers just as the pass let fly. He was the one to speed 82 meters (boy that kid can run ... ohh, that's why) for the try to force a possible 14-point turnaround. 33-15 now and the moment when Cal runs in two or three more tries just to put their stamp on the game.
NYAC's comeback fell short, but it was no less stirring. Within minutes they had refocused and pounded the Cal line again, Farley going over untouched to cap a slick passing move. Right off the restart they moved again, with Mayo ever present with his heart and soul on his sleeve. Eventually it was Lou Ferrari bursting through the defense, taken down but unheld, and up again to reach for the line.
Total silence among the Cal crowd as they considered the very real potential for a comeback. But 33-27 it stayed.
It was a beautiful rugby game played with great passion from both sides, and passion was really was both teams understood as they cheered and congratulated each other. Both sides showed excellent class. Referee Kevin McCasslin, beaming before the match at the prospect of being in the middle of it all, didn't have to worry too much about the dirty stuff and simply managed a fine rugby game.
And both sides learned something about each other.
"It wasn't kids against men," said Mayo. "We're all men here. They took it to us and completely deserve the victory. What stuck me, though, was the passion and heart they played with. And how tight they are as a team. That's what matters."
"This was the greatest game I've been involved in," said Cal captain Andrew Lindsey. "It was a great opportunity to play them."
Added Donnelly. "We're happy to win this game, but there won't be much celebration. You're too tired after a game like this to do anything but rest."
It wasn't the first game between club side and college side, but it was the champions against the champions, each putting their top side on the field, and that's what made it special. Cal showed that athleticism and and consistent, everyday coaching can match experience and excellent but twice-a-week coaching. They showed and proved that Cal boys can play with passion and can handle adversity. NYAC showed they have heart and class.
33-27, sure, but did anybody really lose?