College 7s ChampionshipsJun 4, 2017 by Alex Goff
Wild Day One At CRC
Wild Day One At CRC
Collegiate Rugby Championship newcomers Saint Mary's and Lindenwood joined Cal and Indiana as the four teams to go undefeated on the tournament's opening day at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, PA, on Saturday.
Collegiate Rugby Championship newcomers Saint Mary's and Lindenwood joined four-time champion Cal and hard-nosed Indiana as the four teams to go undefeated on the tournament's opening day at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, PA, on Saturday.
Those four made the Cup Quarterfinals, as did Arkansas State, Life, UCLA, and Kutztown.
Cal took care of Clemson 33-12 and a tenacious Penn State team 28-19 before thrashing Delaware 54-0 at the end of the day's play. Cal head coach Jack Clark wasn't overly impressed with his team's performance, saying the blowout against Delaware was more a function of the Blue Hens being tired and pushed to the limit on a long day than it was anything the Bears did.
"We leaked a couple of tries against Clemson and we leaked tries against Penn State, and overall I didn't think we were all that," Clark told FloRugby. "We were all right, but we committed some penalties we don't normally commit."
A few penalties for hitting a player in the air, or coming in from the side preyed on Clark's mind more than the nifty sidestepping of Russell Webb or the trying-scoring abilities of Jake Goena and Sam Cusano. Gona picked up an injury and missed the Delaware game. He will be a game day decision on Sunday.
Cal also has been battling some emotional difficulties. The players and coaches are still thinking about their teammate Robert Paylor, who suffered a paralyzing injury during the Varsity Cup final on May 6. According to several reports, the team considered pulling out of the CRC.
Elsewhere in the men's competition, Lindenwood controlled things in wins over Army (33-7), Navy (24-7), and St. Joseph's (29-12).
Lindenwood forward Wes Parker said that after winning the USA Nationals, the Lions got right back to work and pushed hard over the past two weeks in preparation for the CRC.
"We feel really good," Parker said. "We are fit -- we're more then we were in Glendale (CO) and more prepared. The difference for us was that at USA Nationals we were really relaxed, and here we were a little bit wound up. But we're more comfortable with each other. We went through the wringer the last couple of weeks, but tomorrow it's a new tournament and we feel settled now and will be able to play some clean sevens."
Indiana and Kutztown won big against their pool-mates South Carolina and Tennessee, and then in the final pool game of the day Indiana surprised many by beating KU 29-19.
"We just focused on what we could do and our game, and we held onto possession really well," IU's Jacob Garwood said. "We're not that concerned with other teams but more in how we play Indiana rugby."
Kutztown may have lost to Indiana, but the Bears made the quarters thanks to an excellent points difference. Saint Mary's cruised through Boston College (19-12), Temple (41-0), and Dartmouth (26-7), but it wasn't a runaway. In Pool B, Arkansas State and Life met up at 2-0. The chances of both making the quarters were slim, as the loser would not have a strong points difference. But that's not how it all ended. ASU played a power-running, smart offload game to lead 19-7. But sparked by Harley Davidson, Life came back, and with ASU down to five players thanks to a yellow card and a red card, the LU scored to end the game in a 19-19 tie. Both made the top eight at 2-0-1.
UCLA needed a win over Arizona to take its pool and did so sparked by some superb running from Cian Barry. The Bruins took first in the group over American International, which didn't lose a game but forced the play too much. Thus, AIC ended up tying UCLA and Virginia Tech -- both games it could have won.
Sunday's lineup of games is as follows (all times ET):
Those four made the Cup Quarterfinals, as did Arkansas State, Life, UCLA, and Kutztown.
Cal took care of Clemson 33-12 and a tenacious Penn State team 28-19 before thrashing Delaware 54-0 at the end of the day's play. Cal head coach Jack Clark wasn't overly impressed with his team's performance, saying the blowout against Delaware was more a function of the Blue Hens being tired and pushed to the limit on a long day than it was anything the Bears did.
"We leaked a couple of tries against Clemson and we leaked tries against Penn State, and overall I didn't think we were all that," Clark told FloRugby. "We were all right, but we committed some penalties we don't normally commit."
A few penalties for hitting a player in the air, or coming in from the side preyed on Clark's mind more than the nifty sidestepping of Russell Webb or the trying-scoring abilities of Jake Goena and Sam Cusano. Gona picked up an injury and missed the Delaware game. He will be a game day decision on Sunday.
Cal also has been battling some emotional difficulties. The players and coaches are still thinking about their teammate Robert Paylor, who suffered a paralyzing injury during the Varsity Cup final on May 6. According to several reports, the team considered pulling out of the CRC.
Elsewhere in the men's competition, Lindenwood controlled things in wins over Army (33-7), Navy (24-7), and St. Joseph's (29-12).
Lindenwood forward Wes Parker said that after winning the USA Nationals, the Lions got right back to work and pushed hard over the past two weeks in preparation for the CRC.
"We feel really good," Parker said. "We are fit -- we're more then we were in Glendale (CO) and more prepared. The difference for us was that at USA Nationals we were really relaxed, and here we were a little bit wound up. But we're more comfortable with each other. We went through the wringer the last couple of weeks, but tomorrow it's a new tournament and we feel settled now and will be able to play some clean sevens."
Indiana and Kutztown won big against their pool-mates South Carolina and Tennessee, and then in the final pool game of the day Indiana surprised many by beating KU 29-19.
"We just focused on what we could do and our game, and we held onto possession really well," IU's Jacob Garwood said. "We're not that concerned with other teams but more in how we play Indiana rugby."
Kutztown may have lost to Indiana, but the Bears made the quarters thanks to an excellent points difference. Saint Mary's cruised through Boston College (19-12), Temple (41-0), and Dartmouth (26-7), but it wasn't a runaway. In Pool B, Arkansas State and Life met up at 2-0. The chances of both making the quarters were slim, as the loser would not have a strong points difference. But that's not how it all ended. ASU played a power-running, smart offload game to lead 19-7. But sparked by Harley Davidson, Life came back, and with ASU down to five players thanks to a yellow card and a red card, the LU scored to end the game in a 19-19 tie. Both made the top eight at 2-0-1.
UCLA needed a win over Arizona to take its pool and did so sparked by some superb running from Cian Barry. The Bruins took first in the group over American International, which didn't lose a game but forced the play too much. Thus, AIC ended up tying UCLA and Virginia Tech -- both games it could have won.
Sunday's lineup of games is as follows (all times ET):
| 9 AM | Clemson | vs. | Temple | Bowl QF |
| 9:20 AM | Navy | vs. | Notre Dame | Bowl QF |
| 9:40 AM | South Carolina | vs. | Delaware | Bowl QF |
| 10 AM | Virginia Tech | vs. | Tennessee | Bowl QF |
| 10 AM | California | vs. | Kutztown | Cup QF |
| 10:20 AM | Indiana | vs. | UCLA | Cup QF |
| 10:40 AM | Saint Mary's | vs. | Life | Cup QF |
| 11 AM | Lindenwood | vs. | Arkansas State | Cup QF |
| 10 AM | Penn State | vs. | St. Joseph's | Plate QF |
| 10:20 AM | Army | vs. | Wisconsin | Plate QF |
| 10:40 AM | Dartmouth | vs. | Boston College | Plate QF |
| 11 AM | AIC | vs. | Arizona | Plate QF |