Colonial Coast Rugby Conference

Colonial Coast 7’s Championship

@ Roger Williams University

April 6, 2013

Write up Written by: Chris Palombo

Facility & General Overview

The Colonial Coast 7’s was hosted at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island on April 6 2013.

On a sunny and windy day teams from across New England came to participate in the NSCRO qualifier for the Nation Small College 7’s Cup to be hosted in conjunction with USA 7’s at the Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia on June 1^st and 2^nd. The Roger Williams University Rugby Complex provided a great venue to host the event. Head Referee Chris Piccard stated “This is one of the best facilities in the nation” Roger Williams University’s water front complex offer a fully enclosed rugby field with regulation goal posts, score board, warm up fields, and raised spectator viewing area. The Colonial Coast 7’s games were officiated by New England Referee Society referees. “We were extremely pleased with the professionalism, enthusiasm, and skill level of the referees provided for the Colonial Coast 7’s by the New England Referee Society. They did a fantastic job across the board today.” Chris Palombo, Head Coach Roger Williams Men’s Rugby.

Pool Play overview

In Pool A Westfield State and Mass Maritime differentiated themselves from the rest of the pool. Mass Maritime Academy in their 1^st 7s tournament under coach Matt Malone showed early on that they may be the team to beat in the tournament. Mass Maritime won each of their pool games handily. Their defensive structure, fitness, and speed provided them with a clear advantage over the competition. The number 2 seed from Pool A (Westfield State) brought a very physical style of play which promised to challenge the Pool B top seed in the semi final.

In Pool B Western New England showed the field that they came to play. Their physical style and excellent off loading ability in contact led to 3 victories in the pool stages. The Roger Williams & Western New England game in Pool B play was the closest of the day coming down to the final kick. Roger Williams’ Charlie Stanley missed the kick which would have tied the game at 19 all with no time remaining. The game was the tale of 2 halves with Western New England Scoring 19 points off of 2 Roger Williams turnovers and a penalty. With 4 minutes remaining in the game Roger Williams mounted a comeback scoring 3 trys. Two missed kicked proved costly for Roger Williams.

Semi Final # 1

Mass Maritime the # 1 seed from Pool A and Roger Williams #2 Seed from Pool B squared away in the 1^st Semi Final game of the day. The first semi final game opened with a defensive battle. The defensive structure, individual tackles, and intensity of hits provided for a very tense and entertaining 1^st half. At the 5 minute Mike Quinn of Roger Williams was able to break the Mass Maritime defensive line then off load to Kyle Casserino for the first score of the game. Charlie Stanley converted the kick giving Roger Williams a 7 – 0 lead at the half.

The second half opened with the same intensity as the first with 3 minutes of play between the 10m lines. Mass Maritime’s wing was able to make a break on the Roger Williams Defensive line to be stopped 5 meters from the try line. An infringement at the ensuing ruck gave Roger Williams the ball back keeping the game at 7 – 0 on what seemed to be a game tying break. Roger Williams offensive structure set up a second scoring opportunity with sideline to sideline play. After 6 consecutive phases Kyle Casserino and Colin Beron were able to take advantage of an overload situation with Kyle scoring his second try of the game in the far corner. Roger Williams was able to maintain the 12-0 lead for the remaining 2 minutes advancing to the Final game.

Semi Final # 2

The 2 most physical teams, Western New England (pool b # 1) and Westfield State (pool a # 2), squared off in the second semi final. This game opened with the expected intensity both teams demonstrated throughout the day. Both teams did well off loading the ball in contact at the early stages of the game. The first half was a back and forth contest with both teams working down the field with multi phase offensive attacks resulting in scores. The scored was tied at half time 12-12. In the second half Western New England took control of the game with a third try at the 3 minute mark of the 2^nd half. Western New England’s defensive structure held for the remainder of the 2^nd half not allowing Westfield state to make any significant progress offensively. Western New England, with their 4^th victory of the day, headed to the championship game with a score of 21 – 12 over Westfield State.

Final

Western New England and Roger Williams met in the Colonial Coast 7’s Final. Roger Williams’ offensive structured worked well from the onset of the game. RWU controlled the pace of the game from the first kick off. Roger Williams Scored first on a line break by Mike Quinn from midfield scoring under the posts. Charlie Stanley made the conversion giving Roger Williams a 7 – 0 lead. Following the restart Roger Williams was able to keep Western New England pinned inside their 40m line for 2 minutes. A penalty on Western New England in their own break down resulted in a second try for Roger Williams following a quick tap by Charlie Stanley who scored on the far 5 meter line (conversion missed) at the 7 minute mark. The extended time in the final game proved challenging for both teams at the end of the first half. The pace of the half slowed for the final 2 minutes and the half ended with a score of RWU 12 – Western New England 0.

The second half began with Western New England mounting a solid offensive series. Western New England’s intensity and off loading allowed them to put together multiple phases and work into the Roger Williams zone for the first time in the game. Roger Williams played the first 2 minutes of the first half on the defensive end. Roger Williams struggled to find their offense at the beginning of the first half. Multiple turnovers kept giving Western New England attacking opportunities. At the 4 minute mark of the 2^nd half an intercepted pass by Kyle Casserino led to a 60 meter try for Roger Williams. Charlie Stanley made the conversion bringing the score to 19 -0. Western New England responded with an aggressive offensive attack following the restart. Pushing Roger Williams back to their 5 meter line. Roger Williams showing signs of fatigue gave up a try to Western New England after 4 phases of tight hard running. The conversion was made at the 8 minute mark in the second half. Roger Williams replacement Andrew Burns dropped the ensuing kickoff recovered by Western New England resulting in a second try in less than 1 minute. The conversion was missed and the score was brought to 19 -12 in favor of Roger Williams. Roger Williams brought in John Murphy 6’ 5” forward for the next restart. John caught the kick off and immediately off loaded to the open side of the field where Roger Williams had a developing overload. Mike Quinn once again broke the defensive line and off loaded to Kyle Casserino for a 70 meter try to seal the game and the tournament championship. The conversion was missed. Final Score Roger Williams 24 – Western New England 12.