|
Two in a Row: Carolina defeats Clemson 21-10 |
|
South
Carolina clinched fourth place by beating
Clemson 21-10. The Gamecocks led by 7-5 at the
half. USC’s outside center Brad Kieber was the
difference maker after dotting down twice on
brilliant individual plays.
“I
think we really controlled the ball well,” South
Carolina head coach Geoff Mason told ARN.
“Clemson is a well-drilled team, but our
forwards just kept grinding them down.”
South final standings (unofficial):
Arkansas State (17 pts)
Tennessee (17 pts)
North Carolina (14 pts)
South Carolina (12 pts)
Florida (10 pts)
Clemson (8 pts)
Georgia (6 pts)
Source:
American
Rugby News
Photography from the USC-Clemson match is
available at
Geoffrey Palcher
Photography. |
Pre-Match Write-Up:
South Carolina vs. Clemson
Saturday, March 23rd, 2008 |
The
energy and passion of this rivalry is like few
other in collegiate rugby today. Both
established in 1967, the University of South
Carolina and Clemson University men's rugby
football clubs share the honor of being the
oldest sports clubs on their respective
campuses, and both have had their fair share of
glory. USC dominated this rivalry from 1967 to
1993, powered by a reputation for physical
disruption and the highest regards of its
opponents, which included a pre-season #1
national ranking by Rugby magazine in early
1984, as well as a #2 national ranking in 1972
and a #5 ranking in 1973. During this time South
Carolina also participated in the Palmetto State
Championship Tournament, capturing more titles
than any other collegiate club, and often
besting even men's senior competition such as
Columbia Olde Grey and the Charleston Outlaws.
Ask any olde boy from this first Golden Age of
Carolina Rugby and they'll tell you, "we don't
lose to Clemson." And they didn't. The official
statistics are somewhat lost to the confines of
time, but even a Clemson farmer knows the
painful truth from this period: Carolina
dominated.
Things turned cold for Carolina in the mid '90s,
however, and Clemson slowly began to gain on its
hated rival. Backed by superior school financing
(as it stands today, Clemson Men's Rugby
receives $20,000+ from its school while Carolina
receives only $1,800), Clemson was able to put
together an incredible organization that quickly
became among the South's 'Big Three' (Tennessee,
UNC, & Clemson), and turned the tide on this
amazing rivalry. This string of success did
little to quell the hate, however, and Clemson
(alongside men's senior ally Greenville) angrily
left the Palmetto Rugby Union for the Georgia
Rugby Union. It was here Clemson found its
greatest success. The Tigers became a Division
One powerhouse, reaching the National Sweet 16
Tournament in 1996, 1998, 2005, 2006, and 2007,
while USC found itself residing in Division Two.
All the while, Carolina continued to struggle
against Clemson, failing to post a victory
against the Tigers from 1994 to 2007 which, to
be fair, was not contested every season.
Bolstered by the hard work of former head coach
Howard Hunt and others before him, the return of
head coach Geoff Mason to Carolina's fold in the
spring of 2004 coincided with a close renewal of
the rivalry. Hunt's 2000-era squads were always
able to keep the contest close (including a
10-13 loss in Fall 2002 at Clemson), but
struggled to keep up with the superior financing
and Clemson's rise to national prominence under
coach Jim Gaine. The fall 2004 match against CU
posted a 15-30 defeat, but Clemson was
admittedly on its last gasps as the contest drew
to a close, with USC pounding the Tigers late.
The following year Carolina led 23-22 with 8
minutes to go at Columbia's Memorial Stadium,
but were unable to hang on in the freezing
conditions. After a year of re-building and
rebounding in the 2006-2007 campaign, Carolina
returned a strong roster to the Fall 2007
campaign.
Entering the home match against its hated rival
on Friday, November 16th, 2007, the Gamecocks
had posted a 9-3 fall record thus far, and had
been awarded a move to USA Rugby South's elite
Division One competition alongside South power
Arkansas State University. Clemson coach Wright
Henry's Tigers arrived via charter bus expecting
another footnote on their season, only to be
brutally surprised. It was on this night,
finally, that Carolina once again overpowered
its rival, defeating the Tigers 26-25 before an
ecstatic crowd of fans, alumni, and U19
onlookers. After years of frustratingly close
losses, the rivalry just got interesting once
again.
Join us on Saturday, March 23rd, 2008 as we
write another page in the story of this historic
rivalry. Game time is to be announced shortly. |
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
Please support us by supporting our advertisers: |
|
 |
|
|
|
