Columbia, SC – With three games
to go in Carolinas League competition,
the USC Gamecocks are still within reach
of the inaugural CRL Championship, and
this weekend's matches against UNC
Chapel Hill and East Carolina will go a
long way in determining Carolina's final
place in the standings.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have been
on fire lately, posting solid victories
over Wake Forest (75-19) and Clemson
(36-27) to give them significant bonuses
in league standings. This has been due
in large part to the remarkable skill
and athleticism of the Tar Heel
backline, which is arguably among the
South's finest this season.
Unfortunately for UNC, an opening-week
loss to rival N.C. State has left them
at a disadvantage overall, as they must
continue to outpace the Wolfpack with
bonus points should they hope to capture
the league crown. The Week 1 loss was
due in large part to the confined space
of UNC's Ehringhaus Field, a rugby pitch
that is not nearly long enough or wide
enough to allow UNC's backs much room to
maneuver.
The Gamecocks will travel to that very
field on Saturday, and hope the field
size limits the Tar Heel backline once
again. USC has arguably the strongest
pack (group of forwards) in the league,
and the narrow field will play to their
strengths. The Gamecocks also have the
league's second-toughest defense,
allowing an average of just 9.33 points
per match, only slightly outpaced by
N.C. State's average of 9.25. In the
clash against the Tar Heels, this
defense will need to step up big time,
as UNC easily has the CRL's best
offense, with the squad averaging 37.25
points per game.
Saturday's showdown with the Tar Heels
has more than just CRL league title
implications on the line, however. The
match will also go a long way in
deciding the CRL's representative in the
USA Rugby South Final Four in
Murfreesboro, TN, as the top Division I
school in CRL play (among UNC, USC, and
Clemson) will face #6 Arkansas State for
the right to go to the USA Rugby
National Round of 16.
Not to be over-looked, on Sunday the
Gamecocks travel from Chapel Hill to
Greenville, NC, where they'll face the
ECU Pirates on the South's only 144m x
70m rugby pitch. Though the Pirates have
struggled some this year (including in a
pair of losses to USC this fall in
Columbia and at Rucktoberfest), they're
always a physical side, and know how to
play to their field's strengths with a
kicking game that stretches their
opponents vertically. As early results
have shown, no team is to be over-looked
in the brutal Carolinas Rugby League,
and division status is of little value
when any team can knock one another off
in any given match.
To keep pace with the N.C. State
Wolfpack, whom USC tied earlier this
season, it would be of great benefit to
USC to begin scoring 4 tries per match,
which would secure them a bonus point in
the standings. Attempts to put more
points on the board must be done
cautiously, however, as loose play in
the backline could result in points for
the opposition. After league points (4
points for a win, 2 for a tie, bonus
points, etc.), the next CRL tie-breaker
involves points against in league
matches, so USC must maintain its stout
defense should they be in a league-point
tie with N.C. State at season's end.
The Gamecocks finish the season at home
on Friday, March 5th, at 7:00 pm against
the Clemson Tigers on USC's
STWFC
Rugby Field. Carolina has
taken the past three aganist the Tigers,
but also hasn't played them since the
Fall of 2008. Though they're unlikely to
win the CRL title at this point, Clemson
is much-improved over the past two
seasons, and is always dangerous in a
rivalry situation. USC may come in to
the match with a league championship
hanging in the balance, and it would
certainly make the Tigers' season to
play spoiler in Columbia.
In B-side news, the inaugural CRL
competition has been hard to analyze,
with no opponent yet officially able to
field a full B-side against the
Gamecocks (this season's 'B' matches
have all been forfeits, as the matches
played included non-B players from the
opposition). This will change this
weekend, as the Gamecock B-side faces
off against the famed 'Killer Bees' of
Chapel Hill in what may be a battle for
the B League crown. USC B's final
official match will likely be against
Clemson B, with no word yet on ECU's
ability to field a full B-side for
league play. The Pirates were able to do
so against Clemson, but there is no
recorded B-side match for their game
against Appalachian State.
In the Palmetto League, USC's C-side has
displayed a lot of character and
toughness in facing the many powerhouse
A-sides of Division III competition. The
teams comprising the Palmetto League
have captured the past 7 South Division
III Championships, as well as 4 of the
past 7 Division III National
Championships. Nevertheless, USC 'C' has
shown their opposition early signs of
the tough defense the South Carolina
program is known for, particularly after
a series of second-half adjustments by
C-side Head Coach Mark Morris. The
C-side's introductory nature to the game
has shown that offense is hard to come
by against seasoned veteran A-sides, but
the Gamecocks continue to perform
admirably better than fellow Palmetto
League newcomer Armstrong Atlantic State
(AASU). USC C will face AASU this
weekend in Savannah, GA with the rights
to 5th place on the line.
___
|
Carolinas Rugby League:
A-Side Standings |
|
|
|
|
Record |
|
|
Bonus |
|
|
Team |
Div |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
PF |
PA |
+4 |
-7 |
POINTS |
|
North Carolina State
University |
II |
04 |
03 |
00 |
01 |
079 |
037 |
01 |
00 |
15 |
|
University of North
Carolina |
I |
04 |
03 |
01 |
00 |
149 |
083 |
02 |
01 |
15 |
|
University of South
Carolina |
I |
03 |
02 |
00 |
01 |
035 |
028 |
00 |
00 |
10 |
|
Appalachian State
University |
II |
04 |
01 |
03 |
00 |
052 |
045 |
00 |
03 |
07 |
|
Clemson University
|
I |
03 |
01 |
02 |
00 |
054 |
065 |
01 |
01 |
06 |
|
Wake Forest University
|
II |
04 |
01 |
03 |
00 |
057 |
147 |
00 |
01 |
05 |
|
East Carolina University
|
II |
02 |
00 |
02 |
00 |
013 |
034 |
00 |
01 |
01 |
|
|
|
Carolinas Rugby League:
B-Side Standings |
|
|
|
|
Record |
|
|
Bonus |
|
|
Team |
Div |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
PF |
PA |
+4 |
-7 |
POINTS |
|
University of North
Carolina |
I |
04 |
04 |
00 |
00 |
106 |
019 |
04 |
00 |
20 |
|
University of South
Carolina |
I |
03 |
03 |
00 |
00 |
060 |
000 |
03 |
00 |
15 |
|
Clemson University
|
I |
03 |
02 |
01 |
00 |
044 |
032 |
01 |
00 |
09 |
|
North Carolina State
University |
II |
03 |
01 |
02 |
00 |
027 |
059 |
01 |
00 |
05 |
|
East Carolina University
|
II |
01 |
00 |
01 |
00 |
005 |
012 |
00 |
01 |
01 |
|
Appalachian State
University |
II |
02 |
00 |
02 |
00 |
000 |
040 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
|
Wake Forest University
|
II |
04 |
00 |
04 |
00 |
000 |
080 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
|
|
|
Palmetto League
Standings |
|
|
|
|
Record |
|
|
Bonus |
|
|
Team |
Div |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
PF |
PA |
+4 |
-7 |
POINTS |
|
Coastal Carolina
University
|
III |
03 |
03 |
00 |
00 |
126 |
032 |
03 |
00 |
15 |
|
Furman University
|
III |
03 |
03 |
00 |
00 |
110 |
029 |
02 |
00 |
14 |
|
Citadel Military Academy |
III |
03 |
02 |
01 |
00 |
098 |
028 |
02 |
01 |
11 |
|
College of Charleston |
III |
03 |
02 |
01 |
00 |
080 |
034 |
02 |
01 |
11 |
|
University of South
Carolina C |
N/A |
04 |
00 |
04 |
00 |
005 |
135 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
|
Armstrong Atlantic State
Univ. |
III |
04 |
00 |
04 |
00 |
045 |
201 |
00 |
00 |
00 |
|
|
|
Key: |
|
Div - Division |
PF - Points For (in a
match) |
|
GP - Games Played |
PA - Points Against (in a
match) |
|
W - Win (4 pts) |
-7 - Bonus (1pt) - Loss
by 7 or fewer |
|
L- Loss (0 pts) |
+4 - Bonus (1pt) - 4
tries in a match |
|
T- Tie (2 pts) |
POINTS - Total League Points
(pts) |
___
The
Carolinas Rugby
League is USC's new spring matrix, and consists of the top 7 clubs
in North and South Carolina, including
USC, Wake Forest, Clemson, North
Carolina, Appalachian State University,
North Carolina State University, and
East Carolina University. As the league
is a mixture of Division I and Division
II competition, it will send its top DI
school into the South DI Final Four and
its top two DII clubs to the South DII
Quarter-Finals. The CRL will be naming
its own all-star team and MVP, as selected by
coaches and referees, and will reward
the top club with its own trophy at the
end of each season. The brainchild of
former UNC head coach Andy Richards, the
league is intended to limit regional
clubs' travel time while promoting local
growth through rivaled competition.
The Gamecocks Palmetto ('C') side is
playing in USA Rugby South's Division III
competition, taking on Furman, College
of Charleston, The Citadel, Coastal
Carolina, and Armstrong Atlantic State
in the Palmetto League - a brutal
conference that has produced the last 7
South Championships while capturing 4 of
the last 7 Division III National
Championships. Such competition will do
wonders for the continued growth and
success of USC rugby, as participation
in last year's league is a large factor
behind USC's dominant run in Fall 2009.
The University of South Carolina is the
only school in all of USA Rugby South to
operate 3 full sides in South matrix
competition, with USC A and B
participating in USA Rugby Division I. |
UNC put up 75 points vs.
Wake Forest |
|
|
ECU is always a tough
out for USC |
|
|
Clemson is much-improved
over last year |
|
|
USC Men's Rugby
2009-2010 |
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