Charleston, SC -
This past weekend USC's Palmetto C side
defeated the Charleston Outlaw Men's B
team by a final score of 17-13 in a
close battle that came down to the final
mintues. It was a warm and sunny day -
perfect for a full game of rugby.
The scoring was started by a succesful
penalty kick by the Outlaws, and then a
try soon thereafter. The conversion was
unsuccessful, however the try gave the
Outlaws from Charleston an 8-0 lead. USC
started their scoring off of a free
kick. Fly-half Tom Plumley courageously
took the ball past the Charleston
defense before they could retreat 10
meters. The Gamecocks' momentum was
haulted for a while as the Outlaws
scored one more converted try giving
them a 13-5 lead that would stand
until final minutes of the second half.
When the C side won a scrum inside their
opponent's 22, the back line ran a
perfect series that ended with the
outside-wing, Dwight Sharpe, finding a
gap in the defense. He cruised to the
middle of the zone for USC's second try
of the game. This resulted in the only
converted try for USC, which was kicked
by Tom Plumley. With a slim 13-12 lead,
the Charleston Outlaws B side knew they
could not give up any more points in
order to leave victorious. The
game-winning try came with approximately
two minutes remaining. A dropped pass
by Charleston was kicked away by flanker
Josh Walsh. Once Josh picked up the
ball, he turned on the jets and beat the
remaining opponents for a long try. USC
C-side's defense remained tough all game
long and came up with a few important
stops when they desperately need them.
Coach Mark Morris was both pleased
and optimistic about the C side's
first victory of the spring season:
"We have fought hard all season long
and it feels good to get the win.
We played our best, full game of
rugby today and consider ourselves
1-0 at this point. Our goal is to
go undefeated and win the rest of
our games, which includes the
Charleston Blackout Tournament in
April."
USC's Palmetto C side will try and
continue its run next weekend when
they host Lander University in
Columbia, on Strom Field. This would
make it their 2nd straight victory
over the upstate rival. The kickoff
is set at 1:00pm on Saturday, March
27th.
USC's Division I A side will travel
to Murfreesboro, Tennessee next
Saturday to take on #8 ranked
Arkansas State University in the
start of the USARS Final Four, which
will crown the South region's best
rugby team.
Come support all of USC Men's Rugby
sides each weekend at Strom Field
while visiting
www.uscrugby.org for all
USC Men's rugby club news.
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