Murfreesboro, TN -
The Men's Rugby Club at the University
of South Carolina traveled to
Murfreesboro, TN this past weekend to
participate in the South Final Four. As
the Division 1 representatives of the
Carolinas Rugby League, #21 USC was
seeded fourth, and faced with the
unenviable task of taking on the #5
Arkansas State Red Wolves.
Loaded with international players from
South Africa and scholarship ex-high
school players, the Red Wolves stifled a
vastly-improved Gamecock side and
emerged with a 64-10 victory. On Sunday,
ASU would emerge victorious yet again,
capturing the South crown in a 35-14
victory over Southeastern League
champion Tennessee. As the top two
finishing teams in the South, the Red
Wolves and Volunteers will now travel to
Santa Barbara, CA and Marietta, GA,
respectively, as the South's two seeds
in the USA Rugby National Round of 16.
On Sunday, the Gamecocks were given a
chance to play the #14 Florida Gators
for the South 3rd Place crown, but came
up just short, losing 27-19. USC has now
lost two in a row to their Sunshine
State foes, after having previously
topped the Gators in 2006 and 2008.
Back home in Columbia, the Gamecocks'
Palmetto ('C') side defeated Palmetto
Union foe Lander University 33-05. USC's
C-side is now 8-7-0 on the year, and
will face the Sumter Diamondbacks next
Saturday, April 3, at 1:00 pm on USC's
STWFC Rurgby Field.
With the pair of losses, USC's premier
('A') side finished the 2009/10 season
with a 19-5-1 record overall, including
a record of 11-2-1 in
80-minute/non-tournament matches. The
club finished the season with a perfect
8-0-0 record at
home,
and was the top Division 1 team in the
inaugural season of the Carolinas Rugby
League. Additionally, the club captured
the
2009 Palmetto
Rugby Union Championship, and
had a 3rd-place showing at the
2009 SEC
Championship Rugby Tournament.
Match report from American Rugby News
(Sat.):
#5 Arkansas State will play #15
Tennessee to determine the two seeds
from the South for the Round of 16
following victories on Super Saturday in
the conference’s semifinals in
Murfreesboro, TN.
ASU dominated a spirited #21 South
Carolina 64-10, while UT edged #14
Florida 13-10.
In less than ideal playing conditions,
the Red Wolves led the Gamecocks 40-3 at
halftime.
Arkansas State used the strong wind in
the first half to pin USC in their own
end and played some unselfish rugby to
set up the big win.
The Red Wolves used a glut of territory
and possession to turn their backs
loose, especially out wide where South
Carolina proved to be a little
vulnerable.
“Our backs did really well,” Arkansas
State head coach Matt Huckaby told ARN.
“Our guys were patient, they set the
rucks and sent the ball wide. South
Carolina had a good game plan, it was
just hard to execute it in the wind.”
Despite being under the gun, USC didn’t
quit and were rewarded for their efforts
with the last try of the game right on
fulltime.
“The boys played respectably in the
second half,” said South Carolina head
coach Geoff Mason. “They’re [ASU] the
fastest team we’ve seen and when they’re
on their game they’re hard to beat.”
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