Tap and go. Playoffs start tomorrow. /// Photo: Will Mahoney-Watson (see more) •
On Friday morning, the eighth Women’s Premier League (WPL) championship will kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern at Life University, Marietta, Ga. The fifth-place semifinals occur first, followed by the championship semifinals at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. All games will be viewable via The Rugby Channel.
Note: The Rugby Breakdown provided regular WPL coverage for USA Rugby, and the season’s reportage is featured on the national governing body’s site.
10AM GAME 1: BERKELEY v ATLANTA
Berkeley is undergoing a big transition, and it was reflected in the 0-6 season. But the All Blues will have a familiar feel at the championships, as veterans like Katy Augustyn, Phoebe Boone, Katie Chou, Frieda Fetu’u and Ardia Kelker root themselves on the pitch. Lauren Rhode has taken over flyhalf for Ruth Bryson and has Sacramento transfer Gardenia Schaaf playing outside of her. She teams up with Fetu’u at outside center. Kelker’s on the wing, and flyer Courtney Hendrickson on the other. The team will be missing the influence of Bulou Mataitoga, who is currently training at the OTC with the USA Women’s 7s team.
Atlanta has that home-field advantage and also ended the season on a good note – one-point loss to Twin Cities Amazons. Coach Phil Thiel was pleased with the team’s uptick in physicality in the tackle as well as the increased eagerness to cross the gainline. Watch for players like Liz Snodgrass and Kimberly Knipe to set the tone in the pack. While there are veterans like Patty Jervey and Ros Chou who have been used in the back line this season, 10-15 is generally young. Several Quins have had to get used to positions outside of their comfort zone, but Lara Gartner, Laoise O’Driscoll, Becky Martin, Meredith Whitten are working well together. Keep an eye on outside center Monique Compito.
12PM GAME 2: ORSU v DC FURIES
ORSU has been rebuilding this season. Beckett Royce and San Juanita Moreno are still the influential player-coaches they’ve been for years, but the latter missed the first half of the season due to injury. It allowed her time to train a new front-three in the backs.
“Beckett spent a good deal of the off-season examining and refining her coaching style, and this dedication to growth has been evident,” ORSU captain Rachel Johnson added. “She revamped her skills breakdown at the beginning of the season and gave ORSU a simplified, easy-to-approach foundation to strategy. Both of these have improved players’ ability to apply pressure and see and attack space. This has been especially important this season due to the youth of our squad.”
Johnson pointed to lock Candace Mahoney-Watson, hooker/flanker Paris Hart and scrumhalf Claire Lundy for breakout seasons this fall. Watch for Johnson, the player-coaches, Molly Luft and returner Te Awhina Ho Chee to be influential.
The D.C. Furies have struggled this fall, but captain Sharifa Love-Schnur isn’t frustrated.
“I had very realistic expectations for our season,” the center said. “It’s definitely tough to go winless, especially on a couple of games where if we played our best, we could have won. But this was always going to be a learning and growing season for us. I just really like to focus on the reason why we play rugby, which is to have fun and be part of a community.”
The fluctuating player pool has long plagued the Furies in the WPL, and it’ll take another hit when several players, including Love-Schnur, return to D.C. after the Friday match. Additionally, several on-the-cusp players opted to stay in D.C. and play with the DII side, which has a league match this weekend.
Seventh place will be contested at 9 a.m. Sunday, and the fifth-place match will follow at 11 a.m. Championship preview to come.