Photo courtesy Providence Women’s Rugby
Much like its Atlantic North counterpart (read more about the Empire GU), New England (NERFU) has a unique configuration for its DI and DII women’s clubs. It’s a tiered system, where a subset of DII teams competes against the two DI teams during the regular season and then rejoins Division II for the post-season. A Tier A team and Tier B team featured in the NERFU championship.
RELATED: NERFU Tier A Results & Standings • NERFU Tier B Results & Standings • Providence in Tier A • Hartford in Tier B
The four DII teams that competed in Tier A filtered directly into the NERFU quarterfinals to face the top-four Tier B teams (i.e., those that competed in the all-DII league). The Tier A and Tier B teams split the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Providence, which finished second in Tier A, edged Tier B Charles River 10-0 to advance to the final.
“Charles River was a strong opponent,” Providence captain Michelle Un recalled. “They were really tough in the rucks and had good runners in their backs and forwards. We had been working on defense and tackling in the weeks leading up to playoffs, which paid off in this game with no scores in the first half from either team.”
Prop Tiara Mack and fullback Dana Ayoub scored in the second 40 for the repeat berth to the NERFU DII final. On the other side of bracket, Hartford faced Tier A teams in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and won both to advance to the NERFU championship.
“It was definitely validating beating Portland and Worcester. We embraced the chance to prove ourselves against the Tier A teams,” Hartford coach Marinda Reynolds relished the 36-17 win over Portland and 35-5 semifinal win over Worcester. “We played our best defense all season against Worcester, and we never backed down against Portland. Ultimately we focused on our game plan of leveraging our speed on the outside to get around them, all contributing to our wins.”
It was a final four weekend, so Providence and Hartford contested the NERFU championship the following day. Providence scored three tries in both halves, with flanker Ashley Hanson leading all scorers with 20 points on a try, six conversions and a penalty. Flanker Renee Astphan and No. 8 Un scored two tries apiece, and outside center April Blinn also dotted down in the 45-7 win. Hartford got its score from lock Tierney Morton and conversion from flyhalf Sarah Coppola.
“I know Hartford was missing their fullback for most of the game who is one of their best players,” Un referenced Hartford’s Elyse Quadrozzi, who scored three tries against Worcester the day prior. “Even so, they were a strong opponent, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had to face them again in the spring.
“I did enjoy playing different teams in playoffs that we hadn’t yet played. It was exciting because we did not know what to expect, but both games resulted in challenging, competitive matches,” the NO. 8 added. “Lots of hard of work to do over the winter but excited but for the spring season.”
Despite the loss, Reynolds confirmed that her team was thrilled with the outcome.
“The Providence game was tough, as we suffered some key injuries the day before, but they play a fast-paced game and never backed down, with threats from all angles,” Reynolds explained. “We’ll work on reacting quicker on defense and to really strengthen our rucking game in the off-season as we look to spring.
“Regardless, at the start of the season we wanted to learn to play together as a team and win some games,” the coach continued. “Then when we realized we had something really special, so all focus landed on making one of those top two spots in NERFU. While ending on a loss was not ideal, this team is excited, focused and ready to see what we can do this spring.”
If the Atlantic North playoffs follow last year’s set-up (see Empire’s calendar), then DII NERFU champion Providence will host Empire DII runner-up Brooklyn in the late-April crossover semifinal. Runner-up Hartford would travel to Empire DII champion Danbury. The victors will feature in the Atlantic North championship on May 5, and the winner will advance to the national championship quarterfinals.
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