New England’s senior clubs kicked off league play last weekend, and it’s full on through the fall. The seven Division II teams play each other once during regular season, and then a seventh friendly against one of the five Division III teams is added into the schedule. DII teams head into playoffs the first weekend of November.
RELATED: Fixtures & Scores: Sept 8-12
Of the league matches last weekend, New Hampshire’s Amoskeag and Upper Valley played the closest game: 45-43 to DIII Amoskeag. In fall 2019, the season prior to Covid-19, Amoskeag went 5-0 in NERFU DIII and Upper Valley was 2-3.
“Upper Valley is a team when we first played them in 2017, we beat them 72-0, and they were happy because they just started and were learning how to play,” Amoskeag coach Andrew Ryan said. “Now they are quite a decent team. Their backs were fast. They caught and passed well. They found the space out wide and exposed us in that area.”
Ryan has been the coaching the women’s team since then – 2017 – and came over from the club’s youth coaching staff. The team was looking to make a push after that undefeated season in 2019, but of course, the pandemic has forced the team to reassess its trajectory.
“That 2020 season was looking really good for us,” Ryan recalled. “Our spring pre-season had good numbers and we had a couple of really good athletes who would have helped us. We were looking strong. The pandemic impacted us with numbers for sure, and we lost that momentum a little bit. The girls as a core group stayed in touch – they do everything together anyway – but we’re trying to recapture that. Not everyone’s back, and we’ve got different and new players, so we’re in a rebuilding stage.”
Ryan confirmed that his goal as a coach is to win every game, but there’s more work to be done before that sentiment dominates.
“I’m taking a step back and what I want to do is make sure everyone is safe as far as playing goes,” he said. “Get their bodies right so they don’t hurt themselves in contact. And rebuild that knowledge again. We went back to basic tackling, skills right around the breakdown, and rucking techniques, so we can rebuild the muscles around those key areas, like the neck. You want that muscle memory back in and getting those techniques right so everyone is safe in contact.”
And then there are the completely new players, who obviously benefit from that back-to-basics instruction. For game day, Amoskeag was missing several National Guard members, and a handful of new players took the pitch for their first games ever.
“It was a little haphazard, about what I expected,” Ryan said of the game. “Both teams had to get their rust off after 1 1/2-2 years off due to Covid. And people were reminded that they have to be fitter than they normally are. Rugby fitness is a different kind of fitness, and that played a role in the defenses.”
The up-side was an exciting, lead-changing, high-scoring game. Amoskeag went up first and then Upper Valley came back through the middle of the match. Into halftime, the teams were tied 26-all.
“Our set pieces – our scrum – were good,” Ryan said. “We won, probably, 85% of all scrums, including Upper Valley’s. So if we lost the ball we were able to gain it back again.”
Ryan praised the work of captain Molly Hildebrandt, a long-time leader who influences the game from flyhalf.
“She had a really good game and led from the front,” the coach said. “She can break tackles all day long and scored three tries. She got through a lot of work and put us on the front foot.”
Inside center Rachel Quaye also had a good day with three tries and connected on five of seven conversions – which made the difference in the end. The new players also held up, and forward Lexi Turgeon impressed.
“On the very first kickoff, she got the ball and on her first play, she stepped someone,” Ryan delighted. “That was cool. She was solid all game.”
Ryan also paid special recognition to Elizabeth Lavoie, aka, Bang, who just had a baby and returned to the pitch with a solid performance as well as a try.
With time winding down, Amoskeag held a seven-point lead, and Upper Valley scored in the corner to pull within two. The conversion missed, and that was game: 45-43.
“We were missing some players, so if we had our full complement, then it would have gone differently, but that’s the nature of rugby. The team you’ve got is the team you have,” Ryan said. “But can we build from that [performance]? Yes. The new players understand what’s happening now, and everyone understands that we have to be fitter. Up until the game [Saturday], the goal was safety, and now it’s trying to get the game plan back in and going again. We’re slowly building up to play.”
The five Division III teams play each other once this fall and also have a friendly crossover against a DII team. Last Saturday, South Shore bested North Shore 60-5, and DIII Worcester had its crossover against DII Seacoast. Four of five DIII teams enjoy a bye this weekend. In Division II, Providence and Burlington played the closest game: 42-31 to the Rhode Islanders. Albany topped Charles River 24-3 and Portland beat Hartford 44-12.
SEPT 18 MATCHES
DIVISION II
Burlington (0-1) @ Hartford (0-1)
Portland (1-0) @ Albany (1-0) – Moved to 10/9
Worcester (0-0) @ Charles River (1-0)
DII Providence (1-0) @ DIII South Shore (1-0) (f)