Orlando took the No. 1 seed into Florida’s DII club playoffs, and after Saturday’s 76-5 semifinal win against Ft. Miami, the team has the opportunity to support that position with a trophy. Orlando will face Tampa Bay, which defeated Jacksonville 71-7 in the semifinals, in the state championship on April 24 in Titusville, Fla.
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It’s been an interesting season – for everyone, but also Orlando, which welcomed a contingent of current collegians to the squad this spring. Colleges were told in late fall that there would be no competition for them in 2020-21 but there was an option to align with women’s clubs, should the desire be there.
“I was fine with that,” said Orlando lock Laurell Cuza, a fifth-year student pursuing a computer science degree. “However I can play rugby, then I want to do it. I don’t care who is coming with me or not. It was an immediate ‘yes’ for me.”
The Miami native was introduced to rugby during a freshman orientation ice cream social, back in fall 2016.
“Hey, you’re tall! Come here! You should sign up,” Cuza recited the recruitment pitch that bellowed across the ballroom.
She hesitated. Coming from 10 years of competitive martial arts, she had never played a field sport or a team sport. But Cuza was looking for connection and community, and gave it a go.
“When they saw me walking toward practice, they yelled, ‘Are you here to play rugby?’ And then all started cheering,” Cuza remembered her first interaction with the team. “And then I fell in love with the first hit.”
Tall, strong and mobile, Cuza found her home in the second row and applied some transferrable skills from karate.
“Yes, there is some translation, especially in [body] position,” Cuza explained. “In karate, you have to have low stances and be comfortable in a sturdy position, so when it came to setting rucks, that was something that was very easy for me. I was used to getting low and I’m very flexible for my size, so I was able to hold down the rucks.”
Cuza also likened tackling to take-downs, which involve grappling, squeezing, leverage and leg drive to finish.
“And the physicality in martial arts,” Cuza added. “You do train your body to take hits so having that background was a strength when learning rugby.”
When collegians were given the option to align with women’s clubs, Cuza and a handful of teammates who are based locally joined Orlando. Many teammates, however, returned home to be with their families and study remotely.
“It was a weird transition because they do things differently,” said Cuza, who had played one summer 7s season with Orlando and also knew the local club from years of friendlies. “It was just getting used to their practice style and learning how everyone plays. It took about a month and the inside jokes started happening and you end up trusting each other more. Then you just gel.”
Cuza stressed that the team wasn’t segmented into collegians and club players; everyone is Orlando. But it did help that some of the newer players knew each other.
“I can’t talk about anyone without first talking about Christina Norman,” Cuza said of the loose forward. “We’ve had five years together and she’s been a beast since day one. I’ve always looked up to her, and she’s someone who’s been with me on and off the field. I honestly can’t imagine what being on a team without her will be like.”
Cuza has also has five years with Kayli Hannah, “who is usually my hooker but now my prop this season,” she said. “She was amazing in this last game [against Ft. Miami]. She ran great support lines and was always there for the offload. And she’s super strong. You wouldn’t think so because she’s 5’4”, but she gets low on her runs and she’s one of those people I hate tackling when we have to go against each other.”
Cuza also had college teammates in familiar positions.
“I really want to give props to my lock partner, Eva [Esperanza],” Cuza said. “I’ve seen her grow for the last three years, and she keeps stepping up. She’s tall and big like me, and a hard runner. During the Ft. Miami game, she was pulling out the side steps and using fancy footwork when she ran. It was so nice to see.
“And then obviously Gabby Pennino,” Cuza said of the scrumhalf. “She runs the pack. Scrummies have to run the pack but she really does take command and tells us what to do. Bosses me around. She’s so passionate about the sport. She’s always coming up with new ideas [for plays] … so it’s nice that she’s always thinking about rugby. It just goes to show that the sport is such a big part of her.”
Orlando is rife with talent and Cuza soon found her inspirations on the club team.
“[Kristi] Schnepp is my captain,” Cuza said. “When I first met her, she was a forward and then moved to flyhalf – and I miss her so much! But it’s amazing to see this forward playing flyhalf and side-stepping and doing dummy runs. I love watching her play and she’s definitely one I look up to. She’s a leader in every sense of the word and so inspiring in the way she talks to us. She commands respect.”
Center Maddie Ross was also a great influence on young players Emily Rahija – who is of freshman age and killing it at center – and wing Ana Dovali.
“Ana’s amazing,” Cuza said. “She started playing last year and then had like six tries against Ft. Miami. One was an intercept try – I was just so impressed with her vision. Usually wings can be reserved but she was attacking this game.”
Everything was coming together nicely as Orlando beat its first three league opponents, and then the team traveled to Life University for a friendly 15s match.
“It’s nice to play that high-level rugby and Life always gives you a good game,” Cuza said. “It’s important to challenge yourself. No one got anywhere playing lesser teams or teams you know you’re going to beat.
“The first 30 minutes it was a lot of adjusting to the tempo, and then once we got in and drove our way of playing, that’s when we saw improvement,” she added. “That’s what we needed to gel in general. And a road trip is good for a team … you bond and start seeing your teammates more as people.”
Cuza enjoyed the contest because Life gets low in the tackle and the scrum, and it pushed her to do the same and play as hard.
“The ruck zone has been our biggest concern because we haven’t been really quick to the rucks,” Cuza said of take-aways from the 52-17 loss. “Life is big on poaching; if you’re not there then they will not hesitate to poach the ball. Looking back at the film, we needed to get there quicker and run the right support lines. We really worked on that during the Tampa game and it was even more evident against Ft Miami.”
Orlando funneled that work into a 38-19 win against Tampa Bay to end the regular season, a win that marked the Krewe’s first loss of the spring. Orlando took the top seed to the semifinals and beat Ft. Miami convincingly. Cuza, Dovali, Norman, Ross, Rahija and Donneisha Smith were among the try scorers, while Dasha Plotnikov kicked the extras in the 76-5 win.
“We built a lot of momentum in the first half and in the second half we started to play a little sloppy, but that was the only real point of contention,” Cuza said. “Orlando just clicked in this semifinal and it was amazing to see. There were some brilliant plays – offloads and support lines and communication were all on-point.”
Cuza explained that the team is feeling pretty good, but not comfortable or satisfied. Everyone is focused on states, dialing up the fitness and working hard at training. Tampa Bay put in an equally strong performance, downing Jacksonville 71-7 in Saturday’s semifinals, so Orlando knows the Krewe will be just as driven to win the rematch and trophy.
“I love it – when people have heart and put intention into [their actions],” Cuza said of Tampa Bay’s hunger for the rematch. “It makes me feel more driven to do the same. I don’t like backing down from the challenge, and I hate it when a team is like, ‘Oh, you’re just going to win.’ I love it when you hit me hard and bring it, because I’m going to give it right back. It’s motivating. And it’s also respect in the grandest sense.”
It all goes down on April 24 in Titusville, Fla. Check Rugby in Florida for the latest information.