Photo: Judy Parrish
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Red River’s Division II held a pair of league matches last weekend, and saw Little Rock (1-0) defeat Dallas Athletic (0-1) 19-10, and San Antonio Riveters (1-0) shut out McAllen (0-1) 122-0. Both victors are coming off of strong recruitment years, and that has aided some early-season success.
Little Rock head coach and former USA Eagle Kate Turpin explained that while there is a solid rugby community in central Arkansas, it is mostly unknown to the masses. ARPTC brings exposure (academy graduates like Abby Vestal now state residents), and the medical school and Air Force base inject experienced players, but on a transient basis. There are no natural feeders, so Little Rock finds and converts other sports’athletes into rugby players.
“We really work on continuity,” Turpin said of coaching strategies for an always-changing roster. “If new people are playing or coming in at different positions, which tends to happen frequently, then structure isn’t as important as support and continuity. So if nothing else, new people know how to catch and pass and learn how to support a line-break. We don’t do a whole lot of plays and penalty plays, but we get into patterns and have them read what’s in front of them.”
Photo: Judy Parrish
Dallas Athletic (DARC) lined up for the season opener and unleashed its hard-running, physical ballcarriers.
“We looked like we were knocking some dust off,” Turpin said. “It’s like we were surprised at how hard DARC was coming at us and it took a minute to regroup and remember that if we don’t take away some space and don’t force them to make decisions and mistakes, then they’re just going to run hard and we have to make a tackle. That’s a hard way to play defense.”
The scoreboard was silent for nearly the entire first half, and then right before the break, Little Rock flanker Tara Coffey scored and Vestal converted for the 7-0 lead.
Photo: Judy Parrish
“At halftime we talked about continuing to take space away on defense and straightening up our lines on offense, so we could create space and opportunities for continuity,” Turpin said. “I believe that was our edge – our ability to capitalize a little more with continuity after a line-break, being able to support it and score a few more tries.”
Fifteen minutes after the break, wing Zenobia Bowman scored the first of two tries, giving Little Rock a 12-0 lead. The final eight minutes of the match saw three tries dot down: one from Bowman, which Vestal converted, one from DARC lock Kayleigh Schrader, and the game-ender from DARC reserve Gabriela Hillmann: 19-10 the final.
Turpin called out line-breaker extraordinaire Vestal, finisher Bowman and work horse Coffelt for standout performances, as well as Hana Hays, a rookie who played her first full 15s game at fullback.
Photo: Judy Parrish
“Our back three was a little inexperienced and DARC saw that, so they kicked to us a ton,” Turpin said. “She fielded a couple of kicks and one of them was converted into a try. I was happy for her.”
The victory was a good way to start the season and also produced a list of work-ons, including fitness, tackle completionand lineout accuracy.
“A win is always a confidence builder,” Turpin closed. “But at the end of the day, I’ve seen them play so much better and know they’re capable of more. They see it, too. They know they need to roll up their sleeves and get back to work.”
San Antonio faced less resistance against McAllen, a young team, but emerged from its season-opening shutout with a list of to-dos as well. New Zealander Jason Liddle is head coach and working with close to 30 players this year. Approximately half are returners, while the ranks have filled with UT San Antonio graduates as well as rugby newcomers. The team started pre-season fitness and skills training in September – a useful foundation given the light roster that traveled to McAllen Saturday.
“It was a great collaboration. Everyone worked well together,and the veterans did a great job of communicating with and directing the rookies,” Liddle said. “We focused on support, drawing the defender and then passing, avoiding contact to keep the ball moving.”
Once it became apparent that the Riveters were going to spend a good amount of time on attack, Liddle encouraged some experimentation.
“This is the day to do it,” Liddle said. “Throw the ball around, be creative, and learn from it. Some communication broke down but it was mostly good.”
San Antonio scored 17 tries, eight of which came from outside center Toni Armstrong, and fullback Christine Krieger was 100% on conversions. Krieger scored two tries and also nailed a penalty from nearly midfield to end the day with 47 points. Emily Fillmore, who took the pitch at the 20-minute mark, scored three tries, while scrumhalf Keeley Coker and wing Halie Green scored two tries apiece.
“It was really hot – 91 degrees – and we felt it. We need to bring 23 going forward, because we need those fresh legs, especially in the last 30,” Liddle said. “But it was a good effort, and good validation on my end that we’re moving in the right direction.”
San Antonio retakes the pitch on January 11 to face Bay Area, which beat reigning Red River champion and nationals rep Austin Valkyries in week one. In the interim, the Riveters will make good use of the scrum sled, get those lineout reps in, and fine-tune its communication.
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