USA

Several close games were the order of the day, as teams battled for valuable points in Week Five of the Super League.

Old Puget Sound Beach finally came up short against an opponent, losing on the road to the Chicago Griffins by a 22 – 20 score. Eric Forner and Patrick Bradley were the try scorers for OPSB, while Bobby Fitzpatrick added two conversions and two penalties. No word on the Griffins scorers, but they will likely be delighted at the continuing strong season.

There was less joy across town, as the Chicago Lions fell to the Denver Barbarians, 34-22, in the Barbo’s favor.

Phil Bolton and Ben Haapapuro had tries in the first half for Denver, one of which was converted by Mike Graham. Denver added three more tries in the second half, through Dan O’Kane, Taylor Howden and Mike Graham. Graham added to his points total by converting two of these, and also added a penalty as Denver continues to put pressure on the top of the leader board in the West conference.

In a late arriving score, San Francisco Golden Gate gets by OMBAC by a scoreline of 57-5.

In the east, Life University fought off a late surge by Boston to claim a 25 – 20 win. Life Director of Rugby Dan Payne reports Boston played hard for the full 80 minutes. Even when leading 25-6 with just 12 minutes left on the clock, Payne did not feel comfortable.

Life had tries by Garry Sullivan, Joe Perez, Brendan Thomson and Pat Danahy, while Tui Osborne had a successful conversion and a penalty kick. Two quick late tries left the outcome increasingly in question as Boston deservedly clawed their way back into the game, but Life prevailed and again took the maximum points available. Payne rued some missed kicks and he notes he was not very impressed with some of the internal team metrics, but he was quick to praise Boston’s performance on the day.

No joy in Boston as the Irish Wolfhounds fell to Old Blue New York, with Todd Fisher hitting a penalty in the 81 minute to give Old Blue the win by a score of 18 - 16. The teams exchanged three pointers in the first half before Wolfhounds Jason Lett scored a try in the corner. A second Mark Tutton penalty gave the ‘Hounds an 11-3 halftime lead. In the second half, several long runs for the Wolfhounds came to naught, before Old Blue sub Luke Hume slipped through some would be tackles to close the gap to a single point.

Lett hit back quickly with his second try, taking advantage of a botched Old Blue lineout to push the gap to 16 – 10. Tutton’s conversion attempt hit the post. With 10 minutes remaining, Greg Van Hoesen crashed over in the corner to again bring the deficit to one point. In injury time, Fisher’s successful penalty attempt was slowed but not stopped by the post, and Old Blue make the trip back to New York after improving their record to 2-1 .

Old Blue coach Guillaume Cieutat felt his team did not play well, crediting the Wolfhounds for asking tough questions of the New York team, and noting some areas Old Blue will have to fix before the clash with NYAC next week. Wolfhounds coach Coilin Jones mentioned the strong play of his front row despite some absences due to illness. The inability to close out games remains a concern for him, despite improvement in some areas.

In New York, NYAC got the better of PAC by a score of 36-20. NYAC were leading at the half by 24-13, and stretched their lead in the second half. PAC never gave up, scoring the final tries in both halves. NYAC’s Troy Hall grabbed a hattrick of tries for himself, with Troy Bartley, Shawn Rafferty and Tim Ryland adding the other NYAC tries. Peter O’Brien converted three of them. Two of the tries covered at least 60 meters on long runs by Hall and Rafferty. NYAC’s Bruce McLane praised PAC’s tough 80 minute play. He notes PAC is improving quickly as a team, and mentions the impressive play of PAC’s out-half and centers especially.

NYAC and Life continue to set the pace in the east, while San Francisco Golden Gate, Denver Barbarians, the Chicago Griffins and Old Puget Sound Beach are congregating near the top of the West conference, setting the scene for an exciting upcoming few weeks.

Week 5 - April 10, 2010

Boston Rugby 20 @ 25  Life University
Old Blue New York 18 @ 16  Boston Irish Wolfhounds
Potomac Athletic Club  20 @ 36 New York Athletic Club
Denver Barbarians  34  @ 22  Chicago Lions
Old Mission Beach Athletic Club  5 @ 57 San Francisco Golden Gate
Old Puget Sound Beach  20 @ 22  Chicago Griffins