Updated Midwest Brackets

The Midwest Rugby Union has made some changes to the Championship brackets for this weekend.

DSHA now plays St Joseph's Academy in the quarterfinal opening match, who was moved up from the second division. Tough break for DSHA, as they now face the #11 team in the country. Tough break if you are a #1 seed, and although it may not appear fair at first glance, it is in keeping with the precedent of trying not to put teams from the same state in the same side of the bracket. Althought SJA doesn't have the same championship tradition, being far newer, they do boast some eerie similarities: an all-girls Catholic school, with players only from their one high school. They won their first Ohio State Championship last fall.

The other interesting change is a Lakewood v Armstrong (MN) rematch of last spring's opening match, narrowly won by Lakewood. Armstrong's experience in the Championship Division, their familiarity with Lakewood's style, and the fact they've been dominant this spring could lead up to this being a great match. Lakewood seems to have regained their mojo and prevailed against SJA to claim Ohio's top spot.

This change shifted KM's opener to a face off with Traverse City. The other match is unchanged.

In the second division championship
Brookfield now faces South Bend and Catholic Memorial faces tournament hosts Carmel, Indiana, playing on their home pitch.

Midwest Championships 2011

This weekend, four Wisconsin teams converge on the Midwest Championships. With nineteen different programs and twenty-four sides represented in three different divisions, including five b-sides, this event has become probably the largest and most competitive girls rugby event in the country. Six different state champions will be represented in a unique regional championship. Established in 1999, the Midwest will crown its 13th Regional Champion. With six different teams currently listed in Rugby Magazine’s top twenty in the country, and several more who could stake a claim to consideration, the brackets are as stacked as they’ve ever been.

The top two brackets feature several great matchups. In particular, if #6 Lakewood and #7 Kettle Moraine manage to advance, and that’s by no means a given, they are poised for an epic semi-final clash of two talented programs with high aspirations.

Midwest Championships 2011
Carmel, Indiana
Division I Championship
DSHA HS v Traverse City
Columbus v Fox Chapel
Kettle Moraine v Armstrong
Rockford v Lakewood
Blue Championship Bracket
Brookfield v Carmel
Lakeview v Plainview
Catholic Memorial HS v Livingston
Penn HS v St Joseph’s Academy

Wisconsin Youth Rugby: Summer Registration Open!

Rugby for Kids!

Tag rugby has been added this year at Wauwatosa and Menomonee Falls in addition to the programs already available in Waukesha and Fond du Lac. Please get the word out and get your kids, kids' friends, nieces, nephews, grandkids, and/or neighbors' kids out to play. To grow rugby in Wisconsin and the US, we need kids starting at a younger age and this is the best way to make it happen.

For Wauwatosa Tag Rugby with Dan Chanen click here:


For Menomonee Falls Tag Rugby with Dan Zeroth (page 15):

For Fond du Lac Tag Rugby contact Ben Blanc at920-979-6591 or bblanc13@frontier.com

For Waukesha Tag Rugby by Joe Cunningham (page 24):

or register here!

Please forward this information to your teams, listservs, groups, and any others who might be interested. Thanks!

Joe Cunningham

Catholic Memorial Hosts Final Tuneup

(Pictured: Nikky MacLeod running on April 2nd vs DSHA @Valley Fields)

Thursday April 21st:

Catholic Memorial 77 Muskego 0
Catholic Memorial jv 15 Wauwatosa 12

In thier final tuneup before heading off to the Midwest Tournament next week, Catholic Memorial High School hosted Muskego and Wauwatosa at Minooka Park, on Thursday afternoon.

The best match of the day was a back-and-forth tussle with Tosa and CMHS. Freshman Becca Silas scored a try as time expired to pull the Crusaders ahead in a narrow 3-try to 2-try battle.

Can you find the ball?

Click on the picture for a bigger image. Can you spot the kick? Everyone was transfixed by this kick during the CMHS and DSHA JV match on April 2nd. Kicker Lynsey Bluma tries to persuade the ball in, in her best Carlton Fisk-like fashion.

Kettle Moraine holds off Brookfield Again

Kettle Moraine continued their buildup to the Midwest Championships on Wednesday against another top twenty team in the country, Brookfield. Playing in brutally cold and windy conditions, both teams showed poise and teamwork in a back and forth match that reflected the combined experience of two really talented, veteran teams. Both sides looked to play some good rugby and push the pace of the match to build momentum into the regionals next weekend.

In the end, Kettle Moraine just seemed to have Brookfield's number this year, as they were able to grab a tight 17-14 victory over their crosstown rivals. Andrea Mertins had 2 tries, Lauren Becker 1 and Megan Klemm the conversion for the Knightmares. Brookfield's inside center had the most memorable try of the day on a smoothly run skip and loop around the outside center.

Next week Kettle Moraine takes on Minnessota's Armstrong in the opening round of the Midwest Championships. In the second division of the tournament, Brookfield faces off against one of Indiana's older teams and the hosts of the tournament, Carmel.

In addition to this Wednesday's match, Brookfield had traveled up to Fond Du Lac for a match on April 17th. Brookfield came away with a 24-7 victory.

The Midwest Challenge, Des Moines, Iowa

-- Kettle Moraine's Makinzie Rogahn pictured, on the run against the Kansas City Dragons--

Last weekend two Wisconsin teams, Kettle Moraine and Vernon, made the six hour drive to Des Moines, Iowa for the Annual Midwest Girls Rugby Challenge, hosted by the Des Moines Women's Rugby Club at their fine facility and club house.

In addition to the hosts, the St Louis Sirens, Liberty United (from KC), Orono (MN), and Pearl City, IA were in attendance. One of our field reporters was there and provided a few details:

Saturday
Kettle Moraine All Blues 50 Liberty 0
Kettle Moraine Stripes 10 Orono 15
Kettle Moraine All Blues 15 Kansas City 0
Kettle Moraine Stripes 51 St Louis 0

Sunday
Kettle Moraine All Blues 15 Orono 5
Kettle Moraine Stipes 51 Liberty 0

"The Kettle Moraine Knightmares split into two squads for this past weekend's tournament. The All Blues started the day off strong with a 50-0 display against a new Liberty, MO squad. The All Blues were led by sophomore Megan Tutkowski with 3 tries in the opening match.

The Stripe squad found a much more difficult match to start off the day. Against Orono, one of the top teams in MN, they found a back and forth match leaving them on the losing side of 10-15. Freshman Justice Powell and Caelee Whiteaker were able to find the try zone in the losing effort.

The All Blues last match for Saturday found them against a more experienced Kansas City team. With balanced scoring between the forwards and backs, they were able to prevail 15-0.

The Striped squad had a much easier time in the 2nd match of the day against a St. Louis side. The communication between the backs and forwards was greatly improved and resulted in a solid 51-0 victory. In the picture, rookie Freshman Makinzie Rogahn, takes off on a run for her first try of the day.

Frustrated from the first match on Saturday the Stripe squad again committed to a balanced attack and being able to move the ball quickly to space out wide. The backs used their speed and scampered their way to 8 tries in the route of the young Liberty, MO side. Junior Megan Klemm, put on a kicking display converting 8 of 11 opportunities for the extra points.

The All Blues finished off the day against their stiffest competition of the weekend in Orono. Orono, quickly took to the attack and marched down the field in a confident push to the first points of the day. Down 5-0, the All Blues again looked to their backs to showcase their speed as they fought their way back into the game. With the forwards able to control the rucks, the backs were able to find the space needed to answer back with 3 tries of their own. After a long, hard fought weekend, the teams were pleased to end the day with a 15-5 victory.

The Knightmares now look to reassemble and continue to prepare for their march to the Midwest championships in Indiana on April 30th. Said coach Jeff Noe, "I can't wait, after this weekend a lot of newer players are beginning to step up and accept a larger responsibility as part of the team. They are making it very difficult for selections going forward."

April 16th Marquette Women's Rugby Showcase

On Saturday April 16th, Marquette University Women's rugby hosted the Spring High School Rugby showcase, with Catholic Memorial High School, St Charles, Illinois, and Plainfield, Illinois at Marquette's Valley Fields.

While it wasn't the nice spring day everyone hoped for, the teams were still able to play two fast-paced matches on Marquette's artificial turf.

CMHS defeated St Charles 38-7 and Plainfield 51-5. CMH's Freshman wing Rebecca Haight stood out with three tries in the second match, while the St Charles Captain and #8 stood out for her great runs, kicks, and tackling.

April 9th-13th Updates

On Sunday April 9th
Kettle Moraine 0 UW-Milwaukee 37
KM B 10 Northshore 55

A few notes from our field reporter:
"UWM had a strong flyhalf that killed KM. Julie Thorn and a few other forwards were tough and having Reilly plus one of the Bruni’s in the backline to keep the rest stable made it hard for KM to keep a steady attack. KM got down to the goal line several times times but were turned away.

Northshore was more of the same against KM's B-side. Taking on Northshore's athletic A-side, KM's B-side were competitive. The size and speed of some of the NS athletes kept KM off guard. NS was able to break free on some impressive runs and controlled the match. Having Reilly at flyhalf, again filling in, for NS let them have a more disciplined approach. The effort from the underclass/rookie side of KM, with no one with more than a season, was impressive. KM was able to get some big runs in and find their way to two tries.


On Wednesday April 13th DSHA took on an ever-improving Oak Creek.

DSHA 80 Oak Creek 0
DSHA 41 Oak Creek B 0

Despite missing several key players, including their regular flyhalf to scrumhalf combination, DSHA was able to set the pace of both matches. In the first girls match hosted on the grounds of Oak Creek High School, a nice crowed turned out to mark the occassion. An improving Oak Creek side showed flashes of their potential, with some good scrummaging and the ability to get a few turnovers.

Quick Spring Updates

Just a quick update here with a few scores:

DSHA 41 Vernon 0
DS B 50 Vernon B 0
CMHS 44 Fond Du Lac 0
CMHS JV 7 Fond Du Lac 0
KM UWM B (unreported)

On Irish Storytelling and Character

On Storytelling and Character

Our office staff here at Wisconsin Girls Rugby subscribes to several overseas newspapers. One of the more enjoyable is the Irish Independent. The writing style of their sportswriters is different from our American newspapers; a wee bit of that celtic gift for storytelling is infused in the retelling of the games and the opinions on the great people involved with sport. They seem to love their stories and anecdotes and people more than the plays and the stats. Maybe that’s part of rugby’s charm. We don’t keep a lot of statistics. It’s more about character and people.

One excerpt from “Laying Down a Marker” by Hugh Farrelly describes a team’s reaction to being scored on:

“Paul O'Connell stood tall as the players gathered behind the posts. Between injury and suspension, Munster's second-row and captain was featuring in only his fourth match of the season, but the gravity of the situation was not lost on him.

That ignominy of another defeat, the silent despair of the Thomond crowd, the ebullience of their opponents and the trials of a tough week forced Munster to a dark place behind those posts and a communal conclusion -- enough is enough.

When the Munster forwards jogged back to half-way for the restart, there was a different air about them. The bitterness, frustration and anger (absent in Toulon and the equally damaging defeat away to the Ospreys) was back and London Irish bore the brunt.”

Coaches and players have probably all faced a moment like that.

The article that caught our eye early this morning came from Brendan Fanning speaking with chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald about where Munster Rugby is headed. Munster is both an Irish Province and one of the more famous rugby teams.

Fitzgerald said: "The strongest aspect of Munster rugby, and always had been since before I was heard of, are the people. Our success has been built on having excellent people on and off the field, people with great character who have grown up in a slightly different culture given that lots of our areas of support are more rurally based than you'd get elsewhere. Those people run everything from schools rugby to club rugby to supporters and the professional staff and up to the overseas players we've been very lucky with. It's a different culture and those people have been our success. And the cross-sport support is a huge thing in Munster as well.

The weaker area is our facilities. I wouldn't be happy with them generally. Up to 20 years ago, rugby was seen as a Cork and Limerick thing but now it's right across the five counties. I'd like to see us improve our facilities across the board, not just stadiums. All the young players are honed in the domestic game in clubs and schools and I'd like to see us improve them. Personally, I think a lot of our underage rugby should be played in the better-weather months of the year. In Ireland, we try and train our kids in the worst months of the year and it's an issue for our skills and enjoyment of running and passing. I'd love to see us play into May and even have 10-a-side rugby for kids in August and September. Our competition model for our young players needs to improve also. “

I found this an inspiring reminder. Somedays we at WGR wish our facilities were a little better or that we were further along in our game development. Yet, here’s a perfect example of how one of the best rugby teams in the world, lacks some material things. Anyone who has ever played on the sloped pitch at DSHA, the one that used to have a tree in the field of play, would agree.

Or, just look at the Butler Bulldogs collegiate basketball team. They aren't a huge school, yet they just made it to the national championship game, and they play in the Butler Fieldhouse, built in 1928. If you’ve ever watched Hoosiers, it’s where they play the state championship game. It’s one of the older and smaller facilities in major college basketball. If you want to get an idea of how they’ve been able to be successful, look at some of the things Butler’s coach, Brad Stevens says. He’s only 34 years old and already he’s coached in two final fours.

Fitzgerald’s second comment also appears worthy of discussion around here. Our spring seasons are always such a challenge, with miserable weather affecting the ability of teams to develop skills and enjoy the game. Most teams gave up trying to schedule matches in March a few seasons ago. Should we wait even longer in the future? Start after Easter?

Rugby in April

Some scores from the early action this spring:

3/26 Brookfield 84 Muskego 0

4/1 DSHA 22 Marquette 0 (one half)
CMHS 14 Marquette 0 (one half)
CMHS JV 12 DSHA JV 12

4/2 DSHA 65 Rockford 0
CMHS 44 Rockford 0

Brookfield @ St Louis Ruggerfest
Brookfield 43 St Louis Sirens 0
Brookfield 27 Kansas City 0

4/3 Brookfield vs TBD
Kettle Moraine 32 @ Vernon 10
Kettle Moraine B 5 vs Wauwatosa 15
Kettle Moraine B 10 vs Vernon B 0
Oak Creek @ Muskego