Opening with a Bang

The WGR Preseason 15s kicked off with a bang Saturday afternoon, featuring three top ten teams in the USA, according to Rugby Mag, at least, and another up and comer in Plainfield, Illinois, their repeat state champs. It was great to see so many girls teams coming together from different states for what used to be called in rugby "friendlies" or matches with no conference or playoff implications. Just a chance to get some good experience, with slacked sub rules, where players can sub in and out if needed. Everyone was especially excited to have our neighbors to the north, Armstrong, MN and the south, Plainfield, Illinois make the trek over to play some different teams.

The most interesting story of the day might just be Plainfield's improvement. With a committed coaching staff and a crew of athletic young athletes, they got better and better as the day went on. Already the top dogs in Illinois, which has a very small conference, they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone into the bigger rugby world and they're getting better and better as a result. Their committment to getting better with this event, matches in the fall, and some clear dedication on the part of parents and players is noteable.

It is also starting to turn into results, as they defeated Kettle Moraine 24-0. In a close match, a match some said was closer than the scoreline, Plainfield was able to find ways to get across the line while KM struggled with fitness and finishing.  This was Plainfield's second match, as they'd earlier defeated Oak Creek. Some might argue they were at a disadvantage from being tired out, while KM was playing in its first match. Others would argue Plainfield benefited more from working out the rust in an earlier game. Perhaps it really doesn't matter, as both teams got a lot of players into a competitive match.

Armstrong, MN travelling light with 20 players through 8 inches of snow to get here, got a badly needed run out. With the extra cold and snow this winter, they've not had any real chance to practice outside. So, everyone knows this was just a preseason game and it'll be different at the end of the month. While Wisconsin weather hasn't been much better, we've at least melted our snow in most of the Southeast in the last week.  Armstrong played the two toughest teams of the day; they showed their physicality and impressed with their never give up attitude. Despite being down a lot, they played hard at all times.

DSHA was simply awesome in their debut. They should be the favorites leading into the Midwest Championships once again. They've clearly worked really hard all winter. Perhaps more on their game story later.

Talk is already in the air about Chicago hosting the pre-season kickoff tournament next year, and trading off locations every other year, with the hope of getting some of the many Indiana teams invovled.

Full Scores:
Plainfield 43 Oak Creek 0
CMH 12 Brookfield 10
CMH 10 Brookfield 15
DSHA 22 Brookfield 10
DSHA 59 Armstrong 5 (Yellow: Sonata)
KM 0 Plainfield 24
CMH 46 Armstrong 5
DS KM (cancelled)