August 15-16, 2009

National 7s – Match Report

The All Blues finished second in the inaugural Women’s Rugby 7s National Invitational Tournament hosted by the SF Fog on August 15-16, 2009.

We finished the tournament with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss and we outscored our opponents 167-40. A detailed match report follows…

Players

Kirsten Ahrendt

Phoebe Boone

Alex Boskovich

Ruth Bryson

Katie Chou

Courtney Ellis (Georgi)

Elaine Gardner

Kelly Griffin

Erica Hanson

Hillary Hegener (Rookie)

Naima Reddick

Laura Robinson

The first match saw us playing the local hosts – the SF Barbarians, comprised of mostly SF Fog players with a few others thrown in. Kelly Griffin scored first for the All Blues after touching down a penalty kick that Ruth Bryson just narrowly missed. Kirsten Ahrendt scored next after the ball went wide through the hands off a scrum. Griff had another try that half after touching down a Barbarian dropped ball that she had kicked through their line. Ruth converted all 3 tries. The second half saw the Barbarians adjusting to our style of play and doing well to keep us out of their half, but a superbly fielded kick by Kirsten saw Griff scoring off the counter attack to bring the final score to 26-0.

The second match was our highest scoring of the tournament against NOVA 2. First to score was Griff after cutting through the middle of their line hard. Then Rookie (Hillary Hegener) devastated NOVA 2 with a stiff arm that leveled one of their backs to score easily in the center. Rookie touched down a second try before the half being in wide support of Naima’s break through the middle. Elaine started the second half scoring early after picking the ball at the back of a scrum and running for the weak side corner. Ruth scored out wide next after a few phases and then Rookie completed her hat trick by touching down a ball Ruth handed off to her in support after a gorgeous line break. Phoebe finished the game with a try after Naima sucked their wing in and dished it out wide. Final score was 39-0.

We played Kansas City third and scored 4 tries against them. Griff touched down first after Naima committed the defense and created a nice hole for her to slip through. Elaine scored next off of a line-out in support of Kirsten running up the sideline. Kirsten had a pair of tries in the second half starting with a 1-3 switch that saw the ball through 4 pairs of hands before it found the try zone. Her second try came after recovering her own downfield kick to score. Highlights of this game included Naima touching a ball down 1 meter short of the try line, thinking she was running out the back of the try zone when she actually hadn’t entered it yet, and Ruth getting to jump in a line-out (a dream fulfilled). Final score was 20-0.

Our last game of the day saw us against Albany. We came out hard early and Griff broke their line after fielding the kick-off and dished it to Ruth in support who touched it down. Griff scored for herself just before the half after shooting up wide while being ridden into the try zone like a pony. Elaine had a pair of tries in the second half (one after jetting for the weak corner off a scrum again and another after Rookie intercepted an Albany lineout and dished it Phoebe in support, to Naima with some spin moves to Elaine. Griff finished her scoring for the day with an easy try right through the middle, bringing the final score to 31-0.

After the first day of the tournament the seeding was:

1. Berkeley All Blues
2. NOVA 1
3. Glendale Raptors
4. Kansas City
5. San Diego Surfers
6. Albany Knicks
7. Emerald City Mudhens
8. SF Barbarians
9. NOVA 2
10. Maryland Exiles

The next morning we faced the 8^th seed in the quarterfinals, the SF Barbarians. Griff saw her first try out wide immediately after kick off and Kirsten followed shortly after with a wide touchdown after a scrum. Ruth also scored out wide after a few phases of play and Elaine sucked their wing in. Griff saw her second try immediately after the break as we turned over their ball on the kickoff and she touched it down out wide. Griff completed her second hat trick of the tournament when she scored out wide after a scrum. Kirsten got her second and final try of the day after we spread the defense and took the ball from one side of the field to the other a few times until a hole opened and she slipped through.

In the semi-finals we came up against the San Diego Surfers and gave up our first points of the tournament. Elaine scored first after Griff stripped the ball from a Surfer in a tackle and dished it off. Griff then scored herself after switching and attacked the weak side after a scrum. After the break, Griff touched the ball down again and Ruth converted. In the final moments of the game SD Surfer Marea Blue touched the ball down out wide brining the final score to 17-5.

The final was less than pretty and saw us being defeated quite soundly by NOVA (35-0). They were a terrific side that was clearly a lot more experienced at 7s than we were and they found gaps in our defense and were able to capitalize on any mistakes we made. We remained positive throughout though and were able to hold our heads up high afterwards, knowing that if we practice more and committee ourselves to attending more 7s tournaments next summer, the outcome will be very different.

Needless to say, our player of the weekend was Kelly Griffin after leading us with an incredibly positive attitude and 13 tries, scoring in every game leading up to the final. Ruth was our second highest scorer with 37 points (3 tries and 11 conversions). Kirsten and Elaine tie for third place with 5 tries each.

All in all, it was a great weekend of rugby. Thanks to all the fans who came and supported and everyone who contributed toward the entry fee. The SF Fog hosted a fantastic event that was incredibly well organized and we can’t wait for next summer to go after that Cup!!!

Saturday

All Blues v. SF Barbarians: 26-0 tries by Kelly Griffin (3) and Kirsten Ahrendt (1).

All Blues v. NOVA 2: 39-0 tries by Hilary Hegenger (3), Kelly Griffin (1), Elaine Gardner (1), Ruth Bryson (1) and Phoebe Boone (1).

All Blues v. Kansas City: 20-0 tries by Kirsten Ahrendt (2), Kelly Griffin (1) and Elaine Gardner (1).

All Blues v. Albany: 31-0 tries by Kelly Griffin (2), Elaine Gardner (2) and Ruth Bryson (1).

Sunday

All Blues v. SF Barbarians: 34-0 (tries by Kelly Griffin (3), Kirsten Ahrendt (2) and Ruth Bryson (1).

All Blues v. SD Surfers: 17-5 (tries by Elaine Gardner (1) and Kelly Griffin (2). Marea Blue scored for Surfers)

FINAL: All Blues v. NOVA 1: 0-35. Ouch.