Tulsa, OK
02/19/05

Wayne Nicholsen

Dustin off the cobwebs

This past Saturday the Kansas City Rugby Club traveled to Oklahoma for their season opener. Tulsa R.F.C. would prove to be a scrappy challenger and did themselves proud on the day.

The weather was a little dreary and a tad bit nippy however the conditions were dry and good clean ball was expected throughout the day. Tulsa has been on a tear in division II recently compiling a very respectable record. Their only slip up was against the Dallas reds last season. Look for them to turn some heads this year in D II.

The match certainly looked like it was each squad’s first. The rust from each side was evident and especially from the visitors set pieces and ball handling. Over 50 percent of KC's lineouts and scrums were lost and it looked to be a long hard road for the men in hoops. Cities defense for most of the match however was very solid and individually there was some great work put in.

KC's ability to steal their opponents ball in the loose and their defense in the forwards was exceptional, giving them back the balls they were losing in the set piece. When Tulsa retained the bal,l they did well, scoring two tries from good phase play and quick ball that created overloads and easy scores in the corner

Both sides squandered numerous opportunities to put points on the board through simple handling errors and poor decision making. One glaring error was that KC seemed to refuse taking easy penalty kicks and instead would make poorly devised individual runs that more often than not ended in the Tulsa’s regaining possession.

Although the game did appear to lack a certain amount of luster and precision it was ferociously contested in the breakdowns. Each team should be patting their own backs for a job well done in the loose, great team rucking and individual defense.

The Final tally would go down in the books having KC scoring 28 Tulsa 10. Keith, Chicken, Irish and Gary all dotted down and Tim was a perfect four out of four on conversions.

The killer B’s would tussle shortly thereafter for their respective clubs bragging rights. City’s seconds seemed to be more disciplined in this match and many A side hopefulls put in out standing performances. Their should be heated competition for A side honors in the coming weeks, final score KC 36 Tulsa 14.

1 Lawrence, Mike )))))))))1 McGrone, Rasul ))))))))))Tackle of the day: Dustin Marks
2 Andrews, Keith ))))))))))2 Nicholsen, Wayne © ))))Skill of the day: Ryan Braun
3 Dockstader, Matt(((((((( 3 Pau, Pita )))))))))))))))))))Dick of the day: Keith Andrews
4 Hunn, Kevin(((((((((((((( 4 Taula, Lole
5 Pestinger, Colin))))))))) 5 Hasse, Mike ))))))))))))))Tries A Side: Keith Andrews, Seth
6 Camahort, Ray)))))))))) 6 Coward, Ric )))))))))))))))Stanley, Allen Mullen, Gary Tapusoa
7 Laula, Al )))))))))))))))))))7 Braun, Ryan )))))))))))))))Conversions: Tim Davies 4/4
8 Hasse, Mike)))))))))))))))8 DeBerg, Troyce
9 Snow, Neal ©)))))))))))) 9 Davies, Tim )))))))))))))))Tries B Side: Ryan Braun, Tim Davies,
10 Davies, Tim )))))))))))))10 Mullen, Allen ))))))))))))Dustin Marks, Pita Pau (Hat Trick)
11 Stanley, Seth ))))))))))))11 McNeal, Rodney )))))))Conversions: Neil Snow 1/1, Dustin
12 Belmer, Goeff )))))))))))12 Laula, Al )))))))))))))))))Marks 0/1, Tim Davies 2/4
13 Tapusoa, Gary ))))))))))13 Tapusoa, Gary
14 Marks, Dustin )))))))))) 14 Sawyer, Daryll
15 Mullen, Allen ))))))))))))15 Musick, Jamie

)))))))))))Man of the match in bold