The return to Winston-Salem for the spring semester brings me much anticipation- not for classes, but for the Carolinas League rugby season. It’s not easy to go into your final season as a Wake rugby player knowing that you won’t be on the field with your teammates, but there are certain times in life that you must accept things for what they are and make the best of your situation. Although I can no longer help this team on the rugby pitch, I can use my 8 years of rugby experience to help coach my teammates and make an impact in that way.
It’s very exciting to get back on the rugby pitch for the first practice of the season, and it was great to see the team fired up and ready to get to work. With our first match less than 2 weeks away, we have very little time to get the kinks out and try to get into midseason form. As Perry mentioned in his blog, the team looked very sharp in 2v1 drills on Tuesday, and everyone appeared to be picking up right where they left off after an encouraging fall season. Practice ended with every team member channeling their inner meathead and flipping a gigantic 600 lb. tire. It was good to see the team start the year off right with a solid practice.
As we opened our Thursday practice, the team made many mistakes and appeared uninspired and sloppy. After some harsh ridicule from Coach Kane, the team really started to pick up the intensity and execution. My favorite part of practice was always splitting up into backs and forwards to work on plays and set pieces, which we did for the first time on Thursday. Observing the backline play was very encouraging, and the execution was impressive given the long layoff of winter break. The unit looked crisp and in synch, and there were very few mistakes from the starting unit. Sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea looked especially sharp in the first line, and his play will be pivotal for the Wake backline to succeed in the Carolinas league.
Last night I asked my housemate, senior captain Michael Duffy, how he felt about the first week of practice. “We had to shake off the rust from winter break, but we started to put things together in our Thursday practice,” Duffy said. “The most important thing for the team right now is getting back into an offensive rhythm and improving our fitness level. Everything we do now is in preparation for our game against South Carolina on the 23rd.”
It’s very exciting to get back on the rugby pitch for the first practice of the season, and it was great to see the team fired up and ready to get to work. With our first match less than 2 weeks away, we have very little time to get the kinks out and try to get into midseason form. As Perry mentioned in his blog, the team looked very sharp in 2v1 drills on Tuesday, and everyone appeared to be picking up right where they left off after an encouraging fall season. Practice ended with every team member channeling their inner meathead and flipping a gigantic 600 lb. tire. It was good to see the team start the year off right with a solid practice.
As we opened our Thursday practice, the team made many mistakes and appeared uninspired and sloppy. After some harsh ridicule from Coach Kane, the team really started to pick up the intensity and execution. My favorite part of practice was always splitting up into backs and forwards to work on plays and set pieces, which we did for the first time on Thursday. Observing the backline play was very encouraging, and the execution was impressive given the long layoff of winter break. The unit looked crisp and in synch, and there were very few mistakes from the starting unit. Sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea looked especially sharp in the first line, and his play will be pivotal for the Wake backline to succeed in the Carolinas league.
Last night I asked my housemate, senior captain Michael Duffy, how he felt about the first week of practice. “We had to shake off the rust from winter break, but we started to put things together in our Thursday practice,” Duffy said. “The most important thing for the team right now is getting back into an offensive rhythm and improving our fitness level. Everything we do now is in preparation for our game against South Carolina on the 23rd.”
The team heads up to Roanoke, Virginia this weekend for training camp, and there is a lot to work on in preparation for next weekend’s game against South Carolina.
-Mike Wills, '10
Mike Wills is a senior center whose Wake rugby career ended prematurely when he tore his ACL in October. Mike will be writing a weekly blog giving his perspective on the team as it competes in the inaugural season of the Carolinas Rugby League.
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