Wake Forest made its first trip to Annapolis, Md this weekend to take on new ACRL member the United States Naval Academy. The Deacs knew they were going to be in for an uphill battle, and the result was never in doubt as the Midshipmen scored 16 tries on the day to come away with a 100-0 victory.
While the score would indicate one way traffic the entire day, that was not always the case. In both halves Wake Forest spent considerable time attacking inside the Navy third of the field, and were simply unable to penetrate to Midshipmen's defense to get any points on the board. Wake was undone on numerous occasions by an inability to execute in the lineout, and as a result were unable to take advantage of Navy penalties and create good attacking platforms in Midshipmen territory.
Coach Kane had plenty to say after the game. "Ordinarily my opinion is that a 100-0 scoreline is of no benefit to either team. However, I've been lucky enough not to have been on either side of a score like that many times in my coaching career and I would say that both Wake Forest and Navy got significant benefit out of this game. For us, it was on oppurtunity to front up against an incredibly physical and well-drilled team and work on our defensive structure. Our tackling was for the most part very good and Navy's tries weren't coming on first phase where they simply broke a tackle and were off to the races. Instead, they had to play 4, 5, 6 phases at a time to set up overloads that they subsequently took advantage of. Credit to them for playing at a speed and with a cohesiveness that we have never seen in the ACRL, but we made them work for everything they got. And I think that ultimately will benefit Navy as well. They were forced to execute their pattern of play and create tries through good, organized rugby. Of course, they also scored a few easy tries when we made mistakes and they turned them around the other way, but I'm proud of my guys for attempting at times to play some enterprising rugby when we could have just tried to pack it in and waste time keeping the ball in tight and keep the score closer. We learned quickly, though, how against a team like Navy, a miscue in the backline is an automatic 7 points the other way. Overall I think this was a great experience for our team, and if there can be such a thing as a "good" 100 point loss, this was it. We brought Navy into the conference knowing that there would be some scores like this at the outset, but we are absolutely a better team for having had this experience."
The trip to Annapolis was also an opportunity for many of the Wake players to play in front of their family and alums, as a large contingent of the Demon Deacon squad is from the DC/Maryland area. "I think this was probably the bigest group of supporters we've ever had at one of our away games," said Coach Kane. "The parental and alumni support was great and combined with the hospitality of Navy, the post-game tailgate atmosphere was great. We probably all could have done without the snow flurries and 30 degree temperatures, but that's par for the course this season. It was also awesome to see the Navy rugby facilities and the support they get from their school. Something for all of us in the ACRL to strive towards."
Wake saw some solid performances from some young players who were thrown into the fire on Saturday, including freshmen prop Joe Decaminada, sophomore flanker Conor Murphy, and junior hooker Dwain Hodges, all of whom were playing in only their second ever rugby game.
Wake will next be in action against Maryland this weekend at Poteat Field. Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 2pm.
Wake Forest Lineup for Navy: 1. Max Wohlmuth, So. (Iain Dormer, So. @ 50) 2. Andrew Estes, Jr. (Dwain Hodges, Jr. @ 65) 3. Joe Decaminada, Fr. 4. Christian Gutowski, So. (Matt McMcurdy, Jr. @ 55) 5. James Watson, Jr. 6. Tim Zage, Jr. 7. Conor Murphy, So. 8. Liam McIntyre, Jr. (Drew Turchin, So. @ 70) 9. Bryce Lambert, Jr. 10. Rob Kelly, Sr. 11. Franco Cima, Jr. (Pierre Duncan, Fr. @ 70) 12. Jack Zimmerman, Jr. 13. Ted McGuiggan, So. (Jim Kavalec, Sr. @ 55) 14. Tommy Kinzer, So. 15. Johnny McMurray, Sr.
YC: Murphy at 39'
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