Friday, February 22, 2013
Pittsburgh Game Cancelled
Like many other games across the southeast over the last two weekends, Wake Forest's non-conference clash with Keystone Conference regular season champions Pittsburgh scheduled for Sunday has had to be cancelled because of inclement weather and poor field conditions. The game is not expected to be made up. The Demon Deacons now turn their attention to next week's ACRL matchup with league-leading Navy.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Deja Vu for Deacs in Chapel Hill
Wake Forest lost 17-7 to University of North Carolina, marking the second year in a row the team lost a winnable game on the road in Chapel Hill to open the ACRL season. The Demon Deacons were inconsistent in the set piece, often looking strong in the scrum yet at other times getting pushed around by the Tar Heels. The line out was a similar story, as Wake Forest struggled in an area where they have typically been dominant. Despite these issues, Wake dominated the opening minutes of the game, hammering away with their forwards for prolonged periods in the Tar Hell half. But the backline was not able to sync up with the forwards and eventually turnovers led to UNC touching down under the posts for a 7-0 lead. Moments later the lead was extended to 12-0 when the Tar Heel scrumhalf faked taking the ball out of the scrum and as the Wake defense focused on the halfback as he ran laterally across the field, the ball actually remained in the scrum and the #8 popped it to a looping Tar Heel back who fed the wing to touch down in the corner. Wake struck back immediately, as an easily won line out allowed flanker Tim Zage to break through the midfield defense for a 60m try. Fullback Johnny McMurray nailed the conversion to bring the score to 12-7. Bolstered by the try, Wake dominated possession for the remained of the half and appeared to have the momentum entering the break.
The snow came down hard during halftime, and when the game resumed, the lines on the field were no longer visible and footing was treacherous. Wake was unable to get into its offensive pattern and UNC held the majority of possession and territory. Another try in the corner extended the UNC lead to 17-7. The snowy conditions were not conducive to clean ball-handling and the game deteriorated into a series of knock ons, scrums, and a lot of open field kicking. Wake had an opportunity to narrow the deficit when the were awarded a penalty in the UNC half, but McMurrays's attempt at goal sailed wide. With time winding down Wake pressed to find some offense, but nothing was working and the final whistle blew with UNC still holding their 10 point lead.
Wake falls to 0-1 in league play and will face an uphill battle as their next two conference games are against Navy and Maryland. Navy made a statement today in its first ever ACRL game, defeating NC State 55-0 in Annapolis, while Maryland is the two-time defending ACRL champion. Next weekend, however, Wake will have an opportunity to tighten up their play as they host the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday at noon on Poteat Field. Wake may be without the services of All-ACRL lock Christian Gutowski, who suffered a knee injury in the closing moments of the loss to the Tar Heels.
Lineup vs UNC 1. Iain Dormer, So. (Max Wohlmuth, So. @53) 2. Andrew Estes, Jr. 3. Joe Decaminada, Fr. (Cameron Hume, So. @53) 4. Christian Gutowski, So. (Drew Turchin, So. @72) 5. James Watson, Jr. 6. Tim Zage, Jr. 7. Matt McCurdy, Jr. (Jaime Drewery @53) 8. Liam McIntyre, Jr. 9. Bryce Lambert, Jr. 10. Rob Kelly, Sr. 11. Franco Cima, Jr. 12. Jack Zimmerman, Jr. 13. Tommy Kinzer, So. 14. Conor Murphy, So. (Ted McGuiggan @40) 15. Johnny McMurray, Sr.
Tries: Zage
Cons: McMurray
The snow came down hard during halftime, and when the game resumed, the lines on the field were no longer visible and footing was treacherous. Wake was unable to get into its offensive pattern and UNC held the majority of possession and territory. Another try in the corner extended the UNC lead to 17-7. The snowy conditions were not conducive to clean ball-handling and the game deteriorated into a series of knock ons, scrums, and a lot of open field kicking. Wake had an opportunity to narrow the deficit when the were awarded a penalty in the UNC half, but McMurrays's attempt at goal sailed wide. With time winding down Wake pressed to find some offense, but nothing was working and the final whistle blew with UNC still holding their 10 point lead.
Wake falls to 0-1 in league play and will face an uphill battle as their next two conference games are against Navy and Maryland. Navy made a statement today in its first ever ACRL game, defeating NC State 55-0 in Annapolis, while Maryland is the two-time defending ACRL champion. Next weekend, however, Wake will have an opportunity to tighten up their play as they host the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday at noon on Poteat Field. Wake may be without the services of All-ACRL lock Christian Gutowski, who suffered a knee injury in the closing moments of the loss to the Tar Heels.
Lineup vs UNC 1. Iain Dormer, So. (Max Wohlmuth, So. @53) 2. Andrew Estes, Jr. 3. Joe Decaminada, Fr. (Cameron Hume, So. @53) 4. Christian Gutowski, So. (Drew Turchin, So. @72) 5. James Watson, Jr. 6. Tim Zage, Jr. 7. Matt McCurdy, Jr. (Jaime Drewery @53) 8. Liam McIntyre, Jr. 9. Bryce Lambert, Jr. 10. Rob Kelly, Sr. 11. Franco Cima, Jr. 12. Jack Zimmerman, Jr. 13. Tommy Kinzer, So. 14. Conor Murphy, So. (Ted McGuiggan @40) 15. Johnny McMurray, Sr.
Tries: Zage
Cons: McMurray
Friday, February 8, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Wake Forest Back on Field in Scrimmage with UNC-Wilmington
Wake Forest played Rugby 15s today for the first time since a season-ending win over Virginia Tech last April, taking on UNC-Wilmington in a controlled scrimmage at Poteat Field. The Seahawks are one of the top D2 teams in the nation and provided tremendous opposition as the Demon Deacons sought to shake of the rust and prepare for their upcoming ACRL opener against University of North Carolina in 2 weeks.
UNC-W certainly looked to be the more polished of the two teams on the field today, showing cohesion that they had built during a full fall season of exhibition 15s. Wake Forest meanwhile, without the services of two-time ACRL All-Conference players Johnny McMurray and Ryan Tacon, and featuring a completely new front row from last year's 15s squad, struggled to compete in the scrum and had very little continuity on offense. However by day's end, the Deacs had shown considerable improvement and had identified the areas where the most work is needed over the next two weeks.
"That's why we arranged this scrimmage, to get a lot of live reps against a good opponent," said head coach Patrick Kane. "I thought the format was great for us and we really appreciate UNC-W traveling up here to play. I hope they were able to get as much positive out of the day as we were. They are a well-coached bunch and are going to be very difficult to beat once they start their regular season in the Southern Conference."
While the day was mostly positive for Wake Forest, the optimism was tempered by a broken collarbone suffered by senior Wes Bloomer in the first 10 minutes of play. Bloomer, who was coming of a tremendous 7s season in the fall, was expected to be one of Wake's most potent backline players on both offense and defense. Now it appears he is lost for the season and will finish his Wake rugby career on the sidelines. "Wes's injury was just one of those things that happen in a contact sport. The play was rather routine, he just got tackled and went down wrong. The whole team is disappointed for him because he has worked really hard to turn himself into a great rugby player," said Kane. "But Wes has a great attitude and before the scrimmage was even over, he was talking to me about ways he could still contribute to the team this season."
Losing Bloomer will be a big blow to a Deacon squad that was already lacking depth, but some new players took the field for the first time today and showed significant promise. Junior Dwain Hodges, sophomores Conor Murphy and Drew Turchin, and freshmen Joe DeCaminada and Johnny Passarelli all played their first ever rugby game and looked more like veterans than newcomers, with Murphy even dotting down one of the few tries Wake Forest managed on the day.
In all 25 players donned the Wake jersey during the scrimmage. The team will now turn its focus towards the Tar Heels and will be looking to avenge a stinging 29-17 loss in last year's ACRL opener.
Wake players vs UNC-W today:
Rob Kelly, Sr.
Jim Kavalec, Sr.
Wes Bloomer, Sr.
Ty Pierce, Sr.
Jack Zimmerman, Jr. (Capt.)
James Watson, Jr.
Tim Zage, Jr.
Jaime Drewery, Jr.
Bryce Lambert, Jr.
Liam McIntyre, Jr.
Andrew Estes, Jr.
Dwain Hodges, Jr.
Franco Cima, Jr.
Christian Gutowski, So.
Cameron Hume, So.
Drew Turchin, So.
Conor Murphy, So.
Scott Goldman, So.
Max Wohlmuth, So.
Tommy Kinzer, So.
Garrett Johns, So.
Iain Dormer, So.
Erik Pedrow, Fr.
Johnny Passarelli, Fr.
Joe Decaminada, Fr.
Tries: Watson, Murphy, Kelly, Zimmerman
Unavailable due to Injury: Ryan Tacon, Johnny McMurray, Pierre Duncan, Matt McCurdy, Ted McGuiggan
UNC-W certainly looked to be the more polished of the two teams on the field today, showing cohesion that they had built during a full fall season of exhibition 15s. Wake Forest meanwhile, without the services of two-time ACRL All-Conference players Johnny McMurray and Ryan Tacon, and featuring a completely new front row from last year's 15s squad, struggled to compete in the scrum and had very little continuity on offense. However by day's end, the Deacs had shown considerable improvement and had identified the areas where the most work is needed over the next two weeks.
"That's why we arranged this scrimmage, to get a lot of live reps against a good opponent," said head coach Patrick Kane. "I thought the format was great for us and we really appreciate UNC-W traveling up here to play. I hope they were able to get as much positive out of the day as we were. They are a well-coached bunch and are going to be very difficult to beat once they start their regular season in the Southern Conference."
While the day was mostly positive for Wake Forest, the optimism was tempered by a broken collarbone suffered by senior Wes Bloomer in the first 10 minutes of play. Bloomer, who was coming of a tremendous 7s season in the fall, was expected to be one of Wake's most potent backline players on both offense and defense. Now it appears he is lost for the season and will finish his Wake rugby career on the sidelines. "Wes's injury was just one of those things that happen in a contact sport. The play was rather routine, he just got tackled and went down wrong. The whole team is disappointed for him because he has worked really hard to turn himself into a great rugby player," said Kane. "But Wes has a great attitude and before the scrimmage was even over, he was talking to me about ways he could still contribute to the team this season."
Losing Bloomer will be a big blow to a Deacon squad that was already lacking depth, but some new players took the field for the first time today and showed significant promise. Junior Dwain Hodges, sophomores Conor Murphy and Drew Turchin, and freshmen Joe DeCaminada and Johnny Passarelli all played their first ever rugby game and looked more like veterans than newcomers, with Murphy even dotting down one of the few tries Wake Forest managed on the day.
In all 25 players donned the Wake jersey during the scrimmage. The team will now turn its focus towards the Tar Heels and will be looking to avenge a stinging 29-17 loss in last year's ACRL opener.
Wake players vs UNC-W today:
Rob Kelly, Sr.
Jim Kavalec, Sr.
Wes Bloomer, Sr.
Ty Pierce, Sr.
Jack Zimmerman, Jr. (Capt.)
James Watson, Jr.
Tim Zage, Jr.
Jaime Drewery, Jr.
Bryce Lambert, Jr.
Liam McIntyre, Jr.
Andrew Estes, Jr.
Dwain Hodges, Jr.
Franco Cima, Jr.
Christian Gutowski, So.
Cameron Hume, So.
Drew Turchin, So.
Conor Murphy, So.
Scott Goldman, So.
Max Wohlmuth, So.
Tommy Kinzer, So.
Garrett Johns, So.
Iain Dormer, So.
Erik Pedrow, Fr.
Johnny Passarelli, Fr.
Joe Decaminada, Fr.
Tries: Watson, Murphy, Kelly, Zimmerman
Unavailable due to Injury: Ryan Tacon, Johnny McMurray, Pierre Duncan, Matt McCurdy, Ted McGuiggan
Friday, February 1, 2013
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