UNC Game Cancelled, Rescheduled for February 14

Due to the ever-worsening weather forecast, Wake Forest's match with UNC, originally scheduled for Saturday and then moved to Sunday, has been officially cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday, February 14.

UNC Game Moved to Sunday

Due to the snowstorm predicted to hit Winston-Salem on Saturday, Wake Forest's game with University of North Carolina has been moved to Sunday at 12pm.

View From The Field - Week 3

We arrived at the pitch in Columbia, SC on Saturday fully prepared (or so we thought) to take on the USC after two months of training. Perhaps because of nerves, perhaps because it was the first game, or perhaps because we simply expected our preparation to do the work for us, after 40 minutes of play it was clear that no one on the Wake side was in the right mindset to compete. While the USC side made plenty of mistakes, our starting 15 made even more, and the Gamecocks were able to capitalize on those mistakes to pull out to a 15-3 lead at the break. Playing wing in the first half, the lack of offensive success was evident in the fact that I never once touched the ball.

During our halftime talk, Coach Kane managed to put into words what we all were thinking. The intensity was missing, there was no desire, and it seemed as though all of us were just waiting for it all to come together. We all knew Coach was right—we all knew we were the better team if we played our game. In the second half, it all finally did come together, and before we knew it we were dominating play and had claimed a 17-15 lead with only a few minutes left to play. I could feel a new sense of intensity on the pitch. I could feel a mutually strong desire to win between myself and my teammates. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Some bad luck here and there and some key moments that could have gone either way meant a heartbreaking and quite frustrating 3-point Wake loss in the end.

The ride back to Wake felt longer than it should have been. After a couple hours of pondering and discussing the game, I felt determined to never taste that type of defeat again. I could tell at practice and fitness sessions this week that my teammates feel the same way. After the first week loss USC, this weekend’s game against UNC is basically a must win if we want to reach our season goals. My perception is that all of my teammates believe we can win, especially after our good showing against the Tarheels at the North Carolina state tournament this past fall. One thing is for sure: if we want to win and climb back into contention in this league, we need to avoid playing like that first half at USC. But if we play our game to our best abilities and we want it bad enough, there’s no team that can stop us.

-Perry Salvagne, '10

Perry Salvagne is a senior center who is writing a weekly blog throughout the season giving a player's perspective on the team. His blog will appear every Wednesday.

Wake Rugby Makes Donation to Help Haiti

The Wake Forest Men's rugby team donated 200 t-shirts to the Red Cross Haitian Earthquake relief efforts today. Senior captain Mike Duffy said of the donation, "We had all these old t-shirts that we hadn't sold from past years and past tournaments. We figured we could give them to our guys or try to sell a few to people for $5 apiece. Or we could give them to people who unfortunately are sorely in need of clothing right now. It was a no-brainer."

Wake Falls To Gamecocks

The University of South Carolina defeated Wake Forest 20-17 on Saturday's opening weekend of Carolinas Rugby League play in Columbia, SC. The Demon Deacons put in a lackluster effort in the first forty minutes, allowing the #22 ranked Gamecocks to jump out to a 15-3 lead at the break. Wake rallied in the second half behind the inspirational play of captain Mike Duffy, who was battling a nasty stomach virus and almost didn't make the trip to Columbia. Tries from senior prop Kenton Forte and sophomore scrumhalf Will Hank, both converted by freshman fullback Johnny McMurray, gave Wake Forest a 17-15 lead with 15 minutes to play. But mental errors and poor tackling allowed South Carolina to retake the lead with an unconverted try in the 73rd minute. The Demon Deacons pressured hard in the game's final minutes and looked well-positioned to claim the victory or at least salvage a draw, but a knockon at the tryline and a missed penalty kick in the last two minutes left them trailing at the final whistle.

Head Coach Patrick Kane said of the loss, "It was a tough defeat, because I think the guys believe we were the better team. But we didn't come out to play until the second half and against a team as skilled and well-coached as South Carolina, that's just not going to cut it. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the final score. USC played hard for 80 minutes and deserved the win."

Wake Forest did manage to secure a bonus point in the standings for a loss by less than 7 points, but that was little consolation for the Demon Deacons, who now must turn their attention towards next week's match against the University of North Carolina. "There were some positives we can take from today's game," said Assistant Head Coach Alex Lucas. "We had some good phases of play, and we stayed structured for the most part. It was the mental errors that killed us and that's what we need to work on eliminating this week in practice."

Wake Forest will host the Tar Heels on Saturday at 1pm on Poteat Field. Both teams will come into the match at 0-1 in league play, with UNC having been upset by North Carolina St. 21-18 on Saturday. Elsewhere, Clemson defeated East Carolina 12-8 in what was an exciting opening week of play for the new Carolinas Rugby League.

Wake Lineup vs USC

1. Kenton Forte, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, So. (Justen Robinett, So. @ 62)
3. Devin Henry, Jr. (Nick Conte, So. @ 40)
4. Ross Hilton, Sr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Mike Duffy, Sr.
7. Trent Justice, Sr.
8. Hunter Lostan, Jr.
9. Will Hank, So.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Rob Kelly, Fr.
12. David Sage, Sr.
13. Kip Lewis, So. (Gabe Huertas Del Pino, Sr. @ 50)
14. Perry Savagne, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Fr.

Tries: Forte, Hank
Conversions: McMurray 2
Pens: McMurray

View From The Sideline - Week 2

I first injured my knee as a senior in high school in our first game at the USA national tournament in Palo Alto, California. Watching my team, Gonzaga College High School, compete in the tournament without me was very frustrating, and it was my first experience watching rugby from the sidelines. We were fresh off our second straight Mid-Atlantic championship and trying to build on our 6th place finish in the tournament the year before. We ultimately finished 7th in the nation that year, and my high school rugby career was over. Following graduation, I was excited to get to Wake Forest to begin my college rugby career.

After three knee surgeries during my college career and countless hours of physical therapy, I find myself in an all-too-familiar situation-standing on the sidelines watching my teammates compete for a spot in the postseason. In the first game I played for Wake this fall, I made a cut and tore my acl for the third time, ending my Wake Forest rugby playing career.

When I tore my acl during my freshman year, I was unsure what the future would hold and how it would impact my playing career. I worked hard to get back to playing after my acl reconstruction, but I hit a snag and had to get another knee surgery during sophomore year to removes meniscus in the same knee. After being out of action and watching from the sidelines for my entire sophomore year, I finally returned to the field for the fall season of my junior year. In my second game back, I reinjured the same knee, but I was only out of action for 6 weeks this time. The dawn of the 2008 spring season was greeted with much anticipation; we had moved up from Division III to Division II, and we would be facing much tougher competition than we had seen my previous 2 years at Wake. It was sure to be a tough season, but we had a very solid team capable of playing at a high level.

Finally healthy, I was back on the field with my teammates at inside center. We had a stellar season in our debut in Division II rugby, advancing to the South Championship game where we suffered a disappointing loss to a strong East Carolina team. I can honestly say that that 2008 season was my proudest as a Wake Rugby player, and it was the closest thing to an injury-free season I had in my college career. (The only injury I suffered that season was a broken nose in our game against NC State, and it only kept me out of action for 5 minutes or so when the bleeding finally stopped.) Reflecting on all the injuries I have had and all the games that I have had to watch from the sideline, I’m very thankful for the games that I was able to play in, especially that 2008 season.

Even though I can't play, I am very excited for this season in the Carolinas League. After a disappointing 2009 league season in which we played well but ultimately missed the playoffs, we’re looking to replicate the success we had two years ago and get back into the postseason. I see a lot of potential for our team to succeed in the new league, and despite injuries to a few very good rugby players, I know we have sufficient talent to win games and move on to postseason play. Our first test comes tomorrow against South Carolina. Go Deacs.

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.

View From The Field - Week 2

Two fitness sessions, two practices, and two days of training camp—what a week it has been for a Wake Forest Rugby player. I find myself still struggling to recover from the exhaustion resulting from this past weekend’s training camp. Upon arrival we were thrown almost immediately into a difficult morning fitness session. This workout asked us to give the team our all in terms of physical effort, and looking around, it seemed as though every player was doing just that. At several points I felt that I was going to lose my breakfast, and while I was lucky, there were a couple players not so fortunate.

After a quick lunch we found ourselves back on the pitch for a much lighter, more traditional afternoon practice. Exhausted from the morning workout, I was unsure of the level of quality we would see in the afternoon, but I was happy to see that despite their fatigue each player was still giving it their all. We all enjoyed some bonding time during the team dinner, and afterwards we hit the hay fairly early to rest up for Day 2.

Although Sunday proved to be rainy and cold, we were able to utilize an indoor gym at the facility for a productive morning session. This session was similar to a normal practice, and there was particular and separate focus on the forwards and backs as well as some transitional work into overall style of play. I was very happy to see the newest players jumping into our play flow with confidence and a great deal of success. It’s good to know that these players are already available for use in competitive play. Between the morning and afternoon sessions the team worked on goal setting and also took some time to get familiarized with our most trusted set piece plays. When we came out to the pitch in the afternoon the weather had improved and so had our energy. Everyone was looking forward to the close of the grueling weekend. We spent these last couple hours focused on our overall game play, combining aspects of play from the forwards and backs that we had worked on into a synchronized, effective style of play. Veteran players like myself worked on improving what we had developed in the fall while rookies were quick to learn the ins and outs of Wake’s game plan. In all, the weekend in Roanoke, Virginia was fun, challenging, and has brought the team much closer to where we need to be for the start of the season.

After Monday’s recovery-style fitness session and Tuesday’s productive practice, we are only a few days away from Saturday’s Carolina’s League opener against USC. While I am nervous about the game, I am also excited to see if all of our hard work these past months in preparation has paid off. I feel confident, as do my teammates, in our ability and talent as a team, but it is going to take our very best efforts to be successful in this league.

-Perry Salvagne, '10

Perry Salvagne is a senior center who is writing a weekly blog throughout the season giving a player's perspective on the team. His blog will appear every Wednesday.