Well... the Rogues arrived home to a painful 40*C swing in temperature..... but Vegas was fantastic!! This was our first-ever trip to the Las Vegas Invitational and we were extremely fortunate to have the group of players that travelled with us and while we didnt get the results we were looking for, I would look on the tour as a success! Fact is, we took twenty junior boys to Las Vegas to represent our region, the Rogues, and Upright Rugby...eight more than any other team from Ontario and we performed quite well! On the Elite side, we went 0-4 in the round robin and then won our final game 19 over Toronto. Some would see this as a disappointing result but the fact remains that three of those losses were by 7 points or less... which in 7s is a pretty narrow margin! Fact is that our average point differential was 7.4 points.... pretty impressive. Even more impressive if you consider that of the 10 players we had on our Elite team, only five had played representative rugby, two of which were 16. This in a division that has arguably the top two teams in Canada; two top teams in the US (All-Americans); and the top All-State team in the West, the Washington Loggers. Tournament MVP for the Elites was Owen Brombal who showed the US players what a real side-step looks like, managed to throw an unbelievable behind the back pass, and scored hat-trick of tries vs the Loggers! Our Jr Development Side went 2-1 in round robin action to finish the day ranked 10th overall in a four way tie for the final spot in the Cup bracket. Unfortunately we lost out on points and went on to compete in the Bowl.... a game we narrowly lost in a last minute (albeit questionable) try 19-17. This meant that we would end up in the Shield final in a rematch against KC Cougars; however, with both key starters, Will McArthur and Aidan Nesbitt having moved up to play with our Elite side, we were unable prevail in another close game.... 19-10. Still a great tournament and an impressive day for many of these players who are only 16 and playing in their SECOND-EVER 7s tournament!! Tournament MVP goes to Greg Wise, whose gritty, persistent play and resilience despite a few big hits, impressed many fans along the sidelines. Many thanks to the parents who attended and supported our players! Your patience and cooperation as rooms were sorted, tickets, organized, meals and evenings planned... you each made the trip easier in your own way. Lastly many thanks to U18 head coach, Mark Smerdon and our Athletic Therapist, Moe Chaudhry for their time, commitment and expertise! It was great to have you both on the sidelines providing support for the boys and fulfilling your roles for the program. Moving forward this is definitely something the Rogues want to build off and do this again. Rugby is about competing and the spirit of sport; it is also about establishing and building new friendships. Its about touring, seeing new places and finding new competition, new friends and forming memories to last a lifetime. As we move forward, the Rogues will continue to pursue competition at the highest levels, experiences that affirm the core values of this great sport. Yours In Rugby, TL
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:19:49 +0000
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