CSU Game

Chet taking lineout ball for CSU.

If anyone has any other pictures of Chap rugby graduates (playing rugby) please send them in to jakeadman@comcast.net

2008 Summary

Great season which unfortunately finished with a loss to a very good Regis team in the quarter finals of the state championship.

Many of our senior players have now gone on to play a college season at CU, CSU, UNC and other colleges around the US.

Aurora game

Tough loss in the final league game of the season 27-24 to a physical Aurora team.

Lots of lessons learned in preparation for the state tournament May 3rd.

Message from Western State College

Dear Greg, Rick, Sam and Jay,

We hope this letter finds you and your high school rugby team in the midst of a winning season! On behalf of the Western State College (WSC) Rugby Alumni, I'm writing this recruiting letter to you for distribution amongst your team. In an effort to bolster ranks of the Western State College men's rugby team, we are actively recruiting players from successful programs such as yours.

Western State has much to offer its students in the classroom, on the rugby pitch, and in its surroundings. The college is in Gunnison, which is in Southwestern Colorado approximately 4 hours from Denver. It is 30 minutes from the world-class ski resort of Crested Butte and is nestled in a mountain valley with endless recreation opportunities such as fishing, rock climbing, mountain biking, river rafting and more.

Academically WSC offers small class sizes, high teacher to student ratios, and a well-connected student body. Students get as much out of it as they put in. There are a variety of scholarships available for prospective students and you will find a few of them listed in the attached as well as entrance standards for the school.

From a rugby standpoint, WSC has a proud tradition of winning and a strong alumni network in place. WSC competes in the ERRFU DII competition and has eight matches each fall and spring. The club is unique in that it is run entirely by the players; there are boundless opportunities for leadership. We are looking for players with strong leadership skills as well as sound rugby skills.

Because of this model, players have found great success after graduation in the following industries: Financial Services, Technology, Retail, Medical, Recreation, Education, Publishing, Defense. Their success after graduation is due in large part to their active management of the rugby club. The alumni of WSC Rugby are committed to helping the club function and succeed. We are further committed to assisting students with employment upon graduation.

Coach, if there are seniors in your ranks that have yet to decide on a school for next fall we would like very much for them to contact us. For your underclassmen and junior players, please give each of them a copy of this letter so that they will consider WSC when weighing their higher education and rugby options. All inquiries are welcome, they can email the Rugby Alumni Board at wscrugby@gmail.com

Yours in Rugby,

James Yack

Western State College Rugby Board of Directors

http://www.western.edu/admissions/facts.html

Rocky Mountain Classic

Excellent description of different positions

Click this link

B TEAM Photos from Ft. Collins Game

    B-Team Ruck and Scrum at Ft Collins

Photo Highlights from Ft Collins and Bailey Game

Ft Collins: Scott is praying to the Rugby gods!

Ft Collins: The hug

Ft Collins: TJ's Conversion kick

Chap Vs. Bailey-The Scrum

Chaparral vs Bailey

A frustrating game against Bailey and some interesting officiating-but you boys hung in there and  pulled out another victory. Way to go Chaparral!

Win at Fort Collins

Another strong performance led to a 20-15 win away at fort Collins. Two more league matches left against PAC and Aurora. Win them both and we will have an undefeated league season.

Freshman/Sophomore festival tonight. Practice at the usual time on Tuesday and then our last home league game against PAC on Wednesday at 5.

Highlands Ranch Game

Great victory against a good Highlands Ranch team on Wednesday. Slept through the first 45mins of the game - shaking off spring break - and played a passionate last 15mins to win the game 29-26.

Chap vs Co Springs: Second Half

Some GREAT defensive playing and an extra points 

kick by TJ Gallagher=WOLVERINE VICTORY!

WAY TO GO BOYS!

Chap vs Co Springs: First Half

First Half: A trie by Tony Majka and some great defense to hold CO Springs scoreless in the first half. Way to GO!!

PS: Clips are short because of limited upload size.

Chaparral vs Co. Springs:PRE-GAME REVELRY

Psyching up for the BIG win! 

GO WOLVERINES!

Chap vs. Aspen

Chaparral vs. Aspen game at the Spring Fling Tournament.

Video Clips: Chaparral vs. ThunderRidge

The sun was brutal on this day and it did not help matters that this was my first attempt at filming a fast moving sport like Rugby-so bare with me. I hope to improve with each game! More posts to follow as time allows.

PS: There is no sound on this clip.

Freshman/Sophomore tournament

The first Freshman/Sophomore tournament was last night at Dicks Sporting Goods park. We had 12 players present and played 2 close games.

Next tournament is Monday March 31 in Highlands ranch and we hope to take a full side of 15 players to the next event.

Spring fling results

Excellent performance at the Spring Fling on Saturday.

Starting with a league victory against DC 32 - 5 in a short game and continuing with a solid victory against a big Aspen team 13 - 5.

A big thanks to everyone who turned up to offer support and all the players who turned out for different schools to make up numbers for their squads.

Most importantly we saw continued improvement from everyone which is our main goal for every game this year.

Weekend - March 8th tournament

All,
The schedule is out for this weekend. We play DC at 2:00 and Aspen at 4:00.
The other games start at 10:00 AM and I will be going early to watch Aurora, Colorado Springs, Cherry Creek, Tigers etc.
Anyone who wants to go early is welcome to meet me at the school (senior parking lot) at 9:00.
Everyone else should plan on getting to the fields by noon. Everyone bring a lawn chair in case the field is wet and plenty of warm clothes.
Bring money as they will provide concessions and Soccer/Rugby Stop will have a tent for gear.

Northwest Open Space Park can be found on www.Mapquest.com at 2100 W. 112th Ave. Northglenn, CO

Parking access west of Pecos on 112th (this is the best option), or 104th to Huron north to Kennedy west to the park, or 104th west to Quivas turn right to the park. Do not park at the apartment buildings because they will tow you.

Also, Duffeyroll's are due on tomorrow at practice. Make sure you have payment for all your orders and checks should be made out to Chaparral High School. Whoever sells the most will receive a brand new Adidas Rugby ball.

Ponderosa Game

Win 24 - 5.

Good game, great weather and everyone in the squad got to play. Thanks to Ponderosa for playing three sessions.

Saturday March 1st

Home game against Ponderosa. Please meet at the Chaparral Turf field at 12:00 noon. Kickoff is at 1:00pm

First league game

Victory in our first league game 37 -22 (7 tries) against Thunder Ridge.

Great start to our league campaign but lots of things to improve on.

Week February 25th

Practice on Tuesday at normal time.

First league game on Wednesday away at Thunderridge.

Practice on Friday.

Game Wednesday Feb 20th

Game tonight is away at Denver East. Please meet in the parking lot at the back of Chaparral at 5:45. Maps will be provided before you leave. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

We will play two 30min halfs for the more experienced players and then two 20min halfs for the players new to rugby. Everybody will play.

Please note it will be very cold this evening so please dress appropriately, everyone will be watching for part of the evening.

Why rugby scavengers just love to win ugly

By Will Greenwood

Last Updated: 1:15am GMT 16/02/2008

Bob Dwyer is a hell of a man. World Cup-winning coach, Australian to his core. He said what he liked and he liked what he said.

Dwyer had a turn of phrase like no other. When you ran with the ball he implored you to move "as if a tiger was chasing you. No! A man with a knife". But best of all was his description of how he wanted you to react when the ball went loose during a match. Bob would scream at you to fall on it as if it were a bomb and your family were in the room. "Smother the bloody thing quickly," he would shout.

	Strong-arm tactics: Ireland's John Hayes (right) and Bernard Jackman (left) get a hold of Lionel Nallet

Watching Italy play last weekend, you got the feeling that Nick Mallett had called for the same sense of urgency. It's no coincidence that England struggled as they lost the battle on the floor in the second half, with Mauro Bergamasco and Sergio Parisse everywhere.

But it wasn't just England who felt the impact of smart guys getting their hands on stray ball. Ireland were smashed on the floor in the first half, with Lionel Nallet stealing the pill for Vincent Clerc's first try. Wales' Martyn Williams pilfered anything that even looked like poking out of a Scottish ruck, thief extraordinaire.

In today's game much is made of keeping the ball in your hands, of running and offloading. But ignore the dirty work on the floor at your peril. Where it was once the realm of the No 7, who prided himself on the art of killing and nicking the ball, today it is the job of every player from one to 15.

This battle for 50/50 possession - a mix of honest Corinthian spirit, a determination to win and great technique - can swing a game.

The set-piece scrums and line-outs have retained their value. However, win the breakdown, snaffle loose ball, and a team can neutralise this threat. Don't knock on, keep the ball in the tackle, run straight, recycle rigorously and viciously, and why do you need to go to set-pieces? Space will appear, gaps come if you are patient and hungry.

For England's disheartened players, this weekend will give them a chance to steel their resolve, and what better way than getting right back into it in the Guinness Premiership.

Now I don't want to make out that there's no technique involved in winning the battle on the floor. It takes hard, painful graft to get it right. On the 1997 Lions tour, Jim Telfer had a stick he used to whack you with if your body position was too high as you practised rucking drills. He didn't just tap you either, especially when you were a 6ft 5in public school threequarter who had always thought rucking was something only forwards did.

When he was England forwards coach, John Mitchell was a nasty man in this area as well. His hard Kiwi edge came through. John used to get four players inside a 3 x 3-metre grid that had long tackle pads for their sides. Men with tackle shields and tackle suits would stand over the pads wanting to cause you as much pain as possible.

The drill was simple and it lasted a minute. The scrum-half put the ball in front of a pad and you had to ruck the men away from it, then you moved on to the next pad. But make any mistake, put a loose foot on the ball, commit an offence by losing your feet and it meant you went back to the start. The more tired you got, the more mistakes you made.

John would shout at us to "let the dog see the rabbit". I think I understood what he meant. Huge bodies were flying and it was chaos. Pad to pad, body position ever lower, aggression increasing rather than diminishing.

In 2005, Eddie O'Sullivan had a net placed over the rucking area in the old Commonwealth Stadium in Christchurch and the Lions midweek team went about whacking lumps out of each other at almost knee height.

The Argentinians in the World Cup were frenzied at the breakdown, while teams such as Munster have been creating havoc for years. For the All Blacks, the loose ball and rucking are almost a right of passage. Bravery is needed - it is a dangerous place to be.

Players have to commit and they have to do so 100 per cent, regardless of who they're playing for, be it Leicester at Welford Road or the local school on a back pitch. Unless that happens there will always be a man on the other team who will want it more.

A pack of hungry scavengers do not need much knowledge about the intricacies of rugby. They don't have to be able to pass off their left hand or have a turn of speed or a scything sidestep. All they need is to boss the breakdown and eat the scraps. This will rebalance power from the fancy player to the ugly player. It is why our game is so beautiful - people with no airs or graces can be almost impossible to beat because they do not mind having their nose rearranged for the seemingly thankless task of re-gathering a loose ball.

Today we will see if that hunger burns bright in many of this island's best.

www.telegraph.co.uk/greenwood

Sheridan's Scrummaging Tips

Sheridan's Scrummaging Tips

Andy Sheridan’s contribution to England’s emphatic win over Australia on Saturday confirmed his rise to the top tier of world props. England’s dominance in the front 5 proved to be the key that took Australia to their sixth successive defeat.

CoachingRugby rung Andy on Sunday to congratulate him for his all round performance and, together with Phil Vickery, the domination of the Australian scrum.

Andy is now relaxing in Penny Hill Farm Hotel and preparing for next week’s game. We asked him if he had his guitar with him, he said he left it in Manchester but he was able to borrow one from the hotel!

Before we let him get off the line we asked him for his top tips on scrumaging.

• Body Position
  “Get the crouch right. Crouch, bend the legs, and most importantly keep your back very flat. Look at your target [your opposite man].” – “Listen to the referee.”

• Engage
  “Get your bind on early. For the loose head, get your head right under the tight head. Make sure your feet are right up, not too far back, back flat, legs bent, ready to explode on the put-in.”

• The Drive
  “Explode on put-in (or a split second before), pump the feet – small steps, the whole scrum together.”

He is looking forward to putting this into practice again next week when he takes on New Zealand’s Carl Hayman in the much anticipated battle. We wish him the best of luck and I think we all agree with Sean Fitz-Patrick when he wrote yesterday in The Times, on the contest between these two, “It should be worth the admission fee by itself”.

Scrimmage Saturday

We will have a scrimmage 12 noon at on the turf field at Chap on saturday.

Friday Practice - Feb 15th

We have the turf at the Parker Field House tomorrow from 2:00 -4:00. Be prompt so we can make the most of our time on the warm, soft turf. Don't forget mouth guards! Jumpers, wear your rugby shorts for line-out practice.

Also, I need forms from several players and I will be checking my list.

Shorts and sock are the same as last year so the new players will receive theirs first.

The All-Comers Tournament scheduled for Saturday is up in the air due to weather. Hopefully I will know more on Friday.

Schedule

Date	H/A	Against	T	Time	League
Feb 16 (Sat)	A	All Commers Festival	Ridgeview	9:00	no
Feb 20 (Wed)	A	East A	East	7:15	no
Feb 27 (Wed)	A	Thunder Ridge	Thunder Ridge	4:30	yes
Mar 1 (Sat)	H	Ponderosa	Chaparral	1:00	no
Mar 5 (Wed)	A	Douglas County	DC Stadium	4:30	yes
Mar 8 (Sat)	A	Spring Fling	North Side	10:00	no
Mar 10 (Mon)	A	Freshman Sophmore	Dicks Sporting park	5:00	no
Mar 12 (Wed)	H	Colorado Springs	Chaparral	5:00	yes
Mar 26 (Wed)	H	Highlands Ranch	Chaparral	5:00	yes
Mar 29 (Sat)	A	Fort Collins A	Fort Collins	11:00	yes
Mar 31 (Mon)	A	Freshman Sophmore	Highlands Ranch	5:00	no
Apr 2 (Wed)	H	Bailey	Chaparral	5:00	yes
Apr 5 (Sat)	A	Rocky Mountain Classic	Robert Easton Park	10:00	no
Apr 7 (Mon)	A	Freshman Sophmore	Mossbrucker Park	5:00	no
Apr 9 (Wed)	A	North Side	North Side	5:00	no
Apr 16 (Wed)	A	Glendale HS	Glendale	5:00	no
Apr 19 (Sat)	A	Tigers RFC	Broomfield	1:00	no
Apr 21 (Mon)	A	Freshman Sophmore	Pleasant View Park	5:00	no
Apr 23 (Wed)	A	Aurora	Aurora Sports Complex	5:00	yes
May 3 (Sat)	A	State Qualifier	Dicks Sporting park	9:00	yes
May 10 (Sat)	A	Sate Semi-finals	Dicks Sporting park	9:00	yes
May 17 (Sat)	A	State Finals	Glendale	9:00	yes
May 24 (Sat)	A	All Star Game	Glendale	9:00	no

Power Step

Power Step into Contact

The ball carrier must always be thinking about beating the defender in front of him, but there are times when contact is inevitable. The job of the ball carrier when taking contact is to make sure it is on his terms. He wants to try and put the would-be tackler on the back foot, to open up his options for keeping the ball "alive".

The power step into contact gives the ball carrier time and space to do this. It gives him a physical advantage into contact, even if he has received the ball standing still. Moreover, the technique works for all players as it is more about timing and positioning than physical size or strength.

The power step

The power step is a "big step" into contact, which allows the ball carrier to drive from low to high and from a powerful squatting position.

1. The ball carrier must keep the ball in both hands and accelerate towards contact taking small steps. This ensures he stays balanced.

2. Just before contact the ball carrier needs to get low by dropping his hips (taking the squat position), whilst at the same time dipping his leading shoulder towards the tackler.

3. The ball is transferred momentarily into the arm furthest from contact.

4. The ball carrier drives into contact. He must keep his back straight as he drives dynamically up from the squat position. This allows him to use all the power from his legs and glutes (the muscles in the back of the upper legs).

5. The ball carrier then follows through with the non-leading leg to ensure the tackler cannot recover their position easily.

Options from the power step

When correctly performed the tackler will be off balance and on the back foot. This should give the ball carrier a number of options:

• If the tackler has been knocked over or knocked back far enough, continue the run.
• Make a short pass to a close support player.
• Stay upright in a strong position to enable support players to either drive them on or rip the ball away.
• Go to ground to enable support players to ruck over without the tackler being able to get their hands on the ball.