2014
The season began much easier than 2013. The first game of 2014, on March 19th, was against St. Thomas from Texas. The boys beat up on the Texas team, who were ranked in the top 20 nationally. St. Thomas thought they could challenge Greenwich and Xavier, powerhouses of the northeast. Not this year. Both teams won their challenges. The players on the visiting team were good sports. After the game played in Cardinal Stadium on a rainy cold night, both teams connected on a social level and enjoyed dinner together at Coach Kelly’s house. Here they all sat at one continuous table, enjoyed the meal and decided which Texas players were being hosted by which Greenwich players for the night. The next morning the boys went home to Texas. This was a true traditional rugby experience for the Greenwich boys.
Unionville in Pennsylvania, ranked at the time, sixth in the country, was next on the list to beat. The Greenwich boys traveled to the state of Pennsylvania and won easily.
The following five games on the schedule were New Rochelle, Fordham Prep, Fairfield Prep, Staples and Ridgefield. Several of these games the Cardinals were left trying not to score at the end, so they didn’t exceed the 70 points cap rule on league games that was put into effect this year. These felt like warm-up games building up to the annual rivalry against Xavier from New York.
Finally, Xavier, as always gave us some real competition. The boys put up a valiant fight. Another half and the tide would certainly have changed in our favor. Both Varsity and JV lost their battles, but promisingly, the Freshman team finished in a tie. We look forward to next year.
The last two league games, Stamford and Fairfield Ludlowe, were essentially looked at as a warm-up for Nationals.
Once again, the Greenwich High School Rugby team was invited to compete in the National tournament held in Elkhart, Indiana. This year, we made Tier 1, the top bracket of competition. And, yes, competition is what we found there. The emotions were mixed throughout the tournament. We were finally meeting some real competition and also struggling with not being the best. Drawing Xavier for our first game, we at least knew what we were facing having played them two weeks prior. The final score of Xavier 29 and Greenwich 3, is not a true reflection of the battle on the field. Our next opponent was Brownsburg. There were the only other public school in the first tier bracket. Greenwich came out the victor with a 28-14 win. The last team Greenwich played in the tournament was LaSalette. This was an incredibly even game both halves. The game could have ended either way. Unfortunately for Greenwich, LaSalette came out on top winning 17-10. Overall, Greenwich finished strongly in 6th place out of the 8 top teams in the Nation.
In the Connecticut State Competition, Varsity B tied for third with Fairfield Prep, and Greenwich’s Varsity A side beat Fairfield for our seventh consecutive CT State Cup Championship on June 11th at Cardinal Stadium with a score of 34-5.
Greenwich was reminded at Nationals that the level of rugby talent in the U.S. continues to improve. Even with individually talented players, a rugby team is only successful if the team works well together. This year’s team, led by Mateo Gowland, Gardy Lebon and Yoh Nakayama definitely had that ability. The glory was shared throughout many of the players. The three captains kep the boys as one force. Leading the team in scoring was Mateo Gowland, finishing his four year rugby career at Greenwich High School as the All Time Leading Scorer with 633 points. This year alone he scored 204 points. A talented kicker and a team who keeps scoring equals lots of point racking up opportunities. Gardy Lebon, with his unwavering leadership abilities kept the team focused. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis is fortunate to have him on board. He will play rugby with the Navy team. Yoh Nakayama, nationally recognized in his position as fly half was invited to the HSAA (High School All American) camp in Arizona this year. He will continue playing rugby at UCLA. We are very proud of our captains and array of outstanding Greenwich Rugby players. On and off the field they are mentors to many.
Supporting the boys towards good sportsmanship, citizenship and their rugby/life skills are the program’s passionate coaches. Head Coach Joe Kelly in his fourth year is flanked by Glenn Fox, his brother Tim Kelly, and Geoff Birmingham. The combination of these talented and experienced coaches is keeping Greenwich Rugby solidly on the National radar. With the promotion and financial support from the Cardinal Rugby Club, Greenwich Rugby is becoming well known and has sparked much interest in the local community. Thank you to all our valuable and much appreciated fans.
Again, at the end of June, Greenwich will present our players to the National selectors who will present at the New England All-Star Tournament in Massachusetts. Beneficial to our programs is that Head Coach Joe Kelly is one of the national selectors. Good luck to the boys and we look forward to continuing the success of Greenwich Rugby in 2015.
Unionville in Pennsylvania, ranked at the time, sixth in the country, was next on the list to beat. The Greenwich boys traveled to the state of Pennsylvania and won easily.
The following five games on the schedule were New Rochelle, Fordham Prep, Fairfield Prep, Staples and Ridgefield. Several of these games the Cardinals were left trying not to score at the end, so they didn’t exceed the 70 points cap rule on league games that was put into effect this year. These felt like warm-up games building up to the annual rivalry against Xavier from New York.
Finally, Xavier, as always gave us some real competition. The boys put up a valiant fight. Another half and the tide would certainly have changed in our favor. Both Varsity and JV lost their battles, but promisingly, the Freshman team finished in a tie. We look forward to next year.
The last two league games, Stamford and Fairfield Ludlowe, were essentially looked at as a warm-up for Nationals.
Once again, the Greenwich High School Rugby team was invited to compete in the National tournament held in Elkhart, Indiana. This year, we made Tier 1, the top bracket of competition. And, yes, competition is what we found there. The emotions were mixed throughout the tournament. We were finally meeting some real competition and also struggling with not being the best. Drawing Xavier for our first game, we at least knew what we were facing having played them two weeks prior. The final score of Xavier 29 and Greenwich 3, is not a true reflection of the battle on the field. Our next opponent was Brownsburg. There were the only other public school in the first tier bracket. Greenwich came out the victor with a 28-14 win. The last team Greenwich played in the tournament was LaSalette. This was an incredibly even game both halves. The game could have ended either way. Unfortunately for Greenwich, LaSalette came out on top winning 17-10. Overall, Greenwich finished strongly in 6th place out of the 8 top teams in the Nation.
In the Connecticut State Competition, Varsity B tied for third with Fairfield Prep, and Greenwich’s Varsity A side beat Fairfield for our seventh consecutive CT State Cup Championship on June 11th at Cardinal Stadium with a score of 34-5.
Greenwich was reminded at Nationals that the level of rugby talent in the U.S. continues to improve. Even with individually talented players, a rugby team is only successful if the team works well together. This year’s team, led by Mateo Gowland, Gardy Lebon and Yoh Nakayama definitely had that ability. The glory was shared throughout many of the players. The three captains kep the boys as one force. Leading the team in scoring was Mateo Gowland, finishing his four year rugby career at Greenwich High School as the All Time Leading Scorer with 633 points. This year alone he scored 204 points. A talented kicker and a team who keeps scoring equals lots of point racking up opportunities. Gardy Lebon, with his unwavering leadership abilities kept the team focused. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis is fortunate to have him on board. He will play rugby with the Navy team. Yoh Nakayama, nationally recognized in his position as fly half was invited to the HSAA (High School All American) camp in Arizona this year. He will continue playing rugby at UCLA. We are very proud of our captains and array of outstanding Greenwich Rugby players. On and off the field they are mentors to many.
Supporting the boys towards good sportsmanship, citizenship and their rugby/life skills are the program’s passionate coaches. Head Coach Joe Kelly in his fourth year is flanked by Glenn Fox, his brother Tim Kelly, and Geoff Birmingham. The combination of these talented and experienced coaches is keeping Greenwich Rugby solidly on the National radar. With the promotion and financial support from the Cardinal Rugby Club, Greenwich Rugby is becoming well known and has sparked much interest in the local community. Thank you to all our valuable and much appreciated fans.
Again, at the end of June, Greenwich will present our players to the National selectors who will present at the New England All-Star Tournament in Massachusetts. Beneficial to our programs is that Head Coach Joe Kelly is one of the national selectors. Good luck to the boys and we look forward to continuing the success of Greenwich Rugby in 2015.