11/1 - 11/2 Ed and Sandy Lee Cup - Virginia Rugby Union Championship

I was fortunately invited up to Richmond, Virginia to officiate the Virginia Rugby Union Championship - The Ed and Sandy Lee Cup. This year the tournament hosted only the Division 2 and 3 collegiate men and Divisions 1 and 2 collegiate Women.

I was struck by the support and organization of many of these teams compared to Division 2 / 3 teams in North Carolina. Many of the teams had many serious coaches and had a lot of support travel with them resulting in just about every game being videotaped by supporters along with Bill Burch (Lineout video) on his ladder.

Only the top four teams from each division were invited to this tournament with the winners of the tournaments going onto to MARFU competition playoffs in the spring. For division 2 both finalists and the consolation winner went onto MARFU competition. In division 3 only the finalists move on to the MARFU championship.

On saturday I was assigned the Division 2 Semifinal 1 v. 4, Uni. Mary Washington vs. Virginia Commonwealth University. Mary Washington were the predicted winners.

I took a new approach to my pre-match talk for this game - I had them flip the coin and asked if they had any questions for me - Being division 2 and a semifinal I had reason to believe all of these players were experienced the laws and procedures of rugby thus requiring no additional explanation from me. I told them I would be talking with them on the field if I had any repeating problems and that I would use the cards if necessary......

I then proceeded to do something I have blogging about for a while: a yellow card for repeated infringements, among other reasons:

Yellow Cards 1 and 2: The gold side (VCU) were consistently in the side at the breakdown and not listening to my requests to straighten up and come through the gate. There were multiple penalties and two clear warnings - then moved to a card. White (Mary Wash) then committed an in the side offense, receiving a card as well.

Yellow Card 3 came from repeated late charges. There had been a couple of late charges from VCU on Mary Wash but I had felt they were fully commited. Unfortunately they kept occuring and two I clearly remember were from the same player on the scrumhalf. I could only assume as they were repeated that they were intentional, warranting a yellow card.

Another yellow card offense from VCU was for a dangerous collar tackle preventing what could have been considered a likely try. There was however another potential tackler so penalty try was awarded. One more yellow card at the end of the game went to MW for yet another collar tackle, deemed intentional for it's excessiveness.

Another interesting point from this game is a Drop Goal was scored - something not typically seen in Division collegiate rugby. I called for penalty to advantage saw the MW flyhalf go for the drop...I prepared to comeback to give the penalty.....but watched the ball sail inbetween the sticks from about 45 meters out....amazing.

Other reccomendations I received from my evaluators and coaches after this game included:

• back up to the lineout - always face the players
• be sure to back up to the 5 meter line when awarding penalties near the goal line
• use my height, vary positioning a bit more but know that If the saddle works for me to work primarily from there.
• dont signal if there is no need for a signal (discussed at rucktoberfest as well)
  

I feel that in this game the teams understood my problems with the breakdown and fixed them in response to my requests and yellow cards. I hoped this method would apply in my next game, but it did not work as well as I thought.

My next game was the Division 3 Men's Final, Longwood vs. Virginia Tech III. I tried to approach this game in a similar manner to how I approached the Division 2 game, but in end, it just did not work out as I had hoped. I don't know if it was difference in class between D2 and D3, maybe I was being to strict with my interpretations, or maybe my ankle was just sore from the day before. It was probably simply that it was a FINAL, of two very closely matched teams. Unfortunately the teams kept, as I saw it, playing the ball of their feet, coming in the side, etc. etc. despite my attempts to communicate with them. This eventually led to yellow cards as I had done the day before, but it seemed to make little difference, the poor breakdown formations continued.

I am writing from this point very late (jan 09) so I cannot remember vividly what had happened - but what I mainly recall is that I did not manage the game correctly for the level of play - my penalty count was simply absurd (somewhere in the 40 range, and a penalty try put the cherry on top). My takeaways from this game: manage different levels differently, allow play to go on when safe and fair at low levels - even if things are illegal, nobody wants to hear me blow my whistle all day. Longwood came out on top to win the VRU D3 Championship - due to a penalty try, 14-12.

In sum, it was a great weekend, I got to meet many referees I had not met before, and learned a lot about my game. Thanks VRU.

10/25 - 10/26 North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament

The North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament, or "State Tournament" was played on 10/25-10/26 in Danville, VA.

The tournament was unfortunately not played last year due to weather issues. The most recent champions were NC State and over the many years of the tournament there has really only been 3 collegiate teams competing for the title: UNC, NC State, and ECU. Most teams in the union regularly compete in the tournament, but UNC, NC State, or ECU have always been in the finals.

ECU won the tournament with ease, winning the final 52-14 versus Division 1 side UNC Chapel Hill. ECU are a division 2 side poised to make another run at the Division 2 national championship (after making to to the elite 8 last year). It should be noted, however, that the finals of South D2 last year were Wake Forest and ECU - two teams from the same matrix. In the South playoffs both teams had easy runs over their opponents. On the contrary, both Wake and ECU had no easy games in their matrix having to play NC State and AHO in games won and lost by less than 10 points. Per these results it is evident that the North Carolina Div 2 Matrix is significantly stronger than all others.

Aside from the ECU games at the NCRU all of the games were very tight. UNC beat NC State for the second time this fall by a very tight margin, 8-3 on 10/25 and 12-8 on 9/20. Division 3 sides Guilford and Elon also showed how they have improved by playing close games with AHO and Wake Forest.

I unfortunately did not get to witness the games on Saturday (played in miserable weather anyway) because I was sitting the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam - 8 hours, 180 multiple choice questions of hell.

I made my way up to Danville, VA early sunday morning with the hopes of getting a game - I was rewarded upon my arrival - last place playoff UNC Charlotte vs. B-side motley (primarily ECU).
In this game I learned why all the referee manuals tell you to carry two whistles. The lanyard I purchased for my whistle let my whistle go straight into a pile of mud. Don't buy this lanyard: When the whistle hit the dirt I quickly retrieved it, apparently missing an obstruction in the process. When I attempted to blow the whistle to stop play it came out sounding more like a soft girly fart. The soft girly fart sound, however, was still effective at getting attention at which point I requested another whistle from my assistant referee. So, lesson learned here: always have a second whistle in your pocket so you can seamlessly continue the game and go find it at the next opportunity.

This match was also my first opportunity to use those tools learned at rucktoberfest in a men's game. I felt I successfully varied my positions at the breakdown but still need some more practice because I typically found myself turning around the long way. If the breakdown is on my right and the halfback goes left I found myself turning to my right all the way around instead of simply turning left and going.

Also the lineout position at the back when in the 22 was great, especially considering I had an assitant referee to watch the front for me. The new kickoff route worked really well for getting me in the right position.

I felt in this game I also began to recognize certain scrum infringements which I feel I have struggled with so far. It was clear if my props were not coming in straight or if they were pushing incorrectly (up or down) or if there was some pulling going on (leaning back on feet). This part my game still needs work.

I thought my whistle variations had improved - I was sure to have a long harsh blast for a penalty and a short chirp for a knockon, etc. but teams were still confused if I was calling a penalty or scrum. I don't know if this was because of my whistles being confusing or the teams being B sides. Oh well.

Overall the state tournament was good. It was great to see everyone together one last time as this is definetly my last mass runout with SERRS for a while.

Next week: Ed and Sandy Lee Cup, VRU Championship.

My Injury (8/02/2007)

I don't like to talk about my injury, but Danny Cipriani's injury was remarkably similar to mine. The words he uses to describe the experience of the injury are almost identical. His scar is the same, the screws, the plate, the whole works. If you like gory stuff I have pictures of my dislocated ankle before it was straightened....but I won't post those on the blog,

In the first portion of this video he describes the injury and his physiotherapy. Once I start working after graduation I will be able to afford physiotherapy and hopefully remove myself of this horrible limp. I just wish I could physio full time like danny cip did.

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Uploaded by waspo10

Rucktoberfest

Rucktoberfest is a tournament hosted in Boone, NC by the Gentleman of AHO Rugby Club (Appalachian State University). It's always on one of the first weekends in October and always highlighted by the beautiful mountain colors and monstrous 40-50 kegger street rugby party on Saturday night.

Rucktoberfest has in the past been a highlight of every team's fall season, but this year attendance had fallen off due to scheduling conflicts with university Fall Breaks. AHO's homecoming weekend was the first weekend of October, so it could not be held that weekend - thus conflicting with many University fall breaks which usually fall on the second or third weekends in October.

The tournament, while certainly competitive, had a distinct social atmosphere as it is understood that all teams are going to consume copious amounts of miller high life (the cheapest keg around) on the saturday night before the championship games played on sunday.
As such teams aren't at their best on sunday because they are still sweating out the booze from the night before.

Men's competitors included Elon, App. State, NC State, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Tech (motley), UNC Charlotte (who were much improved than in previous seasons), Western Carolina, and the AHO Killer Bs.

Women's included FOUR teams from UVA and teams from JMU, Virginia Tech, NC State, ECU, UNC and App State.

AHO won the men's division on sunday - they stayed mostly sober being the ones serving all the 40-50 kegs of booze at the party. Not taking anything away from them, they certainly played well, but results from the tournament are not an accurate measurement as most teams did not have their full team. UVA won the women's division. I was amazed on sunday morning when all these teams showed up to play at 9 am after that night of boozing - congratulations.

Now, from a referees perspective:

SERRS (the referee organization) decided to use this event as a "coaching" event. Many of the younger referees (including myself) were invited, along wi th many of the old wise heads of the referee society to providing "coaching." We were all to be watched at every game by a different coach and given feedback on our performance.

My first game was 9 AM on Saturday - first round of the day. Elon v. UNC Charlotte. I have a feeling that UNC Charlotte chose to play their b-side for this game - I am not totally sure why - but I dont think it was their first team from the looks of the p layers. I felt I controlled the tackle well in this game - I did not have to blow my whistle too much because I stamped my image of the tackle / ruck into the players minds with the first couple rucks blown up for "in the side" and offsides on the fringe. Elon were clearly the better team, generally able to put UNCC on the backfoot of each break down with their forwards while their backs also had the pace to back themselves on the outside. As I said earlier, I dont know why it wasnt the UNCC first side, who I've not doubt couldve competed better with their matrix opponent (Elon). A refereeing highlight for the game: I called balking for the first time ever - I dont think I have ever seen that called in an American rugby game.

Following the game I received my "coaching" which was excellent - it really gave me a different perspective on many of my on field habits:

1. I was told that my positioning on the field was too static. I like to check the tackle, check that ball is won and available, then I move back to the pocket to get an overview of the field and avoid the path of the ball / player. Now this is a common position for a referee - but my problem was this is where I went ALL THE TIME. I need to vary up my position, sometimes get on the defensive side, and sometimes beside the ruck to clear up the offside line and get a view of the field. This knowledge of posiitoning, of course, is also dependent on how the team are playing the ball - if they are running consistent phases off the side of the ruck then a position 5 meters from the open side of the ruck is reasonable, etc. It's also very important that referee position is varied such that the players cant predict where you will be and what they can away with you not seeing due to position.
   
2. Careful with my non infringement signals. I had a t endency to put my hands up to indicate I wanted players to move back to get onside. The problem was, I would keep my hands up and take them down any time I felt like - the problem with this being that the players might think that when I drop my arms it means the ball is out and they can advance, which I did not intend. A picture of the pocket and signal issues is below:
   
   
3. As game went on my penalty signal became less straight - straighten my arm out.
4. Change my kickoff positioning to standing 10 meters out from the kicker to the touchline then as they start to move for the kick to begin my run such that when the ball is in the air I am at full pace to a management position for the return.

My next game was a women's game: JMU v Virginia Tech. I was impressed with the women's skill level for this game. It proved to be a very tight game, final score being JMU 8 - 7 VT. This was a good game as I got to work on varying my position, trying new restart lines, and being more careful with what I do with my hands at a slower pace than a men's game. This game was also being played right beside the NC State tent, where all the nc state players were taking a break following their win against Coastal Carolina. I am still involved with the NC State Rugby Club, I regularly train with them and help individually coach some of the younger players - I was the President of the club in 2007-2008. During this game I got CHEERED - my nc state buddies were all jeering me on from the sideline yelling "Yeah good call larry! call that knock on! GO LARRY - you're the best referee ever!" and for most of the game continued cheering every time I blew my whistle for an infringement. I was sufficiently embarassed.

That signaled the end my day - from here we retreated back to the hotel for the referee themed dinner "Appalachian couture / chic" and then out to the social - I wont go into the social debauchery too much. Plenty of humorous referee mistakes were brought up at dinner such as one referee dressing like candy cane / barber pole to officiate. I wish I had a picture. Also - # 5 Texas beat #1 Oklahoma, did you hear?

...................

I arrived at the hotel about 3ish that night in a champagned of beer stupor to pass the hell out. I proceeded to wake up so clearly a 7 am, presumably still drunk to grab some breakfast and head to the pitches to pick up a 9 am game. Upon my arrival at the pitch I was assigned the AHO v. ECU Women's game. This game was at the closest pitch to the ref tent and while refereeing the game I could'nt help but notice that there seemed to be more referees on the sideline than rugby players or fans. As such I felt I was having "coaching" barked at me throughout the game - most of which actually turned out to be useful - which is the opposite of most things barked at you from the sideline when you're a rugby referee. I was told to vary my positioning at the lineout more and to ensure that I am on the inside of the lineout for lineouts within the 22 m line. Following the game I recieved a few more pointers from the coaches.

1. Watch for the cavalry charge. Prior to the game this law had confused me and I could not recognize the infringement. In this game I allowed one to occur and try to subsequently be scored. A cavalry charge is essentially when the players on a tap kick infringement (penalty or free kick) begin their charge before the ball has been tap kicked. The law was created because of concussions becoming increasingly common off tap kicks.
2. My breakdown positioning was well varied - I corrected myself from yesterday - a "compliment."
3. Also, when doing women's games - run the D line a bit more often as the women's running lines are typically different from men's games.
4. I still had a bit of trouble with my penalty signal - even receiving a question from a player about it. Guess I was tired - as the game wears on I swear my whistle variations get worse as do my initial signals.
5. The kickoffs were vastly improved - the advice of getting the run in before the kick was great for getting the right position.
   

Also, following this game I was criticized for my wearing of the USA Eagles CCC jersey. Sure it's tight, whatever - at least I didn't look like a candy cane - I think it looks good (see header photo).
Following this I had my first real "assistant" referee experience for the semifinal between NC State and App State. It was a good game but some reason state gave up numerous opportunities to take a pot at goal to win the game. App State won by a try or two.

Overall, it was a highly successful and enjoyable tournament. I was able to take A LOT of knowledge from this experience and meet many referees - even some from texas and new england on exchange.

Now there is a sad point to this tournament: this is likely to be my last mass run out with SERRS as I am moving to New England in December following my graduation from university. It has been great to start my refereeing career here as there are many great referees in SERRS and so much knowledge to be absorbed from them. It was also great to referee with a New England referee at this tournament as I was provided with knowledge of my future New England rugby union and referee society.

10/ 4 Cape Fear @ Triad

Cape Fear is unfortunately struggling with numbers this fall season. This game actually ended up being Cape Fear/ Camp Lejeune / Triad vs. Triad. It was, however, played in great spirit as Triad in an effort to make it a good game loaned Fear/Lejeune some of its better players.

I did not have a lot of trouble with this game. I was close to giving some Fear players cards for consistently coming in the side, offside, and hands in but I couldn't bring myself to do it because....they had no subs. As the game wore on I had two talks with the fear captain and when the players became tired they stopped doing it.

The game was bit of a try fest - but I don't know if this was more due to skillful runners or just plain lazy defense. Final Score Triad 43 - 33 Cape Fear.

I found myself talking quite a lot in this game which is unusual, but considering the social level of play I felt it was reasonable to communicate my interpretations of the law including when you are tackled and must release to continue and the transition from tackle to ruck.

Following the game many of the Triad players provided me some very positive feedback, telling me the talking I did during the game was very helpful considering the level. I think it is, however, that I don't talk so much that it becomes coaching.

10/3 NCSU Alumni Game

On 10/3 NCSU's B-side played an alumni side comprised of players of average age 40ish. The club has written a match report here.

The alumni attempted their typical shenanigans of trying to play more than 15 players, wheeling every scrum, and trying to cheat anyway they possibly could. It is, however, an alumni game - the alumni always win. The B-side boys put a friendly fight but could not get a score on the board despite my attempts at penalizing the alumni at every opportunity towards the end of the game.

Not a lot to discuss here, it was all played in good spirit.

9/27 NCSU, UNCP @ Fort Bragg

3 30 Minute periods were played on this day with a sudden death overtime in Bragg v NCSU. The scores were as follows:

Fort Bragg 10 - 0 UNCP
NCSU 19 - 7 UNCP
Fort Bragg 7 - 0 NCSU

A match report for NCSU's games has been prepared by their coach, Jeremy Goodwin, at http://www.ncstaterugby.com/2008/10/match-summary-for-927-unc-pembroke-and-ft-bragg/

UNCP are a brand new rugby team - just started playing last Spring. For many of their players on the field that day it was their first ever game of rugby. Thus, I was responsible for teaching many of these players how to properly scrummage. Props were'not coming in straight, sometimes head too low, and the second rows didnt seem to want to properly to their prop through his legs. In the first game I had to reset A LOT of scrums, but hopefully the new UNCP players learned from the experience.

For a brand new team UNCP showed up very well, contesting lineouts (even if they were jumping too early), and managing to score a try against NCSU. Overall every game was pretty sloppy and slow, but the breakdowns were much easier to manage than last weekends Raleigh NOVA game.

Many of the Fort Bragg players were smart at avoiding my vision and getting away with hands in the ruck on a number of occasions. Bragg was also smart by infringing against NCSU on whatever scrum side I was not. One side boring in, another side pulling the scrum around to win the wheel. After this game I feel I need to work on my scrummage, as I find it hard to spot the infringements on the front row - including foot up, and the "pull."

Fort Bragg put food and beverage on for the teams and overall it was a good day of rugby. Great for a brand new team to get a run out against a legitimate university side and learn tricks from a bunch of old ruggers (Bragg).

9/20 B Side: Raleigh Vipers vs. NOVA

After winning the Division 2 National Championship in 2007 the Raleigh Rugby Club elected to move up to division 1. Raleigh now competes in the MARFU Division 1 competition which includes a couple current and former Super League clubs (Charlotte, Washington). In their first foray into Division 1 Raleigh has defeated Pittsburgh Harlequins 47-0 and narrowly lost to Charlotte (Super League Playoff competitors) 25-27. Their opponent on this day was NOVA - a club that has historically been a top performer but has fallen off in 15s over the past few years. their sevens side, however, is still very strong.

Raleigh won the A-side game 22-0 in what turned out to be a very scrappy affiair. About 10 minutes into the game a very controversial try was scored. NOVA hesitantly took a quick throw in near their try line. The lineout had not formed yet and most players were the vicinity of the line of touch but no distinct two players had marked the line. The quick throw in went to a NOVA player in his try zone from where he tried to clear but Raleigh's scrumhalf managed to charge the kick / knock the ball from the NOVA player's hands and dive on the ball for the . NOVA, however, were adamant that the ball had been knocked from his hands - meaning a knock forward against Raleigh. In the midst of the confusion over whether the lineout was formed and all the players standing around the referee clear up what had happened - neither could I or the other assistant referee - so the try stood. From that point the game got scrappier and scrappier as the NOVA boys were upset with the refereeing and Raleigh continued to push the limits of the law at the breakdowns. Raleigh rounded out their score with a few more tries to 22-0.

I was in charge of officiating the B -game. NOVA came down to raleigh with only 25 players or so, so many of the NOVA A players were in the game, as were many non-training Raleigh Rugby players. Raleigh's strategy at the breakdown continued in this game. Apparently Raleigh have decided to be as agressive in the breakdown as possible - coming in the side, putting hands in, etc. I called A LOT of penalties in this game for infringements at the breakdown - if I had given a yellow card early it may have prevented this. I told the players a short-time into the second half that the next breakdown penalty I see - hands in, coming in the side, etc. is a card. This cleaned it up, but I think it was definetly the wrong way of doing things. It is important that the players are responsible for their actions - not the referee. I needed to tell the captains to tell the team to sort it out so I dont have to - taking the onus off of me and onto the captain's shoulders. I also had some issues in the game with offside around the fringes - but I just thought the Raleigh scrumhalf was slow pulling it out and the NOVA players were legitimately onside.

Overall, the game was a tough one to control with NOVA being so unhappy with their loss and controversial try, and Raleigh being so aggressive at the breakdown - this resulted in me making a couple bad calls and an overall bad game. The main lesson learned from this game was to stamp my authority early and give the card when I dont like how the breakdown is working. I have still yet to give a yellow card for repeated infringements - I have only given yellow cards for high tackles, punches, etc.

9/13 ECU, NCSU @ Cape Fear

Each of the following games played 30 minute halves:

12:00 PM Cape Fear 10 - 40 ECU

1:15 PM ECU B 3 - 24 NCSU B

2:30 PM NCSU A 12 - 42 ECU A

3:45 PM Cape Fear/ NCSU MOTLEY 17 - 0 ECU B

I officiated the Cape Fear vs. ECU game, the last 10 minutes of the NCSU A vs. ECU A game (due to the other ref pulling his calf), and the motley game.

ECU has done an excellent job of recapping the play for the day, http://ecurugby.weebly.com/1/post/2008/09/ecu-opens-fall-campaign-with-victories.html

NC State took firm control of the the NCSU ECU game, the forwards supporting and providing plentiful go forward ball. NCSU's game plan, however, tired very quickly - it was hot and humid as hell outside. As NCSU's pack tired - ECU took quick advantage, running through the uncovered NCSU backline defence to score. ECU definetly showed they have some very skilled backline players - but for them to go further this season it seems as though they need to improve the organization of their game as their game plan seems primarily based on the athleticism of their backs.

NCSU need to diversify their game plan - it is too simple. They can maintain possession and work their way down the field - but the finishing ability is just not there. Phases off the side of the ruck will not get you in the try zone every time.

From a refereeing point my biggest question on the day was is a "ruck" a "ruck" when there is no opposition committed? ECU, being much smaller than many of the Cape Fear players, would often not contest the breakdown at all. Cape Fear would take the ball in, ECU tackler going to ground, Fear players would keep their feet coming over the ball forming what was most of the time an uncontested ruck. Uncontested either because a contesting ECU player lost his feet or immediately disengaged from the ruck having realized it was lost. Now, how long should I allow for Fear to play the ball before I call it out - as after all - there is no opposition so there is no ruck - no need to wait for the ball to "come out." It seams unreasonable for me to allow the ECU players to come around immediately - as they did choose to not contest - but what is the right amount of time? or should it be blown immediately?

Considering this situation in international and guinness premiership games the ball is generally played immediately, causing no concern like this. In lower level games, where players are less knowledgeable, this situation is more likely to happen, and what is the right decision?

Overall, the event was great. Cape Fear but on food and beverage for everyone and there were even a couple "zulus." The B-side boys from both clubs all showed up very well considering for most of them it was there first time playing rugby.

Summer 2008

5/17 Airborne 7s - Fort Bragg, NC

This was a fairly social sevens event hosted in Fayetteville, NC by Fort Bragg RFC - an army base. Cape Fear (Wilmington, NC) came out easy winners of the tournament. Competitors included Southern Pines, Bragg, Lejeune, Raleigh, Providence Hoggs, and more. The closest game of the day was Fear v. Raleigh early in the morning.

5/24 Memorial Day 7s - Charleston, SC

This tournament included many teams from NC, SC, and Georgia. Many of the larger rugby clubs, such as Charlotte (USA Super League Club), entered a few different sides under names such as "Playas," "Super Friends," "Legion of Doom," and "Team Beautiful." The tournament was definetly of a higher level than the Airborne Sevens, but still had a distinct social atmosphere. I can't recall the winners of the event - I know Fear lost in the semis to one of the Charlotte teams.

I got to meet many different referees at this event from regions much further south - including USA national panel referees - who watched and commented on a couple of my games. They provided some good input for sevens refereeing with regards to positioning, penalties, and forward passes. As anyone who has watched a real life rugby game knows, referees miss "forward" passes and knocks, it's inevitable, we cant see everything - but what many people form the sideline don't realize is that not all forward passes are really "forward." If the balls momentum carries it forward....even though it is directed backwards, it is NOT a forward pass. Anyone who doubts me, watch this video from the ARU (with some horrible 80s music)




6/21 Triad 7s - Greensboro, NC

Triad Rugby Club, based out of Greensboro, NC, competes in USA Rugby South Men's Division 3, but I really wonder why they aren't competing at a higher level. Greensboro now has a men's high school team and three men's university teams (Elon, Guilford, UNCG) - four if you include Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. That's FIVE teams that feed the Triad Rugby Club, where do all those players go after graduation? All the rugby players can't be moving out of Greensboro right out of college - where is the retention?

At any rate, this tournament was of a similar level to Airborne Sevens. The highlight of the day was the final between a Charlotte Team (heartwood??) and ECU. Prior to kickoff, the Charlotte team performed their version of a haka - similar to New Zealand's Ka Mate Haka - but with the use of chainsaws revving and smoking in the middle of the field. It was quite a spectacle - I wish I could post a youtube video of it for you.

Instead, here's a haka video:





7/5 Cape Fear 7s - Wilmington, NC

In summer 2008 I was living in Wilmington, NC - as such - I requested to be a part of officiating this tournament. The Cape Fear 7s tournament, held every July 4th Weekend - is the premier sevens tournament in the Southeast - many consider it to be one of the most important 7s tournaments in the country.

This year the USA Rugby decided to bring it's National Focus Panel of referees down to have a look at them - thus, many SERRS refs who would have normally officiated the tournament were not invited - including myself. I, however, being a local - decided to show up and offer my services anyway. SERRS el presidente and many of the older national referees were happy to oblige - at one point giving me 3 games back to back!!!!! (high school, old boys, and club divisions). Then, at kangaroo court that night, they had the nerve to enforce beverage consumption and general embarassment on me for stupidly accepting 3 games back to back.....bastard shady old referees.

At this sevens tournament there is generally a few international touring sides..and they generally win it. This year, however, NOVA turned it over on a British Army touring side - winning a very entertaining final.

7/26 Bele Chere 7s - Asheville, NC

I don't have a lot to say about the rugby - the final was Asheville v. Greenville, Greenville came out on top. Most of the teams were social sides, all there for the same reason - Bele Chere - a big hippy redneck festival deep in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. It was a great weekend full of rugby, hippies, rednecks, mullets, booze, lots of live music, and shenanigans.

Me and a good friend from work made the trip up to Asheville, NC from Wilmington, NC - basically traveling the entire length of North Carolina. We picked up two NCSU ruggers on the way. On the way I got on the Tom Leykis Radio show - for those of you who know who that is.

We arrived on friday night to discover the tournament was actually in Hendersonville, NC - about 20 minutes outside of Asheville - and my hotel was there as well. We did not make it into Bele Chere that night due to horrible traffic conditions to the festival, so we had a few at Applebees and called it a night.

Rugby started the following morning and conveniently ended at about 3 PM - at which point we booked it into Asheville to join the bele chere festivities. I wont explain too much - hopefully pictures help:

Creepy emo art
Asheville sunset...from rooftop bar
until 6 AM that morning.....

THE NEXT DAY:

off the Blue Ridge Parkway

A Great Way to end the summer.....
The USA v. Clermont Auvergne game was the weekend after this.....blogpost to come...

The rest of spring 2008

My first season of refereeing wrapped up as follows:

4/12 - 4/13 MBA World Cup

This was an event to remembered. Every April, the Duke University Fuqua School of Business hosts the MBA Rugby World Championships. This celebrated event has been held since 1980 and is typically attended by 25 or more of the world’s most prestigious graduate business programs.

In 2008 it was plagued by some serious monsoon type weather (april showers) - with all the fields having standing water. I had a really good time - the rugby, even though it was wet and slow - fit the style of teams competing at the tournament and made for a good event.

The first day was a stop and go affair - any time there was lightning there was a required 30 minute break. The day, however, did finish as intended. I unfortunately cannot remember exactly who I refereed - but I do remember being assigned Ivey (Canadian Business School) 3 times, awarding a penalty try, and thinking NYU were a bunch of pricks (they were very mouthy).

I refereed the Plunger Final (for 17th out of 22) between Chicago and Harvard B. This was by far my best game, from a refereeing perspective, and from an entertainment perspective. Harvard B pushed ahead with an early try and conversion through a backs play. They also picked up a penalty to round out their scoring at 10. Chicago got one try in the first half, leaving them with 5. In the last play of the game Chicago scored another try, making it 10-10 - leaving me with the fear of going into overtime. Luckily, Chicago nailed the difficult conversion for win, 12-10.

The second day I had my first assessment by Ray Davis. I did not feel the game went well - I even made a blatantly wrong call (calling a scrum for what should've been a 22 drop by grounding in goal). Fortunately I was still promoted to C3 that weekend.

4/19 Enodiaks @ Guilford

Guilford College is based out of Greensboro, NC and is a member of USA Rugby South's Collegiate Men's Division 3. I don't know the last time they won their conference - but it has not been since I have been in college (2004). Guilford, however, did show up well on this day where I had my first experience ever with them. They were playing Enodiaks - a combination of two new clubs in the Raleigh/Durham area. Eno River is based out of Durham, NC. The Kodiaks are based out of Raleigh, NC and advertise themselves as being open to men no matter their sexual orientation.

At any rate, Eno River and Kodiaks were both low on numbers to they combined to become the "Enodiaks" to play Guilford.

It was immediately obvious who was the better team - Guilford basically ran in tries at will. To Eno's credit, they did muster a penalty and a lineout on the Guilford 5 meter line to drive it over for a try. Final score was something along the lines of 90-5.

Hopefully Guilford will capitalize on the excellent number of players they had for the game - many of whom looked rather good (but considering the opposition....).

I hope Eno River and Kodiaks continue to grow their clubs so that they can be competitive in the NCRU.

4/26 Elon Women's Round Robin

This was my final game of the season. Upon arrival at Elon's field I realized this was going to be a PROM DRESS game. I immediately told them I was going to have a hard time refereeing the game....as it was impossible to tell who was on what team as they were all wearing randomly colored dresses. The girls were all comfortable with that.

It turned out to be a reasonably enjoyable event - the crowd was really into it and the girls spent most of their time laughing.

An easy way to end the season......

3/29 UNC Chapel Hill B vs. UF B

I was appointed to this game after my Dan River v. Eno River game was cancelled due to lack of players.

Curtis Ethridge refereed the first game and stayed to watch me referee the B-side game. This game was trouble from the start for me - being watched by another ref - and both teams wearing blue! (One Light, One Navy) This was truly unfortunate for me as I continued to yell out BLUE ADVANTAGE! and the players kept asking me...who has advantage sir???? Well I tried to show that I was pointing to the team with advantage, but the players typically just listen to me when I say this, not look at me. At any rate, this rattled me and caused me to have a poor game all around - it really put me of my stride. I improved in the second half after having time to regroup - but still hesitated entirely too much in my officiating of the game.

I also continued my method of being in front of play in this game - I found myself exposed and obstructing on many occasions. I corrected this at half time per Curtis' instructions, and it has been corrected every since that discussion and discussion with my older brother Ben Whysall and Ivan Morton (both referees).

5/31 Cape Fear U19 Intrasquad Scrimmage

As I am living in Wilmington, NC at the moment, and have been playing touch with the Cape Fear Rugby club on Tues/Thurs, I offered to referee their U19 scrimmage. This was the first time these boys had played a game of sevens, and only the second time they had actually played rugby! It was great to help teach these boys rugby. The biggest problem they had was reacting to ADVANTAGE, when one of them knocked the ball on or committed a penalty they all tended to just stop and wait for me to do something after I said advantage instead of taking advantage of the situation! Towards the end of the day (They played three games) they started to get this though - and some great tries came from it. Some of the boys have rugby experience being from Australia / England, but the majority are Wilmington grown and learning the sport. There were many good athletes out there and I think Bob Bogen (the U19 coach) could really make these boys go somewhere.

3/22 Ruggerroast 2008

RuggerRoast 2008 was a small tournament hosted by a small club located in Dan River, VA - The Dan River Silverbacks. In the past many would have considered RuggerRoast to be a major tournament and Dan River to be a major rugby club, but in recent years Dan River's economy struggled and so did the rugby team. The club is currently in a rebuilding phase, and the right people seem to be in place to grow the club. Dan River are in the unique position that they are one of 4 clubs in North Carolina that own their own pitch (Raleigh Rugby, Charlotte Rugby, Cape Fear, Dan River) There is actually a major rugby dedicated rugby facility in Dan River, VA known as Angler park. The MBA World Champs and North Carolina Rugby Union tournaments are held at this facility. So, Dan River has an advantage most rugby clubs in America do not have - facilities. Hopefully Dan River will capitalize on this and continue to invest and grow their rugby club.

The teams participating in this tournament were Dan River, Southern Pines, Blacksburg, and Roanoke. None of these teams brought their first side, instead opting to each bring a team built up largely of their second side. I was charged with refereeing Dan River v. Blacksburg and Blacksburg v. Roanoke (final). In the lead up to this tournament, I received some refereeing advice from a former B-panel referee in regards to watching the offsides line. He recommended that instead of positioning myself in the pocket, that I position myself in front of the attack, and move as it came to me, rather than following the play. This method proved to be very effective policing the offside lines, but did cause me to miss some blatant hands in the ruck (knocking out of scrumhalves' hand). I have since gone back to positioning myself in the pocket as I have gained more experience in determining if a player is offside, but still position myself in front of play when near the try line.

In the first game of the morning Dan River played Blacksburg. Dan River competed well for about the first 15 minutes, scoring a try, but faded away for the rest of the game as Blacksburg piled on the score. Dan River managed a try in the last 20 minutes through their captain...and second row..... off of a really funny looking chip and chase. Final score Blacksburg 60 - 14 Dan River.

In the final Blacksburg out-played Roanoke, but not as much as they did Dan River. Roanoke seemed more interested in trying to influence my calls than play rugby. Their captain was very disrespectful - I probably should have reached for my pocket, but being the inexperienced referee I am - I did not. I allowed play to go on as this captain kept talking to me, and while I'm sure I was not being a biased referee, it sure did seem that the more this Roanoke captain talked to me - the more penalties against him I called. So, Blacksburg ran out 27-7 winners, clinching the tournament championship.

At the post-tournament social I feasted with some of my NC State buddies who were playing for Southern Pines on a massive amount of superb Dan River made wings. At this social I also met some of the Blacksburg guys for some constructive criticism - this included making my advantage calls much clearer and stressing to players that they need to tell me they want the penalty and not the advantage.

3/8 Charlotte High School Tournament

This was a great opportunity for me to referee a lower level of rugby and help "teach" younger players. I was told to be lenient with many of the players with law explanations, but be very strict on high tackles, late charges, and any kind of "dangerous" play.

Being a low level of rugby where I am allowed to do a bit of "teaching" was great for me as a new ref, because in explaining the laws to many of these young'uns, I further understand the intracicies of the laws and their purpose much better. The tournament was also a great opportunity for me to be watched by other referees and receive feedback. The feedback was great, I was told new methods for positioning and watching the offside line, offering commands to the players (tackler release, hands out, use it), signals, and much more. One of the most significant things I took from this tournament was facing North and South as much as possible - as this has helped me form my checklists in each facet of play (i.e Ruck....find the ball....won.....back up to pocket......check offsides.....continue).

I refereed this tournament with clubmate (NCSU) Joe Hogan, in what would be his first proper experience refereeing. Joe Hogan is on his way to Irag at the moment, so best of luck to him in his work for our country and Marines.

I was assigned to referee three B-side games and one U-15 game. (East Chapel Hill, Myers Park, Charlotte Catholic, VC Gold, Monroe U-15, Chapel Hill U-15) I was impressed with the number of players these clubs are getting, and I really hope these clubs continue to grow. It looks like there's a bright future for North Carolina and USA rugby with all these young rugby players coming through.

2/29 Elon 20 - 17 Duke (Elon, NC)

This was my second 80 minute game. It was also effectively the North Carolina Division 3 Collegiate championship, as both teams were 4-0 in their division, playing for the home semifinal against the South Carolina D3 runner up (Coastal Carolina ). The loser would have to travel to Furman, who are perennial division 3 champions. Not only did the game have such an influence on the teams post-season progress, there was also at least 150 people on the sideline! The game was being played on a cold February Friday night under lights with a very loud and critical crowd.

While it was probably not appropriate that I was assigned to this game, I will say that I learned A LOT by doing it. It is definitely the most emotional and meaningful game that I have been responsible for officiating. The coaches of Duke and Elon were kind enough to provide....constructive? criticism following the game.

The game was very tightly contested, with the lead changing on multiple occasions. Duke stuck to the same game plan they used against UNC-Charlotte, utilizing their powerful and accurate kickers to punish Elon's back three with in-field kicks. Duke also benefited from being able to kick penalty goals from the 10 meter. Elon were a bit more organized than Duke, using a more methodical game plan, maintaining possession and scoring typical tries with their forwards and half backs off the base of rucks.

If I am remembering correctly, Elon maintained possession for much of the game, but had a difficult time finishing. Duke, using their kick and chase plan, could use their little possession to manufacture points. It was back and forth for the whole game, with Duke going into half time in a slight lead. As the game wore on I made an unfortunate error with about 10 minutes to go and Elon two points down, I obstructed a defender near the Duke line, and had to call back a try scored by the Elon halfback. This did not go well with the Elon crowd, but Elon maintained their position and with about 2 minutes to go, punched in the game winning try.

As a Lock / Backrower throughout my playing career, I mostly watched and refereed the forwards based portion of the game. I felt I did a decent job with my watching the offsides on kicks, keeping the hands out of the rucks, keeping guys on their feet, and coming in straight to the maul/ruck. What I did VERY poorly, was watch the backlines, as I have no experience in the backline. I found myself, and this was noted by Elon's coach (a South African) after the game, watching the rucks too closely and not facing the backlines. Fortunately, both teams benefited from my ignorance, and took advantage of me not enforcing the offside law there.

I also had a lot of trouble with signals and whistle volume in this game, but this was compounded by the loud atmosphere of the game.

As I said before, this game was a baptism of fire. I probably should not have been assigned this game, but I do feel it served to develop my game much faster than it would have otherwise.

Spring 2008 Schedule

2/16 UNCC 12 Duke 26 – Shadow

This was my shadow game - my first experience as a proper referee. I was shadowing Paul Gauthier. It was a scrappy game, being only D3, and Duke came out easy winners. UNCC had little to offer rugby wise, but did have a few players who produced some strong runs. Duke impressed me with their skillful players - the flyhalf, in particular, had a powerful and accurate boot which the team used to full effect. Having seen Duke in this game, Elon, and the UNC 7s, I believe they could be a good team in the NCRU - they just need to add a bit of size to their pack Duke, I think the whole team is Under 85 kg!

As a referee watching this game I learned to respect Paul Gauthier, the man is 70+ years old and still out there doing the job.

2/23 Boston College Women - UVA B

This was my first game as a referee for 80 minutes - it was also my first time refereeing a women's game. I was in for a shock. Positioning, signals, whistle volume, in goal laws, etc. It was all bad! I was told at half time to stop blowing my whistle so much - it seems that in low level games such as this, you just cant blow up every infraction unless the materiality is severe - because you could literally blow the whistle everytime another person touches the ball. The players didnt ruck - they would fall over and the throw the ball (no intention to push it backwards) and there wasnt any rucks - they just thought they were playing soccer and kicking the ball about! Enough griping, as a referee I did not know how to make this game run properly and it was an important learning experience for me. UVA B ran out winners by a few tries.

2/23 NCSU B vs. Wake B

On the same day I refereed the NCSU vs. Wake B-side game. My older brother, Ben Whysall, refereed the A-side game. After such a bad game in the morning, this was MUCH better. We only played 40 minutes and things went fairly smoothly. I was told I missed the kicker being taken out twice, but I often disagree when coaches try to tell me that happened. It seems to me that more often than not a player is fully committed to the tackle after a kick, the only thing I am responsible for in a late charge is to ensure that the tackle is legal (i.e. wrapped, brought to ground) if not obscenely late.

I also found it difficult to referee the breakdown and watch offsides in this game. There were a couple times where I hesitated at a breakdown in determining which side was infringing, this caused some confusion on the field - but nothing serious. I was not sure how to watch offisdes well in this game, but there was apparently not any serious infringements, I learned all about the offside law in my next game...a bit of a baptism of fire (Duke @ Elon).