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.