10/17/2009 Northeastern @ Army (West Point)

Army did a good job reporting on the game here:

http://www.westpointrugby.com/News/latestresults/09-10-19/brothers_start_strong.aspx

This game really tested my fitness. I had already refereed a ladies game earlier in the day...and traveled the hour from their to the West Point facility.

The score was 93-3...and I was running wind sprints. The Army boys were simply more athletic and organized, running excellent lines and breaking tackles all game. Army did test me from get go with scrum feeds and tackle law but I set the line for them.

I think Northeastern may have been a little offside during the first half...but the Army scrumhalf's delivery was slow....and even when I gave penalty advantage...Army would break tackles and score.

In sum, some notes for myself:

• Fitness is good. Need more COMPETITIVE games at this speed to practice keeping my mental clarity up. My ankle performed extraordinarily well in this game, from the fans I heard there was virtually no limp
  
• Need to be strict on the offsides as teams creep up while the game wears on. This happened earlier with the ladies and the Northeastern guys had the habit...it just did not effect the game much.
• Very pleased with the openness and athleticism of the game.
• I threatened a card by pulling my ref wallet out during the game. The player thought I had carded him and left the field. Future notes: do not take out the wallet, don't want the player to think he has been carded when he has not.

Hopefully I will make some video later.

10/17/2009 Dartmouth Women @ Vassar Women

Vassar do a great job of reporting on their games:

http://www.vassarathletics.com/news/2009/10/17/WRUG_1017094317.aspx?path=wrug

From my perspective...at half time...I was very happy. At full time...I was not happy with my performance.

The 1st half had less than 5 penalties....despite the close contest the ladies were listening to my preventative instructions and abiding.

I was so happy with their legal play in the 1st that when in the 2nd half they started creeping up at the breakdown and not quite coming straight into the rucks...I was not quick enough to penalize it. As the 2nd half wore on the offsides and zone entry got worse and worse, eventually getting to the point where I was blowing quite a lot of penalties.

My problem with my logic: when the ladies started creeping up I needed to ping them immediately to let them know the standard was still there...I was lenient...almost rewarding both sides for their strong performance in the 1st half. Mental note: don't do this again.

Otherwise the game was quite exciting with one of Dartmouth's tries coming from inside their 22 and passing through probably 10 of their players hands...quite a spectacle, it reminded me of Ngwenyas USA v. South Africa try in the 2007 world cup.

There were a few questionable calls from the game...it was not clear following one scrum who took the ball in goal (need to see the video)....and I was behind a girl as she scored a try (whilst being tackled)....it looked as though she may have knocked on before downward pressure but I had no evidence so I awarded the try. There was also a scrum feed that went straight through to the otherside..I thought it had probably slipped through the props foot but from what I hear..it did not. This lead to the winning try so I need to make sure these errors do not occur.

10/11/2009 Vassar College Women @ Yale University Women

Great conditions, sunny, ~60 degrees, field slightly muddy. Field lines very faint.
A very hard fought match. In the first half the penalties mounted against Yale for offsides infringements allowing Vassar to pick up a try.

Vassar were vastly superior at scrum time, but failed to use that momentum to score tries...Yale were much better in loose play than Vassar. Lots of knocks ons this game too, not too clear why.

Yale scored a try at full time to tie the game at 15-15, missing the conversion.

FT Yale: 3 tries (15) Vassar: 3 tries (15)

10/11/2009 Cornell @ Yale

Great conditions, ~60 degrees, sunny. Field was little muddy, but not enough to inhibit play significantly. Field lines were rather faint.

In the 1st half Yale proved to be the more athletic side with most of their tries coming from breaks in the backline. Cornell scored 3 points following a dangerous tackle in front of the posts at the 22.

HT: Yale 45 - 3 Cornell

In the 2nd half the game was quite a bit closer with Yale picking up only 3 tries.
I commend both teams for their great sporting spirit despite the nature of the game.

FT Yale: 10 Tries, 5 Conversions (60) Cornell: 1 Penalty (3)

10/10/2009 University of Rhode Island (URI) @ Amherst College

Sunny, dry, 60 degree conditions on a beautifully maintained and lined field at Amherst College. Aside from West Point, I don't think I have been on a better rugby pitch in the Northeast.
Within the first 5 minutes URI ran in a try to the corner (converted), leading me to believe this game may turn out something like the 82-0 AC drubbing of last week...I was wrong.

After the ensuing kickoff AC fought back well, keeping the game inbetween the 10 meter lines. The AC attack and defense was frusturating URI as the boys from RI began giving away needless penalties for not releasing and diving over in the ruck, enabling AC to pick up 6 points. Then, at around the URI 10 meter line the RI boys got sucked into an AC ruck, leaving an overload for AC...AC used the space, beat the fullback, and dotted down in the corner in spectacular fashion (unconverted).

HT: AC 11, URI 7

In the 2nd half URI had more sustained pressure on the AC line and worked hard for a try muscled over by their forwards.
AC then fought back and also had some sustained pressure on the URI line only to knock the ball on just before grounding.
With about 3 minutes left in the game (score AC 11 - 14 URI), AC were awarded a penalty about 5 meters from the touch line and more than 40 meters from the try line. The referee was surprised when AC indicated they wanted to go for points! While setting up for the kick a strong breeze began blowing, but despite this, the kick sailed beautifully through the posts! a very impressive kick under huge pressure for any level of rugby.
This set up the tie at 14-14, but in the ensuing kick off URI won the ball, ran a couple phases, sent it out wide, and scored a converted try in the corner. A heartbreaking finish for the struggling AC and relief for URI as they scraped by with a win.

FT
Amherst College: 1 Try, 3 penalty kicks (14)
URI: 3 Tries, 3 Conversions (21)

Some refereeing notes from the game:

• I think I may have been playing not releasing too tightly. Essentially if the defenders had their hands on the ball when the palyer hit the floor and did not come up with the ball...I penalized. After considering it post game, I think I was being to strict....the player should have the opportunity to play the ball immediately (especially with support arriving) before he gets pinged for not releasing. Subtleties.....
• Also, I almost had a major f up. It was quite a windy day. URI went long on a penalty kick for touch. The ball went well over the touch line...I blew my whistle for touch. What I didn't see coming was the strong gust of wind which blew the ball back in field and dead ingoal. I went ahead and offered the scrum back due to there really being no question as to the result....but I must remember to not blow my whistle until it actually lands in touch. I made an error like this back at Rucktoberfest 08, except for the ball blew back in but still bounced to touch.

10/4/2009 Providence College Women @ Army Women

Army dominated the game in all facets. They took every scrum against the head, stole every lineout, and scored a try on almost all distributions of the ball.
The only Army downside was they had a habit of knocking on half of the kick offs. No matter, they took the Providence scrum against the head anyway.
The game was mutually agreed to end at halftime (40 minutes).
Final Score 74-0.
Army: 12 Tries, 7 Conversions (74)
Providence College: (0)
I commend both sides for their positive attitudes and play despite the nature of the game.
For a 2nd game (2nd 40 minutes as normal) Army put their B side out to play the Providence College ladies. This was a much more even match with Providence muscling over a try early in the half. Unfortunately, the Army B side's fresher legs began to show in the last 10 minutes as they ran in 3 tries.
Final score of "2nd game" Army 22 - 5 Providence.

10/3/2009 Amherst College @ UMASS Amherst

This game is typically a close and hotly contested local rivalry game. Unfortunately, AC have fallen up some hard times and are struggling to compete. I will post my coaching report from this game. Final Score UMASS 82 - 0 Amherst College.


NEW ENGLAND RUGBY REFEREES SOCIETY
Referee Coaching Report
Larry Whysall
October 3, 2009
UMASS men (82) v. Amherst College men (0)
Match Description
Halves were 40 minutes. Weather was about 60, threatening but not really raining. Field was full-sized, moderately well-grassed and lined. There were no sideline ropes.
As the score would suggest, UMASS were totally dominant in all areas of this game. They were able to recycle the ball virtually without contest at the tackle and ruck. While Amherst were game, they were simply not able to defend against the constant pressure they were put under.
We had the opportunity for a full discussion after the game.
Overview
My focus was on the points which were emphasized by Jeremy Turner in his report from North Conway in May: pace and fitness and anticipatory management of the tackle and ruck. In both of these areas there was very evident improvement from the occasions when I saw Larry in the Spring (April at Amherst Women and the game on which Jeremy reported). While he still looks a bit ungainly because of a lingering (but diminished) limp, Larry was covering the ground well and was almost invariably well-positioned in open play. There were not many long movements, but when there were Larry was keeping up with them well. This was true right to the end, including a 70 m. movement deep in the second half at the end of which Larry was, if not in in-goal, within 2 meters of it. He clearly has worked hard on this aspect.
Larry’s approach to the breakdown was good and when play was close enough for me to hear I could hear him using good, concise preventative talk to ensure availability. There were virtually no unplayables. The few infringements were spotted and dealt with. This was perhaps facilitated by the one-sidedness of the breakdowns, and I would like to see how he handles a more competitive contest, but he could only referee the game he had and in this area he did it well.
Specific Comments
We discussed all of these points immediately after.
· Larry allowed several UMASS players to wear full-length underwear in violation of the IRB ruling.
· The UMASS loosehead was consistently preventing his opponent from binding over his arm, and sometimes using the advantage to force the tighthead down and in. Larry dealt with this for a while, but it recurred when he was not looking. At some point more forceful action, beginning with a FK, might have helped.
· The Amherst #8 was consistently giving up his bind in defense (hands on only). This was not noticed. While it really did not become material, it would have in a more even game and should have been dealt with preventatively.
· Larry sometimes shortcuts from the scrum and ruck. Try to avoid this—go with the ball. We talked about anticipating where the ball is going and beginning to move a bit earlier.
· When attackers are going for a pushover try and channeling the ball away from the side of the put-in, think about a quick two-step past the #8 to be better positioned to follow the ball into in-goal.
Because of the nature of the game and what I was trying to look for, I will not report in detail on other aspects of the game. But I do want to say that Larry had a very good game. Advantage was consistently signaled and well played. Primary signals were given promptly and were followed by clear secondary signals. Larry maintained his focus for 80 minutes of a lopsided contest and had a smile on his face.

9/27/2009 Merrimack College @ Western New England College

Western New England College: 31
Merrimack College: 7
The Sunday rain had cleared up by this 4 PM kickoff.
WNEC are a brand new rugby club, but you wouldnt have guessed it per the way they performed.
The game was competitive and hard hitting. WNEC won the game at scrum time, consistently causing problems for Merrimack as they were forced to clean up messy ball at the back of the scrum.
WNEC scored a few tries from the base of their strong scrum but struggled to finish off back line moves.
Merrimack competed well, scoring one try of their own, but struggled to get their moves going because they were going backwards at almost every scrum.
It is strange how teams from Springfield, MA always have strong scrums, must be something in their coaching or training, because the Rifles and WNEC are extraordinarily good at scrummaging.

9/27/2009 Framingham State @ Nichols College

I sometimes like to review other referee's match reports on the New England Rugby Referee's website. I stumbled across this one (also on sunday) and realized the story is almost EXACTLY the same as the game I refereed. So, I took the time to replace the names and publish it as my own...plagiarism at its best (Thank you Peter).

Taken from: http://www.nerugbyrefs.org/schedules/match_report.cfm?match_id=5422
This match was played on an artificial turf field lined for football but with sufficient width (e.g. soccer outline). The goal posts were in the dead ball line. It was mild with light rain. Under the conditions, ball handling was difficult and there were a lot of scrums, in which Nichols had a slight edge. There were bursts of good, linked phase play from both sides, but lack of experience and over-enthusiasm kept these from becoming the pattern. Nichols and Framingham both managed to score one try in the first half. In the second half, with more possession, Nichols was able to keep the pressure mostly in the Framingham and score multiple tries, mostly from a set piece platform. The game was played with pretty good discipline and in good spirit. I was impressed by Nichols coach and captain who prompty substituted out the one real attitude problem on their side (the said problem had stomped and thrown a punch that the referee missed...but the sideline did not).

9/26/2009 Old Gold @ Hartford Wanderers

Perfect Rugby Conditions.

At the end of the 1st half the score was Hartford 19 - 0 Old Gold. Hartford were using their superior size and pace out wide to burst through the Old Gold defense.

Old Gold, however, did have a competitive amount of possession and were succeeding in attacking the Hartford line - knocking one try on in the process of grounding.

In the 2nd half, Hartford presumably were resting on their 19-0 scoreline as Old Gold began bursting through a tired Hartford defense. Hartford was not tackling as well in the 2nd half as Old Gold were successfully driving forward and off loading in the tackle. In a one of kind feat (for me anyway) Old Gold scored a try while taking out the goal posts in the process. As the Old Gold player drove forward with two tacklers on him they collided with the goal posts which proceeded to split and collapse on the players - certainly not a safe scenario. Nevertheless, Old Gold scored the try on the try line in quite spectacular fashion.

It was remarkably similar to this:

Hartford scored 1 try in the 2nd half, Old Gold scored 4 tries. With 2 minutes to spare Old Gold had taken the score to 29-24, but committed a illegal zone entry penalty a few phases after the kickoff allowing Hartford to boot the ball into touch to end the game.
A well played game in great spirits.

Hartford: 4 Tries, 3 conversion, 1 penalty 29
Old Gold: 4 tries, 2 conversions 24

I also had a bad mistake early in the first half of this game. Old Gold made a nice break down the field to work within the 5 meter line in the corner. The 5 meter dash lines were drawn quite long and I thought he made it into the try zone, especially considering how he downed the ball. I signalled for a try, only to immediately realize he wasnt in the try zone. I quickly changed to a knock on scrum Hartford.....it raised a few questions from the players and sidelines...but play continued. I could feel the player's confidence in my dropping after this but I told myself to forget my mistake and move on. I am proud to say that I forgot about my mistake and moved on with the game.....refereeing confidently.