6B SPORTS
MEN'S CLUB RUGBY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
Short-handed team loses match after 14 turnovers
BY MAX LUSH
mlush@kansan.com
The men's club rugby team has struggled with having enough players to play with a complete team all season.
MATCH STATISTICS:
For Kansas, the scores have been indicative of its number of players. The rugby team closed out the fall season Saturday, losing to Nebraska 59-7.
| | Kansas | Nebraska |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Turnovers: | 14 | 6 |
| Line-outs/lost: | 18/3 | 9/6 |
| Scrums/lost | 17/4 | 12/3 |
| Penalties Against: | 8 | 13 |
Interim head coach Matt Schwartz said he knew that the key to a successful rugby team was having a full team at practice and being able to practice with intensity.
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Junior Brandon Holland, foreground, airs the ball high during a line-out last week. The men's club rugby club lost to Nebraska 59-7 Saturday while playing without one of its team members.
"It is hard to play well when we have players out here just on game day; we need to build our chemistry at practice," Schwartz said.
While playing a man down for most of the match, Kansas had a valiant effort against Nebraska. The play of the Kansas forward pack impressed Nebraska coach Brandon Smid.
"I felt that if they kept the ball in the forward pack more, they would have been much more competitive," Smid said.
If statistics show anything, it would be that Smid is correct. Kansas stole six out of Nebraska's nine line-outs and three out of Nebraska's 12 scrims. Line-outs and scrums are situations a team should dominate if it is facing a short-sided team with players playing out of position, but Kansas was able to dominate despite being the short-sided team.
What separated the two teams was turnovers and tackling in the back line. The layhawks had 14
turnovers throughout the match, and six of those led to direct tries for Nebraska. Nebraska only had six turnovers, none of which led to tries for Kansas. The other issue for Kansas was that several members of the backline were not playing their normal positions.
But when Kansas broke the defensive line, Nebraska had its wings, or fullbacks, back for support.
Not playing the position the backs are accustomed to led to a shaky defensive line, producing many line-breaks for Nebraska.
Despite the loses, this season has not been a waste for Kansas
The club lost 12 seniors and has been trying to recruit other students to teach underclassman the game. Chandler Cates, scrumhalf from Kansas City, Mo., has been thrilled with the progress of the team this Fall.
"This season has been a building season for us," Cates said. "We've gotten some new players out who
have come a long ways from the beginning of the season."
For now, the men's club rugby team will have a rest until the spring season begins next semester.
The team is looking to improve for the spring.
"We hope to get more players out for the spring season as
the weather gets better." Schwartz said. "Hopefully we can put a full team on the field consistently"
Follow Max Lush at twitter. com/udk_mlush.
Edited by Alicia Banister
WOMEN'S CLUB RUGBY
Team defeats Benedictine 44-0 despite coach's absence
MATCH STATISTICS:
The women's club rugby team defeated Benedictine 44-0 despite not having its coach.
While its coach was in Sacramento, Calif. teaching coaching at a conference, the club was still able to put what it learned in practice into the match Saturday. Briana Slayton, Round Valley, Ariz., freshman who has been sidelined by injury, took over the role of coach for the day and said she was happy with how the team's ever-improving defense played.
| | Kansas | Benedictine |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Turnovers: | 7 | 6 |
| Line-outs/lost: | 7/1 | 13/3 |
| Scrums/lost | 3/1 | 7/3 |
| Penalties Against: | 7 | 5 |
"We started out a little slow with a few mental breakdowns, but overall I was extremely happy with how we played as a unit," Slayton said.
The team has benefited from its competitive practices. Team captain Savannah Greiner, La Cygne junior, said she knew that focusing on the defense being a solitary unit had helped the team improve.
"We work a lot on tackling and rucking in practice," Greiner said. Kansas showed physicality by
attacking the side of the field for most of the match. When Benedictine had the ball, the team was hit by Kansas, giving up six turnovers.
Kansas showed physicality by
From the sidelines one could hear Kansas players talking to and supporting each other. Abby Vestale, who scored on three tries, said she was happy with how well the team talked on defense but still saw some room for improvement.
"We played better on defense today, but we still need to come up in a flat line every time," Vestale said.
While the defense continues
to improve, the team's offense has remained steady and potent. Kansas scored eight tries while on the attack and converted two of them with kicks, making the score 44-0. Kansas was the clear aggressor in the match, running hard at Benedictine and supporting each other.
"Our support was great today. Someone was always there to offload the ball to or clean up the tackle," Greiner said.
The offense has taken off in the team's three-game winning streak, playing balanced, making it hard to predict where the attack would come from. The forwards
and backs each scored four tries on the day. Not including the season's 25-0 opening loss to Truman State, Kansas has outscored its opponents 96-5.
After ending the season on a three-game winning streak, the team looks to improve its chemistry.
"We are like a family." Greiner said. "We are always together off the field and love being with each other."
Follow Max Lush at twitter.
com/udk_mlush.
only at
— Edited by Alicia Banister
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