April 3, 2017
Delmarva Rugby Derailed by Jersey Shore
Delmarva Rugby Release: Tom Colucci, April 3, 2017
In a defensive battle for most of the game, Delmarva finally succumbed to Jersey Shore by a score of 24-7.
Delmarva started the game by playing the first 20 minutes of the game inside of their own 22 meter line. Jersey Shore used their very large pack to pound the ball repeatedly into the line to gain a few meters at a time. Delmarva was up for the challenge and made tackle after tackle to hold off the Sharks culminating in a fantastic play at the goal line by Spencer Powell and Eddie Boyer to deny a player the opportunity to ground the ball for a score (in rugby, the player must place the ball in the try zone to complete a score. Simply breaking the plane is not sufficient. Eddie and Spencer were able to get their hands under the ball and then carry the Sharks player out of the try zone). Unfortunately, the Sharks continued to press the attack and were able to score at the 22 minute mark and convert the points after for a 7-0 lead.
Delmarva was able to start putting together some offensive flow at around the 30 minute mark and after several fine runs off the back of the scrum they found themselves right at the goal line. Quick thinking by Justin Lopez resulted in a try when he picked up a loose ball in a ruck and tapped in quickly down in the try zone. Justin also converted the kick to tie the game at 7-7. Unfortunately he aggravated his ankle on the kick and was unable to continue. That began the merry go round of substitutions as several players went down in the second half of the game due to injuries.
Those substitutions created difficulty on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball during the second half. An early try in the second half put South Jersey up 12-7. the Sharks continued to posses the ball and slowly beat down the Delmarva defense until the flood gates opened up with about 10 minutes to go in the game. Two quick tries and a conversion created the final score of 24-7.
Join Delmarva at our annual Son of a Beach tournament to be held at Hudson Fields on May 20th.
About Delmarva Rugby
Delmarva Rugby is a 501(c)3 non profit dedicated to the growth of rugby in the Delmarva region. The club was founded in 2011 and plays in the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU). The men’s team recently moved up to Division 3. Woman’s and U19 teams are presently being formed. Delmarva Rugby plays its home games and practices at the American Legion Post 28 located in Millsboro DE. Delmarva Rugby can be followed on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Any interested players for the teams can reach out to Tom Colucci at. tomc@cncsolar.com
