Legend has it that if you see a shooting star, make a wish and it will come true. This practice has been followed in many cultures, since ancient times. The Capital Rugby Union Selects did see shooting Stars on Sunday, as the Selects Men beat the Stars Rugby XVs 54-5, the Women’s Selects won 47-5, with the Women’s Development team claiming a third win on the day 35-15 against the Allegheny Rugby Union All-Stars. The Capital Selects Men and Women’s match may be viewed on Next Level Rugby YouTube, with the Women’s Development match also available.
I had a chance to view the Men’s match yesterday and have a recap below. I haven’t caught up with the two Women’s matches yet, but I plan to do so and I would encourage others to view all three matches. There was excellent commentary throughout the match and Next level Rugby provided a quality performance.
A match preview of the three matches is also available.
Capital Rugby Union Men’s Selects vs Stars Rugby XVs Men
The Capital Rugby Union Men’s Selects beat the Stars Rugby XV 58-5 on Sunday, January 27 at Evergreen Sportsplex in Leesburg, Virginia.
The Capital Selects struck first with a try and a conversion by Jake Humphrey for a 7-0 lead. The Stars attacked back, but lost the ball forward, leading to runs by Barberi and Wintermantel to within 2 meters of the line. A not releasing penalty then thwarted the attack allowing the Stars to clear. Soon after Nick Kuhl went in for a try and after Humphrey’s conversion, the lead was 14-0.
After a Capital scrum, Terik James scooped up the ball, Pat Forde advanced the ball and then offloaded to James, who finished with a try to cut the lead to 14-5, as Ben Connolly’s conversion from touch was wide.
The Selects increased their lead after attacking from a scrum. A Nick Kuhl crash was following by a Thomas Demetriou run for a try. Humphrey then converted for a 21-5 lead. The Selects added to their lead with wing Coston Jr. Burnes taking inside ball for a try and after Humprey slotted again the lead was 28-5 at the break.
Early in the second half, the Stars lost a prop to the bin on the restart. The Selects capitalized on the Stars being down a man with a Nick Kuhl try and a Humphrey conversion for a 35-5 lead. The next scrum by the Selects was an uncontested one, due to lack of an experienced front row replacement.
The Selects extended their lead to 40-5 after a strong run by Wintermantel and an offload to Zach Schell for a try. Humphrey then had his first miss from right touch.
The Stars returned to full strength and after a contested scrum replacement scrumhalf Jacob Estes sniped in for a try with Eric Becton slotting the conversion. Jake Bonner added another try with Becton again converting for a 54-5 lead.
Another yellow followed by Stars Pat Forde for playing a man without the ball. This did not lead to a score, but the Capital Selects emerged with a 54-5 win.
Following the match, Thomas Demetriou from Washington RFC was named Man of the Match.
Capital Rugby Union Men’s Selects vs Stars Rugby XVs Men
Stars Rugby Selects Men
#27 *Shane Aysen – center/wing – Hilton Head Rugby Club, Hilton Head, South Carolina
#88 *Matt Bales – flanker – Washington Irish Rugby Football Club, Washington DC
#4 *David Beach – second row – Notre Dame College Men’s Rugby, Euclid, Ohio
#2 Bjorn Coli – flanker/lock – Hilton Head Rugby, Hilton Head, South Carolina
#20 *Ben Connolly – fullback/center/wing – Southern Districts Rugby Club, Sydney, Australia
#15 *Austin Fernandez – wing/scrumhalf – Tampa Bay Krewe Rugby Football Club, Tampa Florida
#38 *Mike Fletcher – flanker/8 – Washington Irish, Washington DC
#22 *Pat Forde – flanker/8 – Eckerd College Tritons Rugby, St Petersburg, Florida
#47 *Joe Fotofili – second row – Washington Rugby Club, Washington DC
#121 *Casey Hansen – center – Bremer County Bucks Rugby Club, Waverly, Iowa
#10 *Tarik James – scrumhalf – Notre Dame College, Euclid, Ohio
#35 Diamond Kendall Jones – prop – Washington Rugby Football Club, Washington DC
#28 Ryan King – wing/center – Raleigh Rugby Club, Raleigh, North Carolina
#44 Austin Lagow – hooker – Alexandria Rugby Club Griffins U23, Alexandria, Virginia
#11 *Dontae Lawrence – fullback/wing – Savannah Shamrocks Rugby Club, Savannah, Georgia
#26 *Aaron Lee – flyhalf/center – Seattle Saracens, Seattle, Washington
#40 Genesis Lucius – wing – Alexandria Griffins U23, Alexandria, Virginia
#25 Anton Moore – flyhalf/center – Hilton Head Rugby, Hilton Head, South Carolina
#31 *Conor O’Brien – scrumhalf/wing – Old Blue Rugby, New York, New York
#29 Mathew Papier – wing – Hilton Head Rugby, Hilton Head, South Carolina
#43 DJ Quigley- wing – Washington Irish, Washington DC
#173 Kasey Sheckles- flanker/8 – Alexandria Griffins U23, Alexandria, Virginia
#24 Kris Sheckles – flanker/8 – Alexandria Griffins U23, Alexandria, Virginia
#39 Nicardo Swinson – prop – Washington Rugby Club, Washington DC
#23 Devante Wright – second row – Alexandria Griffins U23, Alexandria, Virginia
COACH: Toga Fanueli, Washington, DC
COACH: Joe Fotofili, Washington DC
DIRECTOR: Liz Entwhistle, Chicago, Illinois
ATC: INOVA, Virginia
*indicates veteran of previous Stars tours
Capital Rugby Union Women Selects vs Stars Rugby XVs Women
Stars Rugby Women’s XVs Selects
#18 *Sarah “Esther” Anderson – flanker/8/flyhalf – Chicago Women’s Rugby Club, Chicago, Illinois
#13 *Jenna Balestra – center – Fresno State Women’s Rugby Club, Fresno, California
#103 Amber Chandu – prop – New York Rugby Club, New York, New York
#81 Cait Davis – flanker – Raleigh Rugby Club, Raleigh, North Carolina
#22 *Madison Fedderson – second row – Tacoma Sirens Women’s Rugby Football Club, Tacoma, Washington
#88 *Emilia Ferrara – flyhalf/center – DC Furies Women’s Rugby, Washington DC
#21 Megan Foster – center – San Diego Surfers Women’s Rugby Club/USA Rugby Women’s XVs National Team, San Diego
#9 *Izzi Gibbon – scrumhalf – Penn State Rugby, State College, Pennsylvania
#82 *Sierra Gribble – wing – St. Louis Sabres Women’s Rugby Club, St Louis, Missouri
#20 *Jasmine Griffin – wing – Raleigh Rugby Club, Raleigh, North Carolina
#7 *Courtney Holmes – flanker/scrumhalf – Rugby at NC State, Raleigh, North Carolina
#8 Bridget Kapinus – second row/back row- Chicago North Shore Women’s Rugby, Chicago, Illinois
#11 Maggie Kowalik – wing – Notre Dame College Women’s Rugby, Euclid, Ohio
#17 *Lexie Lundquist – flanker/8/center – Glendale Merlins Rugby, Glendale, Colorado
#159 *Justine Perl – center/flyhalf – University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
#62 *Brooke Schraffenberger – second row/back row – Detroit Women, Detroit, Michigan
#4 *Leah Smeltzer – hooker/flanker – Rochester Women, Rochester, New York
#27 *Meg Steffes – hooker/flanker – Atlanta Harlequins Rugby, Atlanta, Georgia
#102 *Keta Sutton – hooker/prop – Atlanta Harlequins, Atlanta, Georgia
#3 Cassie Urbano – hooker – Minnesota Valkyries Rugby, Minneapolis, Minnesota
#22 Alycia Washington – second row – New York Rugby Club/USA Women’s XVs National Team, New York, New York
#85 *Callie Woods – prop/second row – Columbia Bombshells Women’s Rugby, Columbia, South Carolina
#27 *Morgan Yankee – 8/second row – Marquette Women’s Rugby Football Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
COACH: Megan Pinson, Lindenwood University Women’s Rugby, St Charles, Missouri
COACH: Andy Evans, Trinity Western University Spartan Athletics, Burnaby, Canada
DIRECTOR: Liz Entwhistle, Stars Rugby 7s, Chicago, Illinois
ATC: Inova Sport, Virginia
*Veteran of Previous Stars Tour
Capital Rugby Union Development vs Allegheny Rugby Union Women’s All-Stars
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
