TCWRFC meets the TSHS Cougars in Waldorf

TCWRFC meets the TSHS Cougars in Waldorf, MD

Last Fri (3/26), TC Williams RFC traveled to Waldorf, Maryland (details below) for a match v Thomas Stone HS. To call this a physical match would be an understatement—this was a brawl—in fact, it was more like “”thugby” than rugby. As I told the lads in my half-time chat, finally, we’ve come up against bigger thugs (almost totally dependent upon physical instead of mental skills) than we, and it was no surprise to my Assistant Coach or me that the match ended in a 10 – 10 tie, neither side deserved to come away w/ victory because neither side played good rugby.

This time, TC’s athletic talent, alone, was not enough to defeat an adversary w/ a similar physical style but w/ much more experience. Again this wk, our TC Captain and #8 (see note below) scored another impressive try (unconverted, see note below), and 1 of our props scored 1 (also unconverted, see note below) from multi-phase ball (unfortunately, TC missed several opportunities to take advantage of Stone’s mistakes because TC reverted to its brawn and forgot its brains). Thomas Stone, who fielded 15 athletes (plus several reserves), a few of them good rugby players, scored both its tries (unconverted, see note below) on missed tackles (their # 7 was able to run through us all day because some of our best players [mostly football players] relied on big hits and didn’t wrap their arms around him so he was able to run through or spin off them) and poor defense (besides missed tackles on several of their players and a need for more fitness, our players allowed themselves to get sucked in, and Stone ran around us).

As I alluded last wk, TC Rugby has some really good athletes, but rugby (even more so than many other contact sports) requires just as much, if not more, mental fitness as physical fitness. Hopefully, the lesson TC learned from this match is that brawn against brawn is not as effective as brawn and brains against brawn. We will refocus on playing our game (no matter the opposition) and continue to use our physical strength while developing our mental game so as to become more than 1-dimensional. Thank you for supporting rugby; TC’s next match is 420 this Sat (4/3) v Fairfield (CT) Prep at the prestigious (38^th Annual) Cherry Blossom Tournament (because of all the rain we’ve been having, the CBT has been moved from the National Mall to Bull Run Park in Manassas, VA (directions below).