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A new familiar season starts August 25, 2012. That was bit a typo. This season is brand new yet all too familiar at the same time.
The schedule sees the Green Horde facing off against a litany of familiar faces in the form of their in-state rivals the Cleveland Rovers and Akron RFC. As in times before, the ESRFC will have to topple these tough teams in a bid to make an appearance in post-season play. That is where the similarities end.
This season introduces the Cincinnati Kelts and Pittsburgh RFC. Compared to the other competition for the Fall, these teams are mysteries, variables that need to be handled in the Green Horde’s pursuit of greatness. The way the bracket is set up the ESRFC will host each team and travel to each team’s home pitch, giving them two opportunities to come out, test their gameplan and see who comes out on top.
The stakes for this season are higher as well. In years past, all that was at stake was reassuring themselves that they were the best in the Cleveland area and keeping the remainder of the unwashed masses in the Midwest DIII at bay. Now, every game is a playoff game. Every Saturday needs to make a statement. Every time they touch the field they need to show that the playoff loss to the bad guys on the West side was a fluke, that the close calls against the invaders from the South were not the new norms. Most importantly, when the men in green get between the white lines it is imperative that they make the statement that – though they were brought in after the fact – that they belong in, can compete in and can be successful in DII.
On August 25, 2012, the most important season in recent ESRFC history begins. This season is going to be tougher than any other before it. The days of blowing out half-assed teams from Pennsylvania that need to borrow players or use caution tape as crossbars are over. Every breakdown will be a battle. Every game will be a war. And, when all is said and done, there will be casualties. But, on the other side of the necessary pain and sacrifice is something that will make everything more than worth it.
This must be what the Light Brigade felt like.
Here are the upcoming dates of importance for the Green Horde’s Fall:
Tuesday July 31, 2012 – Fifteens practice starts at Metroparks pitch (Corner of Oxbow Ln and Chagrin River Rd. one mile south of Squire’s Castle)
Friday August 10, 2012 – Team party and preparation for the Fall
Saturday August 25, 2012 – ESRFC v Rovers
Mark your calendars. Get out to the games. This is going to be a season to remember.
The Sevens Scene at RnR 2012
This was the scene at Kreuger Park in Mentor on July 14, 2012. This is only a glimpse of the rugby magic that was on display. Videos and results to come soon.
Green Horde members helping out in the CARPS lineup during the summer.
Recent results:
- Steel City 7s: 2nd Place (W; Pitt, Erie, Detroit – L; Harlequins)
- FIrehouse 7s: 5th Place (W; Griffins, Blaze, W. Michigan)
There is also a social ESRFC side making the rounds on the 7s circuit this Summer. Recently they made an appearance at the Canton Hall of Fame 7s tournament. Pictures to come soon.
Relive all the 7s summer action here.
The Scene at Steel City 2012
Tickets are still on sale! Come see what happens when rugby and football come together for a one–night event featuring the Cleveland Gladiators and rugby teams from all over the Ohio area. Tickets are available but going fast. Order them while they last!
Order your tickets here: Cleveland Gladiators/Cleveland Rugby
Tickets will be delivered once orders and money are received.
As the rugby world continues to turn and evolve, the IRB continues to see to it that the rules evolve as well. Check out some of the laws being trialed worldwide.
The Green Horde will be on the move this summer, participating in a number of tournaments throughout the Midwest in an effort to put some pressure on the 7s world.
June 29 – Game Day with the Gladiators – Cleveland, OH
In their final game of the Spring, the Green Horde toppled Canton by a score of 50 – 12.
The ESRFC now shifts gears to the coming 7s season. Check out the schedule page to see the tournaments ahead of the men in Green.
The Midwest Final Four is over and Cleveland rugby stands atop the heap. It is not the Green Horde, who blew out the Gentlemen of Dubeque 55 – 20 in the consolation match, though. Rather, the rivals from the wrong side of the tracks took top honors in a staggering 84 – 0 victory over the Jazz Pigs.
The Green Horde has fallen in the Midwest tournament to its rivals, the Rovers, 32 – 18. The tide is beginning to turn and it’s time for changes to be made. One victory is a fluke. We must prepare in order to prove that their victory was just that.
BG battles Green Horde to 30 – 6 upset against the Cleveland men’s side. It was a homecoming for a few of the Green Horde players, a time to visit friends with the others. Sadly, the fun times weren’t accented by an on-field win.
Green Horde tops Scioto Valley in 42 – 7 thriller. Next stop is Bowling Green. Then it’s off to Midwest to take on the arch enemies on the West side, the Rovers.
ESRFC opens up Spring by putting a hurt on Pittsburgh’s D2 side. Write-up here. Video here.
Come and join the premier rugby club in Cleveland.
Schedule updates!
Playoffs have been set. The first round of playoffs will be played April 28 and 29 in Elkhard, Indiana. Our first game is against the Rovers.
This year’s Rock n Roll 7s tournament will be on July 14. Mark your calendars and stock up on the sunscreen. Sign-up details will be coming soon. As in past tournaments, there will be qualifying, social, women’s and high school brackets.
On Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, some of the Green Horde members visited the Cleveland Clinic following a hugely successful donation drive at Claddagh Irish Pub on the previous Wednesday. They distributed mass amounts of the toys that had been donated to the cause and still had some left over. Check out some of the pictures from the event and other donations we have done. More are on their way so be on the lookout for more.
Thank you to Mark from Claddagh for helping us out as well.
Winter practices have begun!
Sessions are on Tuesdays at SPIRE Institute in spacious Geneva, Ohio. Sessions start at 7:00pm and end at 9:00pm.
Carpools will be leaving from the Cuyahoga County Airport, Downtown and Mentor at 6:00pm. The address to the facility is: 1822 South Broadway Geneva, OH 44041.
Be sure to bring molded cleats or field shows if able. Since the field is turf, long sleeves would be a good idea as well. Alcohol wipes are strongly suggested to wipe down cuts and scrapes post practice.
The AGM was hosted at Mullarkey’s in Downtown Willoughby.
When the votes were all tallied and totaled, there was a changing of the guard in the Executive Board. The new members at the the top of the Green Horde are:
- George Jeney (President)
- Drew Roberts (Vice President)
- Pat McGrath (Treasurer)
- Jason A. H. Rolf (Secretary)
- Mark Viviani (Match Secretary)
Judging by the names above, the team is in good hands. The coming year should be even better than the last one with these men at the helm.
The holidays just ended but there is time to give to those who really need it. There are a vast number of children who are in the Cleveland Clinic’s Children’s Ward who were not as fortunate as the rest of us this holiday season. Claddagh and the Green Horde want to help them out, and they need all the help they can get!
On January 18, 2012 items will be collected at Claddagh in Lyndhurst for the team to distribute to the children that Friday.
Whoever comes in on that Wednesday from 5:30pm until closing and brings a toy with them we will give them 15% off their total food bill…
As the start of the new year approaches, it is time to look forward to the future. Here’s a list of what the Green Horde has on its social and competitive schedules so far…
It’s probably very safe to assume that very few rugby players in the Midwest, especially in the lower divisions, have played on a regulation rugby pitch. This is to be expected because there are very few rugby complexes in the US or sports complexes equipped to hold a rugby pitch to begin with.
There is, though, a big difference between a field that is a little too short or a tad too thin. There is even a case to be made for fields that are not the most level or well manicured patches of earth in existence. These allowances have their limits, though.
View of Canton’s rugby grounds
The Cleveland Rugby Blog 
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