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When the dust settled in Akron on Sept. 10, 2011 the Cleveland Eastern Suburbs Rugby Football Club was on top of Akron 33 – 27. While this result puts an early win in the scorecard of the Green Horde, the victory was far from a clean one and a far cry from the kind of wins the East Side team has put together in recent competitions.
In recent meetings between the two clubs, Cleveland had trounced Akron by incredible margins. Last week’s close score could be credited to a number of factors. Speculators will suggest whether Akron have gotten that good or if Cleveland is on the down swing. What si for sure, though, is that the Green Horde seemed somewhat unprepared and undisciplined for a tough team and an imperfect referee.
Akron pushed the physical pace of the game as they always did, bringing hard hits at every breakdown and phase of the match. This aggression allowed Akron to do something that few teams had even been able to do: challenge, and in some cases, shut down the Green Horde at the set pieces. Mike Belanich did his best in the line-outs and did what he does best, making getting the ball difficult for Akron. It was not the easy dominating job that is usually was, though. Rather than merely foiling their plans in the air, many times it came down to doing the hard dirty work on the ground to ensure that Akron did not score. Akron also made times difficult for the ESRFC in the scrums. Though the Green Horde’s big men wheeled and pushed Akron’s pack at will, it was Akron’s scrumhalf that made life difficult for the Green Horde on the offensive side of the ball. His tenacity made sure that getting the ball from srumhalf John Bowens to flyhalf Billy Regan would not be an easy task. On a number of occasions 8 man Justin Rutledge had to make get the ball to his no. 9 so he could make a clear pass. The story was much the same in the rucks, except for the fact that Akron was able to contest and turnover ball. Needless to say, this wore down the ESRFC’s men a great deal.
The trouble with Akron’s aggression came when the southern side’s flyhalf continually performed illegal and dangerous tackles. The dangerous play coupled with the Cleveland side’s fatigue led to unnecessary penalties and scoring opportunities for the opposition. Two of these penalties were compounded when members of the Cleveland side yelled at the referee for his decision-making and his apparent inability to make proper penalizing calls against the home team. The Green Horde was also assessed a penalty, which could have easily been a card, for stamping late in the game. This came after the team had fought their way deep into Akron’s territory and been awarded two penalty advantages. The decision to step on the opposing player killing the ball cost the Green Horde at least five points and could have put a man in the bin.
The good guys – the ESRFC – came out on top, though; and they left Akron with a victory and the knowledge that this season is not going to go as easily as past seasons. Aside from the more physical aspects of the game, the ESRFC realized they needed work on fitness and discipline as well. They take on South Pitt on Sept. 17. Video highlights of that game will be available along with the match coverage.
The B side put on a good showing against Akron, though their hosts came up trumps against them on this occasion. The meeting between the two sides was still a positive one for the Green Horde, though. It got rookies Ted Kozlov, a former Marine and absolute newcomer to rugby, and Sebastian DiRienzo, who has played for a year and is being looked at by national coaches, a chance to get some touches on the ball. Both men ran straight and true breaking tackles, securing scrums and demolishing rucks. Thanks go out to Mark Derrickson, Mike Ciccolini, Goerge Jeney, Rich Day and the other players who took the field with the B side and our rookies to show Akron the toughness they will have to deal with in the future.
The score so far:
The Score So Far - Week One of 2011 Fall
The Cleveland Rugby Blog 