KUA takes second place at the Proctor 7's Invitational
KUA rugby places second at the Proctor Invitational Rugby 7’s Tournament.
KUA 22 Proctor 0
KUA 24 Portland RFC 0
KUA 7 Amoskeag RFC 25
The rugby side enjoyed a great afternoon of rugby 7’s, but could not upset perennial powerhouse Amoskeag RFC in the Championship Match.
Xavier Manning set the tone in the Proctor match, scoring twice from 70 meters and 40 meters out in the first half. Manning also added a conversion kick. Eliot Stevenson added a 60-meter try before time, and KUA went into the half with a 17-0 lead. Spot substitutions in the second half put fresh legs on the pitch, and the KUA side fought hard to maintain a lead. Trevor Adams iced the match late in the half, scoring from 5 meters out on a penalty free kick pass from Eliot. A number of players contributed to the overall success in the match!
Antonio Suer was the first to find the try area in the Portland match. He broke up the play of some Portland players, then took possession and ran it in from 30 meters out. Xavier Manning added the conversion kick. Thomas Le helped the cause by taking the ball out the blind side from a scrummage and running it in from 25 meters out. KUA took a 12-0 lead into the half. Portland came out on the attack in the second half, and tried to counter KUA’s momentum. Eliot Stevenson, now working as the fly half, took a pass and went up the middle for a 60-meter try. Reese Stevenson added the conversion kick. Leading 17-0 and fighting off a hard charging Portland crew, Antonio iced the match with another 30-meter score.
The match against Amoskeag was hard fought from the opening kick-off to the final whistle. KUA dominated play early on, but Amoskeag took advantage of early turnovers and soon found themselves up 10-0. The KUA side fought back valiantly, but went into the half down 15-0. Eliot Stevenson closed the gap with a brilliant 55-meter try, and Xavier Manning added the conversion. A comeback seemed within sight, and the KUA side dug in their heels despite the clock running down. In the end, however, it was not to be.
7’s rugby is fast paced and physical. The heat and sun did not help today, but the members of the rugby side ignored the conditions and rose to the occasion. With the conclusion of each grueling match, they rested, iced, hydrated, and then prepped themselves for the next challenge.
Man of the tournament honors went to Eliot Stevenson. He led the KUA attack as both a prop forward, hooker, and fly half. He led the team with 3 try’s on the day.
Leading scorer on the day was Xavier Manning. He had two beautiful try’s and accounted for 8 points with his foot. When he got to the outside he was unstoppable.
Antonio Suer also had two amazing try’s on the day. His hustle on kick-offs led to multiple steals, two of which led to KUA scores. Despite logging a lot of time on the pitch on the day, Antonio’s level of play only intensified as the day wore on.
Trevor Adams had his first try as a member of the KUA side. He took an E. Stevenson pass off a free kick, saw a gap in the defense, and dove over for a beautiful try. With the number of jumpers low, Trevor was called on to play a high number of minutes in all three matches and never stopped hustling.
Cole Petrescu-Bobac was everywhere throughout the day. Rucking is more one on one in the 7’s game, and Cole was the leading rucker on the afternoon. He took on any opponent he locked with.
Charles Qian played the afternoon as a forward, but was called on to be a back on a number of occasions. Despite having never played in the backfield, Charles answered the challenge, and played his usual style of physical rugby. He was banged up a bit early on, but kept on diving into rucks and tackles.
Tanner Fisher played sweeper in the tournament. It is the hardest position in 7’s, as the sweeper is the last line of defense. Tanner covered more ground than any other player as he ran from touchline to touchline stopping fast breaks.
Keetae Byunn had a great afternoon at prop forward. He helped control scrums and lineouts, and had a number of runs for territory on the day. Keetae loves to carry the ball and it showed.
Reese Stevenson was cleared to play just two days before the tournament. Conditioning was not a factor for him, though, as he was called on to play center and wing throughout the day. He was a leading rusher throughout the day, and set up a number of try’s. He also played great defense when a sweeper, and added a conversion kick late in the day.
Cody Nguyen was also cleared to play just before the tourney. He was quickly called into action as a scrumhalf, and picked up right where he left off. Cody was aggressive in rucks and scrums, and pushed to get the ball out to the backs. His aggressive play on both offense and defense helped throughout the day.
Thomas Le played the bulk of the day at scrumhalf. With each passing minute his control of the game grew and grew. Though outmatched in size in many situations, Thomas dug into rucks, scrums, and lineouts in order to secure the ball. Although a play was called during a scrum against Portland, Thomas saw a hole in the defense and took a solo run 25 meters for a try. It was a great play and a great call by Thomas.
Manuel Salamanca decided to give rugby a shot this spring, and the side is better as a result. Manuel was called on to play jumper and prop on the day, and, as was the case in the WMA match, he played hard-nosed rugby on the pitch.
Freshmen Nima Samini and Andrew Jones were called into action early on, and both played extremely well throughout the day.
Nima took an outlet pass and scampered 40 meters up the pitch deking and cutting left and right. A desperation tackle, though, foiled his sure try. It was Nima’s first time playing in an actual match, and he played beyond his years.
Although he is new to the side, Andrew Jones arrived to the squad with plenty of rugby experience. It is for that reason that he was called on to play hooker throughout the afternoon. Andrew played each match with grit and dogged determination. He plays the game beyond his years, and throws himself into as much contact as he can while on the pitch.
Tong Pengkaew suffered a fluke injury at practice and was unable to play in the tournament. His aggressive tackling was missed. Illness kept Hamson Shen on the touchline as well. True to his nature, though, Hamson wanted to get into each match.
A hand injury has kept Morgan Emmanuelle on the touchline for the better part of the season. His loss left a huge hole in the backfield this season. Morgan has shown, however, that contributions to team success can also come from off the pitch. He has been a mentor, supporter, and team leader throughout the season.
All members of KUA rugby would like to thank all the parents and fans that came out in support of the team. Playing such a physical sport is always a bit easier when there are friendly faces cheering from behind. Thank you to the Stevenson’s and the Adam’s for the food and drink!!!!!
