July 8, 2012
The 34th Annual New England 10’s Rugby Tournament was played at a maximum
capacity of 40 teams in both Men’s, Women’s, and Under-19 divisions, competing on
four rugby fields in beautiful NARA Park in Acton, MA. All of the teams were vying to
win a set of custom rugby jerseys awarded to the men’s and women’s winners of the Cup
Division (courtesy of tournament sponsor Boathouse Sports).
Final Results:
Cup Division Winner (Men): Boston Irish Wolfhounds
•
Cup Division Winner (Women): Falcons
•
Plate Division Winner (Men): Portland
Bowl Division Winner (Men): UMass
•
Bowl Division Winner (Women): Burlington
•
•
Under-19 Division Winner (Men): Mystic River U19
Summary:
In the morning, each of the teams competed in round-robin pool matches to determine
the rankings for playoffs in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the top teams from the
morning round-robin moved onto the Cup Division playoffs, while the remaining teams
moved forward to compete in the Plate and Bowl Division playoffs. (Note: All of the 75
individual match scores from the round robin and playoffs are included at the end of this
summary.)
In the Men’s Cup Division Final, the Boston Irish Wolfhounds brought home the
tournament title by winning a surprisingly one-sided finals match against Mystic River
(final score: 38-0). In the finals, the Hounds flyhalf helped bring home the Cup Division
trophy with his command of the offense and his ability to help the wings find space. The
Wolfhounds fought their way into the finals with a win over the Middlesex White team
in the semi-finals (final score: 26-14), while in the other semi-finals match Mystic River
beat a Providence team that had played at an extremely high level all day (final score:
23-21).
Over in the Women’s Cup Division Final, the Falcons Women showed class in winning
the tournament for their 1st time over the Springfield Women (final score: 21-7). The
Falcons beat a tough Pony Express team on their way to the finals (final score: 19-12),
and the Springfield ladies won a nail biter over the Northshore Blue ladies in the other
semi-final match (final score: 14-12).
Congratulations to each of the Cup Division Finals winners the Boston Irish Wolfhounds
and the Falcons Women. In addition to their Cup trophies, they also brought home a set
of custom New England 10’s rugby jerseys (courtesy of tournament sponsor Boathouse
Sports).
In the Men’s Plate Division Final, the Portland team was able to beat Old Gold 1 in
another tight match (final score: 24-21). To reach the finals Portland beat Lunenburg in
their semi-final match (final score: 12-0), while Old Gold 1 beat Maccabi 1 in the other
semi-final (final score: 10-5).
In the Men’s Bowl Division Final, the UMass team finished off a great day of rugby
with a win over the young legs of the Dire Wolves (final score: 29-26). UMass made
their way into the finals by beating Brookline High Alumni in their semi-final match
(final score: 28-7), while the Dire Wolves notched a win over the Framingham team
(final score: 17-0) to get into the final match.
In the Women’s Bowl Division Final, the Burlington Women’s team blanked the
Hartford team (final score: 21-0). In the semi-finals, Burlington beat the Worcester
Women in a tight match (final score: 14-5), while in the other semi-final the women from
Hartford were more than the ladies from Beantown could handle (final score: 12-5).
In the Under-19 Division, the Mystic U19 team went unbeaten on the day, and capped
the day with a win in the finals over the Boston U19 side. Mystic overcame the
Southshore U19 club with a win in the semi-finals (final score: 29-5), while Boston
reached the finals by outlasting the Wolfhounds U19 side (final score: 19-15).
This year also featured an inaugural Rookie Rugby coaching session and a flag rugby
match for children aged 6+. The smiles on the faces of the kids…as they were clapped
off the pitch through a tunnel of Senior Men’s and Women’s players…was one of the
day’s greatest highlights.
Thank you to all of the players, referees, and spectators who made the tournament a great
success again this year. A special thank you to the host team Old Gold RFC for another
well run tournament, and to the Town of Acton for their beautiful NARA Park. Thank
you to the tournament sponsors for their continued support: Harpoon Brewery, Boathouse
Sports, and Taylor United Van Lines.
Pictures from the 2011 New England 10’s Rugby Tournament can be found at:
www.oldgoldrugby.com/10s
*************************************
Stan Tasker
Tournament Director
New England 10's Rugby
(c) 617-905-3401
Email: tens@oldgoldrugby.com
Website: www.oldgoldrugby.com/10s
*************************************
Email
Print
.png)
