Edge-Of-Your-Seat Finish for Mixed Play at RugbyTens

10.21.2024

It was Mixed Play weekend at the RugbyTens in San Juan Capistrano October 18, and in the end we neded up with as tight and dramatic a finish as we;d want.

As RugbyTens CEO Andreea Trufasu said earlier this month, franchises that work on all of their teams usually succeed in Mixed Play, and that was evident this week. Mixed Play in RugbyTens (10-a-side rugby) involves games using two sides from each team. This week it was men and women, so the men's teams might play each other for the first half, and the women's teams from the same two franchises would play the second half, with the aggregate score being the score of the game.

The Wild Dogs started strong, taking the San Diego Legion 34-0 in their opener and shutting out the Serengeti Elephants 24-0. A second-half surge saw their women overcome the Balkans Honey Badgers to get the win for the Wild Dogs 19-14.

They then faced the San Clemente Rhinos, which had defeated the Balkans Honey Badgers 12-10 in their opener.

That game was a dramatic one. The Honey Badgers took an early 5-0 lead, and then extended that on a wild kick-and-chase capped off skillfully by Ben Johnston. But San Clemente didn't wilt. They held up the Honey Badgers in-goal, and then around 10 minute in a long breakaway was capped off with some good support work from Jake Merklinger, who barreled over for the try.

Now it was 10-5, and the Rhinos had an excellent to chance to tie it up with a tap penalty move about 10 meters from the Honey Badgers line, but they were stopped just as halftime was called.

In the second half the Rhinos women worked their way through the phases and threatened in the early minutes. The Honey Badgers were able to kick clear but the Rhinos' running and some Honey Badger penalties got San Clemente down close to the line. Finally, with Scout Cheeks pushing her, Rusila Nagasau picked up and dove over. Chiharu Nakamura slotted the crucial conversion and it was 12-10 San Clemente.

And that was it. The Rhinos women controlled the ball really well and ran it out. So in a way, a tale of two halves, which is what you'd expect.

More drama for the Rhinos as their next game produced a 7-5 win over the Serengeti Elephants. Like the Wild Dogs, the Rhinos needed both sides to do the job. The Rhinos men were under pressure from San Diego, but a try late in the first half and a bit of a soft try for San Clemente right after gave the women a 14-10 lead to work with.

And they worked with it. Meteuli Torooti raced down the sideline to score a try and the Rhinos

That set up In the matchup between the Wild Dogs and the Rhinos, and San Clemente took a lead inside the first minute thanks to a tap penalty move that put Merklinger over. That made it 7-0. The Wild Dogs held off the Rhinos after that and ran a nice sequence of ball-handling to put Shane Waldick over in the corner. That 7-5 scoreline held until the women took the field in the second half.

The Wild Dogs took the lead a few minutes into the second half when former Life University standout KB Slaughter broke through down the field. It had been a bit of a slog to find some space for Cape Town, but eventually they found it. That made it 12-7 for the Wild Dogs. Rhinos responded with a big run from Meti Hingano and then quick hands gave a chance for Melissa Rios and she finished it off in the corner to tie the game 12-12.

Full time. Time for kicks. Both teams huddled up with the men and women together, and the men and women took turns on the kicks. Each team took turns trying to slot a drop goal from the 22.

The format was five kicks each team, with men starting off. The men for each team kicked their kicks, and the women for each team missed theirs, meaning it was still tied, 3-3, after the 5th round. So we went to sudden death—whichever team was leading after each round would win. Kathryn Johnson of the Rhinos stepped up and slotted the first successful kick for the women, and it was a big one. The Wild Dogs missed, and the Rhinos had won it all.

Overall the forma came through as a form of entertainment, showcasing sometimes two different game plans within one team. It was fascinating to watch the Rhinos eke out three achingly close games to go 4-0.

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"The group has come together really nice," said men's Head Coach Braam van Straaten. "The leadership has stepped up. There's a really good vibe and everybody's enjoying themselves and that's what we're trying to achieve. We created belief within the group, the men and the women, and that belief becomes a belonging ... and that builds character."

"It's been a huge honor," added former USA 7s player Matai Leuta, who helped lead the Rhinos men. "We talked about character throughout this tournament; we've been building all day and I'm just proud of the group."

Edge-Of-Your-Seat Finish for Mixed Play at RugbyTens

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