Four Play in NJ for Round-Robin
Four Play in NJ for Round-Robin
Christian Brothers of New Jersey hosted a round-robin of shortened games over the weekend, with with local rivals Union and Morris, plus Rugby PA side Berks County, facing off.
The season has been a tough one for Morris already as captain Isaac Gamboa suffered season-ending injury and this weekend a few other key players were not available due to college visits. That made for a fairly inexperienced side. Two of their more experienced players, Charley Colvin and Evan Rothery, suffered injuries but patches themselves up and returned to the fray to help lead the newer players.
Here's how the games went:
Berks vs Morris.
Intensity was flying high in this game as both sides played very physical rugby. Berks had size and plenty of skill to boot. Morris was smaller but played courageously. The score was very close but in favor of Berks as the game came to the final minutes. Morris broke wide through the backs but the try was not given, with the ref saying it was held up. Berks replied with a try and then sealed it.
Berks vs Union
Berks won convincingly 24-5, and they showed their depth and were able to bring on some players for this game with some additional experience and plenty of athleticism. . It was evident some of the key Berks players may have rested out for the finale between Berks vs CBA.
CBA vs Morris.
Christian Brothers played a structured offloading game with their players running hard lines and playing fast. Morris held on early and it was 5-5 at halftime, Then Morris's Rothery came out with an injury to his chin. CBA scored, and added another to win it.
Berks vs CBA
This was a well-played game by both sides with Berks working to win the point of contact and then send it wide to stretch the tough CBA defense. As the game went on that approach worked better and better and Berks won 17-5.
Since Morris and Union play each other multuple times in the season that game was not played.
For Berks, this was about rotating players and getting them all time and that worked out well—he mixed newer players with veterans to give the rookies a better idea of how the game flowed.. Head Coach Greg Stelluti said no players stood out and that was a good thing as it showed a good team performance overall.
For Morris, acting captain Oliver Acuna-Casey, Oliver Griffiths, Charley Colvin, Evan Rothery, Sebastian Occhino, btoehrs Ayden and Ivan Gomez Gomez, and newcomer Andrew Stickley made a difference in the games