At some point GRR will recognize the top players in D2 and a lot of players from Vermont will be on that list; but it’s almost unfair—yes that team is packed with talented players, but the victory Sunday over the University of Chicago in the NCR D2 national final showed what happens when you have good, or great, rugby players who are strong, fit, together, and are dedicated to playing a system together.
Are they the fittest team in D2? Maybe. Are they the best-coached team in D2? Maybe. Are they the best combination of very good players in D2 rugby? Maybe. What they are, is a unique combination of being close to the best in all of those metrics, and more.
All that resulted in a championship run playoff wins of 65-11, 43-16, 22-11, and 71-5 in the final.
It was a very windy Sunday in Houston and Chicago had the wind at their back. Use the breeze to play the territorial game and you could create scoring opportunities.
And UC did camp out in the Vermont end and worked it over in the corner.
That was one of the few bright spots for the Maroons. After that Vermont started to run hard. They used their power runners. Locks Jack Worobel and Harrison Lloyd were powerful over the ball. Flanker Roman Legere ran hard yards and prop Henry Missing was good on the edge.
The backs worked nicely together. Scrumhalf Matt Tevnan found his runners and read the game, while Justin Kasper and Tom Burnett were good runners and better passers in the middle.
But the key was that Vermont gets into its shape really fast. Players bounce up and jog into position. When scrumhalf James McGovern was ready to pass he had organized pods, an altert pivot, and players ready to not only catch and run, but make plays.
