Rugby Georgia opened its regular season this past Friday with a restructured format including both JV and Varsity boys teams; three middle school teams were also in action.

JV Division

In its league debut, AYR lost to an experienced East Cobb Barbarians club.  The Barbarians opened the match with two quick scores, however AYR slowed them down, scoring three consecutive tries to build a 21-10 lead going into the half.  East Cobb regrouped and physically dominated the second half en route to a 46-25 victory.  ARY Coach Stewart Haddock was pleased with the effort and knows the team will improve, but must “get into the gym” to be physically competitive.  Taylor Croyts of the Barbarians was named player of the game.

The Phoenix RFC hosted the Titans United RFC, posting a 46-0 victory, with Phoenix player JR Aldridge earning player of the game honors.

Varsity Division

The defending 2015 champion Phoenix RFC hosted the newly formed Titans United RFC from Gwinnett County (formerly Mill Creek) at North Park in Alpharetta, Ga. The Phoenix, bolstered by their recent merger with Roswell, added key players in flyhalf Mitch Blair, fullback Ollie Kennett, and lock Campbell Robinson.  The Phoenix scored first on a try by Nick Zimmer, and that started the club on the road to a 28-0 halftime lead. The Titans played stronger in the 2nd half and had opportunities to score, however the Phoenix defense were relentless in preserving the shutout on the way to a 42-0 victory. Nick Zimmer, Nick Koumandarakis, RJ Bryce, Campbell Robinson, Damon Ingram, and Bennett Erickson all scored for Phoenix.

The Trojans RFC defeated Lambert 103-0. The seasoned Trojans club returns the entire front pack, led by hooker Cam Tibbetts and flanker Michael Curran, both USA Rugby South Panther veterans, and an explosive backline led by captain Shea O’Hanlon. Lambert showed sound tackling skills throughout the match but were just outmanned by the deep Trojan squad.  Scoring for the Trojans were; Devonte’ Swann (3), Michael Curran (3), Brighton Dickey (2), Cam Tibbetts (2), Nick Washington (2), William Lyons, Shea O’Hanlon, Freddy Purdy, Hayes Ryan and Reco Weddington with one each.

The Trojans host the Phoenix this Friday, in an eagerly anticipated rematch of last season’s championship match.

Middle School (Boys)

The Middle School season opened on Friday night with 3 teams in action playing a round robin schedule; Atlanta Youth Rugby, the Phoenix RFC and Roswell Rebels RFC.  Both the Phoenix and Roswell split a double header with the Phoenix winning the opener 7-5 and Roswell winning the nightcap 21-14.  The Phoenix beat Atlanta Youth Rugby 42-0 while Roswell handed AYR a 40-7 defeat.