Orlando nabbed the Florida Youth Rugby with a 23-21 victory over the Tampa Krewe.

This was a rematch of a game on April 9 that ended in a 12-12 tie.

The game seemed like it would be that close early on. Orlando led with a penalty kick, and then Tampa scored a try, and then Orlando scored a try to make it 10-7. But then Orlando started to pull away. A penalty, a try, and a penalty again, and it was 23-7.

Suddenly it was a commanding lead.

“We played a professional game,” said Orlando Coach Chris Quigley. “We kicked out of the 22 when needed. We constantly put pressure on them in the midfield. We would attack, attack and kick to back them off a bit.”

But despite a ton of possession, Orlando found themselves stuck in their end a huge part of the game. They got out of trouble, but trouble kept coming back.

“Cheers to Tampa,” said Quigley. “They were every bit the opponent we knew they were going to be. They are some of the strongest ball carriers in the state. They were physical. Strong in defense. Their defense pressured us so well it was tough to get go forward ball with the pack.  They were relentless.”

And so Tampa scored a try and converted to make it 23-14. Then it was another try, and Orlando was looking down the business end of a huge Tampa comeback. But Orlando held on. They didn’t panic, they didn’t implode. That’s what made Quigley the most proud.

“The key,” he said, “was we played the best we could for 70 minutes.”