It's all started nicely for the USA Rugby South U19s; Saturday the Panthers shut out Bermuda 41-0 to kick off their RAN U19s tournament.

They handled coming together quickly, and the heat (over 90 degrees), and perhaps a few nerves. The South team benefited with experience of returning players and the leadership of  Matt O’Connell, which set the tone among the forwards. And they got rid of some of those nerves by scoring two tries in relatively quick order.

Center Andrew Rappe was a handful, hitting the tackles hard and also shifty in his running. Grant Broeder and Calvin Gentry were repeatedly on the scoreboard, and the backs in general looked good - in part because the forwards made them look good.

But every now and then the Panthers fell into bad habits - playing a little too individually, or thinking that every movement should result in a try, leading to some ill-advised decisions.

But a chat at halftime about staying with the game plan stuck, and they scored four tries in the second half. Deshun Richardson was very impressive at lineout time, and Rappe, Cordell Ramsey, and Sean O'Driscoll all impressed in the second half. Normally a scrumhalf, O'Driscoll came on as a wing and played well, while kicking three tough conversions.

Sunday was a rest day fo the USA South team, which now has the luxury of watching Bermuda and Trinidad & Tobago go at it on Monday before playing T&T on Wednesday. The team spent much of Sunday relaxing on the beach before getting back to work on Monday.

Related: USA South U19s Win RAN Opener  

South U19s Named to Face Bermuda

South Readies for RAN U19s