October 20, 2012
Worcester, MA Albany 7 - Worcester 42 Albany traveled to Worcester with their sights set on remaining undefeated and going to 6-0 for the season. Worcester had other plans. From the kick-off it was obvious Worcester wanted to be the more aggressive side. At 3 minutes in they were awarded a penalty for a breakdown infringement and decided to opt for the lineout. The touch finder found them 5 meters from the Albany line and the subsequent maul led to Worcester’s first try. Conversion no good. Worcester had the lion’s share of possession and territory and at the 18 minute marked score again. This time under the posts as the backline ran a “5-in” from a solid scrum. The try was converted and the score was 12-0. Two minutes later Worcester won a turnover ball inside Albany’s 22 and two passes later were in again. The 3rd try was converted as well. The home side added another converted try at the 24 minute mark off another well worked lineout ball and backline move. Neither side scored for the remainder of the half. 26-0 Worcester at halftime. Albany started the 2nd period strong and through prolonged pressure and quick ball was able to finally put points on the board in the 43rd minute. Flyhalf Scottie Bergen spotted a gap and powered over to score near the posts. Tom Breslin converted and it was 26-7. The comeback was short-lived though. 6 minutes later Worcester stole an Albany scrum from about 40m out and was able to pass it out wide where the fullback beat the Albany wing around the outside and then passed in to his support. Worcester added two more tries in the 2nd half, converting on one of them to finish out the scoring. At the final whistle it was Worcester 42, Albany 7. Eight man Brandon Bailey was named Man of the Match; Bailey made many big runs and was a bright spot for Albany on defense throughout the match. Unfortunately poor wing positioning and lineout ball coupled with poor defensive communication contributed heavily to the loss. The Knicks were humbled and will be rededicating themselves at training the upcoming week as they have another tough game on the road against Portland on October 27. Portland is 6-0 and will have two goals in mind. To go 7-0, undefeated in the regular season; and the lock up the # 1 seed. Albany will have to play their best rugby of the season. An Albany win could see both teams at 6-1 with tie-breakers decided the seedings. A-side (Subs) 1. Jeff Hensel 2. Robert Grimm (St. John @ 41') 3. Steve Roy (Murphy @ 51') 4. Jesse Boehme (Schuler @ 41') 5. Frank Adams 6. Jason Riegart (Kos @ 33') 7. Cody Morton 8. Brandon Bailey 9. Cono Cirone 10. Scottie Bergen 11. Tom Breslin (Captain) 12. Sean Mertz 13. Murphy Lill 14. Phil Ayoreh (Schuler @ 51') 15. Todd Martin (Arango @ 65') The Knicks B-side bounced back with a convincing 29-5 over Worcester. Scrumhalf Steve Arango scored 3 tries and won Man of the Match honors. Arango let his instincts take over played with a natural confidence. It didn't hurt to have the maturity of flyhalf Charles Colley present as a calming force. Really - how often does that happen? Fullback Phil Ayoreh and Colley also added individual tries. Colley converted on two tries.
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