Rm3r 1 15 14

Rocky Mounta in

Reg ional Rugby Report

1.16.14

In this Issue:

• Where They Are Now: Steve Lewis – former Vail RFC & Denver Highlanders player and coach at New York… and points east

• Numbers

• Pacific Rugby Premiership – 2014 match schedule -‐ Colorado clubs on road in February, home in March and mostly April

• Euro Comps -‐ Aviva, French 14, RDP12 Roundups; Heineken Upcomers, 6 Nations rounded corners – Richard & Trotski

• Richard’s Back Pages

o Catch this Pass o The Good Stuff o Rugby Quiptocryp o Blue Goose on the Roof of the World

XV

Where are you now -‐ Steve Lewis?

Glasgow native Steve Lewis came on the Colorado rugby scene in 1990, initially as a backline player of considerable consequence for Vail RFC. He progressed from halfback onfield to pivotal instructive and administrative positions with Vail and Denver Highlanders RFCs before casting eyes eastward and moving to New York City. While in Colorado, Lewis coached everything from high school (Cherry Creek and SWARM backs) through college (Metro State backs and as Adams State College head coach) and the aforementioned men’s clubs, in addition to piloting a wide-‐range of all star and select sides.

These days, Lewis still calls the Big Apple home, but between here and there the Crafty Caledonian has gained a global grasp of rugby through duty as the National Men’s Team Coach of Nigeria at the 2012 Africa Cup in Botswana (15s); and Nigeria’s 7s coach at the IRB 2013 World Cup 7s qualifying tournament in Morocco. Lewis has also found himself spreading the rugby gospel in the Holy Land as head coach of Beit Jala Lions (Palestine 2009) and recently, he’s returned from an impressively successful tour to the Caribbean, guiding his NY 7s side to championship hardware in the

awesome setting of Bon Accord, Trinidad and Tobago.

Lewis with Lagos youth club…

... on the West Bank

In 2005, Coach Lewis steered his ERRFU U19 squad to its only Rocky Mountain Challenge first-‐place finish. Significant players among those singular champions: captain James Paterson, future Super Rugby, US Eagles and Glendale Raptors star; and Logan Collins, future Denver Barbarians 15s and 7s captain and backrow talent image: JP

Up next for the man from Glasgow with rugby in his DNA? “Bit more focus on the 7s game as the Olympics loom, but 15s and USA Rugby clubside competition in the near future,” reports Old Blue RFC’s Director of Rugby (2012 – present). With IRB Level 3 coaching credentials and formidable, worldwide rugby connections, the likable Lewis is embarking on a master’s degree in Sports Business with his gaze ever on the business end

of rugby things.

By the Numbers:

-‐ 116 days ‘t i l kickoff 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup

-‐ 44 days inaugural Colorado kickoff of Pacif ic Rugby Premiership (PRP) at Infinity

-‐ 41 days Colorado High School league play begins

-‐ 37 days NSCRO’s Battle of the Frontier -‐ DU Pioneers v UNC Bears @ DU

-‐ 30 days Super Rugby kickoff

-‐ 16 days PRP kicks on the West Coast: Barbarians and Raptors on road in February, home in March

-‐ 16 days 6 Nations competition boots

... and with his victorious NY 7s squad at Twickenham

Happy the New Year that brings on dedication

and its companion commitment enabling fitness and force of will

that brings victory...

… and may you recognize that joy in circumstance,

its myriad benefit & profit therefrom

Both Colorado PRP clubs, Denver Barbarians and Glendale Raptors are on the road for their February fixtures. Barbarians visit Los Angeles for a match with 2012 USA Rugby Division 1 clubside champion, Belmont Shore, while Raptors are in the Bay Area for their match with the venerable Olympic Rugby Club, who can count members of the 1920 and 1924 Olympic gold-‐winning sides as their own. All matches on Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Travel itineraries reverse the following week as Barbarians are on Treasure Island to take on last year’s USA Rugby Elite Cup Champions, San Francisco Golden Gate and Raptors test Belmont in Los Angeles’ environs.

Third weekend sees Denver at Santa Monica Dolphins (who’ve counted 20 USA Eagles among their number), with Raptors having the first of a brace of byes.

Glendale Raptors get after the pill at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay against Golden Gate the weekend of February 22nd, while Denver has its first, rest weekend.

March: The 1st of March has Glendale Raptors begin a five-‐weekend home schedule with a derby versus Santa Monica Dolphins, Denver Barbarians are at Olympic Club; the following three Saturdays (March 8, 15, 22) will be PRP doubleheader match days at Infinity.

… and then Barbarians and Raptors go at it on Saturday, March 29th in the first of two, PRP Colorado Clashes that, no matter where the clubs find themselves on the PRP table at the time, are certain to be rowdy and raucous and about as high-‐level sport as you’re likely to see roundabouts.

April: April 5th, OMBAC come to town for a match with Barbarians while Glendale get its second bye; and on the 12th, the Colorado Clubs take on one another in PRP Colorado Clash II; the 19th sees Raptors on the road at OMBAC, while Denver hosts Santa Monica; April 26th has Raptors in San Diego and Denver with its second bye.

May: Saturday May 3rd, Denver is at OMBAC while Raptors host San Francisco Golden Gate.

Saturday, May 17 – PRP Championship at Infinity

February 1st Belmont Shore

v Denver Barbarians

February 1st Olympic Club

v Glendale Raptors

February 1st San Francisco Golden Gate

v Santa Monica

European Competitions -‐ Upcomers and Roundups

After f ive-‐of-‐six rounds of Heineken Cup pool play (top of each pool plus the two, next-‐best go to playoffs) here’re standings & numbers:

Pool 1 Won Lost Drawn MPts Leinster 4 1 0 17 Northampton Saints 3 2 0 13 Castres 2 3 0 9 Ospreys 1 4 0 5 Pool 2 Won Lost Drawn MPts Toulon 4 1 0 20 Cardiff Blues 3 2 0 13 Glasgow 2 3 0 10 Exeter Chiefs 1 4 0 8 Pool 3 Won Lost Drawn MPts Toulouse 4 1 0 19 Saracens 3 2 0 15 Connacht 3 2 0 13 Zebre 0 5 0 0 Pool 4 Won Lost Drawn MPts Clermont Auvergne 4 1 0 19 Harlequins 2 3 0 12 Scarlets 2 2 1 10 Racing Metro 1 3 1 7 Pool 5 Won Lost Drawn MPts Ulster 5 0 0 22 Leicester Tigers 4 1 0 20 Montpellier 1 4 0 6 Benetton Treviso 0 4 0 0 Pool 6 Won Lost Drawn MPts Munster 4 1 0 18 Edinburgh 3 2 0 12 Gloucester Rugby 2 3 0 9 Perpignan 1 4 0 7

Pool 1

• Trailing Castres 12-‐17 at halftime, road warriors Leinster snatched the lead prior to the three-‐quarter mark on a Rob Kearney dropped goal and went on to 27-‐22 victory and first place in its pool;

• 4 Stephen Myler penalty strikes made for a 12-‐3 Saints advantage over Ospreys at the half, and the travelers were able to close on 29-‐17 victory and keep leader, Leinster, within grabbing distance;

Pool 2

• Toulon shook off its recent Top XIV miscues and walloped Cardiff Blues at Allianz Riviera in Nice, 43-‐20; Five match points puts Toulon into the playoffs as none in the pool can overtake them with one fixture remaining; three penalty trys awarded the French giants and 4 yellow cards assessed the Blues were integral in Toulon’s dismantling of the Welsh club; 23 points struck from Jonny Wilkinson’s dangerous boot for Boudjellal’s Bunch;

• Glasgow Warriors got the road win over Exeter Chiefs at Adams Park, 15-‐10;

Pool 3

• 7 penalty goals from presumptive French flyhalf, Jean-‐Marc Doussain, sufficient to the task of undoing Saracens; four first-‐half lead exchanges meant lively action at Stade Ernest Wallon on Sunday, yet Sarries indiscipline was the determinant factor at the end of the day in the Toulouse win;

• Connacht overtook Zebre in the 29th minute by virtue of a flyhalf Ryan Carty penalty strike and never looked back as they recorded 20-‐3 victory at Galway Sportsground;

Pool 4

• Clermont claimed its pool with late victory over Harlequins at The Stoop; a grounding by Kiwi native, Sitiveni Sivivatu knotted scores in the 72nd minute and a Butch James penalty goal at ’76 determined a result of 16-‐13;

• 14 points on account of Scarlets flyhalf, Rhys Priestland, and Scarlets wound up on the correct end of a five lead-‐exchange derby over Racing Metro in Paris, 19-‐13;

Pool 5

• Ulster scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar made for 17 points on a try, three conversions and two penalties, and visiting Montpellier went down in 16-‐27 defeat to the form Irish province;

• Leicester Tigers earned the five-‐point win, 34-‐19 win at Benetton Treviso; a brace of second stanza dots by flyer Miles Benjamin assisted the Tigers in overcoming an 8-‐13 halftime deficit;

Pool 6

• Munster are through to playoffs after defeating Gloucester, 20-‐7, on the road at Kingsholm; The Irish victory was thorough; up 10-‐7 at break, Munster scored all second half points for the win;

• Edinburgh topped Perpignan, 27-‐16, at Murrayfield; Scotland scrumhalf, Greig Laidlaw, knocked a dozen through the sticks as the Caledonians went 3-‐2 on record;

Upcomers: Friday, 1.17 – Leinster v Ospreys; Northampton Saints v Castres

Saturday, 1.18 – Saracens v Connacht; Zebre v Toulouse -‐ Blues v Chiefs; Glasgow v Toulon -‐ Tigers v Ulster; Montpellier v Benetton Treviso Sunday, 1.19 -‐ Munster v Edinburgh; Perpignan v Gloucester -‐ Clermont v Racing Scarlets v Harlequins

Leinster and Ulster, leaders in pools 1 and 5 respectively, control their destinies: they win, they take their pool and it’s on to playoffs – lose and its vacation time for Leinster if Saints can get five from their home fixture v Castres; in pool 5, winner of the Ulster v Tigers match goes through as pool champion, and so does the loser as wild card. Saracens win over Connacht has them as the second wild card team, a loss by Sarries opens the door for spectacular speculation as to the last playoff slot; the Sarries-‐Connacht match at Allianz Park steers the boat regarding the final playoff spot.

Be your own Legend

Hey howzit, 6 Nations?

Wales -‐ Like any good 6 Nations defending titlist, the Dragon is up-‐playing its health woes -‐

center issues w/Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts having to miss most, and Rhys Patchell a late scratch with injury as well -‐ time for short-‐spell cryotherapy? -‐ that recuperative and rehabilitative procedure wherein one is installed in chilly chambers adorned a la birthday suit save for coverings of mits, feets and danglers… and then needle-‐sharp H2O spray allover at temperatures that can reach -‐250 Fahrenheit degrees. Sam Warburton has called them, "evil saunas." But Wales won back-‐to-‐back 6Nats championships behind c-‐ c-‐ cold restoration, so what's so diabolic about that? While head coach Warren Gatland will have to sort his centers, the good news is… the fact that Wales has most, if not all, of the 2013 champion lineup returning… and save for those center sorts, 13 of 15 starters who closed the 6Nats championship with victory over England at the Millennium Stadium ten months past are around… the center issue could be good news for Wales up and coming five-‐eighths.

England -‐ always England. The RFU will not be happy with last season's runners-‐up award, less-‐so with the manner in which it was earned. They are currently fourth in IRB world rankings and second on the RBS 6Nats table. But they've Wales at Twickers. Think an Englishman (or woman) content with playing second fiddle in anyone's orchestra? Head coach Stuart Lancaster has overseen development of a number of the squad in his former roles in a variety of development team positions and is well-‐familiar with individual player’s capabilities.

Scotland -‐ 3rd on the table in 2013, Scotland could be the dark runner: Richie Gray, Stuart Hogg, Johnnie Beattie, John Barclay, Sean Maitland, Greg Laidlaw… all heroic… Alasdair Dickinson as 30 year old prop, which may seem a bit long in the tooth for a starting three-‐quarters, but must be considered barely out of the womb for a front row. Nine uncapped players in Scott Johnson's XXX, so the changes are there to be rung should that necessity arise.

Italy -‐ The Azzurri finished fourth in last year's competition, shocking France in the opening round and closing out the tournament with electric victory over Ireland. Head coach Jacques Brunel will go with a veteran first XXX that contains only three, uncapped players. The Italian scrum is formidable, as Martin Castrogiovanni sets a pack locked down at the back by captain Sergio Parisse, world-‐class 8-‐man.

Ireland -‐ resurgent? The Irish provinces are featuring big in the Pro12 just now, though the days when those teams were virtual selection pools for the national side are far and away -‐ Ulster dazzler, Ruan Pienaar, may be wearing green this international season, but it will be the myrtle-‐to-‐dark Springbok green of his home country, South Africa, not the kelly color of the nation in which he plies his estimable trade. But Ireland finished 2013 perhaps formest of all the 6 Nations, jumping allover the reigning global titlists in the first forty before losing at the final respiration to that perfect Kiwi XV. Ireland, always in contention, could very well be the contender this 6Nats session.

France -‐ they are the best of teams, as shown last World Cup, missing a long range penalty, which just drifted short and away that would have ultimately obtained for them the global crown; they are the worst of teams, as shown last World Cup -‐ who comes to the 6Nats table? Anyone's guess and head coach Philippe St. Andre's responsibility. Whoever it is, one reckons they'll be ready for England opening day; for the Men of the Rose will be Les Bleus initial competition, and though it'll be a home Test for France, a fair critical fixture nonetheless as the hosts look to erase the foul taste of last season's 6Nats Wooden Spoon, their first this millennium. The initial French XXX have been selected by national pilot, Philippe St. Andre, and with the exception of the insertion of four rookies into the bunch, it is a side familiar: with Thierry Dusautoir (our two favorite French words) melding the back row, along with the always competitive French tight five, the pack is steady -‐ whether they'll be ready or not will be revealed in time. With Fred Michalak and Francois Trinh Duc on the outs, rub for Monsieur St. Andre will be player selection of the halfback slots, because it is always thrilling spectacle when the outside Bleus backs are let loose to display their grace, speed and danger; St. Andre will look to provide that awesome display. You got to believe that, though Michalak and Trinh Duc have been left off the national roster, the communication avenues 'twixt each of those star halves and M. St. A will be open, and perhaps, utilized come Test-‐time in February-‐March.

Aviva Premiership

A plethora of blades displaying at Premiership feeding table these days with none sharper and more capable than Saracens knives (50 MPts) as we are just beyond the midpoint in the season. Northampton Saints, who defeated the frontrunners at Franklin's Gardens as October faded, appear the Sarries only competition, trailing the leaders by three match points (47 MPts). Everyone else is more than two bonus-‐point wins off that pace. Third place in the English league is held by Bath Rugby with 36 MPts, while the fiercest competition in the league is for the fourth and final playoff spot. Numbers four-‐through-‐eight are all within a bonus point win of the last extra-‐time slot: Harlequins and Leicester Tigers share 64 MPts evenly; London Wasps follow at 31 MPts; then Sale Sharks with 29 points and Exeter Chiefs behind the Sharks by one. This will be the shape of England’s top competition when match play resumes February 7, after opening rounds of 6 Nations on the first and second of the month. Won Lost Drawn MPts

Saracens 11 1 0 50

Northampton Saints 10 1 1 47

Bath Rugby 8 3 1 36

Harlequins 7 5 0 32

Leicester Tigers 6 4 2 32

London Wasps 6 6 0 31

Sale Sharks 6 6 0 29

Exeter Chiefs 6 6 0 28

Gloucester Rugby 4 8 0 21

London Irish 3 9 0 17

Newcastle Falcons 3 9 0 14

Worcester Warriors 0 12 0 3

XV XV

French Top XIV – ¾s done

With the Toulouse defeat of first-‐place Clermont Auvergne, everything tightens in Orange competition. Clermont has 50 match points, followed by Stade at 47 and Castres on 46. And then there's a bunch in a bunch preparing to resume campaigns in February as 10 match points separate the top half of the table. French Fourteen is looking the form competition in Europe now with everyone but Biarritz at 25 MPts or above.

Won Lost Drawn MPts

Clermont Auvergne 10 5 1 40

Stade Français 11 5 0 36

Castres 9 6 1 36

Toulouse 9 7 0 36

Toulon 8 7 1 35

Grenoble 9 6 1 34

Montpellier 7 8 1 33

Racing Metro 8 7 1 31

Bordeaux Begles 7 9 0 30

Brive 6 8 2 30

Perpignan 7 9 0 28

Oyonnax 8 8 0 25

Bayonne 6 10 0 25

Biarritz 3 13 0 17

XV XV

RaboDirect PRO12

Munster yet holds the lead, but with its defeat by Ulster last week, coupled with the Leinster road victory at Connacht, the top end of the league has become a bit more claustrophobic. Numbers one, two and three -‐ Munster, Leinster and Ospreys -‐ are all within a weekend win of one another while Ulster are two points behind Ospreys mark. It may seem that the aforementioned foursome have already sewn up playoff spots, but it would be reckless (feckless, too!) to plan your playoff vacations now, for Glasgow Warriors are yet in the mix and will feature as their Heineken season for all intents and purposes is over and Warriors focus on the RDP12 could bring extra time joy in Glasgow. Also Glasgow sit at table with a brace of games in hand as soggy, unplayable conditions at Scotstoun required postponement of Warriors home fixtures with Treviso and Edinburgh. Significant in the lower seven, Zebre claimed victory over their Italian brethren Treviso last weekend and have risen from the cellar. They have nine fixtures left to maintain, or possibly improve, that standing.

Won Lost Drawn MPts Munster 10 2 0 43

Leinster 8 3 1 40

Ospreys 8 3 1 39

Ulster 8 4 0 37

Glasgow 8 2 0 33

Dragons 5 7 1 24

Scarlets 4 7 1 23

Edinburgh 5 6 0 22

Cardiff Blues 4 7 1 22

Benetton Treviso 3 7 1 19

Zebre 2 9 1 14

Connacht 2 10 0 12

XV XV

you catch your Pass, yet?h. R MMXIV

hR MMXIV

pssst, c’mere… I got the good stuff…

Inaugural PRP Season Passes… You got

American $$$?… how many you want?

hR’s Back Pages

Rugby Quiptocrip

“Fgczlzxcb Mcsfofs Xzlti Mxnafnxpdfm

Pncpeg” text is encrypted.

to solve: substitute letters in the pattern above to determine the rugby referenced phrase.

it is a thing.

hint: s = c, so your pattern would change to:

“Fgczlzxcb Mccfofc Xzlti Mxnafnxpdfm Pncpeg”

answer next time.

Gentlemen of the Blue Goose stalwart, Russell Backhouse, at the top of the world after summiting Mount of the Holy Cross – image BGRFC

all material copyright 2014 hR may be reprinted only w/author’s sanction

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