As a veteran college rugger myself, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when my daugher opted to leave the comparatively staid football (soccer) pitch for the rough-and-tumble of rugby. She's now a back for the nationally-ranked University of California-San Diego Women's Rugby Football Club... And I've been writing about women's rugby ever since. San Diego's nationally ranked rugby squad thwarts the UCLA Bruins' get-even bid with a 34-0 shutout.
It was déjà vu with a vengeance January 22 as the University of California-San Diego's Women's Rugby Tritons trounced the visiting UCLA Bruins 34-0. UCSD dealt a 22-7 drubbing to its sister campus the previous weekend in the kick-off to the 2006 Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) season.
UCSD came out fast, cutting off any attempt by UCLA to avenge last week's loss. It was more brute force than finesse in the early going, though. "Our first score took 13 minutes of forward crashing into the UCLA defense," said Triton head coach Carla Smith.
UCLA's truckload of penalties, too, allowed the Tritons to play offense a lot more, exhausting the Bruins. "I think our forwards' play just tired out the UCLA frontline," recalled Coach Smith.
There was plainly more Triton synchronization in this match than in last week's. "Our forwards played a fabulous game by protecting the ball, giving our scrumhalf time to pass out to the backs," noted Coach Smith. "Grace Mejia-Wetzel, our #14 wing, alone had three tries, while rookie outside center Julia Anderson (#13) scored one, an indication of how well the forwards created space. The backline was running pretty close to full speed."
All wasn't beer and skittles on the pitch for the Tritons, though. Ball handling is still a bugaboo, according to the Triton coach. "We've just got to work on our dropped balls and take better advantage when we're close to the try line," she said. "In this match, though, I thought we played the best we had played all season."
With the first two matches of the season under their belts, the Tritons seem to be integrating their new players into their typical scoring pattern: eight UCSD points for every point totted up by opponents. Last season, UCSD racked up 287 points in eight victories, allowing only 39 points to be scored against them. "We really needed these two victories prior to meeting Arizona State and UC-Santa Barbara," said Coach Smith. "With eight first- and second-year players on the side, our main objective has been getting everyone enough experience. As a team, we're just now starting to jell," she added. "We still make silly mistakes sometimes, but we're very tough."
Coach Smith's side looks forward to the upcoming ASU match on the Tritons' home pitch. "I think after losing last week to Santa Barbara, the Sun Devils will be eager for a win, "she said. "I expect a forwards' game of mauling. "
The Arizona State Sun Devils take on the Tritons Sunday, January 29.