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. Undefeated in league play since 2002, University of California-San Diego women dispatched the Sun Devils 26-7 en route to another championship.
Arizona State University will have to wait at least another week to get even with a University of California rugby team.
Limping into La Jolla after a 20-7 loss to UC-Santa Barbara, the Sun Devils took a 26-7 Sunday drubbing from the UC-San Diego Women's Rugby Football Club.
The UCSD Tritons are now 3-0 in Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) Division I play while ASU is still looking for its first victory.
Play-by-play
UCSD wing Grace Mejia-Wetzel came out quickly to score an unconverted try in the game's first five minutes, leaving the Tritons to dally defensively for the rest of the half.
The Sun Devils pushed back toward UCSD's in-goal area, mounting a half-dozen unsuccessful drives to the tryline. "ASU kept trying to crash through the forwards, but we were able to hold the ball up or steal it," said Triton Head Coach Carla Smith. "The rest of the first half was a back-and-forth game where neither team could finish plays to get the ball in the try zone."
The Tritons used the first half, too, to settle its ball-handling skills. "We had a problem dropping and not protecting the ball," said Coach Smith. "That said, our forwards have really picked up their game. They're giving our young backline time to learn their positions," she adds.
The half ended with UCSD ahead 5-0.
"Territorially, we were pretty even in the first half, " said Sun Devil Head Coach Barry Carter, who credits his side for adapting well to injuries sustained in last week's match against UC-Santa Barbara. "We came into the match without our usual flyhalf and loosehead prop. We were pretty bruised."
In the second half, the Tritons played more true-to-form, amassing 21 points while giving away only seven. First, UCSD's Under-19 National scrumhalf Alexis Volen nine scored a converted try in the ninth minute of the half, bringing the tally to 12-0. Another converted try by rookie outside center Julia Anderson followed, totting up a 19-0 tilt on the scoreboard.
The Sun Devils offense awakened to answer back with a fullback scamper into daylight at the tryline at the 39th minute of the half. A successful conversion brought the score to 19-7.
UCSD decided to end the match with a flourish when Mejia-Wetzel, at the wing, returned the Sun Devil kick-off for a converted try just as time ran out.
Wrap-up
Overall, Coach Smith is pleased with her side's performance on the pitch, especially the rucking. "Rucking looked good. It's getting better every week, " she observed.
Line-outs, however, are another matter. "We won all our line-outs," said Sun Devils coach Carter. "And a third of UCSD's."
"Still," he added graciously, "UCSD played a good game. They deserved to win."
Standings
With three victories, the Tritons are at the half-way point in their SCRFU season. Two matches against the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-0 with a "bye" this week) and a season-capping rematch against the Sun Devils are coming up.