Men's Rugby Club at NCSU » News

NC State Drops First Game to UNCW

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:54:48 +0000

In a disappointing first match of the season, NC State lost a tough match 12-25 against the UNCW Clamdiggers. The first half started off strong with the Wolfpack two strong tries. Prop Abe Harman tore a ball out of the bottom of the ruck on the UNCW goal line and dove over the ruck, touching the ball down to give the Wolfpack its first points of the game. Outside center Bryan Maxwell failed to convert, giving State a 5-0 lead. Shortly after, thanks to some shifty running by freshman flyhalf Brandon Alvey, the Wolfpack dotted down another try under the posts with a successful conversion giving a 12-0 lead to the Wolfpack. Following the two early tries, however, State failed to reach the try zone with the ball for the remainder of the match. A barrage of penalties against State set up several quick tap opportunities that UNCW took advantage of. On top of this well kicked conversions and two successful penalty kicks by UNCW scrum half Graham Joseph helped the UNCW squad pull off a victory on the day against the A-side. The B-side entertained a strong victory later in the afternoon with a multitude of tries. For those of you who aren’t acquainted with the B-side former season’s results, they finished undefeated not only in the ACRL but in pre-conference matches; so far, the B-side looks strong and poised to do the same.

A-Side Points Scorers : Abe Harman (try, 5); Brandon Alvey (try, 5); Bryan Maxwell (conversion, 2)

NCSU 7s Team Finishes Strong at Inaugural National 7s Tournament

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:48:31 +0000

On December 17 and 18th, NCSURFC did something it never had up to this point in club history: competed in a national collegiate 7s championship tournament. In the first ever USA National Collegiate 7s Championship the Wolfpack didn’t achieve the results it wanted to, but finished at a strong 13th place overall in a tournament of 24 of the best collegiate 7s squads in the country. The matches began early on Saturday against an aggressive Western Washington squad to placed 2nd in their qualifying tournament on the west coast. NC State fell into bad habits of dropping the first game of the day and fell behind late in the match to start the day off 0-1. The following match versus University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee was a different story entirely. NC State came on the field looking to make up for the early morning match and it certainly did, crushing the opposition 35 – 5. NC State was very please with this performance, however the squad needed a loss by Western Washington and to defeat St. Mary’s, a team picked to take the title in pre-tournament talk, to compete for the cup on Saturday. NC State came out hard against a very skilled St. Mary’s team. A string of tries scored by St. Mary’s early in the game made victory seem overwhelming for NC State. However, two tries scored late in the second half put NC State within 3 points of St. Mary’s with only a minute to go. Unfortunately, the short time was to St. Mary’s favor and NC State finished the day 1-2. On Sunday, NC State was set to compete against Wisconsin, a team who tied tournament champions Life University on Friday. NC State failed to finish again, however, after a late game-winning try by David McAlister was called held-up by the sir.

Point Scorers for the tournament were as follows:

Dominick Goldston – 20 points

Brandon Alvey – 13 points

Bryan Maxwell – 11 points

Brandon Mosiman – 10 points

Greg Hesler – 10 points

David McAlister – 5 points

Wolfpack Rugby Cleans Horse Stalls for Fundraiser

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:01:41 +0000

In order to help raise money for the regular 15s season and the upcoming financial dilemma of two National Tournaments, NC State Rugby has turned to cleaning out horse stalls at the fairgrounds to help raise money. A friend of the club has generously offered to pay per stall for the cleanout of the bedding. Wolfpack Rugby has worked every Sunday for over a month now, working large horse shows such as several of the one’s taking place during the State Fair. With over $3000 raised so far, it has been one of the most lucrative fundraisers for the NCSURFC yet.

Says Senior David McAlister, “It’s not the most glorious job, or the most desirable, but the club needs money and we’re doing what we can to get there.”

And again, a reminder that NC State will be playing in the upcoming 2012 CRC Invitational Rugby Tournament in Philadelphia. The tournament will be broadcasted live on ESPN and NBC. If you’d like to help buy a ticket now for a discounted price and help Wolfpack Rugby sell the mandatory 300 tickets to the event, click the link below and purchase your tickets now!

http://usasevenscrc.com/tickets/ncstate

Tickets Now Available for 2012 CRC Tournament in June

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:34:17 +0000

NC State will be competing in the upcoming 2012 CRC Tournament being held in Philadelphia June 2-3. To participate in this invitational event, the NCSURFC is being required to sell 300 tickets to the event to help promote the tournament. Last year several teams had their invitation rescinded when they were unable to deliver on ticket sales.

If you would like to purchase a ticket for this event please do so and help support Wolfpack Rugby. This would be the first ever nationally televised event NC State Rugby has competed in. Up until January 31, 2012 tickets are being offered discounted at $35 for a two-day ticket to the event. If you can make it to this tournament and would like to purchase a ticket now, you can go to the NC State Ticket Sales website at http://usasevenscrc.com/tickets/ncstate and purchase your ticket. We need all the help we can get so if you, family, friends, and old NC State Ruggers would like to come out to see us please do so.

Let’s go Wolfpack!

NC State RFC Receives Invite to CCI 7’s in Philadelphia

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:08:45 +0000

Well, after handedly winning the ACI 7’s tournament in Greensboro, NC for two years in a row, NC State has been officially invited to the CCI 7’s tournament in Philadelphia over the summer of 2012. For those of you who are not familiar with the tournament, the tournament invites 16 of the best collegiate 7s teams from around the country to compete in a weekend long tournament. For the last two years the tournament has been covered collaboratively by Universal Sports, Versus, and NBC. Last year’s tournament was one by a very surprising Dartmouth squad who took the championship against Army. The NC State squad has been practicing all summer long and will be continuing to hold 7s practice on Wednesday nights at 5:00 over at the Centennial Campus location. Currently the roster is still open for individuals to be selected from the upcoming tournament.

As part of the invite to the CCI 7s tournament, USA 7s Rugby is asking each team to sell a minimum of 300 tickets for the event. The tournament is stressing the importance of selling these tickets in order to be eligible for the tournament. Last year several teams were not invited to the tournament for failing to deliver on ticket sales. NCSURFC is asking for any individuals who would be willing to help us out to buy tickets through the club for the tournament. Tickets are being sold with a steep discount till early January for $33 for a two-day pass to the tournament. Any alumni, friends, players, family, and supporters of the club are urged to help our club out if possible by purchasing tickets through our club for the event. Online ticket sales are not yet available, however if you are interested in coming up and supporting the Wolfpack, or known anyone who would be, please contact the President of the club Bryan Maxwell at bmmaxwel@ncsu.edu. Be sure to check back on our home page for further updates on this tournament and the USA National 7s tournament NC State will be travelling to in December.

Let’s go Wolfpack!

Wolfpack wins ACI 7’s Tournament Second Year in a Row

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:22:15 +0000

North Carolina State won its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Invitational 7s Championships Sunday in Greensboro, NC, defeating Virginia 24-17 in the tournament final. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 24-5 lead to start the game, and Virginia roared back with 12 unanswered second-half points only to see their comeback bid fall short.

Dominick Goldstein scored two tries for the Wolfpack in the final, rounding out a high-octane weekend performance during which he bagged two hat-tricks in seven games.

Flyhalf Bryan Maxwell, who also dotted down in the final, was awarded tournament MVP.

“Bryan contributed not only as a playmaker, driving the play in, he also helped calm things down,” remarked NC State coach Jim Latham, who said his team was complimented by opposing coaches for having good patience on offense. “Brian’s a senior, he’s a heady player.”

Playing all 98 minutes for the Wolfpack on the weekend was captain and hooker Matt Pace.

“You look at him, he could play 10 more games tomorrow,” gushed Latham. “This guy is unreal. He’s a neat player. He’s a flanker for 7s and a hooker for 15s. He’s a ball hawk.”

NC State won six matches in a row to end the ACI, but started on a cellar-low note, falling 28-7 to Virginia Tech in the tournament’s opening match on Saturday.

“To their credit, it should have been a lot worse. We didn’t play well at all, and they took advantage of every single mistake we made, and we made a bunch,” Latham said of Virginia Tech. “The guys were really down, but we rebounded quickly and just came back.

“They knew they could play better. They won last year, and I think it’s really the preparation. These guys have worked all summer — we’re doing 15s practice Tuesday and Thursday, we’re doing 7s practice Monday and Wednesday. These guys are holding individual 7am fitness training sessions for the backs. I don’t know that the attendance is that great, but the club leadership is doing these things.”

NC State downed a talented Maryland 22-14 in one semifinal, and Virginia needed extra time to oust Florida State 19-14 in the other. The semifinals were the third games of the day for both the Terps and Seminoles, as they finished in the bottom four of pool play and upset North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, respectively.

As champs of the ACI, the Wolfpack have punched their ticket to the inaugural USA Rugby 7s collegiate national championship in December. The venue is still undecided. Miami (OH) and Wisconsin have also qualified, having won the Midwest and Big Ten tournaments, respectively.

Two more qualifiers will be decided Saturday, when the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby and Independence conferences crown their champs.

On top of qualifying for the inaugural USA Rugby 7s collegiate national championship, the Wolfpack has also been invited to the CRC 7’s in Philadelphia next summer. For those of you who aren’t aware, the CRC 7’s has been nationally televised the past two years on NBC, so be looking for the NC State Wolfpack over the next year.

“We’re just going to stay focused on the team goals of making the club stronger. It sounds a little altruistic and even hokey, but we want to help these guys develop into fine young men, if you will.

“The coaching staff and the guys, we’re all about Wolfpack rugby, and we all want to share that passion we have for Wolfpack rugby with these kids. We’re going to focus on those things, and sometimes things don’t go your way.”

NC State Fails to Finish Against Tarheels in Final Home Game

admin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:24:28 +0000

The Wolfpack hosted the #10 ranked Tarheels at the Method Road Field yesterday in the fourth match of the ACRL. The Pack also hosted the first Parents Day and honored our out going Seniors Phillip “Yoshi” Burcal, Will “Witchcraft” Teague and Jon “Prop Magic” Rogers. The NCSURFC would like to thank these Seniors for their many contributions to the Club on and off of the field. The Wolfpack also recognized the contributions that have been made by a group of Gentlemen from Wilson N.C.{Mr Dale Bone, Mr. Marvin Coghill, Mr.Rick Smith, Mr. Henry Davis & Mr. Kurt Kimbrough} that are friends of Mr.George Hunt the father of Dave Hunt class of 2010. These businessmen have given a substantial sum to the club over the past 4 years that has made life much easier for our student athletes when traveling especially during the play off run last year.

The match kicked off at 1:00pm with the Pack letting the league leading Tarheels know although we may be down a little this year with injuries that this would be no easy match for them. The two teams spent the first 10 mins settling into the match and feeling each other out . The Wolfpack then began to utilize the pick and go with solid effect. We were able to control the ball and gain yardage all the while denying the very dangerous Tarheel backline the ball. We forced a kickable penalty at 13 mins. but were unable to convert. The Pack continued to control play with their forwards and forced another convertible penalty at 21 mins. and this time freshman Aaron Williams found the mark and the Pack led 3-0. The Wolfpack continued to control play with strong forward play and solid defense and scored an unconverted try in the corner by #14 Aaron Williams on a long run to open a 8-0 lead after 32 mins. The half ended with the Tarheels scoring an unconverted try at 40 mins to close the score to 8-5 in favor of the Wolfpack. The coaching staff felt that this was the best rugby that we have played this season.

The second half started with the Tarheels playing with more purpose. They began to defend the pick and go by getting underneath the Wolfpack runners and tying up the ball or forcing turn overs at the point of contact.As the Pack tired this became more effective as we were running too high. The Tarheels were able to exploit this flaw and at 55 mins scored a converted try to lead 12-8. The Pack continued to play hard but just turned the ball over too much in this half. Carolina scored again at 67 mins. on a nice center break and again at 70 mins. to open a 24-8 lead that would be the final margin.

Man of the Match was Aaron Williams a very promising freshman that we have high hopes for. Aaron was playing in his 2-3rd A side match and performed very well. craig Maxwell played very well at #6 stopping several Carolina breaks with solid tackling. Although with all of the injuries it would be easy to give up on this season I will not and I know that my players will not. We still have two very winnable matches to play in this league. We will work hard during the next two weeks to prepare for Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpacks seconds continued their undefeated season in the ACRL with a solid victory over the Tarheels seconds 38-26. Tries were scored by Brandon Ramos(2) Jonathon Murphy,Matt Werner and Brian Winslow all freshmen. Bryan maxwell also scored a try and converted four. Man of the match was Jonathon Murphy.

Wolfpack Loses to an Organized Maryland Squad

admin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:22:40 +0000

The Wolfpack hosted the University of Maryland on Sat. Mar. 19th on Lee Field as the Miller Fields were again unavailable for Rugby. The Pack needed to win this game to have any chance of advancing to the play-offs.

The match kicked off with the Terp’s controlling the ball and rapidly scoring a converted try to open a 7-0 lead just 2 mins. into the game. The Pack then settled into playing well, controlling the ball and the pace of the game. The Pack used their forwards mainly to accomplish this but would lose the ball in contact or become isolated where the Twerps would poach the ball and counterattack. Their #10 punished mistakes with long kicks back into the Packs half where we would have to start over. The Pack surrendered a second converted try through poor tackling at the 15 min. mark to go down 14-0. Maryland scored again at 24 mins again through the Wolfpacks poor tackling to make the score 21-0. The Pack first got on the board when Dominic Goldston took the ball at the Pack’s 22m and made several Maryland players miss on his way to scoring undre the posts. The try was converted by Greg Hesler and at the half the Wolfpack had closed to 21-7.

The second half started much like the first with Maryland just coming out of the gate with more purpose. The Terp’s scored a converted try at 43 mins. and another at 47 mins. to open a 33-7 lead. The Pack scored a try by Will Durway at 55mins. to bring the score to 33-12. The Terps scored two more trys at 63 & 71 mins. to put the game out of reach. The Pack did not give up and scored a try at 74 mins to make the final 47-17.

The Wolfpacks second side continued their undefeated ACRL season by winning 29-12 in a well played match by both sides. The Packs first try was scored by the ghost of Will Teague. Nice to see you back in town. Other scores were by Bryan Maxwell,Charlie Brooks,Brandon Ramos and Matt Pace. Aaron Williams made two conversions.

The Wolfpacks next game is at 1:00 pm. Sat. Mar. 26th on the Miller Fields v/s the University of North Carolina. The Wolfpack wil be hosting to my knowledge the first ever Parents Day on Sat. Seniors will be honored before the game and given their game jerseys. The NCSURFC would like to invite all Old Boys and Alumni to come out and support the Wolfpack on this very important day.

NC State Falls to UVA in First Home Match of ACRL

admin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:18:45 +0000

This past Sat. Mar.5th the Wolfpack hosted the University of Virginia in an ACRL league match. The match was played at the Lee Field due to the Miller Fields being closed for Spring Break. The Pack needed to win this game to have a decent chance to make the ACRL Championship match that will decide the ACRL play-off spot for the National Sweet Sixteen. We knew that UVA would be a stiff challenge for our team after they had beat us last fall by 69-0.

The match began with State putting UVA under pressure from the kick off using the pick and go to controll the ball. This forced UVA into a penalty that was very makeable but the Pack could not find the kicking tee and elected to run a penalty play. UVA forced a knock on and won the ensuing scrum where they put a long clearing kick well into the Pack’s half of the field. UVA then forced a turn over and after several phases in the forwards scored a try that was converted to go up 7-0 after 8 mins. The Pack then took the KO and went back to the game plan of controlling the ball and were rewarded with a penalty that saw a UVA player get sin binned for dangerous play. The Pack converted the kick by # 15 Craig Denker at 12 mins to close the score to 7-3 UVA. The Wolfpack were unable to exploit the extra man and UVA again pinned the Pack deep in their end resulting in another forward try at 25 mins to open a 12-3 lead. UVA struck quickly again using the foot of their 6-5 funny talker at flyhalf to pin the Pack deep and scoring a try off of a quick tap penalty to move out to a 17-5 lead at 30 mins. The Cav’s would score one more before half to move to 24-3 in front.

The second half was not a lot better for the Pack as we conceded 3 more tries to lose the game 41-3. On a worse note the Pack lost freshman Craig Denker to a broken jaw. We are already thin in the backs and he will be missed. We wish Craig a speedy recovery.

The seconds continued a strong spring season with a well played victory over the UVA B’s by the 20-13 score.

The Pack next plays on Mar. 19th at home against the University of Maryland.

Robert McAlister

NCSURFC Coach

Wolfpack Rugby Kicks off the 2011 Season

admin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:43:36 +0000

Coming out of the 2010 Fall season as the North Carolina State Champions over UNC Chapel Hill, the Wolfpack RFC is going to be starting up practices this week in preparation for the upcoming spring season. The Wolfpack will be entertaining a very full season, with four non-league matches leading up to a bye-weekend before the newly formed ACRL begins. The ACRL (Atlantic Coast Rugby League) will be made up of nine of the teams in the ACC Conference, with NC State playing against UNCCh, Wake Forest, UVA, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Maryland.

The team’s first match will be on Saturday, January 22nd on the lower IM fields vs. the UNCW Seahawks. Looking to avenge a close, last-minute loss to the Seahawks last season, the Wolfpack is starting practice early and hard this week.

For all interested players, there will be a team meeting on Thursday, January 13th at 5:30 in room 2037 above the Club Sports Office at Carmichael Gym. New players are encouraged to come as we will be covering topics concerning both new and old players. From the meeting we will move into the gym as the IM fields have yet to be open due to the unfortunate weather. A practice will also be held Sunday, January 16th on Lee Field behind Lee Hall at 2:00. This will be the team’s first outdoor practice of the season at a much needed time as the NCSURFC has only a week to prepare for its first match.

For interested players, please feel free to contact the Club President, Bryan Maxwell (704 819 0460, bmmaxwel@ncsu.edu) or Team Captain, Matt Pace (828-883-7514, jmpace@ncsu.edu)