Thursday, July 21, 2005

Olde Grey on TV

Monday morning about 16 or 17 of us got togewther at the local Y. We were on the local morning news program. It was the only place we could get lighted at that time of day. Let me say, I am glad that rugby is not normally played on a basketball court. I will admit, however, that that particular floor isn't much harder than the ground. True we weren't planting each other, but we were tackling. Actually that footage makes for a great propaganda piece, the Olde Grey plays on a hard floor.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Olde Grey Takes 4th at Charleston

In their first appearance of the 2005 7's season, the Columbia Olde Grey took 4th place, just missing the hardware by a little bit. It was a somewhat muggy day but the Rhinos were as spirited as ever. The quote of the day had to be Matthew "Foxy" Foxworth's, "Hey, I called, 'tag' and the guy just kept running" after a missed tackle There was a more entertaining one but I don't want this to become classed as an "adult" blog.
Olde Grey's next tourney will be the Green Vegas 7's in Greenville, SC on June 11.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

With Apologies to Earnest Lawrence Thayer

Furman at the Scrum

It looked extremely rocky for the Furman fifteen that day
The score stood twelve to nothing with but twenty left to play
When one more minute passed and another did the same
A pallor masked the faces of the patrons of the game

For the Blue Devils from Durham had frustrated the offense
And a third straight title for Furman seemed an idea for the dense.
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Furman getting to do that


Then from eight hundred throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon high,
For Furman, mighty Furman, had scored its first try

. There was ease in Furman's manner as the conversion was well placed;
There was pride in Furman's bearing and a smile lit Furman's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, they went right to their work,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt that Furman would not shirk.

Sixteen hundred eyes looked on as ref called the penalty kick
Eight hundred tongues applauded when they said,"To heck with this";
Then while Duke defense saw the next try on the fround had lit,
Defiance flashed in Furman's eye, a sneer curled Furman's lip.

Now the score is twelve to twelve and time is running down
a smile of Christian charity great Furman's visage shone;
Okay, that's a bit much to believe of this hard fought rugby match
But time was running down and Duke is not a slouch

The sneer is gone from Furman's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence toward the line to seal Duke's fate;
And now the Paladins have the ball, and now they forward go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Furman's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere spirits are high,
But there is no joy in Durham—mighty Furman scored the try.

Congrats to the Paladins on their three-peat!

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Furman to Face Duke in D-III Finals

Furman RFC is one step closer to a 3-peat and will host Duke in the finals Sunday in Paladin Stadium.
Furman defeated Lehigh in the semi-finals 36-7. Duke advanced by defeating Western Conneticut 27-12.
Furman and Duke are no strangers to each other. In the last two years the two schools have squared off in the Rugby South finals

Sunday, April 17, 2005

On the Local Front

We of the Columbia Olde Grey finished the matrix with a 6-1-1 record, losing the tie-breaker to Jacksonville. We are now getting ready for the summer 7's campaigne. Watch this space for news about the "Super Friends"

Furman Poised to 3-peat

The Furman University Rugby Club is once again in the Final-4 for D-III collegiate rugby. Only this time they don't have to travel as they are hosting the event. The weekend of April 23 and 24, the Paladins will be hosting the clubs from Lehigh, Western Conneticut and Duke (who Furman defeated for the Rugby South title).
Good luck to coach, John Roberts (no relation) and the Paladins (hey, I never claimed to be unbiased when it comes to the club my son plays for)

Monday, April 11, 2005

And People Ask Me Why I Don't Like Soccer

I find soccer fans annoying. I feel like wretching everytime I see the bumper sticker that says. "Real men play football. thinking men play soccer" Actually real men play rugby, but that opinion shouldn't come as a surprise considering the title of this blog. This story disgusts me for two reasons. The first is that I am proud of my Scottish heritage, second I am tired of soccer fans who act like they are a superior race from people who like American football and/or rugby.
You see, there was a moment of silence in memory of Pope John Paul II. At least there was an attempt at one. It was cut short due to the jeering. I never heard of any such thing at ether a rugby match, or an American football game. Then again I have never heard of a football stadium having to put a barrier between the home and visitors sides. Well, if this is what thinking men do, I'll happily be a barbarian.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

One Intense Ruck

AOL News - Death of Disruptive Airline Passenger Probed tells an interesting story. It has not been confirmed if the passengers who subdued the lout were ruggers or not.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

The New Spurrier Model '05 Continues to Sweep Clean

Three cheers for Steve Spurrier! He said he wasn't going to have any problem players and he is keeping his word. As I watched events unfold the last couple of weeks I was reminded of the scene in "My Cousin Vinnie" where the judge reminds him that he had been warned about his attire and Vinnie responds, "You were serious about dat?" I could almost hear the latest victims of their own self-centeredness saying that in unison.
The program was out of control...or at least segments of it were. USC was hiring people to babysit certain star players who seemingly had a different set of rules. Even with that we still couldn't win football games. As one local commetnator put it, Miami went out and recruited thugs and criminals and won a national championship. USC did it and got trounced 63-17 by thier rivals

Olde Grey Seeks to Extend Streak

The 3-0-1 Olde GRey hosts Augusta today. In their first match this season, the Rhinos eeked out a 14-10 win in Augusta.
A win today would set up a rematch with Jacksonville next week which should determine who wins Pool B.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Maybe They Should Make Gladys Knight Their Scrum Half

Six Nations 2005 - 6 Nations News, 6 Nations Results, Six Nations Action from Scrum.com has the points table for this year's Six Nations tourney. As I look at it I am struck that England has failed to get a single point, not a sausage. Bugger all. Looks like England gets to slog it out with Italy to see who gets the wooden spoon

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Cannot Say I'm Surprised by This

Demetris Summers Dismissed From South Carolina Football Team is a headline several people, myslef included, figured would come to pass. I remember during his recruitmant my brother saying, "He's gonna be another Derek Watson." USC and SC State fans know what that means.
The ref flags should have gone up when then-coach Lou Holtz basically assigned someone to babysit him. I'll bet that Coach Spurrier has the boys' attention now.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Furman Begins Run to Threepeat

Over the last three seasons, the Furman Paladins have only managed two national championships and run up a record of 21-1, and. The loss coming to the Citadel on February 13. Inspite of the loss, Furman has outscored its opponents this spring 238-53. The Rugby South semi-final tournament will be held at Furman March 19 and 20.
The D-III match-ups :
Duke -The Citadel
SE Louisana-Furman

The D-II Bracket:
Arkansas State-Georgia Tech
Vanderbilt-FSU

The women's brackets will follow.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Olde Grey Seeks to Improve Record.

The Olde Grey of Columbia hosts Savannah this Saturday seeking its second win of the season. The match is at 2 pm Saturday, at Patton Stadium in Fort Jackson. Directions are on the Olde Grey website. Proper ID, auto registration and proof of auto insurance are required for entry to the fort. Any passengers also must have ID.
Two matches into the spring matrix season, the Olde Grey is currently 1-0-1 with a comeback win against a much improved Augusta side. They also have a comeback tie with Jacksonville.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Relaunch

JRob here. Don't let the title fool you, sure I will be talking mainly about rugby. Great game. The only game I like more than American football. Having said that that, any sport is up for discussion...even professional wrestling (yeah I know it is "sports entertainment" but I have more respect for the WWE than the NBA) So join in if you see something you like, dislike or leaves you scratching your head going, "whaat?"

SC Rugby News

Now that the fall season is wrapped up for most, it was good that the mighty Olde Grey of Columbia took second in the Palmetto Rugby Union's fall tourney in Greenville back on October 30. Congrats to Charleston who took first place. In Olde Grey's first round match against Greenville I got some mop-up playing time and for the first time ever I was on the field opposing my son. He was playing fullback for Greenville (he normally plays flanker for Furman University). Neither of us got to tackle, ruck or maul over the other...this time.
Also, congrats to Furman as the two-time defending national champs in Division III defeated DivII University of South Carolina to take the men's college division crown.