Norsemen Rugby Football Club
Saturday, December 8, 2007
PSU vs. Springfeld College
I dont know how I missed this but earlier in our regular season Plymouth played at Springfield and won 48-0. Its been so long I forgot who scored, but it was a tough game, but Springfield's lack of dicipline and experience led to Plymouth's win.
Post season news
After a fantastic season, the Norsemen are taking some much needed time off until February when they begin to start preparing for nationals in April.
Right now the team are enjoying the social aspect of the sport, with the scavenger hunt, the rookie skit, and the formal all happening before the end of the semester.
The whole team has been encouraged to stay in the best shape possible so we can start our season the way we ended this last one.
PSU b-side vs. Vermont Tech a-side
The Norsemen killer B's played a post season friendly against Vermont Tech's a-side. it was a cold but sunny day in Plymouth and the atmosphere was friendly and energetic.
The first half was scoreless with both teams playing scrappy but hard.
Vermont were not very experienced, but they played VERY hard. Sadly because of this they managed to wear PSU down in the second half, but not without a fight.
Vermont scored 3 times on Plymouth, but just before the end of the game Phil after having a great game in a position he had never played before made a half field run to score an excellent try.
Even though it was a loss, everyone walked off the field with a smile on their faces, it was very enjoyable for all involved, and it was a great way to end a great season.
Friday, December 7, 2007
PSU vs. Weaton College (FINAL!!!!)
After their big win against Bryant the day before the Norsemen were fired up for the finals. The weather had calmed down and it was warm, sunny with very little wind....a perfect day for Rugby.
The anticipation was incredible, I have never seen the Norsemen so fired up.
Weaton came out hard, they were running hard, and kicking a lot. The first half was back and forth with neither team looking like they had the upper hand.
Plymouth received an penalty and Paul Jackson took the ball quickly and broke through the defense. Weaton gave away another penalty, this time Rob Howes took the ball quickly, right before the tackle he passed to Joe Lea who used his size to break the defense and at the last second he passed the ball to Kevin Cloutier who ran the ball in for a try. At the end of the first half the Norsemen were winning 5-0.
The second half started like the first lots of kicking and no team showing any signs of scoring, until Weaton broke through Plymouth's defense to score. The conversion was made, PSU were losing 7-5.
At this point Aaron Wilkins a veteran forward got fired up and started screaming at the Norsemen. It worked.
At the kick off Rob Howes lofted the ball high in the air, and Jeremy Lagerval leveled the Weaton player and PSU won the ball back, after a short drive, Rob Howes dove in the corner to put Plymouth back on top.
This fired the Norsemen up even more, Chris Tofte made a huge run dragging Weaton players with him to score a try under the posts. Bill Kolaski converted the kick.
Plymouth were on a roll now, they were running hard, hitting even harder, and basically just wearing Weaton down.
Paul Jackson added the final nail in Weaton's coffin when he ran in Plymouth's final try in the last few moments of the game.
Plymouth win 22-7!!!!!!!!! They are the 2007 New England Champions........
Kudos to the Norsemen
After the semi-final game against Bryant several of the Norsemen were scouted by Boston RFC, which is a men's rugby club who play in the USA super league (the highest level of Rugby in the states). Whether or not any of the Norsemen decide to play of Boston, this is still a great honor to be asked, and it shows the level of play which the Plymouth team has progressed to.
congrats to:
Joe Lea
Matt Kenedy
Paul Skeeter Jackson
Rob Howes
Nate Fox
Chris Tofte
Bill Kolaski
congrats to:
Joe Lea
Matt Kenedy
Paul Skeeter Jackson
Rob Howes
Nate Fox
Chris Tofte
Bill Kolaski
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
oops....my bad
I made some mistakes in some of my previous posts: Russell's last name is Davidson, Kenny's last name is McKenna, our sophmore second row is Kevin Cloutier not Kevin Casey, and it's Bill Kolaski not Polaski.
sorry guys....my bad
sorry guys....my bad
PSU vs. Bryant College (semi-finals)
The Norsemen (#4 seed) travelled down to Bristol Rhode Island on the 2nd of November to play Bryant College (#2 seed) on the the 3rd. The energy around the team and the fans was contagious.
They arrived at the field at 11 after a good night's sleep only to discover that the weather was terrible. It was raining hard, in the high 30's to low 40's, and to top it all 50mph winds. This however did not discourage the team or the fans from getting fired up.
Bryant came out hard in the first half, but Plymouth used the wind to their advantage and kicked the ball a lot to gain better field position and to put Bryant on their heels.
The first try was scored by Joe Lea who broke through the defense from 5 meters out after Plymouth had a long hard fought drive up the field.
After this first try Plymouth started to break Bryant down with their hard running, even harder tackles, tactical kicking and all round good play. The next try was scored by Rob Howes after a fake switch then a fake pass to break through the defensive line. This was then followed by a try on the wing from Jim Brady after another offensive drive. To finish the first half Chris Tofte scored the 4th try for Plymouth.
Because of the wind the second half was scoreless because Bryant could not take advantage of the wind like the Norsemen did. Plymouth was very impressive because they did not kick at all in the second half, they had to run the ball every time because of the wind, Matt Kennedy and Nate fox doing this particularly well.
The final score was 20-0 in favor of PSU. Weaton beat Keene State in the other semi final game. So it's onto the finals for Plymouth.
They arrived at the field at 11 after a good night's sleep only to discover that the weather was terrible. It was raining hard, in the high 30's to low 40's, and to top it all 50mph winds. This however did not discourage the team or the fans from getting fired up.
Bryant came out hard in the first half, but Plymouth used the wind to their advantage and kicked the ball a lot to gain better field position and to put Bryant on their heels.
The first try was scored by Joe Lea who broke through the defense from 5 meters out after Plymouth had a long hard fought drive up the field.
After this first try Plymouth started to break Bryant down with their hard running, even harder tackles, tactical kicking and all round good play. The next try was scored by Rob Howes after a fake switch then a fake pass to break through the defensive line. This was then followed by a try on the wing from Jim Brady after another offensive drive. To finish the first half Chris Tofte scored the 4th try for Plymouth.
Because of the wind the second half was scoreless because Bryant could not take advantage of the wind like the Norsemen did. Plymouth was very impressive because they did not kick at all in the second half, they had to run the ball every time because of the wind, Matt Kennedy and Nate fox doing this particularly well.
The final score was 20-0 in favor of PSU. Weaton beat Keene State in the other semi final game. So it's onto the finals for Plymouth.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
PSU vs. New Haven U23's
The Norsemen played New Haven u23's this past Saturday at home in the Quarter finals. It was a very wet and rainy day in Plymouth and to make matters worse the referee cancelled so some last minute arrangements had to be made.
Because the weather was so poor it made passing kicking and running very difficult so the Norsemen had to step it up on defense, and they did. Plymouth dominated the whole game which pleased the many Norsemen fans who still came out to support us. Plymouth scored 6 tries in all the first being from Tommy Lyle who made a huge half field run. The rest of the tries came from Bill Kolaski (2) Nate Fox, Kevin Casey, and Phil Livsey scoring his first ever try. Bill Kolaski also converted 3 kicks making the final score 36-17.
This was a great performance from Plymouth despite the sloppy play which the weather created. They are now preparing to go to Rhode Island for the New England Championship where they will face Bryant (the 2nd seed and the only other undefeated team other than Plymouth still in the playoffs). If they beat Bryant on Saturday they face the winner of Keene State vs. Wheaton.
Because the weather was so poor it made passing kicking and running very difficult so the Norsemen had to step it up on defense, and they did. Plymouth dominated the whole game which pleased the many Norsemen fans who still came out to support us. Plymouth scored 6 tries in all the first being from Tommy Lyle who made a huge half field run. The rest of the tries came from Bill Kolaski (2) Nate Fox, Kevin Casey, and Phil Livsey scoring his first ever try. Bill Kolaski also converted 3 kicks making the final score 36-17.
This was a great performance from Plymouth despite the sloppy play which the weather created. They are now preparing to go to Rhode Island for the New England Championship where they will face Bryant (the 2nd seed and the only other undefeated team other than Plymouth still in the playoffs). If they beat Bryant on Saturday they face the winner of Keene State vs. Wheaton.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
PSU vs. Keene State
Plymouth played Keene State in thier last regular season game. Both teams were undefeated going into the game, so it was bound to be a battle.
Both teams came out hard, with lots of big tackles and hard running. About halfway through the first half Rob Howes chip kicked over the head of Keene's defense to Tommy Lyle running on. Tommy caught the ball and ran into the try zone to score. The conversion was missed which made the score 5-0.
The Norsemen dominated most of the first half, and after a quick pick up from the back of the ruck Paul "skeeter" Jackson dove over the try line to score Plymouth's second try. Bill Polaski converted the kick to make the score at halftime 12-0.
The Norsemen still played very well in the second half, holding Keene's offense back in a goal line stand multiple times. Despite the Norsemen's best efforts Keene managed to score one try. The game ended with a 12-5 win to Plymouth.
The B*side also had an excellent performance, but sadly Plymouth lost 5-0 after a very hard fought game.
The Norsemen are preparing for their first playoff game against New Haven u23's at home at 1pm.
Both teams came out hard, with lots of big tackles and hard running. About halfway through the first half Rob Howes chip kicked over the head of Keene's defense to Tommy Lyle running on. Tommy caught the ball and ran into the try zone to score. The conversion was missed which made the score 5-0.
The Norsemen dominated most of the first half, and after a quick pick up from the back of the ruck Paul "skeeter" Jackson dove over the try line to score Plymouth's second try. Bill Polaski converted the kick to make the score at halftime 12-0.
The Norsemen still played very well in the second half, holding Keene's offense back in a goal line stand multiple times. Despite the Norsemen's best efforts Keene managed to score one try. The game ended with a 12-5 win to Plymouth.
The B*side also had an excellent performance, but sadly Plymouth lost 5-0 after a very hard fought game.
The Norsemen are preparing for their first playoff game against New Haven u23's at home at 1pm.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Last game of the season!
The Norsemen are 4-0 on the season right now, at the top of the NERFU Western Conference, and 4th (only due to points difference) in the NERFU division 3.
We are now preparing for this weekend's game away against Keene State (also 4-0). If the Norsemen win this game they will win the conference, and get a home game for the first playoff game. Plymouth also need to score as many points as they can this weekend to obtain a higher seed for playoffs.
The Norsemen are confident even without their starting outside center Chris Toftee who sprained his ankle earlier this week and will be out for a few weeks.
We are now preparing for this weekend's game away against Keene State (also 4-0). If the Norsemen win this game they will win the conference, and get a home game for the first playoff game. Plymouth also need to score as many points as they can this weekend to obtain a higher seed for playoffs.
The Norsemen are confident even without their starting outside center Chris Toftee who sprained his ankle earlier this week and will be out for a few weeks.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
PSU vs. WPI
The Norsemen do not have a game this weekend because WPI forfitted thier whole season. This goes down as a 7-0 win to PSU. The Norsemen are now 4-0 on the season. The team are busy enjoying thier week off with light practices and heavy drinking.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
PSU vs. Williams College
The Plymouth State men's rugby team played Williams college this past weekend. Going into the game Plymouth knew nothing about Williams, except that they had just dropped down from Division 2.
After a long 3 and a half hour drive, Plymouth came out a little flat footed, and let Williams score early in the game. But after getting settled into the game Plymouth started to come back, with Joe Lea scoring a try. At half time Williams were up 7-5. But during the second half Plymouth used their forwards to tire Williams out and this led to Chris Toftee scoring 2 tries. Despite Williams best efforts Plymouth held out for a 15-12 win.
A B*side game was played, Plymouth's B*side sadly did not have the same success as their A*side, but it was still a well fought game with Plymouth's B*side forwards really stepping up.
This now puts the undefeated Plymouth at the top of the New England Western Conference, and in the top 4 in the Division (but only due to points difference).
The PSU Norsemen are now preparing for this weekend's game away at Springfield College. It has been over 4 years since Plymouth last beat Springfield......time to break the streak
After a long 3 and a half hour drive, Plymouth came out a little flat footed, and let Williams score early in the game. But after getting settled into the game Plymouth started to come back, with Joe Lea scoring a try. At half time Williams were up 7-5. But during the second half Plymouth used their forwards to tire Williams out and this led to Chris Toftee scoring 2 tries. Despite Williams best efforts Plymouth held out for a 15-12 win.
A B*side game was played, Plymouth's B*side sadly did not have the same success as their A*side, but it was still a well fought game with Plymouth's B*side forwards really stepping up.
This now puts the undefeated Plymouth at the top of the New England Western Conference, and in the top 4 in the Division (but only due to points difference).
The PSU Norsemen are now preparing for this weekend's game away at Springfield College. It has been over 4 years since Plymouth last beat Springfield......time to break the streak
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Just to clear things up
Just to clear a few things up A*side is the 1st team, and B*side is the 2nd team.
points values:
try (the rugby equivalent of a touchdown) - 5 points
conversion (kick for extra points) - 2 points
a penalty kick (a kick through the uprights when awarded a penalty) - 3 points
a drop goal (a drop kick in open play through the uprights) - 3 points
If anyone has any more questions feel free to ask.
points values:
try (the rugby equivalent of a touchdown) - 5 points
conversion (kick for extra points) - 2 points
a penalty kick (a kick through the uprights when awarded a penalty) - 3 points
a drop goal (a drop kick in open play through the uprights) - 3 points
If anyone has any more questions feel free to ask.
Big first game for the Norsemen
There has been a lot of progress since my last post. The team now has a 60 man roster, and WPI (Worchester Polytechnical Institute) forfeited their whole season. What this means is we already have a win on our season, but it is only a 7-0 win so that could screw us over in the league standings in the long run.
We played Nichols college in the first game of our regular season. The Norsemen underestimated Nichols, and found themselves defending their own try line early in the game. But a quick penalty taken by Rob Howes changed the game around, with Rob scoring PSU's first try. Later in the first half Tommy Lyle trucked through the defense to lengthen the Norsemen's lead.
The second half started off with PSU gaining constant yards on Nichols which eventually lead to a textbook try scored by Jim Brady, with the help of the quick hands of Nate Fox and Chris Toftee. The game ended 15-3 in favor of Plymouth. A hard fought first win.
The B*side played 3 twenty minute periods (unlike the usual 2 forty minutes halves). I do not remember the score, but it was a very close game, with some of our younger players stepping up and playing some great Rugby.
All-in-all a great week for the Norsemen we are now preparing for the unknown Williams College away saturday 29th of sept.
We played Nichols college in the first game of our regular season. The Norsemen underestimated Nichols, and found themselves defending their own try line early in the game. But a quick penalty taken by Rob Howes changed the game around, with Rob scoring PSU's first try. Later in the first half Tommy Lyle trucked through the defense to lengthen the Norsemen's lead.
The second half started off with PSU gaining constant yards on Nichols which eventually lead to a textbook try scored by Jim Brady, with the help of the quick hands of Nate Fox and Chris Toftee. The game ended 15-3 in favor of Plymouth. A hard fought first win.
The B*side played 3 twenty minute periods (unlike the usual 2 forty minutes halves). I do not remember the score, but it was a very close game, with some of our younger players stepping up and playing some great Rugby.
All-in-all a great week for the Norsemen we are now preparing for the unknown Williams College away saturday 29th of sept.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
NH cup
The Plymouth state men's rugby team played in the New Hampshire cup last Saturday (8th Sept 07). The A side lost to Dartmouth 18-14 in the first game with Chris Toftee scoring two tries and Rob Howes converting both kicks. Even though we lost, it was a very close game and Div 3 Plymouth held their own very well against div 1 Dartmouth.
The B side played a great game against St. Anselm's A side. Even though The Norsemen lost we were very proud of the way all of our new players played.
The B's then played again against Franklin Pierce's A side. Plymouth played fantastic only losing by one try. Matt Wood and Russell scoring their first tries. The B side players of the tournament were Russell, Colin, Matt Wood, Alex Yeaw and first time player Kenny.
The A Side played Keene State in the next match and beat them 9 tries to zero. Nate fox, Jeremy Lagerval, and Rob Howes scored 2 tries each, Jim Brady scored one try and Sam Hill and Bill Polaski scored their first A side tries also. I forget how many conversions were made i think about 5, 4 by Rob Howes and 1 by Bill Polaski.
All in all a great tournament for the Norsemen, we now have until the 22nd of September to prepare for our first game at home against Nichols College at 1pm.
The B side played a great game against St. Anselm's A side. Even though The Norsemen lost we were very proud of the way all of our new players played.
The B's then played again against Franklin Pierce's A side. Plymouth played fantastic only losing by one try. Matt Wood and Russell scoring their first tries. The B side players of the tournament were Russell, Colin, Matt Wood, Alex Yeaw and first time player Kenny.
The A Side played Keene State in the next match and beat them 9 tries to zero. Nate fox, Jeremy Lagerval, and Rob Howes scored 2 tries each, Jim Brady scored one try and Sam Hill and Bill Polaski scored their first A side tries also. I forget how many conversions were made i think about 5, 4 by Rob Howes and 1 by Bill Polaski.
All in all a great tournament for the Norsemen, we now have until the 22nd of September to prepare for our first game at home against Nichols College at 1pm.
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