LSURFC

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Saade Bou-Mikael
Saturday, January 19, 2008
LSU vs Florida State

LSU RFC opened up the spring season with a 47-0 win over the touring Florida State team in sloppy conditions at the Baton Rouge RFC fields. Due to bad weather the SAC fields were closed for the day, and a wet, muddy field didn't make things easier for either teams as handling problems minimized back play for most of the game. Nevertheless, LSU were still able to score eight tries. Following a penalty kick from center Jarett Falcon, winger Nick Raziano opened up try scoring by dotting down in the corner following a series of breakthroughs by the LSU attack. Following that try LSU's attacks were frequent but due ineffective due to handling errors. However, the game began to open up for LSU and soon a number of other tries were scored through Robert Johns, Saade Bou-Mikael, and Eric West in the first half.

The second half proved much of the same as substitute Adam Davis finished a strong LSU surge in the corner. Senior Jarrett Falcon, sophmore Bobby Johns, and senior Saade Bou-Mikael all scored in the second half to make the final score 47-0. Despite the win LSU will be looking to tweak some of the issues before opening their Texas Rugby Union collegiate season with a match against the University of Texas, held in Austin, on Saturday the 26th.

Saade Bou-Mikael
October 28, 2007
SEC Tournament Write Up

The LSU Rugby Tigers rushed the SEC to take both the B-side and A-side championships, both over the #9 ranked University of Tennessee. The LSU Gold held off the Volunteers to post a 22-18 victory while the Purple side snatched a dramatic victory from an excellent 45 yard kick from senior center Jarrett Falcon to win 30-29 at the final whistle.

LSU Gold's path through to the B-division plate began with a 22-5 to victory over South Carolina and was followed by a 42-0 shutout against Auburn to reach the final. The final against Tennessee was won in dramatic style, with Sid Blakemore putting in a man of the match performance both on defense and on attack. Despite having only three subs and tournament rules, the tigers began with a penalty try from Youssef Bou-Mikael after the a mixture of forward punches and backline attacks brought the ball near the Tennessee goal line before the ball was swung out on an overload only to be stopped by a high tackle on fullback Youssef Bou-Mikael.

Soon after LSU attacked fiercely again to gain a penalty that center Adam Davis put over to make the score eight-nil. But Tennessee pounced right back, with their inside center running hard, smashing through the line at pace, setting Tennessee up for a break. The centers' solid display kept LSU on its back heels towards the end of the first half, though solid defense from the Tigers and an excellent display of poaching prevented the Volunteers from putting too many points on the board. 1st half score was 17-8. The Volunteers began creeping back in, but a great individual effort from center Adam Davis and a conversion gave LSU a solid lead to end the first half. Unfortunately, injuries began to mount and soon after the first half LSU began losing most of their scrums to the bigger and more powerful Tennessee pack. Tennessee put a kick through immediately after the 2nd half whistle, and soon scored a try to follow up, making the score 18-17. But the tigers didn't let that faze them, as they replied with a try of their own to take the lead 22-18. From that point on it was really one-way traffic for the Vols, with the Tigers repelling wave after wave of Tennessee attack, clearing five separate attacks from the LSU goal line before the final whistle blew.

LSU's Purple side went through a very similar pathway to the final, first defeating Florida 38-3 before demolishing Ole Miss, who had defeated the Tigers in the SECs last season, by the score of 60-7. #9 Tennessee had defeated Vanderbilt and Auburn in similar fashion. Sunday's final game was a scorcher of a match that saw the teams exchange the lead four times in the final twenty minutes. LSU came out with an intensity and style that Tennessee was not prepared for and within a few minutes were rewarded with a penalty to make it 3-0. Five minutes later LSU came back again, and after a stint in the Tennessee twenty two, number 8 Eric Johns powered through a number of tackles to score under the posts; the conversion was good, making it 10-0. LSU was not done yet; slick handling through the backline lead to the evasive fullback Adam Ducoing to dot down on the left side, making the score 15-0 within the opening fifteen minutes.

After that opening blitz by LSU, however, Tennessee showed cool to come back hard, and midway through the second half a clever chip kick from the Vol flyhalf isolated Ducoing and winger Nick Raziano, with the Vols pinching the ruck to run 20 meters down the sideline to dot down in the corner. The Vols came away with another 3 points after LSU gave away a penalty for hands in the ruck in front of the sticks. The halftime score was 8-15.

The second half ensued with Tennessee attacking hard, and within a few minutes they managed to score off of a counter attack, with the Vol #14 putting in a nice conversion to tie the score 15-15. LSU replied ten minutes later with an 80 yard try that saw fullback Adam Ducoing put substitute wing Sid Blakemore up against one man to beat. Blakemore backed his pace, checking the covering defender in before beating him on the outside to make it 20-15. The try put LSU into the lead but not for long; some powerful running from the Tennessee centers along with some great support play allowed Tennessee to score a clean try under the sticks, which their winger converted to take the lead for the first time in the game with twenty minutes left to play. LSU did not wallow, however, and began to press hard against the stern Tennessee defense. With seven minutes left to go, LSU created one of the tries of the tournament, from a turnover going the length of the field, with the ball exchanging numerous hands, some getting the ball more than once in just moments, before scrumhalf Bobby Johns broke a tackle and raced to the corner to score a try to take the lead back 27-22.

Credit to Tennessee as they came back immediately, and a series of powerful surges brought the ball all the way to the LSU goal line, where a pick and go from Tennessee number six put the Vols right back in the lead with only three minutes to spare. LSU raced back to restart play, and while the Vols controlled the final three minutes calmly, an excellent poach from flanker Eric West at midfield lead to an counterattack that drew a penalty 45 yards from the posts. With no time to spare, senior Jarrett Falcon lined it up, and coolly split the sticks to the sound of final whistle, and thus crowning the Tigers with their first SEC tournament championship in two attempts.

Congratulations to all the LSU tigers for their great spirit and hard work. Despite having only 33 players to fill both the A-side and B-side brackets, a combination of hardnosed defense and courageous attack led both sides to victory. The Gold side's display was very impressive considering the number of new players brought on tour, and for an excellent showing of defense when it mattered most to secure victory. Congratulations also to players Adam Ducoing, Bobby Johns, Andrew Larkin, Eric West, and Michael Heier for making the Kreb's Select team of the tournament. Congratulations to Sid Blakemore for having a man of the tournament display, showing strong leadership through example throughout the entire B-side tournament as well as the Final to help LSU clinch titles in both divisions.

Saade Bou-Mikael
Match Report
LSU v Old White RFC

LSU's purple side kept their unbeaten record as they defeated Atlanta Old White RFC by the score of 25-12. Try scorers included number six Brendan Batt, fullback Adam Ducoing, and wing Nick Raziano. Batt and Ducoing's tries came from nice movement of the ball while Nick Raziano's try came from an interception after some good pressure from the LSU defense.

The Purple side began the night strong, with their defense much improved from that of last weekend's side as they snuffed out any attacks made by Old White, controlling most of the possession and blanking them the first half. Soon after LSU brought some serious pressure which culminated in a well worked try that went through the hands of the entire backline bringing the ball to the Old White ten, before flanker Brendan Batt scooped the ball from a quick ruck, broke a tackle and touched it down in the try zone. Senior Jarett Falcon putting in a nice conversion to make it 7-0. Right before 40 minutes LSU put another five points on the board following a well strung attack that went from one side line to the other and back, with fullback Adam Ducoing slipping through to dot down on the right.

The second half began with a resurgence from Old White took the game into the LSU twenty two immediately after kick off; their backline almost came up with a try, but was held back by a forward connection between the flyhalf and outside center. The LSU defense held, with Ricky Decastro, who was kicking well from ball in hand, clearing the ball and relieving some pressure. The game went back and forth down the field for a good portion of the second half, with each team putting together nice phases of play. Old White scored a try after a strong forwards surge, but towards the end of the half Nick Raziano plucked a long pass from the air with only grass in front of him to put LSU another five points ahead; the second half culminated with a try scored from a loose pass near the LSU goal line that was dotted down under the sticks. Final score was 25-12, with flanker Eric West taking honors are man of the match. LSU's gold side played a 30 minute period after the game, and while they fought hard they succumbed to Atlanta 10-0.

Other games played on fall tour included a 59-0 shut out of Southern Miss, of which forty of the points were put up in a fiery opening twenty minutes by the Tigers, and a Gold Side game against a mixed Florida St. team which saw the Gold side as the victors. LSU’s next games will be in two weeks at the SEC tournament where they look to bring the SEC Championship trophy back to Baton Rouge. The game will be played at the "1996 Olympic Fields" in Birmingham, Alabama; last year the Tigers bowed out in the semifinals to Ole Miss who would later lose to current champions, the #9 Tennessee Vols 20-15. With nearly all players healthy this season and playing some great rugby prior to the tournament, the Tigers are going into the tournament with great confidence.

Saade Bou-Mikael
Match Report
LSU v UF

The Tigers proved to be too much against the University of Florida this past weekend as they won 39-13. The game was played under the hot sun at the Parade Grounds, and with a vibrant crowd gathering around the game, it was an overall good display for LSU, who controlled most of the possession and showed their range of skills.

The Tigers opened up with a try from center Andrew Larkin, who has been impressive at the center position this season for LSU. The gators immediately replied with a try after a nicely placed kick into the back corner of the LSU twenty two put too much pressure on the fullback, and the Gators eventually dotted down a fumbled ball for a try. The Tigers then hit back with another try of their own through flanker Cody Cadella. Sid Blakemore scored soon after to put LSU up but then Florida returned with quick try, again due to the pressure put on by the Florida flyhalf’s solid tactical kicking.

From that point on it was all LSU as they made adjustments to their defensive to deal with the Florida game plan. Soon LSU began taking most of the possession and put a number of tries on the board, including a well worked try that saw prop Jimmy Rekopf in on the side. Senior center and Man of the Match Jarett Falcon made a number of crunching runs through the Florida defense, which led to tries by Brendan Batt and flyhalf Rickey DeCastro.

Under the hot sun, players began to tire and play began to look sluggish towards the remaining 15 minutes. The only score during that period was a nice drop goal at the end of the game by the Florida flyhalf to end the game with a score of 39-13.

The Tigers continue their undefeated run but will be challenging a tougher opponent when they look to play Old White in Atlanta during their fall tour that will also see their Gold side battle Southern Miss and Florida St.

Saade Bou-Mikael
Inter-Squad Scrimmage
September 1, 2007

The rugby season’s first live game play opened on September 1st in an inter-squad purple and gold scrimmage. The game followed an earlier skills camp run by New Orleans RFC coaches Jerry Malina and Gary Giepert, both of whom were involved in the successful Louisiana U-19 development program which has twice captured the national championship trophy in Aurora, Colorado for the past two years. A little over 35 players attended the camp, a solid showing considering the number of players on holiday visiting their families for the Labor Day weekend

The two teams were split into two evenly matched teams; both starting teams consisted mainly of returning players from last season as well as a few rookies with experience at the high school level. Players new to the game were brought into the game as it drew on.

Fr The game began with both sides looking to open the game up by spreading the ball wide and attacking space. While the game was hindered with a few ball-handling mistakes due to off season rustiness, both teams showed enterprise to attack from different areas of the field and in many a different method. The purple side was soon rewarded after some steady pressure and good forward punching as senior Matt Goorley put it underneath the posts in the first half. Following the opening try the gold side began to apply the pressure with some good counterattacks and solid runs from the backline; senior center Jarret Falcon looked dangerous as he broke tackles to put the gold side in the purple 22. Despite a long spells of territorial advantage, however, the gold side’s set piece struggled to secure clean possession to amount a successful attack on the purple defense and it wasn’t until late in the first half when speedy wing Theo Pierre intercepted a tipped skip pass to dot it down for the gold.

As the second half began the game began to take a more disorganized theme as players with only a week’s experience were gradually integrated into both sides; however a number of new players were keen to show their athletic abilities with some aggressive tackling and hard running. Despite some quick poaching from the gold loose forwards to deprive the purple side of possession, purple’s dominance of the set piece finally paid off when, following a lost gold scrum in their own 22, the purple side was able to score a try in the corner when sophomore wing Andrew Larkin scooped up a grubber and placed it on the try-line. The try would be the last of the game as neither side threatened again.

Summer 2007 Tiger Tales Newsletter
The new officers for the 2007-2008 season have been working diligently all summer to put together an eventful upcoming year.

Club Elects Officers for 2007-2008
The new officers for the 2007-2008 season have been working diligently all summer to put together an eventful upcoming year.