After almost four years of playing rugby, this blogger has decided that waking up early on a Saturday to then drive four plus hours is abysmal. If you believe this statement is dramatic then, you are probably one of the three that fell asleep in my car on the ride there. Rude. Thankfully, Tuscaloosa once again displayed a beautiful day for rugby and a great match.
The final score was 74-0, Lee’s favor. Despite the score, the initial game play was marred by knock-ons and sloppy passes. The Alabama ladies presented a strong defense and were quick to defend their offensive rucks. This defense allowed the ladies in red to shutdown the 10 12 switch by Lins and Braunstien (aka the BEAST from the EAST), forcing the Lee gals to employ quick hand passes. This game play eventually led to a effective plays by wings, C. Lee and Dodge. Strong support by Gray allowed for four tries by the quick fullback. The Lee ladies made solid drives in mauls, quick rucks, and hard tackles to regain control over the game. The Lee pack worked as a cohesive unit to wheel the scrum and players like Barley and Louder were effective in stripping the ball from tackled opponents. Foregoing earlier sloppy passes, the pack members began a series of pop passes to teammates that were coming at speed. This allowed Lee the momentum they needed to pass through the red line of defense. In an added blessing, every Lee player at the game was allowed playing time and boy did each one leave their mark on the game! Recently acquired pack member, Lambert, took the ball up hard the field for a long run- as did Adams. Blackstock stood her ground in defense and Bateman made a great run-down tackle. What? You do know what a rundown tackle is, right? While we are doing shout outs, it can’t be ignored that Alabama was sporting some new front row gals that stepped up and gave it their all in the scrums. While this blogger has not personally experienced a scrum, the Lee pack did mention that Alabama had good engagement. …or maybe, that they engaged well. Whichever you prefer, really. Thanks again to the Alabama ladies, it is always a pleasure to play such a friendly and competitive team. See you next season! Delaney Walker
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With the Lee men’s rugby team playing Bryan right before and beating them 99-7 the Lee Women’s rugby team had a lot to live up to.
WKU came from far away to play the Lee Rugby team and they were a good opponent till the end. They had strong pack players and some fast back players. The final score of the game was 87-7, Lee’s favor. In the middle of a scrum one of WKU’s pack players mentioned how badly she wanted some pancakes, which in turn made all the pack players hungry (not a good thing when you’re not even halfway done with the game)…but pancakes really did sound good. With the high score WKU decided it was their turn to make a try and that’s just what they did. WKU was a competitor Lee would welcome anytime and we thank them for making the long trek out here even if they had to work later that night or early in the morning. Amanda Mizell Once again Lee and Auburn met in a fierce battle…against Mother Nature. Two years ago, Lee and Auburn faced off against the forces of freezing rain, thick mud, and frigid temperatures. This year, the two teams duked it out while it snowed. This was not the type of snow that your grandparents had to knee high in on the way to and from school, but still- snow.
The final score for the game was 69-17, Lee’s favor. Despite having low numbers, Auburn’s team rallied and showed up for a game that had both teams vying for victory. In addition, a shout out needs to go out to the UTC women’s team for showing up to back the Auburn players. Especially, to the back players that remained huddled up on the bleachers for 90 minutes. Way to hang in there ladies! Maybe next time Lee and Auburn could hire a meteorologist to determine the warmest and sunniest day to play (just a thought). Delaney Walker |