Charles River Men vs. Boston Maccabi
Charles River RFC v. Boston Maccabi RFC Match Report
April 13th, 2013, 12pm
Moakley Field, Boston, MA
Rats Match
| Position | Rats Starter | Substitute[1] |
| #1 Prop | Phil Adams | |
| #2 Hooker | Alec “Ox” Tolivaisa | |
| #3 Prop | Wes Page | |
| #4 Lock | Mike “Mes” Morrison | Mark “The Kid” Cassidy |
| #5 Lock | Spencer Seiferth | “Pistol” Pete Arsenault |
| #6 Flanker | Stu Dunster | |
| #7 Flanker | “Black” Grant McAuslan (Vice) | |
| #8 8-Man | Andrew “J-Hole” Jackson | Jeff Garner |
| #9 Scrum-Half | “President” Mike Fair | |
| #10 Fly-Half | Alex Swayne | |
| #11 Wing | Dominic Ferrante | “Keyless” Jerry Calixte |
| #12 Inside Center | Ray Camahort | |
| #13 Outside Center | Jerry “Drainpipe” Kenneally © | |
| #14 Wing | “Wee” Pat Cavallaro | Andy Dolan |
| #15 Fullback | Dana Etherington |
Match Details: Nearly every game during this Spring Season and last Fall Season for the Charles River Rats has a common theme. The Rats start the game sluggish, evident by defensive errors and poor forward support, and concede multiple tries in the first ten minutes. Afterwards, the Rats get angry, shore up their defense and make smart passes. However, the early deficit presents an obstacle that the Rats cannot overcome. This week’s match against the up-start Boston Maccabi RFC followed the common theme to a tee.
The Maccabi stole the opening kickoff and marched through the Rats’ muddy territory thanks to their forwards’ powerful ball-carrying and solid ruck support. As the Maccabi powered through the Rats, they found a hole on the weak (their left) side and dashed for an early try. After a close conversion, the Maccabi lead 7-0. During their next possession, the Maccabi’s forwards exploited “Channel 1” mistakes by the Rats, which put even more pressure for the Rats’ backs to prevent scoring opportunities. The Rats do not make the necessary tackles to halt the Maccabi’s charge to the try zone, increasing the Maccabi’s lead, 14-0.
One of the highlights in the early portion of the match for the Rats, were the set pieces (scrums and line-outs) by the forwards. The scrums were powered by newcomers (Wentworth alums) Mike “Mes” Morrison and Spencer Seiferth. Despite their claims of being rusty, Morrison and Seiferth provided enough push in the scrums to evenly contest with the Maccabi. However, as the game progressed, the Maccabi stole a couple of scrums due to widespread fatigue by the forward pack, after some second-half adjustments, the Rats regained their solid platform, however the adjustments came little late for the Rats’ benefit as the Maccabi scored off of a stolen scrum towards the end of the first half[2], extending their lead, 19-0. Jerry Kenneally did manage to put the Rats on the scoreboard before halftime thanks to a penalty kick, making the halftime score 19-3.
During halftime, Head Coach Paul Clemens cursed out his team for their poor tackling, lack of hustle and poor rugby decisions. It was exactly what the Rats needed to hear (especially Wes Page, who showed more aggressiveness in the scrums for the 2nd half). Also, helping the Rats’ cause were some key substitutions that provided fresh legs. The Rats played a more controlled game, using more forward picks and crashes to drive the Maccabi’s defense back. Within five minutes of the second half, a Maccabi player received a yellow card, giving the Rats a man advantage. It seemed the Rats would take immediate advantage of their situation as Kenneally broke the Maccabi’s line and was primed to score, however he was tackled a meter away from the try line and since he outran his support, he made a desperate attempt to score, but the referee called a penalty for “playing the ball on the ground.” After the Maccabi used the penalty to gain field position, the Rats picked up another yellow card from the same player[3], which ensured that the Rats would play the remaining 30 minutes with 14 players.
Instead of giving up, the Rats sacked up and scored, thanks to an Andrew Jackson run, which made the score 19-8. The Maccabi extended their lead when an uneasy line-out forced a bad pass in the backline, which was recovered for a try, making the score 26-8. The Rats closed the game by scoring two tries, one by Andy Dolan, another by Mike Morrison as time expired.
FINAL SCORE: Rats 20, Boston Maccabi 26
Men of the Match[4]
- Backs: Andy Dolan. A huge reason for the Rats’ late rally was the elusive and punishing running displayed by Andy Dolan. The former Club President displayed such toughness and aggression that other players had no choice but to follow suit, which come handy when the Rats had to play to a man down for the last 28 minutes of the game.
- Forwards: Alec “Ox” Tolivaisa[5]. Ox was one of the few players who played hard and hustled for the entire 80 minutes.
Honorable Mentions: “Black” Grant McAuslan, “President” Mike Fair, Jeff Garner, “Keyless” Jerry Calixte
Orange Whips Match
Match Details: The Whips won their third consecutive game, as they prevailed over the Maccabi’s B-Side, thanks to an outstanding effort from many of the Charles River Old Boys and Rookies. The Whips controlled scrums (thanks to Pete Arsenault, Garrett Quinn and Phil Adams), made brilliant passes (thanks to Stu Dunster and Mike Fair), broke tackles (thanks to Andrew Jackson, Andy Dolan and Scott Weish) and performed clutch tackling (thanks to Silas Leavitt and Jerry Calixte).
Andy Dolan was a nightmare for the Maccabi’s backline as he broke numerous tackle and scored two tries. Also scoring a try for the Whips was Scott Weish. Stu Dunster added a conversion kick for the Whips.
FINAL SCORE: Orange Whips 17, Boston Maccabi 7
Honorable Mentions: Silas Leavitt, Stu Dunster, Andrew Jackson, Scott Weish, Phil Adams
Rats Scoring Table
| PLAYER |
TRIES |
PENTALY KICKS |
CONVERSIONS |
TOTAL POINTS |
| J. Kenneally |
3 |
2 |
6 |
33 |
| R. Friberg |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| G. McAuslan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| R. Camahort |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| W. Page |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| A. Jackson |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| A. Dolan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| M. Morrison |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
Season Results
| OPPONENT |
W/L |
RATS SCORE |
OPP SCORE |
RECORD |
| North Shore |
L |
7 |
22 |
0-1 |
| Framingham |
W |
41 |
12 |
1-1 |
| Boston Maccabi |
L |
20 |
26 |
1-2 |
| Old Gold | ||||
| NERFU Cup #1 | ||||
| NERFU Cup #2 |
Next Week
The Rats have a bye week; however, Jerry Kenneally, Grant McAuslan, Corey Lang and Alec Tolivaisa[6] will be playing in the Division II NERFU All-Star game in Worcester, MA.
The Rats return to action on April 27th, against our archrivals, Old Gold RFC at Moakley Park.
[1] Rolling Substitutions
[2] It was during this time that the Rats had to play a man down due to a yellow card.
[3] The referee carded Ray Camahort twice for not wrapping while tackling. However, the 2nd card was issued because Camahort might have broken the player’s collarbone.
[4] Since many A-Side players played for the Orange Whips, it was decided to split the honor into the “Forwards Man of the Match” and the “Backs Man of the Match.”
[5] As told by Ricky Friberg.
[6] Injury replacement for Ricky Friberg.