Portal:2012 Air Force Men
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DoD went to a Seven's format
Took part in the Savannah Tournament beating both Navy and Army that weekend.
USAF runs away with championship at St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament > > For many of the teams that annually enter the St. Patrick's Day Rugby > Tournament, the three-day brawl-and-crawl in Daffin Park and through > downtown Savannah is recreational competition interrupted occasionally by > rugby. > > For the U.S. Air Force rugby program, the tournament is the preseason. > > For nearly a decade, the USAF side has used the St. Patrick's Day Tournament > as a tune up to train and set a select roster for the matches they will play > against other military teams from the U.S. and around the world. After > arriving on Tuesday and participating in grueling two-a-day practices > through Thursday, the USAF capped their week in Savannah with a 55-0 victory > over the Gypsy Rugby Club in the grand championship on Sunday. > > "(Playing USAF rugby) is the couple of times every year I get to get > together with all my best buddies and play a high level of rugby," said > aptly named team captain Tom Beers, an Air Force captain stationed in > Dayton, Ohio. "It's always nice to get out of the cubicle and knock some > heads. When we get together, we're focused on what we want to accomplish, > and we have a mission that shows in the way we play and train." > > Playing in front of hundreds of beery and bandaged spectators who still > sported their clubs' colors after the morning matches, the USAF side easily > won their third match of the tournament and elicited roars of approval for > long scoring runs and solid tackles against an overmatched touring side that > only plays together a few times each year. The USAF team has won the U.S. > Armed Forces Championship eight years in a row and defeated sides from both > Army and Navy this weekend at Daffin Park. > > "Our number one goal is to continue our success by building up our player > pool (at the St. Patrick's Day Tournament)," said Wayne Kinsel, the USAF > rugby program director and coach of the 15s side who also won a grand > championship in Savannah in 2004 as a player. "We invite anyone who is > interested in being on the team for this week, and we've got former > football, soccer and basketball players just like any other rugby club in > the country. When we're (in Savannah), it doesn't matter what your rank is > you can be a leader for this team." > > On the other side of the pitch, the Gypsy Rugby Club's president leaned > against the yellow ropes that bordered the field and admired the play of the > USAF team that was running rampant over his teammates. The Gypsy club was > founded in 2004 and includes members from around the world that come > together about three times a year to play and party. > > The Gypsy club was in Savannah for the fourth time and won its first two > matches to qualify for the grand championship despite fielding a roster of > players that had never practiced together and included a 51-year-old and > several players older than 40. Late nights in City Market and injuries may > have caught up with the Gypsies before their match with USAF, but club > co-founder Liam Hutchinson said the tournament experience isn't always > measured by the matches. > > "You have to be invited to be on our team, and it doesn't have much to do > with whether you're good at rugby or not if you know what I mean," > Hutchinson said. "The (USAF team) uses this tournament as development for > selecting a team and practiced all week, and let's just say we didn't follow > the same training schedule. Whenever you can bring guys together and play > rugby, it's a good experience but we were a little disappointed that the > tournament was not on St. Patrick's Day weekend this year because the > festival and the parade are a huge selling point for us. > > "The tournament's also not as competitive as it once was, and I guess that > could have something to do with the dates." >
