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New Haven V Maryland Exiles, part deux - revenge of the goose shit
Have you ever had to run when you can't feel anything from the nipples down and what you could feel you wish you couldn't? Have you ever taken off your shorts and spent twenty minutes looking for your "little guys" when you realize that they have made the long journey to your neck (because even your stomach was not warm enough)? Have you ever seen the movie "March of the Penguins"? Well if you can answer yes to any of those questions then you have an idea of what it felt like to play rugby on the day that hell froze over, a.k.a. April 8th 2006.
I am really not proud to admit this but during the game I was wearing not one but two pairs of spandex (and although I won the cock award for a subsequent indiscretion, I probably deserved it for that move anyway). With all that I still shook uncontrollably for about 45 minutes during and after the game.
The exiles from down South did not have much success either. Apparently no one on their team majored in geography or meteorology. The team decided it would be ok to drive through New York on a day that it was pouring rain. Little did they know that New York has a couple of people living in it and it is hard too see clearly through pouring rain. The poor guys finally showed up at 2pm and the game got re-scheduled for 2:30.
The game was actually quite good as the boys mental focus was probably the sharpest it had been all year. The team from Maryland was much improved from the side we saw a month ago with some of their key members returning. A back and forth first twenty minutes saw some good tackling and ball handling but conditions prevented much from happening. Kicking was the call early as both sides figured the other would make a crucial ball handling mistake but good skills shown by both sides shut down that early option.
As play moved into the later stages of the first half the boys in Black starting showing the class and strength that made them a top NRU side. Parked in the Exiles half from about 20 minutes on, due to strong pack play, the team was able to put in a beautiful sideline try set up by Leo Connors as he put Dave into the try zone with about 18 minutes left. Shortly after a good ball off the scrum gave the backs some more room and Jacko Ahoy burst through a huge gap, gave the Hollywood move to a couple of guys, and put Ewan away for the second try of the half, under the posts. Halftime score NH 12 Exiles 0.
Halftime was an interesting experience. Highlights included Longo running onto the field with a loaded propane tank, which, from what I hear, he had been sitting on top of the entire first half. Guys shutting up for the first time all season....their lips were frozen shut. The team begged the ref to start the second half and the Ex-President, Shakes, came off the field with extreme hypothermia. I am pretty sure he promptly took that propane tank and shoved it ....well you know where he put it.
Another forty minutes of rugby s%#t, I mean I am excited!.
The boys continued to battle and were able to put a quick try into the corner to extend their lead to 17-0. The rest of the half consisted of New Haven parking in the Exiles 22 like a fat guy at a Chinese buffet. Although there were some great breaks and excellent ball handling the rest of the half was marred with one crucial mistake after another that prevented New Haven from putting that final touch on a number of trys. With the conditions as they were most of the errors on the day were to be expected and actually were far less than anticipated.
Not much occurred after that; a bunch of knock-ons, someone's finger fell of due to circulation loss and I almost drown in a puddle, which was doubling as Lake Placid, trying to score off an errant kick. The guys never stopped battling mostly because there was no other way to stay warm and we kept the Exiles out of our half the rest of the game. Final Score 17-0.
Some notables: Jay Beanz played another blinder, Player of the Game, and proved that no one can really tackle a jungle animal and about four people he gave the elbow to had to be taken to the hospital to get vaccinations. Ewan upped his effort to record levels, 78%. Jake Westin came back from a year long groin strain to put in a big performance subbing for Shakes. He even noted he felt quite warm. Leave it to someone that used to play rugby in Minnesota and comes to practice in shorts no matter what the temp. Of course unsung hero Vic was, well, he was Victor and put in a record 182nd huge effort for us.
The Playwright was awesome because it was warm, the bartenders are starting to get used to us and are treating us extremely well. The guys from Maryland stuck around all night and even took on the mechanical bull and the speaker for New Haven won the cock award while giving the awards, a first for New Haven. We will not mention names here.
Special thanks to Christa and TR for looking out for the well being of the guys. Thanks to Craig Johnson for putting on the BBQ and Tommy as always for enduring the rain to take pictures of the best looking team in the area. Seriously just check out the gallery. No team carries bellies and balding quite like us.
Next home game V Yankees on April 22nd and then onto Philly and South Carolina for the National Sweet 16s......
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Match Results
