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USA Club 7s: Riverside Wins Again |
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USA Club 7s: Riverside Wins Again
Event Date:
Sunday, 08/15/04
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By Alex Goff, Park City, Utah
With an MVP scoring performance by Luke Waikamakama, and a brave, magical weekend by Nelo Lui, Riverside defeated Denver for the 2004 USA 7s championships, repeating on their 2003 victory.
From top to bottom Riverside were big, daring, and fast, but that belies their understanding of the finer points of good rugby. It was their defense, their teamwork, and most of all their physicality and savvy at the breakdowns that won them the title.
The final between Denver and Riverside started auspiciously enough, with the Colorado team being the opportunists. A counterattack from a sloppy pass saw Mike McCarron free on the wing and he put on a burst of speed and made it to the corner.
Denver worked it carefully after that, using the elusiveness of Jone Naqica and the power of Kevin Whitcher to gain ground. Whitcher followed the backs in the support and 15 meters out stopped and looked left, then right, then left again. He saw no option he liked, and realized he could just run straight ahead. He was caught but Brian Naqica was there in the support for the try.
12-0 Denver.
'I heard some people say, 'uh-oh, they're in trouble,' but we were not worried,' said Riverside's Danny Bragg. 'We knew once we got the ball we would score.'
And this they did. Straight from the restart Waikamakama took a pass, looked left, and then just blazed through the gap. 12-7.
One of Denver's most effective weapons all weekend had been the chip and chase from Jone Naqica, who had shown an uncanny ability to gather the ball on a dead run. But Riverside were ready for it, and they had the overall team height that allowed them to block those kicks. One such block resulted in a bouncing ball that found its way to Sinipati Uigalelei, who took it in for the score.
'Defensive pressure, that's how we've won games,' said Bragg. 'A guy has the ball, looks to pass, but we're already on his teammates, so he can't go anywhere, and we get him.'
Nelo Lui's second conversion was good and Riverside entered hafltime up 14-12.
Denver regathered themselves and from a scrum the ball was sent wide to Jone Naqica, who broke through two defenders and set McCarron free for another fine score and a 19-14 lead.
A few minutes later, it was Riverside's Eagle Nelo Lui's turn, as he faked left, then right, and took the gap he had created for himself. Waikamakama was on his hip and just like that it was 19-all. (Lui was allowed to take the conversion twice because the referee had ruled he was distracted the first time. He missed both.)
What appeared to shape up as a final few minutes as dramatic as the semifinals was not to be, and you can credit one player above all, Amani Sigani. Denver sat deep in their own territory and suddenly seemed out of ideas, and certainly unable to support each other. Quick but static passes out wide to Whitcher saw the big man isolated and no one inclined to help him out. Sigani tackled Whitcher, popped up, stole the ball and from that ruck it was Waikamakama again under the sticks. 26-19.
Twice more the Barbarians went that way, and twice more Sigani ensured a turnover. Andrew Osborne scored both to finish the game off 38-19.
It was a consistently brilliant performance by Riverside, who really only looked iffy against Grand Rapids on Day One. Waikamakama won the MVP, but Lui, who had almost not come because of injury, Sigani, and Osborne were also instrumental in a championship run that was all about what it should have been about. Teamwork.
In the consolation game, Aspen started off solid, using a containment defense that simply advanced on every backwards pass, pushing Olympic Club back. Two tries saw Aspen take a 14-7 lead, and then they began to lose their cool. A possible try was stopped by a forward pass, and then a high tackle saw Isaac Mbereko yellow-carded. Aspen. Marc Vera scored in the corner to bring Olympic Club within two, and then with no time left, David Guest capped off some slick passing to win the game for O-Club.
'It was a good tournament, and we lost only one, but we wanted that game [the semi loss to Riverside] and we felt we could have won it,' said captain Andy Tamayo.
O-Club bucked the system by winning without any blazingly fast players, but they were cool and smart, and almost champions.
Why Park City?
August 12, 2004 – Rugby teams have been frustrated this year in trying to get into Park City, Utah, for the USA 7s club championships.
A big bicycle tournament has clogged up airplane space, meaning many teams have had to arrive in dribs and drabs on different flights. Other teams have opted to come into Salt Lake City's airport a day early.
USA rugby CEO Doug Arnot said teams and unions might have done well to plan their flights a little earlier. He added that club convenience was taken into account when picking Park City.
'Salt Lake City is a major hub for Delta Airlines, and it is not difficult to get to Park City from Salt Lake,' said Arnot, who has lived in Salt Lake City.
In fact, this is quite true, with the freeways in Utah such that the trip to Park City is not convoluted or long.
In addition, Arnot said all will be forgiven when teams arrive.
'I think they will see an event that far outstrips what they expect or what they are used to,' Arnot said. 'The people at Park City have done an excellent job.'
Park City remains in the running to be USA Rugby's permanent home.
Still, some clubs have complained about the location, pointing to cheaper flights to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. It's not clear, however, whether the overall cost for teams from all regions is more to go to Utah – clearly the teams from the East aren't happy.
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