Match Results Fall 1988

SEASON SUMMARY: Suburbs completed their first season in PRU Division I in fourth place with a respectable matrix record of 3 wins and 4 losses despite two hard-fought losses to Old Red and NOVA in the final matrix matches of the year. Overall, the A-side record was 7 wins and 5 losses.

SEASON SUMMARY: Suburbs continued their 1985 PRU success winning their first two matrix matches in Division I. As the reigning PRU Division II champ, Suburbs won playoff matches against UVA, Jackson and Doylestown to win the Eastern Rugby Union's Division II championship (at the time, the top honor in US Rugby Division II). Overall, the A-side record was 10 wins and 4 losses including 2 tough losses to former ERU Division I champ, Boston RFC, in the St. Patrick's Day tournament and a close loss to 1986 ERU Division I semifinalist Norfolk Blues in Norfolk. The B-side and C-side again demonstrated the club's depth, posting records of 8-4 and 2-3-1, respectively.

Nearly 300 fans gathered at West Braddock Road Park on March 29 to watch the ERU, Division II Regional championship match between the VRU representative, the University of Virginia, and the PRU champs, the Western Suburbs RFC. In addition to the fans were the cameras and crew from Warner Amex Cable TV in Fairfax. The game was filmed for airing on March 31.

1^st XV: The match started off very fast with WSRFC attacking U Va from the initial kick-off. The Burbs forwards were awesome in the first five minutes of play, with quite notable effort from flanker Tom Bochanski, and Brad Fuller. Moving the ball rapidly down the sideline, Bochanski and Fuller moved the ball between themselves and scrum half Dave Lewis with speed and skill, with Fuller touching the ball down for the first points of the day. Lewis' kick was good, and WSRFC was headed for its first territorial championship. The game appeared to be taking a turn for the worse about midway through the first half when UVa intercepted an errant pass from fullback Adam Chism and only the outstanding play of wing Jim Borrell saved an imminent try. In fact, the VRU champions were denied any tries by WSRFC in the 26-6 victory.

Penalties were the sore point of the day for WSRFC. 16 Infractions by the Burbs (14 by forwards) were partially dismissed by Head Coach Anderson's comment that sometimes aggressive play is misinterpreted by the referee. An example of that aggressive play was that of prop Rob Isabell. More than once Isabell punished UVa ball carrier with his effective method of tackling, and once Rob left two UVa players looking for help from each other after colliding with Isabell on a kick-off. While the likes of Judge, Daubenspeck and Gravatt were creating opportunities in the forwards, Mike Sodhi and John Hawley were providing excitement in the backfield. Often, setting plays off the command of flyhalf Greg Short, the backs found daylight in the U Va line and ripped through for considerable yardage on each carry. However, impressive as the running was, the defense of the backs had Coach Bill Anderson talking about tackling drills for practice.

Brian George had a very good day at his hooker position, winning 83% of his own formals, and 75% of Uva's put-ins. Brian was also key in several hard rucks and mauls which were won by WSRFC.

2^nd XV: Mike McKinney led the second fifteen to a solid victory over UVa, scoring 10 points himself from his scrum-half position. The final total was 20-3 in the Burbs favor, with Tim Herrity and John Fisher providing very good forward play.

3^rd XV: Rounding out the day's events was a third match. Facing a composite side of UVa players, the "C" side was handed a beating 22-0 despite the hard play of Marty Shannon and Tom Wickersham. One highlight of the match was the performance of hooker Kelly Watkins. Watkins won 85% of his ball in the formals, and 90% of UVa's ball.

By defeating the VRU Division II champs WSRFC has gained the right to advance to the ERU Championships in Conshohocken, Pa. on April 26 and 27. WSRFC joins the PRU Division I representative, Washington RFC, in Conshohocken for what should be a major milestone in Western Suburbs' development. In the ten years of WSRFC existence, this tournament is the first time the Club has reached an ERU level of competition. Regardless of the outcome, each club member should feel very proud of this accomplishment. Well done Burbs.

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Over the weekend of April 26 & 27 the championships of the Eastern Rugby Union were held at Conshocken, Pa. The unique aspect of the ERU championships is that it included a Division II competition, and a graduate school title. For the second year in a row the Potomac Rugby Union has provided the ERU Division II Champion. In 1985 it was Severn River RFC, and in 1986 it is Western Suburbs RFC.

WSRFC qualified for this competition by winning the Potomac Rugby Union's Division II title. In fact, WSRFC won the title with an undefeated 6-0 record. WSRFC subsequently earned the right to move up to Division I level play in the PRU by winning a challenge match against Washington Irish RFC 10-0. The success of WSRFC continued into 1986 when the Burbs defeated the University of Virginia in a regional contest 26-6.

On Saturday, the 26th of April at the Doylestown RFC pitch, Western Suburbs played the Jackson, Mississippi RFC. WSRFC dominated the first half and led at half- time 23-0. Jackson was plagued with penalties in the game, and WSRFC finished the match with a 31-8 victory. In an earlier Division II match, Doylestown RFC beat Portland, Maine, 23-7. The stage was set for the final showdown between WSRFC and Doylestown on Sunday.

The finals were played at Garthwaite Stadium in Conshohocken, Pa. The weather was ideal. The first half was marked with WSRFC threatening to score, but the Doylestown defense was too much and the half ended in a 0-0 tie. In the second half WSRFC made a deep penetration into Doylestown territory but again the defense held. With a set scrum awarded WSRFC four meters from the Doylestown goal, the WSRFC forwards rushed the pack over the try line and #8 Jeff Gravatt touched the ball down. Greg Short converted and WSRFC went ahead 6-0. A short time later, Doylestown scored on a penalty play and the score read 6-4, after the conversion failed. The remainder of the game was a defensive standoff with WSRFC emerging the victor 6-4. The game was one of penalties with a total of 33 being detected by referee Jim Townsend. 21 of the 33 were against Doylestown. WSRFC missed five penalty kicks, but strategic kicking by Dave Lewis and John Conrick kept the WSRFC out of trouble. It was a hard game with both clubs playing very well.

Account from Rugby magazine:
ERU Division II
Western Suburbs
by George Ewing

Philadelphia, PA April 26-27,1996

In the defense oriented ERU Division 11 Club final, Western Suburbs(Potomac RFU) made a converted pushover try hold up for a 6-4 win over Doylestown (Eastern Pennsylvania RFU).

Prelims
To reach the final Doylestown breezed by Portland (New England RFU), 23-7. Western Suburbs moved into the final with a win over Jackson (Deep South RFU), 31-8.

Final
For the first 28 minutes of the championship, both teams played conservatively and the ball stayed between the 22s. The first break came in the 29th minute. Western Suburbs was caught offside but Doylestown fullback, Mike Tyksinski, missed a 20 yard penalty just in from touch. Two minutes later a striking Tyksinski took the ball to the Suburbs line. One of the supporting.Doylestown forwards, in his anxiousness to score, tried to pick the ball up rather than ruck over it. He couldn't find the handle and was called for a knock on. Suburbs cleared and Doylestown let a golden opportunity slip away.

Suburbs forced play into the Doylestown end and at 34 minutes a penalty was called against Doylestown. Suburbs flyhalf Dave Lewis' kick from 40 yards out was short and to the left. In the 37th minute Lewis made a 40 yard break after fielding an up and under, but the Suburbs back ran out of support and could not capitalize.

Suburbs came right back with a long backline movement down to the Doylestown line but missed out on a great scoring opportunity when they were caught offside at the ensuing ruck. Suburbs continued to pressure and as time ran out, Lewis missed a 30 yard penalty. Half 0-0.

Second Half
Both teams came out attacking with neither side gaining an advantage. Suburbs missed another penalty 5 minutes in. Suburbs began to utilize their #8, Jeff Gravatt, after he made a break deep into the Doylestown end. Since Suburbs had so much trouble kicking goals, they opted to run their penalties. At 15 minutes from a penalty at the 15, scrumhalf John Conrick gave the ball to Gravatt, who was finally stopped at the 3. Twice more Suburbs was awarded penalties for offside inside the five and each time the ball went to Gravatt. Each time, Doylestown stuffed Gravatt at the 2. Doylestown was called offside again and this time the ball was given to lock Rob Daubenspeck who tried to set up a ruck under the posts. The play broke down and Suburbs Dave Lewis just missed with a drop goal.

Doylestown couldn't clear and Suburbs was awarded a 5 meter scrum. The Suburbs pack pushed the Doylestown pack into goal and Gravatt touched down for the try. Greg Short's conversion was good. Suburbs, Doylestown came back pressuring Suburbs' line. Twice Suburbs managed to clear but Doylestown came right back. Finally, off a scrum in the corner, Doylestown prop, John Tomlinson alertly scooped up a loose ball and belted in for a try. Dennis' touchline conversion kick was no good. Suburbs, 6-4.

SEASON SUMMARY: Suburbs completed their 1985 domination of PRU Division II with lopsided wins against West Potomac and Montgomery to finish 6-0 in matrix matches. Suburbs also successfully challenged Washington Irish to complete their climb to Division I. Overall, the A-side record was 10 wins and 3 losses outscoring their opponents 313 to 102. The B-side and C-side demonstrated the club's depth, posting records of 8-4 and 3-2-1, respectively.

In 1995 Western Suburbs won the Division B Club Championship, and moved up into Division I on 16 November, beating the Washington Irish that day 10-0. In this year Suburbs also defeated MOB and George Washington.

From a newsletter dated 11 December 1985:

November 16 1985 was the kind of day that encourages people to stay in bed. It was cloudy, rainy, and the dark clouds seemed to encompass the whole world. Ironically, it would prove to be one of the brightest days in WSRFC history. After completing a fall season with a combined 25-8-1 record and the "B" Division Championship of the Potomac Rugby Union, the "Burbs" issued a challenge to the Washington Irish of the 1st Division. The stakes to be played for: 1st Division status, winner takes all.

"On to the 1st Division" was the war cry of the WSRFC all season. Head Coach Bill Anderson used the term repeatedly to push his players to the extreme in mental and physical preparation. Coach Irwin also used the chant to motivate players to complete the 5, 6, and 7 laps he required before each practice. Even mild-mannered Coach Jim Wilkie reminded his backs time and time again that 1st Division backs do not make dumb kicks.

Somewhere along the line all the coaching remarks came together, and WSRFC became a 1^st Division Club on November 16, 1985.

The opening kick-off gave a strong indication of what the day would reveal. Suburbs forwards literally consumed the ball (and any Irish attached to it) and presented it to serum-half John Wilkie in textbook fashion. Dave Lewis adjusted to the muddy pitch quickly and initiated movements easily to both sides. Again in excellent form was John O'Donnell playing outstanding offense and defense, not to mention his first-half drop goal from 30 yards out. The key to the back-line success had to be the play of John Wilkie.

Playing perhaps his strongest game of the season, he continually kept the Irish confused with his selection of kicks, dribbling, and pinpoint passes, which have earmarked his career with WSRFC.

The formals appeared to be about even at the beginning of the match, but soon the relentless pounding of Judge, Fuller, and Isabell proved to be too much for the Irish front line. After 15 minutes it was obvious to the sidelines that the energy the Irish forwards brought into the game was slowly being worn away.

Aided by the hard rucking of Bochanski and Sohdi the forwards contained the Irish and allowed few opportunities for their backs to get any plays fully executed. Jeff Gravatt kept his opposite number off Wilkie by picking the ball up from his 8 position and advancing several yards before being met by the defense.

Although it was a "forwards day" it was the backs who accounted for all the scoring. Jay Pilgrim continued to burn defensive players with his speed, and broke away in the first half for a beautiful try. Dave Lewis added 3 points from a penalty kick, and the match ended WSRFC 10 - Irish 0.