Games for this weekend – January 18, 2014

The spring college rugby season has finally reached us. Collegiate rugby players have returned back to school, and are opening up their season with Friendlies and Cup games. On the club side, it’s a new week and teams are setting up for another new set of challenges. Here are some games for this week that you should check out and get excited for.

Saturday, January 18, 2014
[match id=115]
Time: 3:30pm 
Where: Gretna Park, Gretna, LA

The New Orleans DI (3-0-1) will be playing the Dallas Harlequins DI (3-0). New Orleans DI is coming off a shutout win against Woodland Rugby 100-0. The Dallas Harlequins defeated their cross town rival Fort Worth 28-0 on January 4th. The Harlequins will be facing their first real test of the season against New Orleans. New Orleans will have to come back from a easy win last week to face a tough Harlequins.

picture by New Orleans Rugby

Prediction: New Orleans 35, Dallas Harlequins 24

Players to watch:
New Orleans – Bobby Johns, Adam Ducoing, Chance Doyle
Dallas Harlequins –

[match id=171]
Time: 2:00pm
Where: A.C. Steere Park, Shreveport, LA

Shreveport Rugby (0-1) will be playing Little Rock Rugby (1-0) for their second cup matches of the season. Shreveport is coming off a tough 41-24 loss to Oklahoma City last week and are hoping to rebound from the loss against a tough Little Rock team. Little Rock is coming off a huge 52-24 over Tulsa last week. Shreveport has a strong pack, and they will be able to move scrums pretty well. Little Rock has a very strong team. They have powerful Forwards, but their strength comes in their Backs.

Prediction: Little Rock 45, Shreveport 31

Players to watch:
Little Rock – Isaiah Washington, Pierre Ranouil, Win Noble
Shreveport – 

[match id=126]
Time: 1:00pm
Where: Gretna Park, Gretna, LA

New Orleans DII (3-1) will be facing the Dallas Harlequins DII (2-1). New Orleans is coming off a big win over Woodland Rugby 63-21. Dallas Harlequins DII blew out the Ft. Worth Rugby DII 60-22. This will be a tough match of two one loss teams in the Texas Union.

Prediction: New Orleans DII 20, Dallas Harlequins DII 17

Players to Watch:
New Orleans DII – 
Dallas Harlequins DII – 

Baton Rouge vs. St. Louis Ramblers
Time: 2:00pm
Where: Highland Rd, Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge will be playing their second friendly match for the Spring season against the St. Louis Ramblers. The St. Louis Ramblers are the second oldest rugby club in the United States, second only to the New York Rugby Club. This will be Baton Rouge’s last Friendly match before opening Cup play on February 1, against Birmingham. Baton Rouge will be continuing to break in new talent on the team. This year the Baton Rouge will see much of it’s strength found in the Back line. The Ramblers will be playing their first rugby game of the 2014 year. They will be looking to show up as they appear to be very strong in the Forwards.

photo by St. Louis Ramblers

Prediction: Baton Rouge 17, St. Louis 14

Players to Watch:
Baton Rouge – Bobby Schuster, Travis Gooch, Brandtly Jumonville
St. Louis – Chris Walton, William Whitehead, Matt Arackal

LSU vs St. Louis University
When: 12:00pm
Where: Highland Road Park, Baton Rouge, LA

pictures by St. Louis University

LSU will be facing St. Louis University. LSU will be opening their season on February 1. This will be a good match up. St. Louis University ended the division II play, losing in the elite 8 to eventual DII National champion Minnesota-Duluth, and ranked 9th by RugbyMag, during the Fall. LSU comes off a strong year last year, despite losing in the SCRC championship semi-finals. This a team that has a lot of talent around them.

Prediction: LSU 36, SLU 28

pictures by LSU Rugby

Players to Watch:
LSU – Will Middleton, John Michael Domingo, Daniel Dowd
SLU –  Jimmy Harrison
[match id=218]
When: 1:00pm
Where: William Carey University, Hattiesburg, MS

Loyola will be opening their cup season this weekend against William Carey University. Loyola has shown that they are capable of being competitive during their friendlies in the Fall. Loyola has shown that they can be very competitive in 15’s. Built around the strength of their backline, they have shown that they have speed a good ball handling. William Carey is still a growing program. They will be bit overmatched in this game, but they should be able to build experience from this game.

pictures by Loyola Rugby

Prediction: Loyola 55, William Carey 7

Players to watch:
Loyola – Allen Alongi, Corey LeSassier
William Carey – 

[match id=221]
When: 1:00pm
Where: Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Pictures by Valdosta State

Valdosta State will be opening their cup season against Emory University on the road this weekend. Valdosta State is following a strong 5-0 season last year and are looking to return that momentum. Emory is coming off a 3-2 season last year and a third place finish in the Dixie Conference.

Prediction: Valdosta State 27, Emory 13

Players to watch:
Valdosta State – Jon Murtaugh, Zach Ponce, Scott Laffler
Emory – 

 

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