Old White @ High Country - February 6th, 2010

Final

High Country 17 
Old White 5

On a classic rugby Saturday—cold and wet—High Country took to the pitch to battle in town rival Atlanta Old White RFC in a friendly match before the matrix season. This was the first time High Country had played in months, and with many new players, was looking to gain valuable experience and continuity as a team. Old White showed their own commitment to a serious game as they came to the pitch early for extensive warm-up before the match. In the end, High Country prevailed 17-5 in a hard fought game that featured physical play and even stronger commitment by the team to gut out a tough match. 
 
The match was a testament to team play, as High Country showed that the 2010 campaign would not be decided by spectacular plays by individual stars. The match was won because High Country was able to control the ball for a huge majority of the time, which made up for a lack of a precise offensive attack. The set plays were exceptional, as High Country dominated the scrums, winning almost all of their own and stealing many others.  Solid play was performed by props Senseless and Nico, which physically could not be matched by the Old White. Hookers Corey and Lee Fudger controlled the ball for High Country allowing offensive plays to form out of the scrum. The line-outs were also outstanding, hitting 90% on the offensive sets and stealing plenty of Old White ball on the defensive. The story of the game, however, I thought was the defensive rucking done by the High Country side that led to the huge disparity in time of possession.  Many times Old White looked to have possession and momentum, only to be stopped by a relentless effort to poach the ball. Good tackling also prevented many long line breaks form the opposition.
 
Individually, tries were scored by Senseless and co-captain/scrum-half Benji Duffton (x2).  Matt Hernandez scored the in the kicking game.  Man of the Match honors went to wing Nick Giglio as he was 8-8 fielding kicks and many times broke gain line while receiving. In such sloppy conditions, the game could have easily taken a turn for the worse with dropped balls. The drink-up took place at the Brewhouse Café.
 
By: Kevin Paavola