Vancouver, BC – In their first appearance in Vancouver after getting off the ground last fall as a new rugby club, the Vancouver Rogues lost to the Seattle Quake 14 points to 10 at Trout Lake on Saturday.
At their last meeting back in May, the Rogues lost to the Quake 22-5 down in Seattle. This time the Rogues came out with a re-tooled forward pack and tuned-up rucking and mauling skills, and it was a much closer game. The Rogues led most of the game 10-0 until the last 10 minutes when their single set of backs ran out of steam.
A well-placed kick into touch from fly-half Dinuka Samara put the Rogues in position at the 5-metre line to drive their way in, placing them first on the scoreboard with an unconverted try from 6’2/220lb prop Alex Cameron two minutes before halftime. The Rogues’ second try came from centre Doug Briggs, who managed to slip in behind the Quake back line for a quick 5 points.
The Rogues couldn’t hold on to their lead, however, as their backs quickly tired towards the end of the second half. A series of missed tackles allowed a Quake centre through for the Quake’s first scoring opportunity. The Quake quickly took advantage of the momentum and yet another missed tackle off the restart allowed the Quake fly-half uncontested access to the Rogues goal line for a second try.
The Rogues played a solid game overall, showing the crowd superior skills in set pieces and at breakdowns. Their running game also came together after much practice. With thanks to new coach Sammy Samara, the Rogues were happy to play a much more robust game than in the past. The match also gave Rogue Darrin Martens his first captaincy and a chance for several newer players to get their first bite at the pitch.
The Rogues begin their first season in the Vancouver Rugby Union Sept. 6th. Check www.roguesrugby.ca for more details.
RFU “reaches out” to new communities
Rogues Rugby is proud to be sponsored by the Pumpjack Pub and Tree Brewing – makers of Peak lager.
Robert Horner wants rugby to reach out to new communities after making social inclusion the theme for his year as the head of the game’s governing body.
The new RFU President, a former secretary and chairman of the Sevenoaks club and the Kent RFU, succeeded Derek Morgan at Sunday’s annual general meeting at Twickenham.
Horner pledged to tackle perceptions of the sport as ‘elitist’ and ‘middle class’ by taking rugby to new communities that traditionally have little contact with the game.
In the next year the ‘caring’ and ‘sensitive’ sport will be supporting the England Deaf RFU, who are staging games against France and Ireland, and the Gay World Cup that takes place in London next May.
“I want us to show that a robust and physical sport is also a caring, sensitive and socially aware one. I therefore intend to concentrate on social inclusion as my theme for the year ahead,” said Horner.
“There remains a perception in the world at large that rugby union in England is an elitist and middle class sport not readily available to many in society.
“I seek to make our sport more readily acceptable and welcoming to the swathes of our population which do not regard it as a game with which to be associated.
“That this can be done I have established with the work which my county Kent has done in Southwark in setting up the Southwark Tigers club.”
The new social inclusion initiatives – like the one that established Southwark Tigers for children in South London two years ago – will be delivered by the union’s network of Rugby Development Officers.
And Horner hopes that the profile of the sport will continue to rise if England – currently ranked No. 1 in the world – are successful at the World Cup in Australia later this year.
“The benefits extend far beyond young players themselves; parents become administrators, the local authority and other agencies become involved and so the interest spreads,” he said of the social inclusion theme.
“The game then has the opportunity to identify more talented young people who would not normally consider playing rugby union. In the process opportunities arise to address the preconceptions and misconceptions about our sport.
“I seriously believe that if the RFU can utilise the Rugby World Cup this autumn, and the attendant publicity which will promote the game, to prove that it is a caring and pro-active organisation ready to assist in addressing the ills in our society, the positive spin-offs will be enormous.”