The Wrecking Crew!

We were doing tackle practice on Saturday and I started to wonder to myself if it was possible to teach twelve middle school boys how to tackle properly.  Justice, in the center, said, "Let me show them."  And there it was! The perfect tackle!  Thanks Justice, Man of the Practice!

No.  This is not an advertisement for World Rugby Shop.

Gifts For The Contact Crowd

Hanukkah is past, but there is still Christmas, Kwanzaa, certainly a few birthdays and New Year's Eve. Somewhere there is room for a couple of rugby related gifts for the rugby player in your life.  Besides, the kids needs these things anyway if they are playing tackle, so just pretend they are gifts and you have two gifts crossed off you list this holiday season.

A Mouthguard - These are essential for protecting your teeth.  Everyone needs to be wearing a mouthguard if we are to have a tackle scrimmage or a match with another club. Go ahead, get one now and wear it during practice so you can get used to it.  Read the instructions.  You usually have to boil them and then bite them to get the fit right. Dick's Sporting Goods have a huge selection but other places will have them as well. Unfortunately, getting the right size is a bit of trial and error. You might want to try an inexpensive one first.  Most of the Middle School kids can probably wear an adult small.

Compression Shorts - You gotta keep everything in place, ya know?  Also, rugby shorts are very durable making them a bit uncomforatable. Compressions shorts help.  If someone pulls your shorts off while tackling you, you will be glad you have compression shorts underneath (see video below).  Target and Old Navy have compression shorts for under $20.

We Got Pictures!

Did you know that we have an official photographer?  We do!  Josh O'Connor.  Josh came out Saturday and took a mess of pictures.  Good stuff.  Thanks Josh!

Springbok Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Two Movies About Nelson Mandela and 1995 Rugby World Cup

As you know by now, Nelson Mandela passed away today. I want to make mention of two movies that tell the story of Mandela's influence on the South African Springbok rugby team during 1995 Rugby World Cup.  If you have not seen these, I highly recommend them both.

Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood and staring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.  From IMDB:  "The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match. "

Probably good for kids 5th grade and up.  The rugby action happens more towards the end, so if your kid gets bored with the story tell them the rugby is coming up!



Then, for extra detail, check out ESPN's, "The 16th Man".  It is a hour long documentary with interviews with those involved.  It's great.  Luckily for us, it is available on YouTube. Check it out.

Pope Francis to rugby players: Live life like in the playing field

Apparently, the Pope likes rugby.

 From the article: Addressing the national rugby teams of Italy and Argentina, he highlighted the values of sports, and those for rugby in particular. 

 POPE FRANCIS 
"It's a tough sport, a lot of physical contact, but there is no violence. There's great loyalty, great respect. Playing rugby is tiring. It's no easy walk. And I think it's useful to strengthen character, and one's will.” 

 In sports, as in life, he said, one must fight to reach a goal. That's why the Pope urged all players to fight with that same spirit in their lives, as in the field. 

Full Story here.

Rugby, As The Ref Sees It

Total Rugby - Forward Pass

Practice Report

I really need to start posting this on Sunday.

I think the tryptophan is hitting everyone early cause everyone seemed to straggle in late.  We'll work on that.

Practice was good.  It always is.  Aiden, in the picture, is showing his ball that his mom customized for him.  After about five minutes of playing with it, the red ink rubbed off. Oh well. Rugby, whatcha gonna do?

80th Minute

credit: Reddit user/Siickaant

The Irish fans face says it all.  New Zealand wins in the final minute.  Such a heart breaker for Ireland.

College Sevens National Championship This Weekend!

Alright everyone! There is some rugby to watch this weekend! Both GA Tech and Life University are in the College Sevens National Championships.  Sevens Rugby is played with just seven per side and each half is only 7 minutes, making for very exciting matches.

And Life University is no joke.  Life won in 2011 and they were the runner up last year, so expect them to advance to the knock-out rounds on Sunday.  Cheer for 'em!

You can watch the matches live here:  http://usarugbytv.com/ or on ESPN 3.

On Saturday, Life will be playing at 11am, 2:40pm and 7pm.
On Sunday, you will need to check the schedule for match times.

More here:  http://usacollege7s.com/

Happy Birthday, AYRFC style

Gavin's birthday was this past weekend. We piled it on! Check out Soma getting physical in the ruck with the forearm smash to the back of Coach Paul's skull!

18 Kids!

Great practice Saturday.  Fall weather.  We had eighteen kids in the first group!

Makaio holding the ball entirely wrong. But he is running for a try, so we will forgive him.

We had seven kids in the middle school group.  We are slowly getting to our goal of having a full team!

We ran tackle drills for the first time this season. Boys in middle school are hard-wired to tackle and wrestle so they had a great time.

Keep spreading the word on rugby, folks!  We need about 6 more kids in the middle school group!

Haka and Highlights

Did you miss the New Zealand Maori All Blacks vs The USA Eagles match?  No worries!  We got the haka and the highlights right here!

First the haka!

And here are the highlights!

USA vs Maori All Blacks Today

USA vs Maori All Blacks today at noon on Fox Sports 1!

Coach Paul says, "I watched the Maori All Blacks vs Eagles match lasst night and it was unbelievable. Probably the best US showing in years. "

Check it out!

http://usarugby.org/partner-news/item/fox-sports-1-to-air-inaugural-black-and-blue-match

November 9th, 2013 - A Day Where We Were Awesome

Josh starting play

What a great day. We had a great turn out which made for a great practice and great scrimmage.  Colin! What has that kid been doing over the warm months? That kid is nuts on defense. And Max! You came so close to scoring! So close! Man...  that was so fun to watch.

We had some new faces too! Four kids came out to give rugby a try. We ran through some drills and had a scrimmage. Good stuff.  I asked Grant if the drills were boring and he said "no". Sweet!  We are doing something right!  

We also had doughnuts! WHA!!? Everyone took a break and had a doughnut. Owen went in for his second only to be denied by having the last one taken already.  Tough break Owen. I shed a tear for you.

Justice and Jackson, The Russian Bear, returned for their first practice. And hey Cam, Karl, Joseph and Gabriel! They asked about you!  "Where are those guys!"  Next week!  

Seriously, huh? Where is that kid.

Rugby Clinic / Rookie Day

Attention all middle schoolers: Atlanta Youth Rugby is recruiting for the Winter season now. We are holding rugby clinics for boys in grades 6-8. Come try the newest Olympic sport!

What is rugby, you ask? Rugby is a fast-paced, contact team sport, where everyone touches the ball and there is a position for every body type. There is a lot of running, anyone can play, and everyone has a blast. In the clinics, we will show you the basics of ball handling and run a scrimmage so you can get an idea of what a real match is like.

Clinics will be held Saturday November 9th and 16th at 11am at the corner of Hurt and Edgewood in Inman Park. Go to atlantayouthrugby.com

Book Recommendation: Winger

"Winger" by Andrew Smith

This is for the Middle School and High School set.  There are cuss words, fights, poker, drinking for the first time and falling in love. There is also rugby. There are not a lot of books out there about rugby, so when we hear of one, we take note.

Here is what Amazon sez, "Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy."

The NY Times says, "Of all the young adult genres — the Dystopian Hellscape, the ­Human-Monster Romance, the Elite School-or-Camp for Nonmortals — the most popular right now may be the quietest: Aspiring John Green. GreenLit, as I like to call it, consists of realistic stories told by a funny, self-aware teenage narrator. These novels tend to have sharp dialogue, defective authority figures, occasional boozing, unrequited crushes and one or more heartbreaking twists."

A twelve year old I happen to know says, "I stayed up all night reading the last 200 pages.  It was really good."

Check it out.
http://www.amazon.com/Winger-Smith-Andrew/dp/1442444924/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383493632&sr=8-1&keywords=winger

First Day

The Gang's All Here!

The first practice of the season is in the bag.  We did some of the more unusual drills of rugby, like "The Signing Waiver" drill, the "Saying What Your Name Is and What School Your Are From" drill, the rare "Here Is A Sticker" drill and the totally awesome "Here Is Your Ball" drill!

Caden and Ben Practice Passing

After those heavy workouts, we did some more traditional drills. The passing race seemed to go over especially well.  Then we pulled out the flags, split the group into two teams and Coach Paul and Coach Ron ran a scrimmage.  Newcomer Soma scored 5 tries, or something like that.  That kid was going nuts!  Aiden and Solomon got their defense on. Everyone did great.

We wrapped things up with a "Let's See If We Can Get Vince To Yell In Disbelief" drill.  This was a drill for the coaches.  We told the kids that they had to go home, throw the ball in the air above their heads ten times in a row without dropping it.  Vince let out a "WHATTT!!!"   Success!

Soma Prepares for Kick Off

Ready!

Tomorrow we start our second season!  The balls are pumped!  Check out those beauties!  It's going to be an excellent winter!

 

World Cup Qualifier To Be Held In Atlanta!

The Rugby World Cup Qualifier is going to be in Atlanta in March 2014!!  USA vs Uruguay, , Brazil and Argentina's forgotten neighbor.  

Oh man!  This is awesome!  Tickets are not on sales yet, but I will update everyone when they are.  

The winner of this match will qualify for the World Cup.  The loser will have a final chance in the repechage.  The USA should win it, but with each would rather qualify sooner than later so they will be playing their hardest.

Read all about it here!http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2013/10/eagles-rwcq-home-leg-set-for-atlanta.html?m=1

Incorporated!

Oh, happy day! Atlanta Youth Rugby is registered with the state of Georgia as a Domestic Non-Profit Corporation!

Next step, write our by-laws and get set up with the IRS!

Registration is Open!

Calling all kids in 1st to 8th grade! Join us to play the newest Olympic sport: rugby!  We have touch and flag for kids 1st-5th grade and full contact for 6th-8th graders.   Registration is open now for Winter, starting November 2nd.

Get more information here:
http://www.atlantayouthrugby.com/

Rugby at Candler Park Play Day

Who's afraid of rain?

Sam and Soma save the day!

It was raining yesterday at the Candler Park Play Day. Soma and Sam ran over to the field and asked if they could play rugby. "Of course, let's play!"  They talked their moms into joining and we had a match!  In the rain!  And they loved it!

Final score?  Kids 1,000,000 Adults 1.  We were whipped!

Registration is open for the Winter session! We start November 2nd. If you have any questions, click the Contact Form.
http://www.atlantayouthrugby.com/

International Rugby Coming to the South!

USA v Canada in Charleston SC, August 17th! This is a World Cup qualifier!  Get excited!

Press Release!

Owen Farrell

Everyone needs to watch Owen Farrell as he takes a kick at goal...

The Hardcore Two!

Makaio and Donovan came out to the Play Day and showed the Atlanta kids how to play rugby.  They really helped make the day a success.  Thanks guys!

Play Day

Saturday, from 1pm to 4pm, I am going to be at Bessie Branham park, spreading the rugby gospel.  There are a bunch of other things going on too; soccer, ultimate, basketball, even bike polo.  The rugby sessions will start at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.  Stop on by and satisfy that rugby craving and help spread the word!

Info here:  http://playday.atlcp.org/
More info at their Fax Machine Era Web Page
And a Map

Wales v England

This Saturday the Six Nations Champion will be decided when Wales plays England. If Wales wins by 8, they win the tournament.  If Wales wins by seven, England and Wales tie the tournament.  If Wales wins by 6 or less or England wins, England wins the tournament.  It's going to be good!

BBC America.  1pm.

Twitter

Well, maybe we should get a Twitter account.  I asked AYR fan Jamie Allen to tweet our Harlem Shake video, and we have been getting some responses!  Check them out!

First Todd Clever responded!  Pretty good, right?

And then USA Rugby responds!

And then the Potomac Rugby Union Youth League invites us up for a tournament!

What do you say!?  I say we get our act together and head up there!

...oh.  and we should get a Twitter account.

Atlanta Youth Rugby vs USA Rugby - Harlem Shake

Hey, Todd Clever!

Winter Session is Complete!

Justice, Karl and Joseph stay late on our last day

Well. Winter session is over. Today is daylight savings time. I guess we timed that pretty well! 

 Drew
Luca
Gavin
Caden
Max
Gus
Vince
Colin
Joseph
Donovan
Howie
Truman
Makaio
Gabriel
Liam
Justice
Jackson
Karl
Jack P
Jack "Mista" Labadia
Joseph
Cameron
Brian

Good job boys!

Our field served us well.  Thanks field!

Stats!

I don't now what Howie eats for breakfast, but he needs to start selling it!

Below is a chart of the tries scored in the two games we played against Phoenix.  This only shows tries, it does not show flag grabs, fumble recoveries, assists, passing or general awesomeness and all that stuff is important.  Still, it's pretty fun.

Flag Rugby Tries.  2013

Player	Game 1	Game 2	Total
Colin		1	1
Gavin			Next Match!
Makaio	1	dnp	1
Justice		2	2
Karl		2	2
Vince	2	1	3
Howie	2	7	9
Donovan	2		2
Max		1	1
Jackson	2	4	6
Gabriel		dnp	Next Match!

Phoenix Rugby Visits Inman Park

Yup.  It was cold!

To follow up after last weekend's exciting day of Rookie Rugby, Phoenix Rugby came down played us on our practice field.  I tallied up the tries and the final score was 1,205 to 1,215!  There were ALOT of tries.

Phoenix is capable of playing a much faster game than us and they really showed that today.  Their passing was really great.  They are able to support their the person with the ball much better than us.  I told some of the boys to take notes.   Although our game seemed slower than theirs, we did a good job with ball handling and worked the ball down the field for our tries.  ...or we just ran back and forth until a hole opened up.

So, who won?  I have no idea.  It sure was fun thought.  Thanks to Phoenix for coming down!  And Coach Darden, thanks for stepping up and handling ref duties again!