This past weekend the Women’s Rugby team traveled to the North Country for a decisive 114-0 victory over Potsdam, improving their season record to 3-0. RPI set the tone of the game early on by driving through Potsdam’s defense to score three converted tries for 21 points in the opening minutes of the game. RPI continued to bombard the Polecats, ending the first half with a 71-0 lead.
The constant, powerful drive of RPI’s forwards, led by senior captain Nicole Porter, prevented Potsdam from gathering momentum at any point during the game. One play that demonstrated the RPI forwards’ dominance in the match was when hooker Katie Fitzgerald, stole a Potsdam put-in, which was then picked up by RPI’s Jean Denniston. She carried the ball to within one meter of the try line and made a pass to senior captain Hillary Lindsay, for the try.
The RPI pack won every scrum-down until the referee deemed that scrums would be “uncontested” due to the hospitalization of Potsdam’s loose-head prop. From that point on, scrums were automatically won by the team putting the ball into play. Throughout the game RPI’s forwards perpetually rucked over the struggling Potsdam team and relentlessly denied them crucial second-phase plays. After retrieving possession of the ball, the pack often gained much ground by implementing forward plays, and then repeatedly fed the ball to the eager back-line.
RPI’s backs, fueled by the dominance of the forwards and led by senior fly-half Rebecca Lipp, executed plays well and zigzagged through the Potsdam defense, scoring try after try. The backline, using speed to their advantage, implemented many switches and crashes, which penetrated the opposing line of defense. RPI’s backs also utilized quick passes to move the ball across the field and overloaded Potsdam’s backline by continuously passing and looping reinforcements behind the ball carrier. Lipp’s strategic kicking during play resulted in gained ground, positioning RPI closer to the try zone each time.
Potsdam was unable to rein-in the swift Red Hawks and was punished with eighteen tries by eight different RPI ruggers, both backs and forwards, many of them rookies. One stand-out rookie was wing Yantha Pearson, who scored three tries in the first half of the game. RPI’s scoring prowess was punctuated by twelve conversions by kickers Erin Gluczynski and Rebecca Lipp. Gluczynski’s two conversions were preceded by her own two tries. Lipp contributed a total of 30 points to RPI’s victory including two tries and 10 conversions.
When asked if they wanted to end the game at just over 100-0, Potsdam replied with some belligerent words. RPI then responded with two more converted tries. Head-coach Tom Rienzo put it best, “We kicked their [butt]!” The final score was tallied at 114-0. You might have seen some of the team out celebrating their 114-0 shutout over Potsdam in their “Psych-up” T-shirts on Saturday night.
The women’s rugby team practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at 8 pm on Lower Renwick field, below the track. All RPI and Sage women are invited to join. No prior experience or knowledge of rugby is necessary.
The next game for the RPI women is away at SUNY Plattsburgh on October 5. There will be a home game on Saturday October 12 versus local rival SUNY Albany. All fans are invited to come support the women’s rugby team.
Led by dedicated head-coach Tom Rienzo, assisted by Benjamin Papier-Meister and Christine Gagne, the women’s rugby team continues to build momentum after last weekend’s 29-0 victory over St. Laurence. Encouraged by strong performances by the eight rookie players, the women’s rugby team aspires toward the long-time goal of a championship season.
Remember girls, “Glory is forever!”
