I finally figured out how to post this blog so I have no excuse to put it off anymore. We’ve been back at school 6 weeks(7 if you include pre-season), preparing to dominate our new conference and building depth. The 2010 rookie class is like none we’ve had before. Eleven of the rookies who participated in pre-season already have experience playing rugby in high school and some who’ve played with the U20 National team. The amount of talent is apparent and has created a level of trust on the field that can take months to develop.
We kicked off our season against two teams we met in the Big 10 tournament last fall. Michigan was the test that showed us how important it is to play Penn State’s level of rugby and not sink to our opponents pace and game plan. It really challenged our forwards and reinforced the idea that the forwards decide who wins and the backs decide by how much. Our second game was against Indiana, who we met in the Big 10 finals last fall. We were slow to start in the first half and Indiana’s physicality allowed them to capitalize and put points on the board early. Once we found our rhythm the game became easy and we were able to shut down their speedy fullback. The second half was Penn State rugby. Every player contributed in each play. The pack fought as one and the backs ran aggressive lines with the whole team in support to finish.
In our first league match we will continue to make a statement and crush our wanna be rival. Our goals for the game are to physically dominate the contact(aka slap the NCAA logo off their jerseys), while on offense we want to continue to convert line breaks into tries. We’re putting out on of the strongest sides so far this season, and are eager to see how the dynamic and flow comes together against a team who is much larger.
This is the first and last time I’m introducing myself for the unfortunate few of you who don’t know who I am
Sadie “The Boss Lady” Anderson
