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Harlequins hang on for win despite conditions

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Harlequins hang on for win despite conditions

Written by Joe Cunningham

Sunday, 13 April 2008

Match Report, sponsored by Anything-Digital.com
by Joe Cunningham

Conditions were awful, particularly for an April match, but we were fortunate that Waukesha County allowed us to play at Nagawaukee this weekend when Minooka was flooded. Although Captain Ben Smith scored the first try off a penalty just 3 minutes into the match, we came out slow and let Fox Cities dictate pace early on.

We were slow in support, soft on defense, and sloppy with the ball and we allowed them to tie the match 5-5 with their aggressive play. This woke up our team and we reeled off 4 unanswered tries including 2 by flyhalf, Sands Falk, 1 by fullback, Dom Singleton, and 1 penalty try. Most of these scores were setup by strong support and good ball possession by the forwards, and we held a strong 31-5 lead at the break.

Fox Cities came out firing during the 2nd half, aided by an influx of players from UW-Parkside. They drew first blood in the 2nd half with a converted try to make the score 38-12. We regrouped, solidified defense, and answered with another try from Sands Falk. We were also awarded another converted penalty try shortly afterwards, but tempers flared leading to the ejection of a player each from the Harlequin and Fox Cities. In the ensuing confusion exacerbated by multiple substitutions, Fox Cities touched down 3 tries in a row and made 2 conversions to bring the score to 45 to 31. Some needed adjustments were made to the lineup to settle down the team and then Captain Smith and winger, Mark Tobin, added to the score line before full time, closing out with a 55-31 victory.

The 3rd Half/B-side match saw a number of rookies introduced to rugby for the Harlequins and with UW-Parkside, Marquette University, and Milwaukee School of Engineering filling out for both squads. The poor conditions and inexperience led to a lot of sloppy ball, but both sides played aggressively on offense and defense. Rookie winger, Tom Goetz, scored his first try in his first match. Fox Cities answered with a unconverted try of their own near full time to end the match at 5-5.

Scoring Summary:

1st Half
- 5-0 3:18 Ben Smith try, unconverted
- 5-5 10:26 Fox Cities try, unconverted
- 12-5 12:50 Sands Falk try, Falk converts
- 17-5 15:42 Dom Singleton try, unconverted
- 24-5 20:24 Falk try, Falk converts
- 31-5 35:32 Penalty try, Falk converts
2nd Half
- 31-12 3:00 Fox Cities try, converted
- 38-12 7:48 Falk try, Falk converts
- 45-12 12:05 Penalty try, Falk converts
- 45-19 16:06 Fox Cities try, converted
- 45-26 17:34 Fox Cities try, converted
- 45-31 24:03 Fox Cities try, unconverted
- 50-31 29:03 Smith try, unconverted
- 55-31 34:07 Tobin try, unconverted
- Final 55-31
3rd Half/B-side
- 5-0 Tom Goetz try, unconverted
- 5-5 Fox Cities try, unconverted
- Final 5-5