Rugby in Milwaukee and in the Midwest got a huge boost this week as the West Side Harlequins travelled to South Carolina to face teams from around the country.

Following a 34-10 win yesterday, the 7th-seeded Harlequins faced off against Lancaster (PA), the top-seeded side in the USA Rugby National Division 2 Men's Club Championship. Lancaster prevailed with an impressive 44-10 win and advance to the semi-finals in two weeks time.

The Harlequins thus complete their run at the National title as a top-8 finisher. Congratulations 'Quins on representing the club and the region with pride and determination.

The Milwaukee Harlequins today advanced to the second round of the Division II USA Rugby National Championship after a sweet 16 win against the Tampa Bay Krewe. Following a 10-0 lead at half-time, the Harlequins were in front 27-0 before finally relinquishing the scoreline for a 34-10 finish.

The Harlequins will play Lancatser Rugby (Pensylvania), the 2nd-seeded team in the championship, at 2:30PM tomorrow, May 17, 2009.

We traveled light to Lincoln Park with several guys unavailable due to injury, work, and family obligations. We were also slow to prepare for the match with limited full team drills before kickoff, and it clearly showed in our lack of cohesive play during the first 20 minutes. While our defense was solid with few breaks and no scores allowed, we were somewhat soft on attack and we didn’t support well. In contrast, they applied heavy coordinated pressure near our goal line on several occasions and we only able to drive them back each time with solid tackling and swarming defense. Unfortunately, our offense was initially stagnant and unable to take advantage of several breaks inside their 22-meter line. We killed numerous offensive series via lost possession, unforced errors, and undisciplined penalties. Their pack also played well, particularly on lineouts where they won most of their own throws and often stole or interfered with ours. Fortunately our pack began to exert their advantage in scrummaging and the tide slowly turned in our favor.

The Harlequins defeated Lincoln Park 43-0 in their CARFU Cup semi-final match on Saturday, May 9th in Chicago. Our b-side narrowly lost a close battle 10-17. On Saturday, May 23rd, we'll travel to Lemont, IL to battle the Chicago Blaze for the inaugural CARFU Cup championship. The resurgent Blaze defeated the Griffins 29-20 in their semi-final match.

Match report and photos from Lincoln Park to follow.