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Written by Vic Drover
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Saturday, 17 May 2008 |
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 It's official: Harlequins complete a perfect spring season (8-0-0) with an A-side win over the condors, 43-22. The Bs were victorious today also and went without a loss and just one draw this season (5-0-1). The old boys however were not as fortunate, losing a tough one on the road 22-10.
Match Report by Jeff Hoffman a.k.a George
The Harlequins once again traveled to their alternative home city of Chicago to try to cap an undefeated spring season against the Chicago Westside Condors. With 7 projected starters and several key reserves missing for the weekend the team faced a tall order with 4 Harlequins (Vinny, Tom, Craig, and Aaron) making their first A side starts and a couple of other players playing out of their normal position. Although we threw together a side that had barely played together as a unit there was a definite sense of confidence brewing prior to kickoff that we were going to get victory number 8 for the season.
The Condors tried to dictate the pace of the game from the start with aggressive forward play that resembled a 3 yard and a cloud of dust offense. The first big break came with the Quins back against their own goal line. After several phases of play we produced turnover ball near the goal line and we were off to the races. Several players touched the ball with impressive open field support play with Romain Vende finishing the final 40 meters to put the Quins up 5-0. An impressive 100 meter try that turned a potential 0-5 deficit into a 5-0 lead.
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Read more... [Spring season closes with 8th consecutive win]
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Written by Mike Loader
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
Match Report by Mike Loader, the reluctant journalist and enthusiastic coach
 We traveled to the Woodsmen with 29 players and the expectation of our toughest competition of the spring. The Woodsmen were undefeated and from all reports had a strong forward pack with a weapon at number 8 and a backline to finish the task. We fielded a starting team with changes in the forwards and backs from the previous Saturday, an indication that starting spots on the team are becoming hotter commodities.
The ingredient that is becoming a common staple in our team make up is confidence. 20 minutes into the game leading 5-3, there was no frustration from the lack of points on the scoreboard. Our lone try, the product of a controlled maul after a series of backline movements demonstrated that we were not a one-dimensional team and would exploit every hole in the defense we could. We had opportunities to convert possession into points only to have a missed pass or knock forward thwart us. The forward pack had begun to wear the opposition down with controlled scrumming and tight defense at the scrums and rucks. The woodman number eight was having an unsuccessful time making the gain line from scrums and their back line was contending with rushed passing from the base of the rucks.
The continued pressure on defense paid dividends in the last 10 minutes of the half, as more opportunities opened in the Woodmen’s defense and we were able to capitalize on breaks in the line and great support running, resulting in two tries and a half time score of 22-3.
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Read more... [Quins axe Woodsmen on the road]
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Written by Mike Loader
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Sunday, 04 May 2008 |
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Match Report, sponsored by Jim Harings
by Mike Loader, the reluctant journalist and enthusiastic coach
Finally a home game! It always feels good to look outside in the morning, see a beautiful day and think ‘what a great day for rugby’. Then you arrive at the pitch and the son of a bitch turns into a rainy cold piece of crap. These are the conditions in which The Harlequins welcomed the Lake County Gladiators to the second division.
I want to thank the Gladiators for making the trip up to Milwaukee. Especially after the previous tough weekend they had at the Midwest Playoffs. For a club less than five years old, they demonstrated on Saturday that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
Our goal for the weekend of developing on our game, tightening up around the ruck and looking to make better tactile decisions came up against two obstacles. The first obstacle was the weather. The cold, wet conditions, led to both teams dropping balls and having issues with their footing.
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Read more... [Harlequins grind out wins in tight contests with division II debutantes]
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Written by Vic Drover
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
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The Harlequins extend their unbeaten streak to five matches with success on the road vs. Lincoln Park in Chicago. Final scores were 49-12 (First XV) and 27-10 (Second XV). More to follow (if coach ever writes that match report that is ! ! !).
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Written by Mike Loader
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Sunday, 20 April 2008 |
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by Mike Loader, the reluctant journalist and enthusiastic coach
 Yesterday we went up to Fond du Lac for the goal of demonstrating Harlequin rugby. We achieved this goal in aces and it was apparent from the very outset with 30 players making the trip up to Fond du Lac. For many players this was their first appearance in the Harlequin colors. This, after an excellent turn out to Thursday nights training. Unfortunately, our opponent was short numbers and they weren't able to field two sides. However, they agreed to at least play 3 "halves" to give our 2nd team some playing time. Looking forward in the schedule, this should not be a problem for the next three games as we are playing clubs that will have the numbers and the experience to challenge us in both the A and B games. We will be able to give everybody more time to develop the cohesiveness of playing together on the field. I'm excited by this, as I'm seeing many players put forward good arguments as to why they should be on the A side and great strides in performance of new players to the game. Not to be left out, experienced players are demonstrating the cohesive play we are striving for as a club.
We used the 3 halves that Fond du Lac were able to provide as follows:
- the first for the starting A side.
- the second to bring in players we wanted to see run with the A side.
- the third for the full B side.- I would like to thank Sharpo for coming out and helping to coach and prepare the B side while Ray and I were watching the games. Thank you.
It was apparent from the kick off who was going to dominate possession and control of the game. We can credit Fond du Lac with throwing everything they had at us. Even though we easily dominated line outs and scrums, Fond du Lac made good inroads in the contesting around the ruck. This is one area we need to work on before Lincoln Park this Saturday. We can present the ball better at the breakdown and, once it is available, redistribute the ball more effectively.
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Read more... [Quins extend winning record to 4 matches]
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