The Fort Collins Men faced off against cross town friends and rivals, C.S.U., on Sunday. The match, previously scheduled for Saturday, was played on campus in front of a large group of local rugby supporters. Those in attendance enjoyed a cloudless, beautiful day of spring time sunshine. Unfortunately, the contest on the pitch didn’t live up to the standards set by Mother Nature. Both teams came out very aggressive, and set a fast pace for what would be a long day for the Fort Collins Men. C.S.U. capitalized on poor ball handling and a lack of strong ball support to jump out to an early lead. Fort Collins had many opportunities to establish momentum and gain a foothold in the contest, but even a long scoring dash and strong individual effort by many, including Man of the Match, Jeff Brundage, wasn’t enough to kick start the Flamingos. Dropped passes, and missed tackling seemed to plague the club, as it just wasn’t their day. Each time it appeared the Fort Collins Men were on the verge of closing the early gap established by C.S.U., another mental error, or mishandled ball would open the gate, and C.S.U. would be off to the races. Much credit should be given to the Rams for their aggressive play, and relentless offensive approach, as they were clearly the better club on this day. The Flamingos will, no doubt, need a spirited and productive week of practice, as they prepare to host Boulder this upcoming Saturday. Fort Collins is a proud and talented club of veteran players, and I expect a much better showing next week, but as for this week, thank goodness it was a beautiful day, because their loss to C.S.U. was certainly anything but beautiful.
B-side- On a brighter note, the B-side match was played afterward with many of the A-side players from both teams running double duty. B side Man of the Match, rookie back Ryan Harms, had a breakout afternoon capped off by his scoring the first two tries in his young rugby career. Can anyone say Zulu? Unfortunately, his effort may have come at a great cost as we wait to hear results about a possible shoulder injury. The early moments of the first half were delayed as Fort Collins’ second row player, Chris Fielder took a nasty blow to the head, and had to receive medical attention. I am happy to report that when I questioned him afterward about his condition Chris was quoted as saying “Ya,” which I have assumed meant that he was feeling all right. Both sides exhibited great heart and stamina, as two 30 min. halves were contested with Fort Collins prevailing in a closely played match. Thanks again C.S.U. for a solid afternoon of play, to all who were in attendance, to Conor O’neills for hosting a top notch drink up afterward, and a special thanks to Coach Chvatal who filled in as match referee, and did a fine job. We are all looking forward to next week, when Fort Collins will attempt to bounce back against a tough opponent, Boulder Men.