Author: Benson Hendrix

While at the High Desert Rugby Classic I met up with Dave Wheelock, the rugby coach at the New Mexico Institute of Technology. After a few false starts (because Dave had to coach the Pygmies in games – imagine, having to coach actual games at a rugby tournament 😉 ) Dave finally found a little bit of time later in the afternoon to talk with me about the team and what the near future holds for the New Mexico Tech Pygmies.

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The Youth Rugby movement was well represented at this year’s High Desert Rugby Classic! In addition to the Youth Rugby Foundation (see previous post) there were also high school students from Amy Biehl High School here in Albuquerque who were part of the New Mexico Youth Rugby group trying to raise awareness and money for a possible upcoming trip out of town to face some fresh competition. Here, Roxxanne Rittenhouse explains the group and its goals.

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Patrick McBride from the new and growing Youth Rugby Foundation had a tent set up at the High Desert Rugby Classic this past weekend and was busy telling people about his organization and the plans they have to help provide rugby kits (cleats, shorts, etc) to poorer children interested in playing rugby, but who can’t afford this basic equipment.  If you’d like to contact Patrick and ask what you can do to help these kids, his email and phone number are listed in the video.

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The High Desert Rugby Classic once again lived up to its reputation as a tournament by ruggers, for ruggers.  In addition to ensuring the teams had some great fields here in Albuquerque (opposed to last year – same fields, two broken legs) there were also two wonderful ladies who worked tirelessly to make sure the players got the massage therapy or athletic treatments they needed to be at peak performance for each of the pool matches in the tournament. From all accounts, they did a great job taking care of every player who needed to treat their body right.

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Your intrepid blogger spent most of the past weekend at the High Desert Rugby Classic tournament out here in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  While I have some thoughts about the tournament that I’ll be getting around to storing on here for all of eternity (or until the Internet implodes, whichever comes first), I spent most of my time either watching games or recording interviews with some of the teams at the tournament (and if I didn’t get to your team I apologize).

Here’s the first interview with Deb from the Denver Black Ice women’s team. 

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So Welsh rugby player Gavin Henson has been busy denying that he was contacted by the Barbarians Rugby Football Club and asked to play in their match against South Africa later this year.  Gavin’s a little too big of a rugby star, in his own mind, to play for the Baa-Baas and has decided that he would better serve the rugby community if he spent his time in heavy training… to be a dancer.  

That’s right, Gavin Henson is too busy “Dancing with the Stars” to train with the Barbarians, or at least the British version of this abomination of a show.

I’ve been impressed with Gavin’s responses to the Barbarians, which included:

• The Barbarians were just using his name to build interest in the team and the match with the Springboks (Heads up Sparky, you’re in no way bigger than the Barbarians… sorry to burst your ego bubble)
• Henson really wants to get back to playing rugby, but darn it he just has to finish his contractual obligations to this wee dancing show.

Henson, who has not played internationally since 2009 (here’s a hint Gavin, it’s almost 2011), caused a little bit of a stir earlier this year when he was selected as the model for the Wales National Team’s advertising campaign, despite not setting foot on a rugby pitch since March of ’09.

My take on this, in case you haven’t been able to tell yet, is that this is ridiculous. When a rugby player is asked to play for the Barbarians, it’s an honor that you should only reject when something really important happens to you – such as your head falling off your shoulders.

For someone who’s biggest accomplishment so far is having been engaged to Charlotte Church to reject this honor (if it was even offered to him, I wonder if Gavin has put this out there first to somehow keep his name in the news) and tut-tut the Barbarians for “using his name” is just one more sign of this guy’s inflated ego.

Congratulations Gavin Henson!  To paraphrase comedian Christopher Titus, please take out your rugby player card and pass it to the front of the class, ‘cause you’re dismissed.

Some quick thoughts on the Commonwealth Games Sevens tournament thus far:

Kenya 12, Samoa 10 – This is a great upset for the plucky Kenyans, squeaking by the current Sevens World Series champions.  This is what I love about sevens rugby, it’s the old “any given sunday” adage – that while one team looks better on paper, the game is still played on the pitch!  Especially in sevens, where most nations can put together 12 athletes and give them time to practice and really gel together (Pay attention to this USA Rugby, the Olympics are in two years – get these guys together and training NOW) Congratulations to Kenya, you’re moving out of the realm of “rugby minnows” in the world of Sevens!

However, the biggest winner of this game might actually be the Australians…

England 21, Australia 19 – Instead of facing off with Kenya, expected to have lost to Samoa and come in second in their pool, England find themselves meeting Samoa in the quarterfinals.  And Samoa might have something to say about their upset loss to Kenya.  Australia is still a much, much stronger team than Kenya, expect the Aussies to win big over the Kenyans.

New Zealand 46, Scotland 0 – Zero?  Really? Scotland wasn’t able to put any points on the board as they faced the All Blacks?  I expected New Zealand to win, but at least expected more of a show from the Scots.  The Kiwis are a shoe-in for the semis, if not winning the whole enchilada for their fourth Commonwealth Games gold in a row.  This will be a good warm-up for the Sevens World Series.

South Africa 21, Wales 5 – Even the Welshmen were able to put a try on the board in their match, although it was against the Springboks, who are still about a half-a-class below the likes of New Zealand in the sevens game.  Look for South Africa to edge past Scotland in tomorrow’s game, while New Zealand-Wales will probably be more like their match with Scotland, probably a 20-point win.

And as usual, there were a lot of great and entertaining matches among the rugby minnows, which I’ll touch on later.  Tune in tomorrow for more Commonwealth Games musings and bitching from yours truly!

Earlier today, the selection team for the USA Rugby Men’s team found out that there is still a large gulf separating team USA from the more powerful forces in the Rugby Universe, as the USA Select XV (a team not quite made up of the best U.S. players, but the best players available who still reside in the U.S.) fell to the eighth-ranked Jaguars of Argentina 45-10 in the second round of matches in the Americas Rugby Championship in Cordoba, Argentina.

The Select XVs, riding high after beating the Tonga “A” squad (again, made up of up-and-coming players) 20-15, were on the ropes through much of the first half, as the home squad racked up 30 points by halftime.

The second half saw a match that was more equal, as the Select XVs held Argentina to 15 points, while U.S. hooker Chris Biller and lock Samu Manoa, both heralding from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Rugby Club, each scored one try for the U.S., and reserve player Nese Malifa made it onto the field, replacing starting fly-half Volney Rouse, and converted Manoa’s try in the final play of the match

The Select XVs will spend the rest of the week in Argentina resting up, studying and preparing for their final match of the Americas Rugby Championship, against our neighbor to the north, Canada, on Friday. 

Last month we talked about the potential of New Zealand turning into the NFL’s Buffalo Bills of the ‘90s when it comes to Rugby World Cup championships. Is it possible?  Yeah, and more than likely should the All Blacks fall short of winning the 2011 RWC when they have home nation advantage.

Now I’d like to turn my sights to another top team in the Rugby Universe, the South African Springboks.  Having won the RWC twice, including the most recently in 2007, they stride through the Rugby Universe as though they are a heavyweight boxer incapable of being defeated, with some secret knockout punch waiting to be unleashed.

But a question remains about the Springboks, especially given their …  aggressive and unorthodox (some would call it cheap shot) style of play.  Does, underneath that exterior swagger, beat the heart that many sports fans are familiar with, a combination of Mike Tyson (in his later, ear biting days) and too many low-swinging boxers to be named right now. 

If you were watching the Tri Nations earlier this summer, where Springbok Bakkies Botha essentially mounted the All Blacks’ Jimmy Cowan and head-butted him in game one of the series, earning a 9-week ban, then you might think that it does.

I think part of it hearkens back to pre-1995 days, when the Springboks were still banned from international play, due to the international boycott of South Africa due to apartheid. Feeling that they were being unfairly treated by the actions of their government, the Springboks returned to international rugby in 1992 with a chip on their shoulder.  The team, already known for trying to intimidate their opponents physically, appeared to ramp up the voltage a little bit and ever since have tried to aggressively impose their will  on the pitch.  And it’s worked for the most part, the evidence is in the results – ranked third in the most recent world rankings, two World Cup wins, still one of the most dominant teams in the world…

So, why bring this up?

Because the Springboks ARE two-time Rugby World Cup champions, dominant and highly ranked.  They are that Mike Tyson-esque team, the one who you know is good enough to become champions without cheating, but tries to throw a low blow when the ref isn’t looking.  It’s infuriating.  At first I thought “well, they are just playing hard-nosed rugby, giving as good as they received.”  And it’s not as if other nations out there are innocent, but the Springboks take it further than they have to, relishing their desire to take out those pre-1995 boycott days on whoever they play. 

It’s also because I wonder if they truly relish being the bullying, swaggering, black-hat wearing team of the Rugby Universe.  And because I know what happens to bullies once people start standing up to them.

Check out this story from CBS news looking at the inner city charter school, Hyde Leadership Charter School in Washington, D.C. and how they became the first all-African-American high school rugby team, and how they helped another school, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, start their own rugby team.  It’s an incredibly inspirational story, and if you work with kids, it’s a must watch.

– Benson

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