Connecticut Grey RFC

Previous season's match reports can be found under Schedule and Results...just click on the year you wish to view at the bottom of that page.

President Kevin McNamara cordially invites all members and friends of the Connecticut Grey RFC to attend our 31st Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 23, 2010, at the Hartford Canoe Club, 75 Riverside Drive, East Hartford. Attire is business casual.The evening features the cuisine of Executive Chef Ani Robaina, dancing to the music selections of our long-time friends at American Productions, and the presentation of awards – traditional and non-traditional – for the playing season just concluded.The evening will start at 6:00 p.m. with a cocktail reception including a cheese and cured meats platter with fresh fruit, crackers, and flatbreads, along with chef’s choice hors d’oeuvres.The dinner buffet will be served at 7:00. The menu includes ale braised beef brisket, chicken picatta, gratin potatoes, seasonal vegetables, tossed greens with vinaigrette, fresh baked rolls, Mozzicato’s Italian cake, cookies, coffee, and tea. In addition to a full cash bar, the Club will provide a quarter barrel of Sam Adams Boston Lager.We have not yet settled on the final ticket price, but you may expect it to be around $75/person.RSVP to Dean Jorgensen before January 16.

Grey 29 Amoskeag 15

Grey Finish Fall season at 5-4, 2009 ends at 14-7

Grey 34 Danbury 10

Grey 34 Morris 12

We played 120 minutes of rugby beating two opponents convincingly.The first period set the tone as we scored 5 tries in 30 minutes going up hill.Matt Leonard,Bubba,and Kevin O'Sullivan got things moving in the forwards so Nipper,Bill Bishop,Shawn Brennan,Charlie Mattison and Jeff Levinson found the gaps and had some long runs.Great period of Rugby as we were up 29-5.In the second half it was a fairly even match as each team scored a try.Charlie scored on kick that he chased into the try zone by John Kerr. Final 34-10. MOTM to Beaver. In the first half Morris was going down hill and scored twice for a 12-5 lead. In the second half we took it to Morris going down hill attacking the right side with runs and kicks.We finished the day with 5 tries and a 34-12 win over Morris. MOTM to Bob Coakley.The intention on the day was to invite Morris and Danbury to ensure an opponent that had enough players to give us 80 minutes.However each team traveled strong with about 20 players.We accommodated our guests by playing two 60 minute matches.Awesome day of Rugby and great way to end the season.Thanks to Bob Merola for reffing.Thanks to everyone for their communication and commitment.Welcome to all the new faces including Mike Berling, Z, Nipper, Peter Hojnoski and Mike the young wing.All players please try and attend the AGM on November 15th.

Great win against a very good opponent.The boys from New Hampshire had a strong pack, a crafty number 10 and Bill Bishop, who scored two tries at 12 .Thanks to Bill for getting the boys together and traveling with a competitive side.You can bet they will be much stronger when we travel up to New Hampshire next Spring.Thanks to everyone for communicating availability.The last two weeks our opponents have had more players at the pitch 30 minutes prior to the match.Try and be there at 11:15 and booted up by 11:30. Let me know if you have other commitments, so we can adjust the roster. Some players have done that and it helps.Prior to the match we need to get focused and ready to play.
We started down hill and set the tone scoring two tries by Charlie Mattison.Jay Chabot kicked from our half and Charlie chased and scored the first try.The second one he bird dogged a pass and ran in from fifty meters.Its very important to put points up when you have the down hill on our pitch.We were up 14-0.The second period we each got a try and it was 19-5.The last forty minutes we each scored two tries.It was 24-10 going into the last 20 minutes and Amoskeag had the down hill and they could have got back in it with two quick tries. We wanted it and we played tough.There were some great tackles by Shawn Brennan and Joe Bordieri, Kevin O'Sullivan, Kevin Trammel, Kevin McNamara, Fino, Beaver and Bubba had some nice runs.They took care of the ball by making the timely pass or just recycling the ball. We got the ball out wide a lot and Charlie finished with 4 tries and MOTM.Welcome to Z and Nipper who got things going from the half back position.Bordo and Norbert worked well in the first half and we were on the attack most of the match.Jay Chabot kicked great and set up a try by Bordo after Brennan crashed in off a 5 meter lineout. Mike Besso ran and kicked well from full back.Everyone stepped up and it was a great team victory.It was a hard physical match. Jim Burke broke his hand and Fino cracked a rib. Hope they mend quickly. The Italian award goes to Darcy Annino, Fino's daughter. She was crying as dad was in pain. Someone said don't worry Dad will be okay. However, she was crying because now dad could not take her to her softball game. Amazing! Priorities! Role modeling! Our fall record now stands at 3-4 with a chance to move to the .500 mark next week against Morris/Danbury. The match is home at 12:00. Please let Lou know if you will be there.

All Japan played great and earned a well deserved victory scoring five tries.They were quick to the breakdowns and after a few rucks spun it wide.We tackled well but they had a lot of possession and opportunities.We did not execute our game plan and tried to play at their pace.At times we did not keep possession in the tackle or we tried 50/50 passes that resulted in turnovers.Burt Hale Ozzie and George Saul played well in the sets.Kevin McNamara got around the pitch well in support.Bill Hoadley got the attack going with some nice runs.Bubba tried to make things happen from the back of the scrum.Shawn Brennan had a nice kick and chase that almost resulted in a try.Barry Rita and Jay Chabot made some great tackles.All-Japan chose Beaver as MOTM and Don Brancard was our MOTM.We scored first for a 5-0 and lead and Japan tied at 5 after the first period They were down hill and scored two tries for a 19 -5 lead.Going into the fourth period we were down 24-12 and on the attack but we didn't finish and they put in one more score.It was a great match against great bunch kids of who have stepped their game up.Next challenge Amoskeag.They will be a tough opponent with Bill Bishop in their backline.

It was a great day of Rugby and an AWESOME weekend celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Club.Thanks to Pat Malanaphy from White Plains and Bill Mueller from Worcestor for bringing two great sides to play against us.Mark Colebrook took the day off from reffing to play with Worcestor.Then he reffed the White plains match and did a great job.Worcestor scored two tries in the first half for 12-0 lead.We tied it in the second half, but Worcestor scored one more try for a 19-12 win.We had opportunities to score but just could not finish .MOTM for Worcestor Mark Colebrook.MOTM for us Bubba Gollarney.The match against WP was similar as we were down 10-0 early but came back to 10-7 on MOTM Kevin O'Sullivan's try. Thanks to Dean,Guz,Jay Chabot and any others who played with our quests. Bob Coakley, George Saul, Kevin Trammel, Dave Berube and Ed Carr played well in the forwards. Brian Doheny had some great hits on kicks. If we had got some ball out to him at wing we might have scored a few more tries. MOTM for WP their center #12 who scored and had some great runs.The next challenge All Japan on 10/10.

The Connecticut Grey Rugby Football Club will celebrate it's 30th Anniversary at the Foxwoods/MGM Grand Resort and Casino from September 25th-27th. We've created a great itinerary which will you allow you to participate in some great club activities and have plenty of time to utilize the resort and casino. Revised Itinerary:

Hotel Accommodations:Deluxe Rooms at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods

Friday: Golf at Elmridge Golf Course-229 Elmridge Rd., Pawcatuck, CT: 9:00AM-Tee Time (18 Holes-$45) Club Sponsored Captains Meeting and Happy Hour-Open Bar (5-7) at the Stadium Sports Bar and Grill at Foxwoods. After the Happy Hour feel free to gamble, drink or eat at the many fine restaurants on the property.

Saturday: 12:00- Match vs. Worcester Faded Black and White Plains Classix(festival round robin-4/25 minute periods, everyone should get 50 minutes of rugby) Location: Clark Lane Middle School, 105 Clark Lane, Waterford, CT. Post match drink up at Bulkeley House Restaurant & Tiki Bar, 111 Bank St., New London(Downtown) Banquet at Foxwoods:7-10. Note: CASH BAR

Sunday: Depart-check out is at 11:00.

Important Notes: -Note the golf fee is slightly higher at $45, rather than $37, I previously quoted the midweek rate.-Match time is now at 12:00, rather than 1:00. We now have a confirmed 3rd side in White Plains, and in order to leave sufficient time for all planned activities, we had to adjust the kick off time. -Post match drink up is confirmed. It's only about 2 1/2 miles from the pitch. I'll have directions for those who need them.

Grey defeat Lions, but GONY Dominates

Grey 48-Lions 7

GONY 31 Grey-0

Thirty plus traveled to Randall's Island and played the GONY and Village Lions in two 40 minute matches. In the first period the Lions came out mauling with ball control and worked it down the pitch to score first for a 7-0 lead We worked the ball around the wide turf pitch and put in two tries to go up 10-7. In the second period a totally fresh side played GONY and let in two tries and we were down 12-0 . The third period it was wide open Rugby as we scored six tries against the Lions to make the final 48-7. We stole balls in the rucks off loaded in the tackle and played some great Rugby.In the last period GONY put in three tries to make the final 31-0.They had great team speed and put pressure on us at the rucks and scrums. Thanks to Dave Martin for putting such a great side together.We are looking forward to playing them again in a full 80 minute match.Kevin Macnamara, Kevin Trammel, Burt Hale, Tom Kubic,and Matt Leonard played well in the forwards .Joe Bordieri, Don Brancard, Shawn Brennan and Charlie Mattison played great in the backs. MOTM to Bill Hoadley who had a blinder .He ran around and through the opponent starting long breaks and finishing tries or setting Beaver or someone else up for the score. We had some great ball movement and then at times we lost focus and did not play well. This week we will be playing 4 25 minute periods against Worcester and White Plains. Let's stay focused next week and have fun and play some great Rugby.

We traveled to Morris with 14 forwards and 9 backs and beat the Boys from Jersey for the first time on the road.We have competed for about eight years against Morris and the home team has always won, but on this day the Grey wanted it more and came out strong the first two periods scoring four tries for 22 points. All 23 players should be proud of their effort. More importantly for the commitment and dedication to travel making it possible for us all to enjoy the great game of Rugby. The return of Shawn Brennan and the arrival of Charlie Mattison got our attack going in the Backs as each scored a try and had some great runs. Joe Scan and Dave Berube returned and added some experience to the Forwards. Bordo led the forwards from scrumhalf and Kevin O'Sullivan attacked from the backrow. Dean Jorgenson, Tom Flynn, Mike Guzzio and George Saul set the platform in the front row and disrupted possession on Morris put-ins. Don Brancard did a great job leading the backs and made some great calls and decisions that created space and led to two tries. Darryl Garrison scored a try on a kick and chase and the MOTM Kevin Trammel scored off a line-out with the try that proved to be the match winner. Morris scored first and then we answered with two tries in the first period. We got two more tries in the second period as we built a 22-7 lead by sticking to the game plan and playing good defence.The last period we got off track a bit and lack of fitness allowed Morris to score two tries but we held on for the 22-17 victory. Work on the fitness and lets go to Randalls next week and play hard for eighty minutes. We also raised some money for the troops...below is a note from Neil Hogan:

.Gentlemen, Thanks for a good game on Saturday. Please let the boys
know that we ended up with over $500.00 for calling cards on Saturday.
Not bad for two teams and enjoying a day of rugby. Thanks to all that
came, especially those that drove all the way from Conn. I'll see you
on the pitch.

Hogan

Ten forwards and 13 backs brought home another win on the block 14-12. Thanks to all who made the effort to attend the match. We controlled 60% of the ball, but we were losing 12-0 after 30 minutes. Knock ons and a failure to protect the ball stopped our positive momentum. Brian Doheny had a few good hits and Bomber made some tackles, stopping runs that could have led to Rhody scores. Bill Bishop set the tone in the second half breaking the the gain line and getting the Old Cocks on the back foot. Matt Leonard finished some good phases of rugby with two tries. When we were patient and played together we were able to wear the Rhody defense down. Ben Boughtah made some great passes and quick toed a few to spark the attack. Bob Merola won our lineouts and probably half of the opponents. We had a 5 minute goal line stand as the Old Cocks tried to score at the end of the match. Bill Hoadley stopped Ronin on a quick penalty and was sent off with two minutes left, but the defense held on to preserve the win. Matt Leonard was named MOTM by Providence and Fino was our MOTM for making both conversions. (Conversions had to be attempted by a scrummer and to make it more difficult; they had to be drop kicked.) All in all, a great win but we definitely could have played better. It's better to win ugly than lose pretty!

Twenty-two players participated in another great weekend in the mountains. We had some help from Joe,Willie and Keith from the DC area. Jim Burke was our MOTM for the day scoring two tries and wreaking havoc all over the pitch. Jim heads to Iraq next week and will be back in October to get a few matches in. Jeff Levinson and Steve Tenenbaum (Bomber) had some great runs and scored a few tries each. Jay Chabot made some great tackles, got up and took the ball at least twice as we only allowed opponents two scores in 100 minutes of play. Kevin McNamara had a few nice picks and kept the attack going. Bob Coakley had a score and controlled the front row along with Burt Hale and Tom Flynn. Kevin O'Sullivan and Ed Carr led the back row as we beat the opposition to the breakdown. Mike Hale was instrumental in attack from scrumhalf and center. Everyone stepped up the pace as we beat Boston in the second match. We won both matches 6 tries to to one.Caesar Gonzales had his first experience in the mountains and loved it. Many Grey helped out Portland and Toronto, which is the spirit of the Old Man in the Mountain Festival. Great weekend boys. Next up is the Jo Jo Moore Tournament on 6/27.

The Worcester Faded Black and the Caribbean Cougars were quests for a great day of Rugby and family fun at Mountain Mist. Thanks to John Hart, Ozzie, Jim Burke, Brian Lewis, Bud Harvey, Mike Blesso, Jay Chabot and others who filled in for Worcester. Bill Hoadley, Kevin O'Sullivan and Beaver got things going forward and Jeff Levinson scored the first try about four minutes into the match. Beaver followed with two tries and John Kerr and Bomber finished the first twenty minutes giving us five tries going uphill. Caesar Gonzales and Jim Burke scored in the second half for a 39 to 7 score. The Cougars arrived with a full side so we commenced with another 40 minute match with similar results. Beaver and his brother Tom got the first two tries followed by Bill Hoadley. In the second half. Kevin Trammell, Tom Kubic and Brad Miller scored to make the final score 32-7. Welcome back to Burt Hale who was hungry to play after coaching New Haven.Welcome to Kevin O'Connell who played his first match for the Grey. Thanks to Fino and Ed Carr for playing some second row. Thanks to the veteran players who shared playing time. Thanks to Jeff Levinson, Tom Stauffer, Jon Leone and others who worked hard to make this Family Day a great success. Please let me know if you will be going to Franconia next week. loupetruzzello10@sbcglobal.net

This club has a long history of great victories on the field. On Saturday, the Grey added to this record with another victory, contributed to by the usual cast of thousands. But this article is not about what occurred on the pitch, it is about what took place off of it. This day was a microcosm of what this game means to all of us. Rugby is about family, it is about friends, it is about team and it is all about brotherhood.

On this day, we celebrated one of those brothers. Jim Burke, a number 7, a bit of a rugby mercenary, a father, a husband and a teammate will soon deploy to Iraq . We all wanted to let Jim and his family know how important we felt his service to our country is. The party that ensued, which will and should go down in Grey history, was one of the finest we have ever thrown. Teammates step up so that events like this can take place and today while several stepped up, four in particular need to be recognized for their efforts in setting up Saturday's event. Jeff Levinson led the way, with help from Tom Stauffer, John (am I for real?) Leone and Mike Meyer. These guys took it upon themselves to start what will surly become a great tradition, Connecticut Grey Family Day. The other significant even that took place was the Bottle drive benefiting Jack Carew's trip to Australia to take part in the People to People Student Ambassador program. While cleaning up our many empties is quite a feat in itself, John's kids cleaned up the entire pitch after we all moved to the pavilion.

This was just another stellar day in the long history of the Connecticut Grey. (Established in 1979.) Things just keep getting better for our club. We continue to pick up many skilled and seasoned new members. There are just too many of you to mention, but you know who you are. We welcome all of you and your families to the Grey Rugby family. That is what we are, more than anything….a family. More and more of us are pitching in to help the club grow. There just is no downside here…we get to play rugby, spend beautiful days outdoors with our families and teammates and we win a lot of matches. Does it get any better than that?

It was one way traffic as White Plains dominated this match on a perfect spring rugby day. The ball moved around the pitch with many phases, as both teams kept the ball alive during the 80 minutes .Beaver got two tries for the Grey going uphill. Bob Coakley. Bubba Golarney, Kevin OSullivan and Matt Leonard led the attack in the forwards .Brian Doheny, Jeff Levinson and Beaver had some long runs. MOTM to Steve Repeta. He got around the pitch and made some good tackles. Thanks to Jeff Bouvier for doing a great job reffing. The Boys from White Plains are a class organization with some great Rugby players.We will play them again .Everyone needs to step it up a notch and we will do better. The last 40 minutes we again had some opportunities but didn't finish. The Grey drop to 4-3 on the Spring season, with one match and two tournaments remaining on the schedule.

We had a great match with Morris, even though only three tries were scored.The pitch was soft and wide with the tallest goalposts in the Northeast.We came out hard in the first period spending most of the time in their end but failed to score.Morris scored their first try in the second period.We scored early in the third period and the match was 7-7 until the last 4 minutes when Morris scored to make it 14-7.We controlled 65% of the the ball and we were in their territory a lot.We had the ball most of the time but failed to finish.Everyone played hard for the 60 minutes.Perhaps if we played 80 we would have come back to win but it would not happen on this day.Matt Leonard and Bob Merola kept attacking and we rucked and produced some great ball.Then we would knock on , forward pass,or not protect the ball.Joe Bordieri,Darryl Garrison and Ceasar Gonzales had some great runs.MOTM to Jeff Levinson who scored our try and fielded some kicks and countered well.We arrived on time had a good warm-up and were ready to play.As I left Hoovers[ their Bar] at about 4:00 there were twice as many Grey there.We have a great Club that travels with numbers and honors their commitment to playing this great sport we all love.

Action vs Morris:Ceasar Gonzales on the move, with Matt Leonard in support. John Kerr looks to pass, with the ever present Matt Leonard again in support.

Thank the Rugby Gods for creating a game that takes 80 minutes. Thanks to those pioneers who decided to have open substitution for Old Boy Rugby. It was a great team effort and many individuals stepped up to secure this victory. Jay Chabot was banged up and could not play but came on to make two critical conversions to tie the score at 34 all. We started the match going up hill and it was all Japan as they built a 19-5 lead. They kicked and chased spun the ball out wide and they were playing some great Rugby. We got back to our game plan in the second period but only managed one try which Japan matched to keep a 24 10 lead.We needed points to close the gap but Japan was still moving the ball great and they built a 34-10 lead. We didn't panic and kept scraping and put in two tries to narrow the gap to 34-20 after 60 minutes. Bubba ran the ball out of our 22 and linked up with Sean Sierra who got the ball to Beaver to score a great try to give us momentum for the last 20 minutes.Mike Hale kept the ball with the forwards most of the time realizing that if we had the ball they were not going to score. Steve Repeta, Bob Coakley, Kevin Trammel and Tom Flynn controlled the ball in the forwards. Bill Bishop had some great runs, breaking tackles and off loading. Tony Johnson had his usual text book tackles. Steve Tenenbaum (Bomber) put his body on some kicks that were down hill and saved a couple tries. About 3 minutes into the period Kevin O'Sullivan broke through for a 60 meter run and passed to Bordo for the first score.Caesar Gonzales scored the match winning try and was our MOTM. Kevin O'Sullivan was named MOTM by Japan and he had a great match. Darrell Garrison scored the first try on a great run in the first period.So many people made the big plays when it counted The last 30 minutes of the match we outscored Japan 34 to nil. Next week is off and we have two tough matches in May. We will need to stay focused for 80 minutes and stick to the game plan.

It's not how you start but how you finish.It's not how many times you fall down but how you pick yourself up and make an adjustment and improve the next time.Great job by the boys who brought home the victory in the last ten minutes of this 80 minute match.Trailing 36-34 Sean Sierra and Norbert Deslauriers hooked up on a back row play to put us up 39-36.Steve Repeta scored the last try for an eight point lead to seal the win. The first period we controlled lots of ball but only managed one try. GONY scored one and the match was tied after 20 minutes.The second period we played a little better and were ahead by a try.Too many penalties and not taking care of the ball killed momentum.We played a solid third putting in three tries and had a 34-17 lead.The first ten minutes of the fourth period we let them run around us for three unanswered tries and we were down 36-34.We finished strong in the last ten minutes for a great win on the road.The front row was solid and gave us a good attacking base and put pressure on their put ins.Tom Flynn,Bob Coakley,George Saul,and Mike Guzzio have done a great job all season.Players that stepped it up were Sean Ryan[Ozzie]and Steve Repeta, who were MOTM.Ozzie and Bubba did a great job in the centers.Caesar Gonzales had a solid game at wing.Norbert,Joe Bordieri and Don Brancard did some great things at the halfback positions.Tony Johnson had some great tackles.Beaver had some great runs and Steve Anninno[Fino] got around the pitch and made things happen.We need to cut down on penalties by being disciplined.Eliminate mental mistakes by being focused and protect the ball.Next week New York Japan which is always an interesting challenge.

View of NYC, across the river from Randall's Island and our post game destination and what we did there. A good time was had by all.

Awesome day as the boys put in 12 tries in 80 minutes of Rugby. Bubba and Beaver each had a hat trick as they were both MOTM . Bill Aman scored a try and was honored with MOTM by GONY . Bill Bishop, Darryl Ceccarelli, Joe Bordieri and Kevin O'Sullivan also scored. We came out strong in the first period with 3 tries going uphill and into the wind. Last weeks competition helped us play the game at a faster pace.Great support play by the forwards excellent line breaks by the backs. We cut down on the mistakes and the tries came. Tom Flynn, Bob Coakley, George Saul and Mike Guzzio controled the front row and gave us a good scrum to attack with Kevin O'Sullivan and Bubba leading the way. Bill Hoadley and Norbert Deslaurier led the attack from the halfback positions. Thanks to Mike Besso, Bill Meyer and Stu who played for the GONY.Sean Sierra, Kevin Trammel, Kevin Macnamara, Mike Meyer and Steve Repeta did a great job getting around the pitch and supporting at the breakdown. Ozzie Ryan and Caesar Gonzales got a taste of Rugby and hopefuly they will travel to New York with us on April 18. A great team effort by everyone in a convincing win.

We had more than 30 players travel to Randall's Island to play against Long Island B and Suffolk.We played Long Island first and controlled 60% of the ball.Some great phases, back row and backline attacks.However were hurt ourselves with forward passes and mental errors which killed momentum.The second half we stole the ball on their scrums and Kevin O'Sullivan led the attack going left which led to some great multi phase rugby.We were down 12-6 and attacking about seven meters out.unfortunately we lost the ball and they kicked downfield and scored for a 19-6 win.The second match we played a young hard hitting Suffolk team. We possessed alot of ball again but were unable to finish for tries.They scored a try off a long kick which we failed to catch and they got the right bounce.Jay Chabot hit two penalty kicks. The first one hit the upright and squeezed in.The second one came as time ran out for a 6-5 win.A good day of rugby.We had some good phases and rucked well. The front row was awesome most of the day controlling our scrums and stealing the opponents.We will work on lineouts more pre match to get timing down with different lifters and jumpers. If we cut down the mistakes we will finsh for tries. Bob Coakley, David Kirk, Steve Repeta and Kevin O'Sullivand played well in the forwards.MOTM to Sean Sierra.Great runs and off loads that got our attack going.Bill Hoadley, Bill Bishop, Beaver,and Norbert Deslauriers played well in the backs.MOTM to Jay Chabot. .He had four penalty kicks and saved a try with a tackle in the victory.