CONNECTICUT GREY
RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

~ est. 1979 ~

Mountain Mist Outdoor Center
Meriden, Connecticut

The Hourglass

April 21, 1998

A Publication of the Connecticut Grey Rugby Football Club
Tony Johnson, Editor

GREYS OPEN SEASON WITH WIN IN NY

The Greys traveled to Randall's Island on April 4th to play NYOB's. The day was a little cold and breezy and the thought of playing on the tarmac of Randall's Island didn't diminish the damper of the first game of the season. However, the Greys performed admirably and were able to soundly beat NY 12 - 5. Scoring came with a forward break in the first period as John Kerr, Jim Facey and Ed Carr moved the ball thirty yards with Ed touching down for the try. The kick was not good and the Greys led 5 - 0. In the second period, Ed Carr once again, touched down for a try after a John Dimitrick break through the forwards. The conversion by Don Brancard was good and the Greys now led 12 - 0. The third period was more or less a defensive struggle as the Greys tried to protect the lead. Still, NYOB was able to muster some offense and score their only try of the game. Final score ended 12 - 5.

CHESAPEAKE FESTIVAL - ROTTEN EASTER EGGS

The Greys numbered about twenty as the X-teenth Chesapeake Old Boys Easter Festival was held over the weekend of April 11th. This year there were more than the previous year's slate of three teams. Unfortunately the additional teams included some real studs and under 35 players in order to provide some semblance of an honest-to-God festival. The first game pitted the Greys against the perennially luckless Toronto XL's. Prior of this weekend, Toronto was 0 and 15 against the Greys and although there have been some close games (with the Greys coming from behind to eke out a win in the closing minutes), this year was not one of those "almost wins." The Greys thoroughly dominated the Canadians with first period scores by Ed Carr followed closely by brother Steve in the second period. Steve's score ended brother Ed's three in a row scoring streak. Only one conversion was made and the Greys led early 12 - 0. Following the Carr brothers' feats, were scores by Seeger, Al Steiger and Tom Roncaoli. One additional conversion was made and the Greys closed the scoring - and the game with a resounding 34 - 0 victory.

GREYS MUGGED BY THE MOB

If this were Chicago - you might just believe the Greys landed some bad luck with the Sicilian families. Well, it ain't Chicago but there was a lot of bad luck. Actually, it was just a bad game overall. Trying to recover within an hour after playing the XL's the Greys stumbled onto the field to play the Maryland Old Boys (MOB). Now the concern wasn't so much we were playing a team from Maryland, the question was "where were their 'Old Boys'?" It was obvious that the MOB was speckled with a few under 35's and possibly under 30's to play their first game of the day. This didn't bode well for the Greys as the MOB took the opening kickoff and within two minutes had driven over the try line for the first score. Not to give the Greys the impression that the first score was a fluke, they proceeded to score their second try within another two minutes of their first. Anyway, the game actually improved over the next two periods as the Greys finally got it in their heads that if we're going to be on the field, we might as well play. The Greys got on the board early in the second period as Ian (Hey Mon) Roberts touch one over. The conversion was not good and the MOB lead (although never in questions) was chipped a little 14 - 5. The MOB continued to overwhelm the tiring Greys and notched several more tries on their way to a 28 - 9 victory. Don Brancard added the only other score for the Greys by scoring a drop goal in the third period.

GREYS DROP DEAD IN THIRD, CHESAPEAKE WINS

The only game on Saturday pitted the Greys against a somewhat weaker Chesapeake Old Boys side that lost to the Toronto XL's in their game on Friday. Since the Greys soundly defeated Toronto, it was only fitting that the Greys would trounce Chesapeake. Well, someone forgot to tell Chesapeake that is how it is supposed to go. The Greys started the scoring late in the second half as Don Brancard converted a penalty kick for the 3 - 0 lead. In the third, the Greys pulled the usual possum and allowed the Chesapeake backs to run through several would-be tacklers. They were also would-be rugby players - that is to say they would have been if they had played. With Chesapeake up 5 - 3 the Greys once again were given a chip shot penalty kick which Brancard easily converted to put the Greys back in the lead. But, Chesapeake had already noted our weakness (inability to tackle) and decided to muster one last backline movement that resulted in their second try and game winner. The final a disappointing 10 - 6 loss.

LES VIEUX EXTENDS WIN STREAK ON GREYS

As if the loss against Chesapeake wasn't disastrous enough, the Greys set out on April 18th to continue the losing streak and were very successful in extending the loss list to three straight. What went wrong was a much longer list than what went right. Although the Greys started out the scoring with a penalty kick by Don Brancard for a 3 - 0 lead, Les Vieux was quick to turn the game around soon after. Poor tackling (actually - no tackling) led to a Les Vieux try and with the conversion good, Les Vieux led at the first break 7 - 3. The Greys opened up the scoring in the second period with a nice break by Grayson Gregory to Tom Flynn back into Jim Moriarty (a former Mid-Hudson crooner) for the try. The conversion was not good and the Greys now led 8 - 7. Les Vieux again quickly turned the deficit around with another try and conversion and a subsequent Grey penalty kick ended the second period with the Greys down 14 - 13. The third period (the Greys demise), went almost all Les Vieux's way with Les Vieux extending their lead by another 7 points. Jim Moriarty was able to tally his second try of the day and with the unsuccessful conversion the Greys trailed 21 - 18 with minutes remaining. Unfortunately, comeback is not in our vocabulary and Les Vieux was able to score another try to end the game with a 28 - 18 win. Although there was some good performances by individual players, overall the play was disgraceful. We are slow, incapable of tackling and drop too many passes. There aren't many teams that we can beat with those attributes!

NEXT GAME - MONTCLAIR AWAY

The next game of the season is at Montclair, New Jersey. At this time we do not have directions or game times and again ask all players who will attend the game to call Joe Scan (914) 339-4384, Don Brancard (860) 228-1394 or Tom Flynn (203) 294-4263 for times and directions. The next game after Montclair is Rockland at home on May 2nd.

FROM THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR

It has become obvious that we have some problems executing proper plays and our performance on the field is reminiscent of Custer's last stand, the annual run of the lemmings, or Iggy Pop in concert on a heroin overdose. However, after closer review of the problems with the recent losses, it has been decided that certain steps must be taken to prevent the continuation of the recent bad luck in the game results. Base on the obvious problems, it has been decided that the following rules and regulations will be imposed immediately on all players: First, all backs will refrain from eating fried chicken and buttered corn on the cob prior to games. These same backs will not lift any heavy objects prior to a game that would prevent them from actually lifting their arms in an attempt to mimic a tackle. Also the backs should cease from the practice of staring intently at the sun for several minutes just before kickoff. This should help in catching pop kicks and aid in recognizing when an opponent is coming towards them with the ball. All forwards will replace the lead cleats in their shoes and use lighter weight alloy studs in their place in the hopes that this will allow them to move their feet and get to the rucks much faster. Also, it is requested that they consume vitamins to improve their performance (on the field) and stop inhaling ether before a game. And, it has been decided that we will no longer play Brahms Lullaby (our theme song) during the game. Finally, all players are encouraged (not forced at this time) to read the rules of rugby. It gets a little embarrassing when the same person commits that same penalty three times in a row in the same half - and has the gall to ask "what was that call for????"

If we incorporate all these initiatives, we may be able to get back on the winning (not whining) track. Or, at least will look a lot better in defeat.

AROUND THE FIELD

Ed Carr meets Maha Aha working the Greenwich rest stop on the Merritt Parkway. Trying to pay for a candy bar in order to get back onto the road quickly, Ed was chastised by Maha who cried "eseee I em on deee phone" Aha!

There usually isn't anything that brings out more fodder for the newsletter than the Easter trip to Chesapeake. However, in retrospect, it was a pretty dull time. Not much happened on the Bud Harvey bloopers column. In fact, Bud was actually quite sedate. No frolicking in the hot tub - not shenanigans in the hotel - Nothing! The fact that Bud was missing from the tub led to rumors that he was hiding an unsightly skin rash - further investigation showed that it was just his hair. Still, many of us were disappointed in not seeing the Harvey sea monster of sexual supremacy. And then there are those who are grateful for such turn of events.

Conversation on the trip down to Baltimore somehow turned towards the Civil War. Jim Facey expounded on his fascination with the war and noted that "if I were in the Civil War, I'd be the guy who fires the cannon!" His rationale was that he wouldn't get shot at by thousands of rebels while standing in a line a mere 100 feet from the enemy. Taking the security of the cannon thing one step further, Tony Johnson stated that "Well, you could get shot by other cannons - so if I were in the Civil War, I'd be the spotter for the cannon who sits on a horse far behind the lines." Even this has some degree of exposure as John Kerr noted and followed with the statement "If I were in the Civil War, I'd be the guy wearing the dress!"

On the return trip the question of time travel came up - in "how long does it take to get from Baltimore to home." There was much discussion on routes and possible alternatives and how long each would take. But, at 5:00 p.m. and 300 miles to go, it was obvious that to make good time we would have to limit the rest-stops. This became a real concern as the provisions for the return were down to 4 cans of beer. So, upon adding to the stock of ale we deduced that it would take about 5 hours to get to Connecticut - the rest-stops now loomed more of a problem because you see, John Kerr's seal had been broken and Facey (who already had 4 beers) was now invisible.

What does the Chesapeake Old Boys serve on Good Friday - anything with meat!!!! This posed a real problem for some of the practicing Catholics on the trip since there was nothing provided at the "banquet" other than meat - and lots of it. Ham, roast beef and turkey - "all you want" was the main fare with only salad and potatoes for the non-heathens. Word has it that next year an Israeli team will be added to the festival and the food for the evening will be pork chops, ham and sausage links with hot dogs served at the field. Noticing that they made a small error in the selection of food, Chesapeake has requested a Good Friday exemption from the Pope to allow the faithful to eat meat on that day next year. The Pope's response was "go ahead, eat the damn meat besides, who in the hell really abides by that stupid edict anyway - they only ate fish back then cause there was no f---ing McDonalds???" So much for faith.