Match score 10/24/10 Saturday
Gentlemen of Dubuque 40 (6) - Grinnell Griffins RFC 5(1)
MATCH SYNOPSIS: By Dave Schlueter
The Gentlemen traveled to Grinnell on a Sunday morning looking to complete a perfect 7 and 0 league season against the Griffins, a young but very athletic and physical club. Weather was good with temps in the 60’s and overcast with a slight breeze. The match kicked off with neither side able to put on any points till a Steve Ruden, 50 meter break, dotted down in the corner. The PAT was wide. Ruden would slot a second, converted try, before Grinnell would respond with a 40 meter try of their own, under the posts. Their kick for post was skew and the Gentlemen would take a 12 to 5 lead to break. Conditioning was the big factor in the second half as the lads would tack on 4 more converted tries and control the remainder of the match. A Mark Smith try under the posts came at the hooter to leave the final tally of 40 to 5, an undefeated league season, an Iowa DIII championship, and the #1 seed in Midwest DIII going into the playoffs!
POSITIVES: Winning the match with maximum points to place us at #1 going into the playoffs. Once again, traveling and preparing as an organized and focused squad. We had minimal numbers, 16 players, but those who missed, for the most part, contacted leadership and followed the priority list. We got stronger as the game went on as shown by the 28 to 0 second half line. We did a good job using field position and directing our attack with the foot, finding space and chasing to make that one time tackle. Tackling was improved as was body position. Post kicking was very good, making the automatics and some of the deep angles (nice job RB). We took advantage of mental mistakes by the opposition. Good job with composure and discipline.
NEGATIVES: Even with players playing out of their normal position, the general rules remain, come at depth, run at pace, and straighten as soon as possible. XY at the ruck needs to be tighter to the ruck and come off the ball low and hard. The maul needs to get lower if we really want to drive it.
Nice job by our sideline support! You travel well, do anything to help the lads, and take us to another level!! Brilliant!
Cheers,
David
SCORING TRIES: Steve Ruden (3), Ryan Marsh, Ryan Oberhoefer, Mark Smith
CONVERSIONS: Rick Besler 5/6
MEN OF THE MATCH: Forwards - Mark Smith; Backs - Steve Ruden