November 7, 2009

The Pigs traveled to Cedar Rapids for the 2nd round of playoffs. The Pigs were determined to show the rugby world that our team was a formidable competitor in the Midwest. The Pigs came out hard and with some great play from everyone pushed the ball down the field. Dietz took a quick ball off a ruck and scored a quick try to put the team up 7-0. The game was a rough one, Cedar Rapids had some bangers and weren’t afraid to throw the occasional elbow. The Pigs held firm, however gave up a try under the posts. Grant Dietrich, determined not to give up the lead, made a heroic leap to block the conversion. The Pigs maintained their half time lead of 7-5.

The Pigs having lost their captain, Hightower to injury in the first half, were determined not to let him down. However more injuries plagued the Pigs and Dietz went down with a hamstring injury. Soon followed by Zeth with a pulled quad. The Pigs continued to battle, however the Headhunters were able to find some holes with some key players going down. The Saint Paul team continued to fight, but in the end it wasn’t our day, with a final score of 25-7.

It was a hard loss, but the team did go out afterwards and easily won the party. Great season for the team, next year they will come out that much stronger.

Tries:
Dietrich Peterson (1)

Conversions:
Boardman (1 of 1)

Penalty Kicks:
Boardman (0 of 1)

October 31, 2009

The Saint Paul Pigs began their playoff run on Saturday. The day was cold and windy and the fields were in fairly rough shape due to the amount of rain we have had recently. The Pigs had been practicing in similar conditions all week and were prepared for the weather. Having come out flat on previous playoffs appearances, this Saint Paul team was determined to make a statement at the beginning of the game and they did. The first try came in the first 5 minutes of the match. After some fabulous pack play, Colby was able to take it in for the early lead. Padre having a great kicking day despite the conditions, made the conversion to open the score 7-0. The Pigs continued to dominate the first half and put two more tries on the board from Rubber. Oconomowoc was able to score off a Pigs breakdown, but other than that the Pigs controlled the game was went into the half with a 22-8 lead. In the second half the Pigs continued to dominate, however the sloppy, cold conditions caused the scoring to slow. Great play by everyone brought the win to the Pigs with a final score of 25-8.

A special thanks to all the fans that came out for the match despite the cold conditions. And also thanks to our reserves, even though some of you did not get into the game, your hard work throughout the season has helped bring the team to where we are today. This weekend the Pigs will be traveling to Cedar Rapids to take on the Headhunters. Game time is 1:30pm at Delany Park for any fans that would like to make the trip.

Lineup:
1. Matt McDougall (Joe Kuka) 2. Alan Martin 3. Ben Hanson (Jeff Gunness) 4. Ryan Backman (Will Gilman, Chris Vieths) 5. Stephan GrandPré (Jason Naber) 6. Jim Mlenek 7. Zac Bauer 8. Nate Boberg (Darren Nyquist) 9. Dietrich Peterson (Brian Hadfield) 10. Zach Boardman 11. Grant Dietrich 12. Seth Spreadbury 13. Scott Colby 14. Greg Lehmicke (Andy Schwartz) 15. Joe Lang

Tries:
Colby (1), Lang (2)

Conversions:
Boardman (2)

Penalty Kicks:
Boardman (2)

October 24, 2009

The Pigs met up with Lakehead for their last match before playoffs. The team had suffered a few injuries going into the game, which led to a great opportunity for some of the younger players to get some playing time. The Pigs decided to get things going right away and put up a couple of quick scores. It was good to see the momentum from last weeks win had continued into this week. Strong play continued by the entire team. With a final score of 48-7, the Pigs felt ready for next weeks playoff run. Tries were scored by a number of people, but in the haze of the weekend no one could remember who. Congratulations to Padre on his excellent play and for being named Man of the Match.

October 17, 2009

The Saint Paul Pigs were coming into the day 4-0 on the season. They needed a win against rival St. Cloud to wrap up a perfect season and clinch home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. A lot was on the line as St. Cloud needed a win to keep their play-off hopes alive.

The game opened up with some hard hitting from the St. Paul side. The Pigs had come to win today. The majority of the first 40 minutes was played in the Bottomfeeders end. Bethel Paul Staats put the Pigs on the board first with a penalty kick from the 25 meter mark. Score 3-0. Significant improvement was seen from the pack today and they continued to bang against the larger St. Cloud side. After continually pushing St. Cloud down the field, Animal picked up a lose ball and after some nifty running, gave the Pigs their first try of the day, with the conversion, the Pigs now led, 10-0. A small let down allowed St. Cloud control of the ball and they were able to get a try of their own. A missed conversion brought the half time score to 10-5.

In the second half, the Pigs continued where they left off. The pack continuing to control the game. Seeing a hole in the defense, Zac Bauer picked up a penalty kick and zig zagged through the Feeders defense to score a marvelous try, with the conversion the score was 17-5. The Pigs were feeling the game was in their control. St. Cloud is not a team to be taken lightly, with their backs against the wall they continued to push. With 10 minutes to go, the Pigs made a few mistakes which allowed St. Cloud to march down the field and punch in the try, closing the gap to 17-12. St. Cloud had a few changes to tie the score, but the Pigs defense held on to win 17-12.

With an undefeated record the Pigs will face the number 2 seed team out of Iowa on their home pitch on October 31st.

Tries:
Bauer (1), GrandPrè (1)

Conversions:
Colby (2)

Penalty Kicks:
Staats (1)

October 10, 2009

No details available at this time.

September 26, 2009

The day was very warm for a late September day. Today the Pigs matched themselves against cross town rival Minneapolis. The Pigs came into the match 2-0 on the season and were ready for their toughest test of the season. The team was determined to come out victorious. The game opened with the Pigs slightly on their heals, giving up a quick try from the Killer Bs. Unable to make the conversion, the score opened 5-0. The Pigs were still determined, although having to come from behind. The Pigs seemed to dominate, however couldn’t punch in the ball. Metro again scored on a kick with a kind bounce. Making the conversion the score now read, 12-0. The Pigs still pushed things on the Minneapolis side of the field, however could only muster up 3 points going into the half. Being down 12-3 was not the way this Pigs team wanted to start things out.

Entering the second half the Killer Bs continued where they had left off by adding a try and a penalty kick to open the gap 20-3. The Pigs were controlling the ball, however a few mistakes had allowed the game to start getting out of reach. With the pack struggling slightly in the scrums, the backs had to step up their play. Off some nice back play, Oz took off on a 60 meter run, but got caught just meters short of the try line. A penalty kept the ball in the Pigs hands, although Oz had to leave the game with an injury on the play. The pack seeing an opportunity banged it to Minneapolis over and over again, until Kramer was able to take the ball around the outside for a nice try in the corner. The conversion missed, closing the gap to 20-8.

Seeing the game now within reach, the Pigs stepped up their play and started to control the ball. Off a scrum, Colby took the ball and flipped it off to Dietrich, who split the back line and made a nice 50 meter run down the field for a second try to bring the score to 20-15. Minneapolis, getting called for a number of penalties in the second half were starting to get frustrated. One of those penalties came with less than 10 minutes to play. Jason Naber coming in to ignite a spark, split the posts to bring the Pigs to within 2 points. With the score closing, the Pigs were now fighting against the clock.

With just a few minutes to play, the Pigs had a scrum inside Minneapolis 22 meter line. Colby called a grubber, slightly aggressive this close to the try zone. He placed a beautiful kick that bounced perfectly into Dietrich’s hands. Just meters from the try line, Dietrich got caught, but Captain Andy was following close behind. Andy took the ball with two Minneapolis players on his back into the try zone. With the added conversion, the Pigs won the day 25-20.

Tries:
Hansen (1), Dietrich (1), Schwartz (1)

Conversions:
Colby (1), Naber (1)

Penalty Kicks:
Colby (1), Naber (1)

B-Side
The Bombers took the field following the Pigs mighty win. The Bombers played a good match with the Killer Bs B-side, but their youth and speed was a little too much for the Bombers. Although they were unable to bring home the win, they did get some good hits in on the opposing side.

September 12, 2009

Saturday was a beautiful day for rugby. The Saint Paul Pigs opened their season against our friends from the south, Faribault. The Pigs team was looking a little younger than in years past, and dare I say, perhaps a little fitter. This was the first league match under new head coach Jason “Ponch” Rombalski. Good things are expected for this young team.

The scoring opened early with a nice pass by Zeth to old man Dietrich. The backs were here to play today with Scott Colby taking a long run to take our second try. The pack not wanting to be out done gave it to new Pig Nate “42” Bober. 2008 back of the year Zeth took in a try himself this time and in a nice gift Colby passed the ball to Hightower to close the first half. With a score of 32-0 at halftime the Pigs were controlling the game, but still not running on all cylinders. Coach Ponch has a few choice words for the team, hoping to spark some intensity.

Jimbo had taken a pretty good hit to the face in the first half that opened up a nice cut. He was replaced by military man Oz. Oz didn’t let this opportunity go to waste and scored a nice try to open the second half. Zeth showing his new slim physique, took in his second try of the day. The final try had Rubber showing he still has some moves, taking one in to give the Pigs a final score of 52 – 0. A good day for the entire squad.

Tries:
Dietrich (1), Colby (1), Bober (1), Spreadbury (2), Backman (1), Ozman (1), Lang (1)

Conversions:
Colby (4)

October 18, 2008

The Saint Paul Rugby Club made the long trip up to Thunder Bay a bit shorthanded and came out on the wrong end of a 35-18 defeat in the final regular season league match this year, our only defeat of the season.