After multiple rain delays, the pigs came out of pool play 2-1-0 this weekend.
Only being bested by none other than the tournament host in the championship match.
Great work this weekend gentlemen!
You would never know that it was only 30° outside, as the pigs came out hot this match. Scoring four trys accompanied by four conversions, resulting in a comfortable 28-17 lead at the half.
Unfortunately the laws of thermal dynamics kicked in, and, well, a picture is worth a thousand words.
This concludes the Pigs 2023 season. But don’t turn that dial!
2024 is going to be a very special season, as it’s the Pigs 50th anniversary! To celebrate there will be special events, an international tour, and more. Stay tuned!
Sunny and 70, you couldn’t ask for a much nicer day for rugby.
Right as the clock struck 11:00, the whistle sounded, the ball dropped, and the game was on. The first half was very evenly matched. Tit for tat, try for try, kick for kick. Points for one side were quickly answered by equal points for the other.
Occasionally the second half starts off with one side or the other coming out more refreshed and more focused, seizing on opportunity to capitalize right from the kick off. That did not happen on this day. Both sides remained grid locked, mirroring any change on the scoreboard. As the clock ticked into the 70th minute, the Pigs had the upper hand. Ahead by a try, victory was near. Although as fate would have it, right as the clock rolled into the 80th minute, and staying true to the theme of this match, Palmer responded to the Pigs previous try to tie the game; sealing the win with a conversion kick.
The whistle blew for the final time: Jazz Pigs 36 – 38 Palmer Rugby
Keeping their heads high, the day was not over! Shortly thereafter the St Paul Bombers would take the field. Sharing the sour taste of their brothers recent defeat, the bombers came out hot and never took their foot off the pedal. With a 22 – 0 lead at half time, the Bombers carried this ferocity all to way to the end.
The final score: St Paul 46 – 7 River City
Thanks again to Palmer, River City, and all of the fans that made today a successful rugby day!
Next weekend the Bombers enjoy a bye week while the Jazz Pigs will be headed down to Des Monies, Iowa.
Stay tuned!
The St. Paul Jazz Pigs D2 and D4 squads kicked off their season Saturday, August 27, 2016 hosting the Eastside Banshees at the Jazz Pigs’ beautiful pitch in Maplewood. The grass had been recently cut and the lines freshly painted. There had been a slight amount of rain; just enough to make the ground slightly softer when landing on it and the ball just more difficult to catch. The sun came peaking out behind the clouds making the air temperature in the mid 70s. A perfect day to play rugby.
The Jazz Pigs started the first match against the Banshees D2 squad. The Piggies sent a message to the Banshees by retrieving their own kick on kick-off. From there the Pigs marched down the field, smashing the Banshees in the mouth, making them regret not catching the ball. As the Pigs marched closer to the Banshees try zone, the Banshees became flustered and committed a penalty within their own 10 meters. The Pigs took advantage of this mistake with a quick tap and smashed the ball into the try zone to take an early lead, 5-0.
Unfortunately, this lead did not last long as the Pigs committed penalty and the Banshees took advantage. They kicked for touch, caught the ball on their own line-out, and then marched the ball into the try zone with a maul to even the score 5-5.
For the rest of the half, the scoring was one-sided. The Banshees capitalized on Jazz Pigs mistakes; whereas, the Pigs were unable to capitalize on the Banshees mistakes. The score at half was 5-22; Banshees lead.
This did not discourage the Pigs as they came out from half scoring a try and conversion to bring the score to 12-22. The second half was a hotly contested half with the Banshees scoring an additional try; however, they did so through undisciplined play. They received multiple yellow cards for a dump tackle, repeated high tackles, and repeated off-sides. As time ran out, the Banshees were able to score one more try to take the final score to 12-33.
The D4 match did not goes as well for the Bombers. The Banshees came roaring out and took a 33-7 lead into half-time; however, the Bombers made multiple adjustments to make the second half more competitive. Ultimately, the Banshees took the match with a final score of 45-7. While the Banshees won the match, the Bombers were able to get many young players into the match to gain more experience. Furthermore, there were some Pig who played 80 minutes in the D2 match and jumped in the D4 match to help out.
The Jazz Pigs and Bombers may have dropped two matches against the Eastside Banshees on Saturday, but they did not lose the St. Paul spirit. They fought hard, delivered bone crushing hits, and punished the Banshees for every meter earned. And as always, the Jazz Pigs and Bombers won the social.
The Jazz Pigs and Bombers will have two weeks to make adjustments before their next matches on Saturday, September 10th against Metropolis’ D2 and D4 squads at the All-MN Rugby Tournament.
Once a Jazz Pig, Always a Jazz Pig. Oink, Oink, Oink!!!
The pigs traveled north last weekend to take on 3 time defending D2 college national champions University of Minnesota – Duluth. In typical Duluth fashion it was very windy which affected each teams attack. The first half the pigs went up 20-10 with the wind at their backs. The first points of the match were scored by the pigs on a penalty via a kick to bring the score to 3-0. Duluth answered with a try and the Pigs answered back with three tries and two points from a kick. Duluth scored a final try to finish off the half. The second half started with the wind at the Pigs’ face and Duluth was able to bring the score up to 20-20. Rest rest of the second half was largely a stalemate with one more try scored by the Pigs and immediately answered by Duluth tying the score up again at 25-25. Because this was a friendly a third half was played and new bodies were shuffled in. In the final minute of the third half the Pigs made a very long drive to score. The kick was made and the score increased to 32-25 as the whistle blew for full time. It was a very exciting match to watch and we look forward to future friendlies with Duluth. The Pigs’ next match will be May 14th details will be released soon. Also make sure to find your favorite Jazz Pig and get your ticket to the annual Saulala Mafi Pig Roast which will follow our home matches on the 14th! There will be beer, food and a raffle.
Close games by both sides on Saturday paired with some beautiful weather made for a great day of rugby. The first match of the day was with the D2 side. The pigs struggled to find their stride early on, ending the first half with a 24 point deficit. However they not only closed that gap in the second half, but were up by 7 points with 10 minutes left in the match thanks to a solid defensive effort, crisp back line play and three tries by man of the match Jole Miller. Metropolis was able to score two times in the second half bringing the score to 38-34. The Pigs made one last offensive push as time ran out and the game unfortunately came to a close as the result of a penalty while within Metro’s 22. Overall a great second half effort by the Pigs.
The D4 team took the field afterwards for another 80 minutes of rugby. Lots of new players got reps in and the Bombers came out on top with a score of 36-29.
We’ll keep this momentum moving forward as the Pigs travel to Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, April 23rd to take on Des Moines RFC.
The St. Paul Jazz Pigs lost to the Bremer County Bucks, 18-24, but still maintain their #3 spot in the Division II West Standings. They have several tough matches ahead against the Chicago Blaze, Wisconsin, and both their cross-town rivals the East Side Banshees and Metropolis.
The St. Paul Jazz Pigs headed down to Waverly, IA to take on the Bremer County Bucks. The Pigs were looking for some payback after the Bucks forfeited what should have been their first match in MN. However, the day ended in disappointment after flat play from the Pigs (and some questionable calls) allowed the Bucks to score two quick tries with less than 5 minutes remaining in the match. The Pigs tried to rally back, but couldn’t string together enough good ball movement to score again. The Pigs lost with a final score of 18-24.
The Bomber posted another win, due to a forfeit from the Rochester Rogues.
The St. Paul Pigs took a hard beating from the South Side Irish, but the Bombers laid out a devastating shut-out. Match reports
The St. Paul Jazz Pigs traveled to Chicago, IL for the second time this season to take on the South Side Irish. The Pigs were looking for another big win to push them even higher in the standings, but as usual, luck was not on their side. Continuing on with the theme this year, South Side got off to quick start, scoring quickly and easily off of broken plays. Rather than gathering themselves and attacking back, as we’ve seen them do in every other game this season, the Pigs seemed slow and almost willing to adapt and react. Eventually, the Pigs did change some things around, and put together some truly smart looking rugby. It was a case of too little too late, though, and they suffered a very tough loss. Final score 24-68, SS Irish. The only highlights were that the Pigs did manage to secure a bonus point for scoring 4 tries, and that every other team in their group suffered shut-outs, so there was no real loss in standings.
On a positive note, the Bombers took on the Minneapolis Mayhem at Lexington-Diffley, and absolutely crushed them. From what little I heard of the game, there was excellent rugby played by the Bombers. Which really showed how the team is coming together as a unit, and learning how to play with each other. Final score was something like 110 or 120 – 0, Bombers win.