Great work to all the guys who made the trip down to Iowa this weekend for Rugby Daze.  The Pigs opened their first match against the Minneapolis Mayhem.  They were able to make quick work of the Mayhem with a variety of tries.  The second match proved to be a bit more of a challenge.  Although dominating most aspects of the match, the Pigs had difficulty getting the ball across the tri line and lost 10-5.  That opened the our last match of the day against the Luther College team.  The Pigs brought it all together and won in triumphant fashion.

Thanks to all the Pigs who made the trip to Sioux Falls over the weekend.  The team hung strong, but with some depleated numbers did not come out victorious.  Great job by all the step up in the evening to win the party.

The Pigs took the field on Saturday against the young Duluth team ready for a big match.  The weather started rainy, but by the time the whistle blew the sun was starting to come out.  The Pigs started the match a little slow with the ball handling now quite there.  However as the minutes progressed they showed their true form and really got the ball moving.  Great work by the pack in controlling the ball and by the backs by getting the ball moving across the  field.  A great win for the Pigs side.

The Pigs traveled to Faribault expecting to help fill out the Faribault team in a match against Iowa Falls.  When the Pigs arrived at the pitch they had brought nearly a full team.  Faribault having less players than the Pigs changed gears and decided to fill out our side.  The match was won by the Pigs 14-7.  Click here for more details.

Saturday the Saint Paul team was under the impression they were going to help fill in the Faribault Boxsprings for a match against Iowa Falls.  However when we arrived at the pitch with nearly a full team we found we had more players than Faribault.  Thus Faribault gave us a couple of players to fill us out and we had a match underway.

The game was a good opener to get the lungs going and get our legs under us again.  The Pigs dominated nearly every aspect of the game and would have shut out the Iowa team except for a late score from them to end the game.  Saint Paul won the day 14-7.  Special welcome to newcomers Josh and Ben and the great play they brought with them.  And a special come back player to Wes for starting his first game with the Pigs in 8 years.

Tries:  Dietrich (1), Mattox (1)

Conversions:  Match 2 for 2

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.