GAME STATS

A season that officially began on the road in Little Rock back in January came to a close this past weekend with the New Orleans Rugby Football Club participating in the USA Rugby Sweet 16 championships in Austin, Texas.

Though no one knew it at the time of that long, slogging road up to a frozen Arkansas pitch, the season would prove an unforgettable one for New Orleans rugby – one that saw impressive achievements on the field, new recognition in the community and exposure to a higher level of national competition.

New Orleans would end its regular season with an undefeated 8-0 record, earn the title of Deep South division champions and snag a ticket to the national playoffs.

"This team is on the way up," says head coach Jerry Malina. "While we didn't get the results we were after this weekend, we did gain experience competing at the national playoff level and that will be invaluable as we prepare for next season."

After earning the No. 13 seed for the Sweet 16 playoff round, New Orleans faced No. 4-ranked Tulsa, the champion of the West division. The first half saw many New Orleans errors, which Tulsa was quick and able to exploit on their way to building a 37-0 lead at halftime. New Orleans regrouped in the second half and scored two tries, but it was not enough to overcome Tulsa's dominant lead. The match ended at 47-14.

In the consolation round the following day, New Orleans faced the South Side Anchors from Boston, the No. 12 seed and champion of its Northeast division. New Orleans again found itself in a hole, allowing 21 unanswered points before landing a successful try. The team brought the game within three points, training Boston 24 to 21 late in the game. But South Shore put it away with two more tries, and New Orleans gave up a 38-21 loss to end the playoffs.

Upcoming Events  

• July 31  NORFC Board of Directors Meeting and Social, Rugby Pub 8:30pm after Touch from 6-8 at the Gretna Pitch
  

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