South Meck Rugby Team Captain Robert Vaughn has been invited to play for the North Carolina Varsity rugby All Stars team!!!! They play in the Nationals here in Charlotte at the Rugby Athletic Center on Jun 20 & 21.Way to go Robert! (From Coach Beyer)
Congrats to Coach Beyer on earning his USA Rugby level-200 Coaching Certification!! What a fantastic milestone for our club to have SM faculty (Mr Beyer teaches Chemistry) with the required coaching certification. I will refrain from posting the laundry list of things that we could use as a club, that South Meck HS can provide, that are so much more achievable now.
This is getting real now. We (the Coaches) have made the committment. Hopefully this will make it that much easier/better for the players – we’re here to stay and flourish Sabres! Cheers, Coach Hawk
On Thursday we had a hard time against Providence Varsity losing by the score of 3 to a lot. But some good things about that game include that you boys did not give up, and we were not shutout. On Saturday we had a hard time against Charlotte Catholic JV, but they also had a hard time against us!!…we were just short (and one man short for final 7 minutes) on the scoreboard losing 20-29.
JV – good job playing/learning new positions against CC – we’re getting a lot of experience and it will pay off. We were in the game at the end and we’ll figure out what we need to do to put us on top next time.
Varsity – good job playing against a very experienced Varsity squad. We’re getting better every game. Head Coach Hayes has some good take-aways from the game that we’ll work on. Stay hungry and keep giving it your all.
All – learn as much as possible from each game. Learn the rules. Learn the tricks. Learn the plays. Learn what works. Learn what does not. Learn from doing. Learn from watching. Learn from our team. Learn from the other team. Learn your position. Learn a different position…
Two more games then the playoffs in May. Let’s finish strong. Practices Tu/W/Th each week starting now.
Cheers, Coach Hawk
So how do you evaluate the play/game of our first-year team lining up in a league match against a nationally ranked club? I guess one way is the score. Catholic got 29 and Sabres got 3.
Not bad I guess but we only played one half – the second half was cancelled due to lack of EMT. Another criterion might be set pieces – but darn it, Catholic had its way with us on line-outs and scrum downs.
So how about loose play? There I think we surpassed expectations!! Early in the game Catholic moved the ball fluidly and it seemed like each and every one of their guys was hard to bring down, and Catholic successfully smoothered Sabre’s backline/offense.
But as the first half progressed it got harder and harder for Catholic’s offense to function. The Sabres started coming up better on defense (quicker and together), made better tackles in the center and outside and managed to get some turnovers allowing Sabres to make offensive entries into Catholic territory.
How about attitude and composure? I think the Sabres crushed that one!! Our boys were fierce out there and got tougher as the game went on.
The Sabres did not lose their cool and kept their composure. The Sabres were not out there swearing when they got scored on. Hats of to you Sabres – you showed fantastic character and class!!
Sincerely, Coach Hawk
– (pictures from Catholic’s facebook – thanks.)
Congrats to all the Sabre boys/parents/coaches who made our first vistory possible. Way to go! It was a very windy day playing at the Ardrey Kell football stadium, but our boys put together a solid 31-7 victory on Saturday March 28, 2015. The wind was north-south and the Sabres had the wind to their back during the first half and used a number of kicks and agressive play to keep the Knight’s on their side of the pitch. The halftime score was 12-0 (2 tries).
The Knight’s were unable to convert their 2nd half wind advantage into much field advantage as the Sabres continued to control the game and put up an addtional 19 points (3 tries). The Knight’s scored on a late try with what appeared to be a 15-on-15 maul when they pushed it in from maybe 5 yards out.
Way to go Sabres! You should be so proud of your efforts, your victory, and your team. Congrats, Coach Hawk
Thursday March 5th, 2015 – No practice. Go Study. 🙂 Cheers, Coach, Hawk
Coach Hayes said the Sunday camp was a success and fun. That is great so many of you were able to participate. Here is picture from the day… Also big thanks to Severi Rugby, Coach Richie, and Coach Emilie for coming out to South Meck to train our boys (and Coaches) on Friday!! Cheers, Coach Hawk
Here are some pictures from our first match against Myers Park. Our ruggers earned our respect playing one man down the entire match. Although we lost, we kept getting better throughout the entire game. We gave up a lot of size to their pack but our scrums and many other aspects of our game looked better in the second half.
The boys never quit and Coach Hayes and I, and Mr. Beyer and Mr. Rice are very proud of them. – Coach Hawk
Congrats Sabres!! We had 30 students out to practice. I know some were visiting/watching to see what our rugby team is all about, but we’re including them in the count. Congrats and let’s keep recruiting. You guys put in good effort tonight and you make Coach Hayes and me so proud – I might say you guys are inspiring!!
Also, big thanks to guest Coach Tidd (The Senior) for helping us (again) on our scrummaging/lineouts.
Cheers, Coach Hawk
WE ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING PRACTICES EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY. If you have not been to our practice yet, please visit the practice tab/menu of this website where you can find details on practice locations/times.
“Coach Hawk, can I come out to practice to watch before I commit to joining the team?” YES – come on out to practice to see what we’re all about. Much of our practice is non-contact, but to participate in the contact parts of our practice, you will need paperwork (see Registration tab/menu) signed by your parent/guardian (of course) and a mouth guard (gum shield). Head Coach Hayes and I (and teachers Mr. Rice and Mr. Beyer) strive to foster a very positive environment for all our ruggers and safety is our top priority – you will need to get some contact practices in before playing in a game so come out to our next scheduled practice!!
“Coach Hawk, when are the games?” Please visit our Schedule tab/menu to see upcoming games. In addition to that schedule, we setup scrimmages and actually have a scrimmage this Saturday!! We’ll be updating the News & Schedule tabs/menus with more details on our scrimmage this weekend.
“Coach Hawk, how can I get my picture on this blog?” Come to practice this Thursday Jan 29th and I’ll take team photo with my crappy phone and post it here!!
Come out this year to be a Founding Member of the South Meck Rugby Team!!! Cheers, Coach Hawk