Redding trio puts Aspetuck Rugby closer to State playoffs

In what could be defined as a season changing game, Aspetuck High School Rugby team beat previous #2 team, Amity High School, 24 -17 in a very physical contest at the Joel Barlow football field on Sunday. Knowing the importance of this game, Aspetuck were fired up before kickoff and started with real urgency and energy. In the first five minutes, after some hard hitting defense and strong running by the entire team, Redding’s Scott Dineen managed to sneak around the defense from a ruck, and cross the line for the first points of the game. Weston’s Max Carroll added an extra 2 points with a perfectly kicked conversion.

With fire in their bellies, Aspetuck didn’t back down. The loose forwards trio made up of ‘Man of the Match’, Wilton’s Ryan Robb, Weston’s James Milne and Redding’s Andrew Cheal all had outstanding games, attacking in offensive play and shutting Amity down in defense. Each time Amity tried to build pressure on Aspetuck the loose forwards combination effectively doubled and sometimes tripled up on defense to stop the play dead and turn the ball over to the home team. This continual team pressure led Redding’s Andrew Cheal, through some powerful leg drives, to carry three Amity players twenty yards to score near the posts. Weston’s James Milne was rewarded for his game-long support play by scoring inside the first half. Carroll again added another 2 points to his personal tally with a successful conversion. This gave Aspetuck a 3 try to 1 half time lead.

Midway in the second half Amity’s size and experience started to come through as they managed to score two unanswered tries to be trailing by two points at 19-17. Aspetuck’s center combination of Redding seniors, Christian Huribal and Luke Preston, began to put the game back into Aspetuck’s favor through some bone crunching defense. In a space of ten minutes two of Amity’s players were forced from the field, with Huribal needing some repairs of his own. Back on the field with a taped up head and relocated shoulder and five minutes to go, Huribal sealed the win for Aspetuck as he carved his way through the Amity team with a 50 yard solo effort.

“This game was won through the tireless hard work of the Aspetuck forward pack who probably had a 30lb weight disadvantage per player, but made up for it with attitude”, Aspetuck’s coach Mark VanEyk was quoted saying. “Today we won because we had more heart. The boys never gave up, and continued to fight for every last yard out there. Every one of them played for the team. It was all fifteen playing for each other and now we get to enjoy this win.”

The B side game showed the strength and depth of the Aspetuck team winning 8 tries to 0 in a shortened version of the game. Everyone in the squad was involved on the day with many new players scoring tries in both matches.

This Friday, May 3rd, Aspetuck takes on Stamford Academy @ 5pm at the Joel Barlow Football Stadium. Entry is free, so come and support the boys as they charge towards the playoff of the Connecticut D2 competition.

For more information on Aspetuck Valley Rugby visit the website at www.AspetuckValleyRugby.org.