Thursday, April 29, 2010

Snow Canyon beats a very good Kearns 39-15

A good effort by both teams. Kearns is a very good team. They beat Highland HS2 team on March 28th.

HS2 v. Kearns1

The HS2 team lost a tough game to Kearns. Kearns, who had some incredible talent on the field, scored near the end of the game to take the lead and then kept possession until the clock ran out as the HR boys furiously tried to get the ball back to no avail. The game was physically brutal, with a few key injuries to our boys and three yellow cards given to Kearns for rough play. The Highland sideline was unhappy with what they perceived as an unwillingness by the official to call repeated offside infractions at the ruck, and although not everyone may see those kind of things the same way, all in attendance would no doubt commend the HR boys for a fantastic effort against a very physical and very skilled opponent. The boys can hold their heads up high and use this as a great building block for the rest of the season. And congratulations to Kearns on the victory.

A VIOLATION OF THE LAW ..........AND MORAL RELATIVITY

INTEGRITY and the BIG W!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The LETTER of the LAW and its discriminatory and selective application.

Where is the moral equality and consistency in making such a harsh technical ruling while standing silently each week while first year teams are smashed by 126 points.

What message are you sending to the young men at Snow Canyon? What message have you sent to the young men at Kearns?

I was at the game.

The score would have been 50 to 5 if my brother had left in his A squad in the entire game. But instead he subs in his reserves and Kearns scores twice in the last 5 minutes, and walks off the field with a greater measure of self respect. And Snow Canyon provides a big feed for Kearns after the game.

Perhaps a different story if the loss was by one point.

Now instead of taking the loss like gentleman, and an opportunity to improve skills and build character, THE BIG W rears it's ugly head, and an appeal is filed by Kearns on a substitution technicality that had absolutely no bearing on the game whatsoever. The motivation being concern for a young man's health, not a scheme to pile on the points.

I feel sorry that we can not take the higher moral ground.

Although I strongly disagree with the decision, it appears the matter was handled appropriately by the union president.

Coach Puriri's response on the ruling

From: toawarrior@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:14:32 +0000
To: Michael Cressler
Subject: Re: HS EC committe decision on the dispute between SC and Kearns

I also failed to mention that in all my years of rugby I have seen decisions based totally on the letter of the law, and very few on the spirit of the law. It takes a lot of courage to rule on the spirit of the law. The right ruling should of been based on the spirit of the law.

You made a decision without considering the boys safety. If I would of left him on and the boy collasped and died, I would been at fault. To do what I did should be rewarded no penalized. You guys missed an opportunity to take the higher road and go above and beyond, just the rule. If faced with the same situation I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

If a team is so hard up for a victory,after getting their butts kicked for 45-50 minutes then we will choose not to play against them in the future.
Sorry to whine. Next game we play we will fake injuries to get boys back in. Hopefully avoiding something like this again.

Michael Puriri
Coach Snow Canyon Rugby

The BIG W rears its ugly head

Subject: HS EC committee decision on the dispute between SC and Kearns

All,

After much discussion and review of the Laws of the game by myself and Larry Wilson as HS EC, Colin Puriri abstained due to family and single school implications, we have come to a conclusion. I will address both parts of the complaint separately for clarification

In regards to the 8 man who subbed in at the conversion and then subbed out, considering that all of the SC players had subbed out at that point in the game AND that per Law 3.12 exception 1 and 3.12 U-19 variation, the 8 man came on to sub a player who was injured. The player was checked out and returned to the game before the conclusion of the conversion. The 8 man then left the field of play. NO VIOLATION OCCURRED

The Prop is a different matter. We discussed heavily the interpretation of the above referenced laws, 3.12 exception 1 and 2 plus the U-19 variation, as have determined that while the prop was out of gas, he was not injured. We understand he was subbed out because he was exhausted and that he MAY become injured because he was tired. My understanding is that he had also played a game previously. While this does not matter in the least, it was a coaching decision that put a player into a position that ended up him needing to come out but there being no eligible front row. This does not fall within the laws or variations because there was no injury. Had the player REALLY needed to come out, the law 3.13(a) and (d) would come into play and a non front row could have subbed in and uncontested scrums would be utilized. Based upon this there was a VIOLATION OF THE LAW.


This really pains me because there was a wide margin in the scores, all of which was included in the play prior to this event. It also did not appear to be nefarious in any way or means with a coach thinking they were within the rules of the game when they are not. Not withstanding, we must also be consistent for violations of the laws. Davis County forfeited a game for an illegal substitution (their scrum half). Because there was no injury being subbed out for the prop, then we must look at this the same way. The HS EC votes to award the victory to Kearns HS due to forfeit because of substitution violation.

Regards,

Mike C.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

How you play the game ... not winning or losing

Utah Rugby Union official stats

Its interesting that the Highland losses are not shown in the win loss column on the Highland website. Difficult to explain when the losses this year alone are already at 5. Compared to 9 losses in 33 years.

Except for U-19 ,Highland teams are finding themselves in very competitive games every week, and at times on the losing end of the stick. How refreshing. Highland can be beaten.

Why is there such a wide contrast between the U-19 team that smashes every team by 60 to 120 points and all of the other Highland teams?

The answer is simple ................ 9 as in NINE import players on the U-19 squad.

The 33 year myth that is being exposed more and more each week is that the 379 wins is due equally to import players from New Zealand and not the coaching exclusively.

We are now giving long over due credit, to the the anonymous boys from down under.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!!!!

There are few to no import players on the other Highland teams. The result is a level playing field each week and very competitive games. The way it should have been for 33 years.

The anomaly of the weekly 100 point wins further clarifies the self serving nature of this very bad policy. How is this positive for rugby? How does it build brotherhood, sportsmanship and good character.

Its not whether you win or lose that matters but how you play the game. Highland teams are now learning HOW TO PLAY THE GAME. How you play involves losing once and a while. Losing is an essential part of improvement. The Highland program will be much the better for it. It is amazing how positive a good loss can be for a team.

Welcome to the real world.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

95-0

Montana taken care of, now on to Washington & Oregon
Thu - 22 Apr Written by Jeff Wilson
U19 v. Iron Horse (Montana) @ Rio Tinto Stadium

Iron Horse, from Frenchtown Montana, made their way to Salt Lake City to try and do what Arizona’s and Colorado’s best could not do: Slow down the Highland Rugby machine. The day began with promise for Iron Horse, who gave the High School squad from Highland everything they could handle in a 25-5 victory that was much closer than the score would indicate, with Iron Horse daring Highland to match its very physical brand of play. In the end, Kap Pauni and Jace Peterson provided the spark that Highland needed.

On to the main event, though. The Highland U19s, perhaps given a bit of a wake-up call from the tough contest given to the high school side, came out focused and ready to play against a very physically imposing Iron Horse U19 squad, and the boys in black would play their best game of the season in a 95-0 victory that was nothing short of domination at the beautiful 20,000 seat stadium, which will host this year’s HS/U19 national tournament.

#8 Maika Hafoka, recovering from a sub-par game in his last outing, took charge early with two tries that announced his physical presence. He took one ball off of a ruck from about 15 meters out, and another off of a 10m scrum. Both tries were punishing runs, and several Iron Horse defenders quickly found out that arm tackles would not be enough to bring the big man down. Also in the forwards, lock Sam Brookham showed that he would be a big presence all day, with complete domination in the lineout and physical play around the ruck. Following great field position from a weakside attack by scrumhalf Sean Harwood and wing Eric Pauni, Hafoka stole a lineout ball and immediately offloaded to open-side Ara Elkington, who touched right over for the try. The forwards would make it four in a row on the next possession as blind-side Aaron Hanson, continuing his stellar play, tackled and immediately poached the ball from an Iron Horse runner, then stepped over and found a gap which he took in for a 30-meter try.

After some uncharacteristic ball handling and passing errors, the explosive Highland backline finally woke up. Following a disallowed try off of a tap to prop Moises Peraza, Iron Horse foolishly tried to run the ball out of their own end zone off of scrum, and #10 Danny Tuai made them pay when he picked up a mishandled ball and put it down for the score. After a nice Iron Horse run on the next trip down the field, wing Josh Anderson got quick turnover ball and offloaded to Elkington, who then found fullback Tana Afeaki. Afeaki turned on the jets and outraced all defenders for a 50m try. A few nice phases got the ball wide for the next score, with the ball making its way down the line to center Brigham Tukukino for the try in the corner. The kicking game was the catalyst for the next score, as for the second game in a row Tuai’s kick found the deep corner and was picked up by Anderson who took it in for the try to close out the first half. Halftime found quite a bit of praise from the normally hard-to-please Highland coaches, who could find little to critique with such a complete performance.

A huge hit by Peraza on the second half kickoff showed that there would be no coasting, as the HR coaching staff began to work some alternate lineups by cross-training several players at their secondary positions. Hafoka took a ball from depth off of the ensuing lineout and bulled through the Montana defense for his third score of the game, and lock/prop Kesni Tausinga showed off his physical skills by picking up and moving an ENTIRE ruck back about 5 meters. After some back-and-forth kicking by both teams, Harwood took a quick tap and spun the ball wide, eventually finding wing Etu Moli for a corner try. After some sloppy play with the advent of numerous subs, wing Eric Pauni picked up a loose ball off of a ruck and powered his way over for yet another Highland score. Reserve center Tevita Bloomfield would add two more scores before the day was done.

Afterward, a nice exchange between the two teams saw hats and t-shirts presented back and forth. Iron Horse selected the #8 from each team (Kap Pauni for the HS and Hafoka for the U19) as the man of each respective match, while Highland acknowledged Iron Horse’s small but feisty scrumhalf as a standout player.

Highland continues to take on the best of the Western states, as they travel to Seattle this weekend to take on Chuckanut (WA) and Eastside (OR).

1: DJ Ferris (Matt Jensen @ 40:00), 2: Levi Card ( c ) (Kingston Liavaa @ 45:00), 3: Moises Peraza (Michael Western @45:00), 4: Sam Brookham (Justin Hill @ 45:00), 5: Kesni Tausinga (Nate Watchman @55:00), 6: Aaron Hanson (Josh Nilsen @ 45:00), 7: Ara Elkington (Andrew Jensen @ 45:00), 8: Maika Hafoka (Kap Pauni @ 40:00), 9: Sean Harwood (Kepu Lauti @ 45:00), 10: Danny Tuai ( c ) (Wini Elkington @ 50:00), 11: Eric Pauni (Josh Andersen @ 20:00), 12: Dion Stevens (Tevita Bloomfield @ 45:00), 13: Brigham Tukukino (Leva Bloomfield @ 50:00), 14: Etu Moli, 15: Tana Afeaki (Dane Madsen @ 45:00)

Scoring: (T) – Hafoka (3), T. Bloomfield(2), Hanson, A. Elkington, Tuai, E. Pauni, Anderson, Moli, Afeaki, Tukukino (Kicking summary not provided)

Monday, April 19, 2010

The bitter pill of defeat & Humble Pie

We all have tasted this pill over and over again. It is an essential part of building sustainable character and programs with deep roots.

Winning all of the time is like weight lifting with no weight on the bar. I did 100 reps to your 0. How much weight, resistance, competition did you have? Can't answer that question .....got to go.

Check out the Highland website. Not one mention about the recent losses to Davis, United and Snow Canyon.

http://highlandrugby.net

Easy to be proud of smashing teams 70,80, 100, 120 to zero. Humility in losing will take time.

The bitter pill of defeat is difficult to swallow because it exposes the thin veneer of the appearance of superiority and 25 years of unbeaten teams. Highland is discovering what it is like to compete on a level playing field. It will continue to have its ups and downs like all teams. But the downs are good because that is the only way you discover your weaknesses and the areas that need work and improvement. And it builds character because that is the way of life.

Don't sweat it Highland...join the club of occasional mediocrity and welcome to reality and our world.

Humble Pie is good for the soul.

Another score to proud of 107-0

U-19 v. Provo / 107-0

Highland’s U19’s took on first-year Provo in a game which was rescheduled one day later than originally scheduled. The game took place at Murray Rugby Stadium, under beautiful conditions. Highland started off quickly, with Highland putting in a try in the first minute. Provo, who was well-coached and had some success against us in the lineout early with some creative movement, couldn’t really manage to sustain anything over more than a phase or two. Standouts on the day included wing Josh Anderson, who raced to a hat trick of tries which included a nice pickup off of a kick ahead, scrumhalf Sean Harwood, and #10 Danny Tuai in the backs. In the forwards, the front row of DJ Ferris, Levi Card, and Moises Peraza all ran and rucked hard, and break Ara Elkington was like an 8th back in open play. The boys did some much-needed conditioning on the field following the game, showing a refusal to be satisfied with the status quo and realizing that just being happy with the 107-0 victory is not enough – we must continue to get better.

1: DJ Ferris, 2: Levi Card ( c ), 3: Moises Peraza, 4: Sam Brookham, 5: Kesni Tausinga, 6: Aaron Hanson, 7: Ara Elkington, 8: Maika Hafoka, 9: Sean Harwood, 10: Danny Tuai ( c ), 11: Eric Pauni, 12: Dion Stevens, 13: Wini Elkington, 14: Josh Anderson, 15: Tana Afeaki

Reserves: Michael Western, Kingston Liavaa, Matt Jensen, Justin Hill, Kap Pauni, Kepu Lauti, Etu Moli, Tevita Bloomfield, Brigham Tukukino, Jace Peterson

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Black Planet hit by three meteorites (losses) today

The Highland Sophomore team was beaten by the United Sophomore team 37 to 32. A tough and very good game.

The Highland Varsity team was beaten by the Snow Canyon Warriors (St George) single school team 11 to 7 in Salt Lake.

And DC Rugby beat the Highland Sophomore A squad for the second time this season 17 - 7. Three weeks ago DC Rugby beat the same squad 42-17.

Highland showing they are like the rest of the teams in the league. Can be beaten on any given Saturday.

The 100+ to zero scores are sad anomalies of first year teams playing Highlands U-19 juggernaut. There is no meaningful or positive purpose to these games other than the 100-0 scores look pretty in the win column.The BIG W! It destroys the spirit and will of the other players, all new to the game.

Why do we allow this to continue?

Since Highland decimated Dixie 107-0 the team has been reduced to 9 players and may not make it through the season.

Who's conscience is bothered by this policy and practice? How do you sleep at night?

126-0 Another basketball score to be proud of ....

The Highland U-19 team smashes our brothers from Springville, 126 to 0. I am speechless.