Sewanee Rugby Lose away to Georgia Tech

Rookie “B” Team Compensate with Impressive Win

10/03/09: Despite taking a 10 – 5 lead into the halftime break, the Haze conceded 24 second-half point to give Georgia Tech a 10 – 29 point’s victory. A combination of factors – an appalling pitch, (maybe the worst in the whole of the south), an inexperienced, partisan Tech Alumni referee and mounting frustration – opened the door for the Tech comeback.

Take nothing away from Sewanee’s opponents; they took their opportunities well even if the Haze did hand them gift-wrapped and on a plate.

Senior flanker Will King put Sewanee ahead with a try captain Lawrence Coffey converted. Tech replied with an unconverted try. Coffey put the Haze further ahead with a well struck penalty, and gave Sewanee the halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Haze lost control of their game and allowed Tech to score four tries and two conversions to win the match 29 – 10.  Despite their shortcomings, Sewanee did piece together some enterprising rugby, but allowed their frustration with poor and biased refereeing to thwart several good scoring opportunities.

At the final whistle, the Haze re-grouped and sent-out the rookie “B” squad, reinforced with alumni Jacob Lewin at fullback and some of the Sewanee seniors. Lewin obliged by opening the Sewanee account with a fine try down the right flank. With the bit between their teeth, the Haze rookies struck again almost immediately when freshman center Justin Hoffman broke several tackles to make his debut score. The conversion was made by Ethan Bucholtz – a most unlikely success. Hoffman showed a real taste for scoring when he ran in another impressive try shortly before full-time. He was not as lucky with his conversion attempt, but by that time the entire Haze squad was smiling again.

Sewanee “B” 17, Georgia Tech “B” 5

The Haze are now 3 – 1. Next week Sewanee Rugby will stage an invitational Homecoming game comprising two teams drawn from the Rugby Alumni, the senior side and the rookies. Kick-off 3 pm at the Quintard Rugby Field.

Coach's Note:

It is not the policy of Sewanee Rugby to use external factors (pitch, referee, etc) as an excuse for losing a match. Tech got their chances and took them. We made it easy for them, but that's an issue we can deal with and correct in training.

It is true, however, that the GaTech rugby field is a disgrace and on which it is impossible to play a serious and competitive game of rugby. It is very short in both length and width. The surface is extremely uneven and it has a pronounced slope. I have every sympathy with the GaTech club having to make-do with what they are given - however, as a Division II club with championship aspirations, one must question their willingness to accept continually the field they have. And this is not just me complaining - Every team I know that has played at Tech has complained similarly. Given the size of the University and it's other sport resources, one would expect the players, parents, officials and alumni to make the case for a drastic improvement to their facility.

The issue with the match official unlocks a lid on a real can of worms. As the sport has developed and improved, good referees have become a scarce commodity. The gentlemen who officiated the Sewanee match did what he considered was his best. Unfortunately, he was inexperienced and sometimes lacking in his understanding of the laws. His positioning was poor, preventing him from seeing all that occurred, and on many occasions he struggled to keep up with play. Worse, he failed to issue commands at key breakdowns ("Ruck", "Hands Off", "Stay on your feet", "Stay on side" etc.). These commands are a major feature of good refereeing and are essential to help the players involved understand the precise game status at any time. As a Tech rugby alumni, Saturday's referee was faced with accusations from several Sewanee players of a bias toward Tech. Frankly, I think it was as a result of inexperience and ineptitude that gave this impression, more so than deliberate favoritism. 


Much effort is being made by USA Rugby and the regional referee societies to recruit and train more referees, but these efforts are a long way off giving us the quality and fairness we need.

The second half of the senior match saw Sewanee lose their way and allow frustration with the referee and then themselves influence their game. With a young, developing side this happens. As Tech staged their comeback, Sewanee allowed emotions to spoil their play. When Tech intercepted and scored off a Sewanee pass, just as Sewanee were mounting an impressive attack, heads dropped and the team became very ragged. They failed to channel their frustration into more constructive play. But in the end, this is OK.

On the way to the match I talked with captain Lawrence Coffey about the possibility of losing. We both agreed that we hated the idea, but if it happened, we should put the loss to good use and get the team to understand how their experience effected their play. Sometimes it takes a loss in adverse conditions to make better all-round players. As the season progresses I'm sure they'll be faced with a similar situation, although next time they'll have the experience of the Tech game to help them overcome the difficulties that affected them the first time. Rugby is not all sweat and pounding. It has a powerful psychological element to it also. It takes a special kind of athlete to remain calm and focused when so much physical effort seems to lead nowhere - when the opposition is getting the upper hand and the calls are going against you. That's when you dig in. Rugby is the consummate team sport and if the team works as a team, they can regain the initiative, or at least say they pulled together and played their best.