February 4th, 2012
It was a perfect rugby day in Thousand Oaks, CA for the undefeated Ventura County Outlaws match against 1-1 San Fernando.
The action started off with some tough play around midfield. San Fernando gained momentum behind relentless crashes by their forwards. They were able to drive down inside Ventura’s 22 when they were awarded a penalty. The visiting kicker missed to the left on a low line drive at 6:00.
Ventura regained posession and fought hard for yardage; the Outlaws were having trouble getting the ball to their speedy backs in space. After a combination of forward crashes and backs’ plays, Ventura was awarded a penalty on San Fernando’s 22. Marcus Mulick punched a line drive kick through the uprights to put the Outlaws up 3-0 at 13:30. They would never relinquish the lead.
The Outlaws kept San Fernando on their heels with accurate kicks, like one by Vinny Bartels at 17:50 which completely flipped the field. Strong runs by the Ventura backs, like Greg DeTorre’s 20 yarder at 18:30, kept the San Fernando back line scrambling.
At 19:40, Ventura was awarded a scrum just inside the San Fernando 22. The ball came out quickly to Shawn Love who popped a beautiful scissor pass to the hard-running Hector de Alba. Hector fended off 3 San Fernando tacklers to touch the ball down at the right post for the game’s first try. Marcus added the chip-shot conversion for a 10-0 Ventura lead.
For about 10 minutes it seemed that nothing was going Ventura’s way; the Outlaws were constantly being called for penalties and it seemed that they were about to lose their composure. A hard tackle to touch by Nick DeTorre prevented San Fernando from getting their wings involved.
After being awarded a penalty around midlfield, Marcus booted a soaring kick to touch just inside the five meter line on the home side of the field. The Outlaws knew exactly what to do with it: Ruben Morgan shipped a perfect pass to Brad Sievert who hauled it down for a maul. Ruben then snatched the ball and touched it down as the Ventura pack bulldozed their way into the try zone at 35:00. A great team effort, and Marcus’s second made covnersion (this time from the near sideline), put the home team up 17-0 giong into halftime.
Ventura came out of halftime charged up, keeping the ball in San Fernando’s half for almost the entire duration. San Fernando didn’t seem to trust their kicking game, so they relied on relentless forward crashes to gain territory. The hosts met them time and again, never allowing a major run.
Nick DeTorre made a try-saving tackle at 8:00 when a San Fernando player scooped up a loose ball deep in their own territory. With no one in front of him, the visiting player appeared to have a clear 80 yard run for a score, but DeTorre chased him down and stripped the ball out of bounds to send posession back to the Outlaws.
At 23:00, Ventura swung a ball to the backs following a scrum at about their own 22. The ensuing kick went high in the air and was being chased by Jeff Dull. The San Fernando player may have heard the footsteps because he fumbled the ball. The bounce went right into Cools’s hands and he sprinted untouched for a 50 yard try. Marcus tacked on another conversion for a 24-0 lead.
Even though the gamewas nearly put away, the Outlaws continued to pressure the San Fernando defense. 32 minutes into the second half, a lineout at San Fernando’s 15 meter line led to a tricky try by Koto in which he nearly went out of bounds, but then slipped through the defense before they could react. Marcus booted through yet another tough kick to put the Outlaws up 31-0. The Outlaws also picked up a bonus point for their fourth try of the match.
At 37:00 San Fernando suddenly came to life, managing to get the ball into Ventura’s half for what seemed like the first time since the opening minutes. The Ventura defense appeared tired after pitching a 77 minute shutout, and San Fernando put together a nice play to their backs that led to a try in the far corner. The missed kick set the score at 31-5 in favor of the Outlaws. San Fernando tried desperately to score again, but the Outlaws held firm for the win.
The victory gives the Outlaws 18 points in SoCal’s Div II.