Las Vegas Invitational Tournaments
Feb. 11-12 2011
The Las Vegas Invitational Tournaments at 7am was filled with rugby players from all over the world. They all came to compete against the best and the Las Vegas Lady Blackjacks were among the players there to compete. The Lady Blackjacks been training for weeks now for this moment to compete and see how they far against the rest of the rugby world. Las Vegas Invitational Tournaments has become one of the biggest rugby tournaments in North America.
The Lady Blackjacks first game was against Gee Gee Women’s Rugby Club. The game started well with the Ladies attacking and spinning the ball and trying to find a gap. The Gee Gee defense was solid and the Ladies could not find break through. But the ladies kept trying and finally broke the defense only to lose the ball meters from the try line. Lady Blackjacks also made a lot mistake which gave the other team opportunity to score. The 1st game of the day, are always the hardest one to play, but the Lady Blackjacks played hard and performed well. Though we came up short, the Lady Blackjacks learn their lesson and had some great feedback.
The 2nd game was against Guelph Lion Warriors. The Lady Blackjacks struck first with an awesome display of long passes and supporting line to take a 5-0 lead. The ladies got another opportunity to score when the forwards won the scrum and sent the ball to wing and then back to the forwards. With the defense already sliding the other direction the ladies score to take a 12-0 lead into the half. The 2nd half was another story, with the Warriors finding their 2nd wind and Lady Blackjacks looking fatigue and lack of communication. 7s is a game were anyone, at any time can win or lose. The ladies fell short again losing 19-12. But overall it was a great game with some nifty running rugby. I knew the more the ladies played the better they will get and the next one will be a “W”.
The final game of the day was to be the Lady Blackjacks game and opportunity to take the win. The Lady Blackjacks took the field with a little more confidence against their victim New Mexico. The Ladies attacked early off the kickoff and paid off with a try. The ladies defense was solid and communication was up and going. The ladies capitalize on the New Mexico mistake to take the win 17-5. It was an awesome feeling to see how hard the girls played and the outcome was a win. With each game the Ladies played the more confidence they became. I was proud how they reply to each game and every game improved. With more games and opportunity to play together, the Lady Blackjacks are becoming a very competitive team. The Lady Blackjacks are in the Bowl quaterfinal against York Lions. “Rugby, we dare you to TRY”
