Hibernian Men Current Season Match Reports

EPRU Division III Playoffs Finals 11/08/08

vs. Lehigh Valley   5 - 23 ( 5 - 12)

The Hibernians traveled to Monocacy Park in Bethlehem on a damp day to play Lehigh Valley RFC for their final fixture of the 2008 campaign.  The Hibo’s traveled strong, and were determined to end the season on a strong note.

Although the Hibernians came out on the wrong end of the scoreline, it seemed to be a very enjoyable match to play.  The Hibo’s were constantly on the attack, and relentlessly probed the defense with a wide assortment of kicks and runs. The biggest struggle on the day seemed to be the wet ball and a few players who found themselves in unfamiliar positions.  As frustrating as every loss is, there were many positive things that emerged from this match, and every player left the pitch looking forward to the start of next season.  

Man of the Match was awarded to Dan McGovern for his relentless defense and his ubiquitous support during attack.  Goose of the week went to Tim McCall for reasons to numerous to mention here.

Man of the Match: Dan McGovern

Team: 1 Justin Zadnik*, 2 John Austerberry, 3 Pat Mason, 4 Nick Conklin, 5 Keith Reilly*, 6 Todd Mason, 7  Dan McGovern, 8 Jeff Koch*, 9 Sal Ranniello, 10 Vincent Salvatore, 11 Larry LaMaina, 12 Dave O’Neil, 13 Jason Dean**, 14 Mark Transue, 15 John Vella

Subs:  *At 34:05 in the 1’st half, Justin moved to center, Jason moved to prop, Luther came in at #8, Jeff Koch moved to 2’d row and Keith Reilly came out.   **At 11:05 in the 2’d half Tim McCall came in for Jason Dean at prop.

vs. Lehigh Valley B-side

The B side match consisted of 2 20 minute periods, with Lehigh winning 25 – 10 (5 – 15).

Man of the Match: Brian Foley

Team: 1 Charles McDonald, 2 Frankie Connors, 3 Tim McCall, 4 Bruce Bethlehem, 5 Tim Dankanich, 6 Brian Foley, 7  Blue, 8 Pat Mason, 9 Larry LaMaina, 10 Brian McCall, 11 Kurt, 12 Kevin Castner, 13 Jason Dean, 14 Jeff Koch/ Dan McGovern/John Vella, 15 Mark Transue

The Hibernians first try was scored by Jason Dean, who bulled over from 5 meters out.  The Hibo’s next try came from John Vella. B side player of the week was awarded to Brian Foley.

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EPRU Division III Playoffs Second Round 11/01/08

vs. North Penn    40 - 40 (26 - 21)

The Hibernians traveled to the North Penn rugby compound in Lansdale , PA for their second EPRU playoff match.  The day was bright, dry and a perfect rugby temperature.  The scoring summary is below.

The match was as entertaining as the scoreline suggests.  North Penn proved to be a great match for the Hibernians, who undoubtedly gained tremendous experience playing under the intense pressure of a semifinal.

Men of the Match: Entire Team

Team: 1 Tim McCall **, 2 John Austerberry, 3 Pat Mason, 4 Keith Riley, 5 Nick Conklin, 6 Justin Zadnik, 7 Todd Mason, 8  Zach Padgetts, 9 Dave O’Neill, 10 Vincent Salvatore, 11 Brian McCall *, 12 Sal Ranniello, 13 Jason Dean, 14 Mark Transue, 15 Larry LaMaina

 Subs:  *Replaced by Brian Bluett, **Replaced by Justin Zadnik moving to prop, Luther entering as flanker

vs. North Penn  B-side

Report Pending

Team: 1 Rob Smith, 2 Tim Dankanich, 3 Pat Mason, 4 Justin Zadnik, 5 Chuckles, 6 Frankie Connors, 7 Brian Bluett, 8 Luther, 9 Thad Campbell, 10 Brian McCall, 11 Kurt Horchheimer, 12 Dave O'Neil, 13 Bill Bowen, 14 Nick Conklin, 15 Todd Mason

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EPRU Division III Playoffs First Round 10/26/08

vs. Harrisburg  12 – 47 (5 – 25)

 The Hibo’s journeyed to scenic Highspire , Pennsylvania to play a very well-trained Harrisburg RFC in the first round of the EPRU D3 playoff schedule. The weather was bright and dry with a perfect rugby temperature.

 In an effort to aid the US economy by saving gasoline, the Hibo’s traveled with exactly 15 players, who lined up in the following positions:

 The end result of the match belies the actual tone and tempo of how the game played out. Harrisburg were a good side, and after the match the Hibo’s were told that we scored more points on them than any other side this EPRU season. The scoring summary is as follows:

The scoring summary makes several things very apparent (besides the fact that Harrisburg needs a kicker).  There is an extremely valuable lesson here to be learned.

Harrisburg scored their first try because the Hibo’s showed no interest in claiming the opening kickoff.  Harrisburg recovered that kickoff deep in Hibo territory to draw first blood.  Harrisburg scored their next 3 tries over the following 20 minutes, at which point the Hibo’s finally woke up.  This pattern was almost repeated in the second half, as Harrisburg scored soon after the restart. Harrisburg also scored a try in injury time at the end of each half.

The lesson to be learned is that the Hibernians as a team, and each individual player, needs to be 100% switched on for the entire 80 minutes of play.  The paragraph above shows that being lethargic cost the Hibo’s 7 tries, or 35 points. The margin of victory for Harrisburg was exactly 35 points.  So the question is, did Harrisburg beat the Hibernians, or did the Hibo’s beat themselves?

In many ways it was a very positive day for the Hibernians, with some players finding themselves in unfamiliar positions yet turning in admirable performances.  Mark Transue continues to improve with each match he plays, Nick did a wonderful job winning ball every chance he could, Vinnie looked like a natural playing flyhalf, Timmy Mac kept possession of every ball he touched, and his brother Brian was a real threat from wing.  Jeff Koch did such a great job of playing eight-man and providing leadership as scrum captain that the referee praised him at the after-match social. The backline as a whole showed nice imagination and execution in their play calling as well as their judicious kicking game.

Man of the Match was awarded to Jason Dean for his outstanding work at outside center.  Goose of the week went to Rob Smith, for his ability to nurse a hamstring injury for 10+ years.

Man of the Match: Jason Dean

Team: 1 Tim McCall, 2 Chuckles, 3 Tim Dankanich, 4 Pat Mason, 5 Nick Conklin, 6 Todd Mason, 7 Dan McGovern, 8 Jeff Koch, 9 Dave O’Neil, 10 Vincent Salvatore, 11 Brian McCall, 12 Sal Ranniello, 13 Jason Dean, 14 Mark Transue, 15 John Vella

 Subs:  

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vs. Wilkes- Barre 10/18/08

34 – 0 (19 – 0)

The Hibernians hosted the Wilkes Barre Breakers on a bright, cool and dry autumn day at Fallsington Elementary School

Although the result is not flattering to the Hibernians, we were extremely unlucky to end the afternoon scoreless. The Hibo’s would regularly find themselves near their opponent’s goal line, only to have their opportunities lost due to nervous hands, an errant pass, or some other unfortunate occurrence.

Men of the Match: John Vella and Luther

Team: 1 Jason Dean, 2 Todd Mason, 3 Pat Mason, 4 Jeff Koch, 5 Nick Conklin, 6 Luther, 7 Keith Reilly, 8 Chris Bradish, 9 Vince Salvatore, 10 Larry LaMaina, 11 Blue*, 12 Sal Ranniello, 13 George Mette, 14 Mark Transue, 15 John Vella

Subs:  * Replaced at halftime by Brian McCall