In their fall season opener, the Renegades faced off against the Thorns and Philadelphia Rugby teams in a round-robin. They continued their progress from last spring, beating Philly 33-0 and the Thorns 29-5 in two games that highlighted the Renegades’ strengths as well as some room for improvement.
The biggest highlight? The Renegades’ large brood of rookies, who filled out the squad to number a total of 28 players, a number not seen since before Kat Hussey had her first baby (we wait in anticipation for her thunderous return). This gave the Renegades the opportunity to continue building team chemistry while also getting to put new talent on the field.
“Saturday turned out to be a perfect season opener,” said Diana Valencia, Captain of the Renegades. “Not only did seasoned players step into their roles, the rookies also really shined in what was some of their first ever minutes on a rugby field. We still have a lot to work on, but the future of Monmouth Rugby is bright.”
The backline had a field day with their centers, with Diana scoring multiple tries across both games as the number 12. Ball speed down the line was also solid, with a pass out to Gabriella “G2” Kelly at Wing sealing another 5 points for the Renegades. The forwards also had some shining moments. Scrums and lineouts were in good form, with the tight 5 able to quickly readjust their formation even with the cycling in and out of players. However, the Renegade defensive line was not very reactive and was often flat, which the Thorns were able to capitalize on and score a try towards the end of their game. The Renegades will focus on improving this for next week’s game.
Nikki Bisoglio, Vice Captain of the Renegades, was also pleased with the team performance. “I was very impressed with the scrums,” she said. “We did a very good job at holding our own. I think with a lot of hard work the team can go very far, especially with the deep roster that we are very fortunate to have. We had six Players of the Match today, and I think that shows the high intensity that the team was playing at.”
The Renegades face the Phoenixville White Horses on September 14th in Phoenixville, PA, in their first competitive EPRU game. Kickoff is at 12pm!
