The Renegades have had an eventful past few weeks, beating Harrisburg one Saturday by a landslide and then conceding almost the same number of points to Whitehorse the next.
The reason? A few, but primarily the Renegades’ ability in offense versus defense.
Against Harrisburg, the Renegades had ball possession for the vast majority of the game, with strong runs and slick offloads carrying the Renegades into the Harrisburg tryzone a whopping 17 times. A few lost lineouts and scums did little to stop the Renegade attacking machine.
“Things were clicking,” said Diana Valencia, Renegades Captain, “we were able to play the kind of rugby we’ve been working hard at during training.”
This dynamic attack was still present for parts of the game against Whitehorse, with the Renegades putting 20 points on the board against a nationally ranked side. A try on the Wing from flanker Lucia Middleton, after full-back Gabby Colasurdo broke through several Whitehorse tackles and offloaded, set the Renegades up for another opportunity when Gabby broke through the defensive line again, offloaded to Leah F. Berry, and put another 5 points on the scoreboard. Props Beth Kaltenback and Marlie Doriston also played huge roles in the next 10 points. Inches away, Marlie pushed through for a strong ball placement in the Whitehorse tryzone. A strong carry and offload to Gabriella “G2” Kelly from Beth enabled the Renegades to score for the fourth time.
However, the cracks in the Renegade defense were on full display for the rest of the game. The Renegades struggled to shift quickly enough and were not committing to their tackles, and as a result Whitehorse were able to exploit the space and run through. When the Renegades had ball possession, they also struggled to maintain it in the rucks, with Whitehorse poaching the ball many times and resulting in several penalties against the Renegades.
“Defense was once again our weakness against a very strong Whitehorse side. This game was a wake up call for us, and moving forward we aim to improve on that!” said Diana Valencia.
The Renegades take on Doylestown next in (you guessed it) Doylestown, PA. KO is at 11am, with a B-side game taking place soon after!
Final Score 20-72
TRIES
- Kelly59′
- Doriston51′
- Berry25′
- Middleton22′