The Savannah Shamrocks opened their 2015 Friendly Season with a road win against the Tallahassee Conquistadors. Early in the match the Shamrocks looked as rusty as could be expected in a season opener giving up an easy try after several missed tackles. While the tackling didn’t improve during the first half the Shamrocks were able to make the best of limited possession by putting in one try of their own in the first 20 minutes of action. A quick water break due to heat energized the Shamrocks and they put in four consecutive tries against the Conquistadors to take a 29-5 halftime lead. Despite the lead, there was a quite a bit to talk about during the halftime talk. Effort, defense and rucking were the primary topics on Coach Scott “Boston” Lucas’ mind. The second half started with a much more organized approach and return to Savannah’s game plan. While only 1 try was scored during the first 20 minutes it was clearly the best passage of play for Savannah on the day. With a 34-5 lead in hand the discipline of the game became an issue as several Tallahassee players were sent to the bin, upset with referee calls. Despite being down a man the Conquistadors were able to touch down two converted tries in the final 20 minutes against a worn down Shamrock side. The final score of 34-21 demonstrated the difficulty of playing a road test against a tough opponent when traveling with only 17 able bodied ruggers. Savannah is happy with the win but definitely learned a lot about what needs to be worked on during this season while getting new players on to the field and performing up to high standards of the club.
Man of the Match
Steve Weinman – Steve played in his very first every rugby game at Lock and played the full 80 minutes in a way that impressed everyone on the field. Continued hard work and improvement could find Steve being an extremely valuable member of the club throughout the season at a position of need.
Final Score 34-21
Tries: Chad Cooley, Gavin Rourke, Eric Geckas (2), Liam Reimsnider, Greg Woodruff
Conversions: Matt Midgett 2 of 6
