In early December, Lisa Rosen approached YSC to see if we wanted to help do a women’s rugby podcast. We then brought in A Rugby Life as Hedley already does podcasts and rocks them! After several conference calls, emails and time…we’ve finally got it all arranged! Our first inaugural With You Podcast will be taking place next Monday! Our main topic for the podcast will be Gender Equity and the letter written by the Women’s Collegiate Strategic Committee (WCSC) to the USA Rugby Board Members and CEO Nigel Melville. We will have guest speak from the WSCS or if they cannot attend (still pending), we will read a followup statement to the letter.

This is a critical time for rugby in the USA and we need to keep going forward until gender equity is reached. You see, we chose the podcast name “With You” because we all know how important support is to the game of rugby. That extends to you as our followers, readers, friends and teammates, we need your participation! We urge you to ask the hard, stupid, funny and wanting questions that you have regarding this topic. Please leave your thoughts and comments in the comments section, or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter.

Also, please make sure you are following YSC Rugby on Facebook/Twitter, A Rugby Life on Facebook/Twitter and for the first podcast (and the others that will follow!) and other rugby news.

Lastly, please also join the Gender Equity Rugby Facebook page.

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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Happy New Year!  2011 was an exciting year for the YSC team celebrating 5 years of women’s rugby reporting.  We thank everyone for all their support, dedication, and help in making YSC such a success.  YSC has made a “New Year’s Resolution” to continue bringing women’s rugby to readers for the next 5 years leading us to the OLYMPICS.

What is your New Year’s Resolution?  YSC challenges you to help spread women’s rugby and prepare the world for the 2016 Olympics.  Get involved!  Become a part of the YSC team.

YSC is opening its doors to aspiring news reporters, photographers, videographers, or simple rugby junkies.  It’s a big job, and YSC could use your help.

If you would like to write articles, take photos/videos, find/research stories, conduct interviews, tally scores, help administrate or anything else…let us know via this form:

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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We are making some changes to our domain DNS due to GoDaddy and SOPA. You may see some weirdness over the next couple of days. Stick with us as we make these changes…

Thanks for your patience!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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YSC will be taking a break for a few days to celebrate the Holidays. As always we hope you and your family have a very Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year! We’ve enjoyed 2011 immensly and can’t thank you enough for making YSC Rugby the #1 Women’s Rugby site!

Be safe and have fun this Holiday Season.

Also, our Premier Sponsor, Rugby Athletic is having some SWEET Holiday Specials, check them out here!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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Wendy and The Girl braving the wind, rain and freezing temperatures to video tape the match.

The WPL welcomes its newest WPL team, the Glendale Raptors. D1 Club rugby welcomes the Minnesota Valkyries who will participate in the CR2 League.

Match Video

As always, if you appreciate the work we do here at YSC, consider supporting us with a donation!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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UPDATE 12/5/11: Get the results and watch the archived video here.

Welcome to the first ever WPL Challenge Match! According to the WPL Promotion and Relegation Policies the #1 (Chicago NS) and #2 (Glendale Raptors) D1 teams can challenge the #7 (DC Furies) and #8 (Minnesota Valkyries) WPL teams if they desire. I confirmed with Chicago NS that they will not be challenging the #7 team and so the only challenge match this year is between the Glendale Raptors and the Minnesota Valkyries.

The Raptors just finished second at the USA Rugby Division 1 Club Championships, losing to Chicago NS 5-13. The Minnesota Valkyries placed eigth at the USA Rugby Women’s Premier League Championships, losing to the DC Furies in a heart breaker of a match 17-22.

The challenge match is to be held in a “warm area” and a few teams put in bids. The “warm area” that was chosen was Austin, TX. Come watch this epic battle unfold in Austin, TX at the Huns Pitch on Dec 4, 2011 at 10:00am. The Hosts are Huns Rugby and Austin Valkyries.

Facebook Invite

Broadcast
Good news! We will be able to *LIVE broadcast this event! You can view the match here or on the YSC Rugby Ustream channel. As always we are doing this for free and so we would highly support any donation you could give!

There are a few potential “complications” that we wanted to let you know ahead of time….

• 70% chance of rain. If that happens we might not be able to broadcast, much less even get tape. Might cause it to be a delayed broadcast.
• Internet; or lack thereof. We will be using a Mifi Hotspot and if the pipes are good, we will broadcast, if not it will be delayed broadcast.
• Our Ustream channel has commercials. Don’t like the ads? We would urge you to consider making a donation so we can upgrade to the Pro version. Thanks!

Broadcast Sponsor
Rugby Athletic is a growing rugby company who prides itself on service, relationships, original design, custom rugby uniforms & team equipment, event promotion and marketing for teams. We consider ourselves original and un-matched with team opportunities, options and prices. RA, thanks for your continue support of YSC!

Predictions by Sybil
My track record for predictions is getting a bit better…still not quite where I would like it to be <my job occupation: Accountant – “numbers are my life”> but I can only go up right? This weekend the Glendale Raptors will face off with the Minnesota Valkyries for a spot in the Women’s Premier League. Lets start with a dissection of the Minnesota Valkyries.

The Valkyries were knocked out of Tier B last year at the WPL Championships by Berkeley (57-27) and this year they competed in the Red Conference with Twin Cities Amazons, San Diego Surfers and New York. In League Play they were unable to win a match and were outscored by their opponents by 296 points. To continue that trend, the Valkyries were beat twice at this year’s Championships in a nail biter, back-and-forth match against Keystone (43-38) and on day 2 in another close match, they lost to the DC Furies (22-17). This hasn’t always been the Valkyries style, but it looks like due to some retired players and new blood the team has struggled this year.

The Glendale Raptors (birds of prey, not dinosaurs!) have been on the opposite end of the spectrum, winning all year long starting with an undefeated run in CR2 League Play. The CR2 includes Chicago NS (29-8), Chicago, Austin Valkyries (32-12), St. Louis Sabres (Sabres forfeit), Black Ice (99-0) and Detroit (71-12). Perhaps the magic of the Mile High Training Facility at the base of the Mount Olympus, ahem, I mean Glendale, CO is working in their favor? Of course you can’t count out the star power they have acquired this year, including Jillion Potter, named the Most Valuable Player even though Glendale lost at the D1 Championships.

Now to the actual predictions, this one is really tough as I know the Valkyries aren’t going to make it easy. Last year, ORSU voluntarily stepped down from the WPL and the Valkyries could have done the same, but they must want to continue to compete in the WPL. Some might say that after Glendale lost the D1 Championship to Chicago NS… why are they challenging? Are they really ready for the WPL or are they just striking while the iron is hot?

I believe that the Valkyries are better prepared for this challenge match mentally and with their two VERY close losses at Championships, they will be hungry for a win. Glendale will be prepared as well and blessed by the Gods, but they will falter. Not to mention, both teams have been training/playing since August…that is a long season only to be extended for another month to prepare for this challenge match.

Prediction: Minnesota Valkyries by one try for the win!

EDITOR NOTE: Sybil is not affiliated with the YSC Team, she is only a Guest Blogger who is bringing some new perspectives to the site. If you have any thoughts or concerns, we would urge you to comment below or please contact her at sybil@scrumhalfconnection.com. Thanks!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

Related posts:

1. Watch the WPL Challenge Match! Minnesota Valkyries vs Glendale Raptors – 12/4/11 at 10am CST UPDATE 12/5/11: Get the results and watch the archived video...
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First off, CONGRATS on qualifying for Nationals!!

Hey all you teams that qualified for Nationals…we need copies of your videos and a team picture! Since the YSC Media Team will be broadcasting the event, we want to make small feature of each team. Please send me ANY video you have by Tuesday Nov 8, 2011 to be considered. Send all video clips, youtube clips, vimeo clips, facebook videos etc to mediateam@scrumhalfconnection.com. Please also include a recent team picture. Thanks!

NOTE: WPL Teams, don’t worry about sending me videos, I will use the ones you have already uploaded!

Also if you could pass the word to your team, fans and friends that the YSC Media Team is broadcasting the games online, schedule here. We are working hard to bring you LIVE rugby and we greatly appreciate your support. Donate today!

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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View the complete 2011 WPL Schedule, Match Reports and Results here.

by Wendy Young, YSC Editor

• Berkeley All-Blues Surprise Keystone
• Beantown Outlast Washington Furies
• Amazons Dominate New York
• Surfers Put Away Valkyries
• Visit the USA Rugby Stats Portal for match details
• Watch replays here
• Sign up for Women’s Premier League News
• Get unique player perspective Match Reports from the YSC Reporters

The fifth round of the Women’s Premier League went as expected with the favored teams coming out on top.

Blue Division
Keystone vs the Berkeley All Blues was the match of the week! If you weren’t able to watch this match in person…all of the All Blues 33 points came in the 2nd half. Yes, thats right…it was 0-0 at the end of the first half! Scrumhalf Elaine Gardner was on fire as she posted four of the five tries with Phoebe Boone and Ashley English contributing as well. Keystone looked a bit dazed but will look to rebound next week against Beantown.
Final Score: Keystone 0 All Blues 38

The Washington Furies and Beantown met this weekend in  abLue Division clash setting two similar teams against each other. Both teams came tearing out of the gates at the opening kickoff. The Furies and Beantown attack moved the ball through the hands effortlessly testing out the space and width of each defense. The Furies found the first opening though as they spun the ball wide after a solid ruck and put right winger Emily Miller in for the try. Beantown wasn’t frazzled though and twelve minutes later Amy Daniels crossed the line for a score. At this point Beantown began a frenzied yet organized attack that emphasized offloading. This good support and pace kept the Furies defense busy and scrambling. At the twentieth minute the Furies suffered a blow with outside center Elizabeth Noto sin binned for repeated infringements at the breakdown. Halftime score was 22-5 for Beantown.

After the break the Furies made a few adjustments to their roster and that seemed to have a positive impact but the 22-5 score was too much for them to overcome. Beantown continued their polished work though and put several different players over for scores.
Final Score: Furies 15 Beantown 42

Red Division
The scoreline doesn’t always indicate the intensity of the match and that is the case this week with New York vs the Twin Cities Amazons. From the kickoff the match was evenly contested on offense and defense by both teams. After a tense thirteen minutes Kaelene Lundstrum of the Amazons broke the seal with an unconverted try. Ten minutes later after a series of penalties Desiree Markovich slotted a penalty kick to put the Zons up 8-0. New York was not silent though and answered right back with a try from Rebecca Brafman going over the line.

The second half started with the Zons up 20-5. Both teams had multiple breakaways but lack of support and tenacious defense kept the teams from scoring. Finally the pressure was too much for New York and the Amazon backline led by Lynelle Kugler were able to start pouring on the points. Tries from Lundstrom, Rebecca Radtke, Ashley Mulford, and Sylvia Braaten sealed New York’s fate.
Final Score: New York 10 Amazons 47

The Surfers returned to Minnesota again this week to face the Valkyries. The Surfers were coming off their first loss in the WPL season and they were looking to get back on track. Unfortunately for the Valkyries they did just that. The Surfers were generous with the ball and showed true team spirit by spreading the scores around to Jill Duggan, Audrey Johnson, Kristy Lear, Liz Henry, Kim McLaughlin, Kirstin Hartos, Hannah Bennett, Emilie Bydwell and Jenna Anderson. Hartos slotted seven of nine conversions.
Final Score: Valkyries 5 Surfers 59

WPL League Standings

Blue Division

Red Division

Upcoming Matches

Blue Division

Berkeley All-Blues vs. Washington Furies

Beantown vs. Keystone

Red Division

San Diego Surfers vs. New York Women

Twin Cities Amazons vs. Minnesota Valkryies

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001.

Website - More Posts

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