BLACK ROSES FLOURISH IN THE SPRING

It was such a great day for rugby; the sun shone with fresh spring abundance and the wind had died down for the day.
And then there was the field, the field with two faces. One half was green and firm were the other half was a brown and soggy pit of mud. Not open running, but pure grunt would win this tournament.

Stiking first
The lady Roses took the swamp first to kick-off the 2008 rendition of the ONU invitational rugby tournament, also affectively known as: The Toilet Bowl. In their match against the team from Kenyon College, the ladies showed much more composure and coherence than a week before in Pittsburgh. The backs smothered any aspiring Kenyon attack with a great rush-defense and the pack tackled hard around the fringes. Kenyon's playmakers were often forced to kick the ball to create some breathing room. Ultimately it was the home team that took full advantage of the possession that was handed to them. After sustained pressure by the forwards it was Rookie Amber Fruth who plunged over the try line to score the only try of the game. A cold bath of water and mud was her reward. For the group of players as a whole this meant their first fall win, and more importantly, they were one win away from the trophy.

A close game
The muddy shirts of both ladies teams made way for fresh clean ones in the same colors. The mens team also had to face Kenyon. Both clubs came of of a tournament win in Pittsburgh, where Kenyon had won the cup playing one division higher then the boys from Ada. This was billed as the clash of the day, but from the first minutes it was clear that both teams had left their form in Pittsburgh. Either that, or they had lost it in the slimy mud of Ada.
The Black Rose men had most of the possession during the entire match. Kenyon was only able to make rare excursion into ONU's half and when they did, they were immediately driven back without remorse. The defense held firm, but offensively the Black Roses looked disjointed. Wave after wave of attacks stranded on try-line fever. Two minutes before the final whistle it was flanker Cody Allen who finally broke the deadlock. A yard in front of the try-line he looked to be held up, but he wrestled and wiggled his way through three defenders to eventually crash down just over the whitewash.
After a rushed kick-off that did not make 10 yards the Black Roses kept the ball in their ranks and never gave Kenyon a chance to even things out.
Low scoring games looked to be the trend for the day.

The finals
In the ladies final only three tries were scored, sadly all three were against the Black Rose ladies. Their rivals from Ohio University proved to be the strongest side on the day, having also beaten Kenyon. Our ladies gave them a good run for their money though. In a spirited display the teams looked evenly matched throughout the game. In the end it was the more experienced side from Columbus that ran away with the win and the (almost) gold plated trophy.

In the mean time the mens team from Marion had lost to both the Black Roses and Findlay. Our rivals from up I-75 had also pushed Kenyon aside. This meant that the last game of the day, between the Roses and Finlay, doubled as the final of the tournament.
In that final the men from Findlay relied heavily on their big ball-carriers to batter their way through ONU's defense. Only quickly taken penalties were seen as opportunities to give width to the ball. Both tactics got bogged down in the heavy mud and the open arms of defending players. For the six game in a row the home team kept their opposition from entering their try zone.
On the other side of the field an off the ball altercation was needed to wake up the Black Rose offensive might. After the mud had settled and the main culprit, a Findlay prop, was given a ten minute breather to ponder his sins, the Roses really let lose. The opening try was scored on the stroke of half time, after a good passing interchange between packs and backs. This opened the floodgates and in the second half the tally was run up to four tries. The try of the day was set up by 2nd row forward Bradon Bracher who made a great line break, drew the opposing full-back and then threw a perfectly timed pass to a back line player at full tilt.

Social
After a day of getting absolutely soaked on the outside it was time to hydrate the inner self. At the social, awards were handed out, songs were sung and all in all the celebrations went on long after the sun had settled.
Darkness hid our muddy limbs and covered up the remains of what had been a great rugby day.