THE REGIONAL NEWSLETTER OF HAMPTON ROADS SINCE 2013 The Bluesletter NCBRFC Monday April 18, 2016 PRICE: 78 cents Blues make it four wins in a row! The Blues have had two strong wins over the last two weekends. Norfolk took care of last placed Nova 42-14 April 9th, while the Blues also took care of old front runner Potomac 72-5 on Saturday. The Blues came away with a strong win against Nova, advancing into 2nd place in the standings. The Blues were obviously favored to win, as Nova had recorded zero wins and ten losses for the season. But you never know when a team may show up, and the 42-15 win for the Blues was a convincing victory a month before playoffs. Matt Jerson made his debut for the Blues scoring two tries by showing his great speed and skilled footwork. Jake Humphrey and Bryce Baxter also filled in very well at Scrum half and Fly half, where Jake managed to get a try from a charged down kick and also six from six conversions at goal. Some forwards were also welcomed back and it gave the big boys constant interchanges and fresh legs throughout the whole 80 minutes. Fred Wintermantel has been resting an injured knee, and has been taking it easy by coming off the bench and only playing for 20-30 minutes. Somehow he always manages to cross over the white line for a try! Eric Hagen continued his strong season and he has emerged as one of the Blues most consistent and best players. Jeff Jefferson also has found great form at his old home in the forwards, by playing strong at flanker as he also scored a try. Our front row continues to dominate, as Matty Seaton has been on point with his lineout throws, while Jimmy and Doc are a force at 1 and 3. On Saturday, the Blues took on old rival Potomac (PAC/Maryland), and a stronger task was expected. After giving Rocky Gorge their closest game last weekend (Rocky Gorge winning 27-19), Potomac proved they’re still a quality team even though they were placed at 6th with five wins and six losses. However, when they showed up before the game, they looked very light with numbers. A lot of new faces were on the Potomac team and this boosted the Blues confidence. The Blues came out strong with a quick try leading 7-0. But for the next 20 minutes, the Blues spent their time defending in their own half struggling to get out. Potomac had many chances to put points on the board, but credit to the Blues defense, as they fought hard to keep Potomac scoreless in the first half. The Blues went into the half with a lead of 24-0. With plenty of fresh legs waiting to come in the second half. Things were looking good for the Blues. The Blues piled on more tries, and the final result was a convincing 72-5 victory. Anthony Kowalski was joking around to the guys coming off the bench in the second half, by saying slow it down. But the bench was eager to get in and put the pedal to the metal for a big win. Points for and against in the standings are important and the Blues definitely got a big bonus this weekend. Norfolk are in 2nd, five points ahead of Schuylkill River, and eight points ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Our Points for and against is over 100 points than each of the three teams. So the Blues are looking good for 2nd or 3rd, but a win against Baltimore or Schuylkill River (away from home) is pretty much needed to cement 2nd place. This will give the Blues a home playoff game May 7th vs the 3rd seed. BLUES D3 PUT IN 15 TRIES OVER RAPPAHANNOCK! Following last week's performance at the Tidewater Invitational Tournament, the Norfolk Blues D3 side was prepared to maintain their momentum and did so with a statement. Rappahannock was not able to come to the table with a full side, causing them to forfeit, but fortunately they were able to find some players from Virginia Beach and Richmond that were willing to make Saturday a rugby day. The motley crew started off strong, but the Blues were not phased and maintained dominance throughout the entirety of the match, scrumming, passing and scoring at will. The ball rarely made it into the Blues half, but when it did the D3 side maintained their pressure and were able to stave off any organized advances. The second half was largely a repeat of the first, but with only one sub Rappahanock was incapable of gathering an offensive. Only through a Blues' mistake were Rappahanock able to put three tries on the board. With the final score 89-15, listing those who scored would take too long. A superb effort from Janeks Taskans as he had countless breaks, tackles and did the majority of the conversions. Notable performances by Diego Vasquez and Mike Kruse helped the Blues D3 side sustain the reputation as an emerging powerhouse in the Virginia Men's D3 conference. A far cry from where the squad was in the fall, the Norfolk Blues D3 side is gaining momentum and will travel next Saturday to face off against a tough squad in Blacksburg. – By Erik Miller RUGBY ON TV THIS WEEK – You can stream live rugby online, or from a USA rugby website any weekend. ESPN 3 shows all the Super rugby from NZ, OZ, SA, Japan, and Arg. They also have many top 14 matches from France. Replays are available for several weeks so to see the southern hemisphere games, you don't need to get up in the wee hours in the AM. The link is below http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/channel/espn3 The wait is over! www.TheRugbyChannel.tv is here! Subscribe now to TheRugbyChannel.tv and watch LIVE and on-demand premium content including the USA men’s and women’s national teams, the college and club national championships, the Guinness Pro12, the RBS 6 Nations and international test matches, plus news, highlights and access to classic matches from USA Rugby, England Rugby and the Rugby World Cup. Subscribe now for $4.99 per month, or get the entire year for just $49.99. That’s less than $1 per week. Plus, when you subscribe today, your first month is on us! Get TheRugbyChannel.tv and don’t miss this weekend’s LIVE coverage of the World Sevens Series from Atlanta. The HSBC World 7's Series was in Singapore this past weekend, but we have to wait until next Friday to see it ... 4:00PM on NBC Sports Network! CECIL GARBER IV GETS SELECTED TO PLAY FOR THE PRO RUGBY SQUAD SAN DIEGO! Cecil Garber is a well-known name around the Norfolk Blues, and Cecil IV aka “Quattro”, has been selected to play for the San Diego Pro Rugby squad! Pro Rugby is the first official Professional Rugby Union that has ever been established. It’s the newest professional sporting organization that has started in the US ever since professional Lacrosse started in the 90s. Cecil IV has been running around the Lafayette sidelines ever since the late 90s and 00s (watching his Dad play, Cecil III) and “Quattro” made his debut for the Norfolk Blues back around 2012/2013. His talent was evident early on, as he was a college football player for a year down in North Carolina. Strong and fast flanker running, and big driving tackles on guys twice his size were early signs of his talent as a D1 starter. Coach Porter has his rugby connections around the US, and he encouraged Cecil to travel down to Florida for a Serevi Camp a few years ago. Norfolk Blues Old boys and current players helped pay for Cecil to go down to the camp, and this could have been a big help for Cecil to start his Pro Rugby Career! San Diego Assistant Coach and former eagle Matt Hawkins was a teacher at the Serevi Camp then and he’s seen Cecil playing in Seattle for a while and was involved in scouting Cecil to play for the San Diego Pro Squad. Coach Porter spent time in Seattle in the 90s playing rugby for a few years, and he gained some of his strong connections out there back then. Seattle has been one of the best rugby programs in the country for the last decade or so, and Porter once again encouraged Cecil to get out there and play, due to his immense talent at such a young age. Cecil spent time building houses, working on getting his Personal training certification and finishing of his associates degree while in Seattle. The Pro Rugby Union started over the weekend, and it is blowing up all over the United States. It started last night and a large amount of ruggers tuned into watch (look for the pro rugby logo below for more info). Cecil’s Pro Rugby player profile picture was seen on social media last week and everyone is very proud and pumped for him for his hard work and success. I spoke with him last night to get some basic info on his contract and new rugby life in San Diego. Me; What are the details on a “Pro Rugby Contract” and where are you living? Cecil; “It’s a one year contract, but the season is four months long. I’m currently living with a host (who is a youth coach in San Diego) until all of us can find a more permanent spot.