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In the ninth meeting, the touring Poltroons of Colorado, Boston and Washington were crushed by a strong Gentlemen's side that saw two guys scoring three tries each and a solid and much younger front row.
Gentlemen of New York 67- Poltroons 7 Yep, you read that right. We finished out the season with a huge win over the visiting touring Poltroons. There is a bit of controversy as the Poltroons think they hold a one game lead in this test series and I think we have a larger edge. Either way, we are 2-0 over the past two years and thanks to the Poltroons, this spring tradition has carried on for the past 9 years. But first the game. With 67 points, there was no shortage of scoring. But, let’s first count the hat-tricks. Fullback John Adelaine, flyhalf Kevin Fagan, who scored the sweetest try with a sprint down the sidelines of over 75 yards and then possibly center Mike Delano. Other try scorers included, Matt McCarthy, Matt Persanis and Jim Herschlein. However, the man of the match for scoring points, must go to Gianni Lopez who missed only two kicks. Rumor is on one of his tries, Kevin Fagan touched the ball down to give Geo a more challenging kick and then he made the kick anyway. I think I got all the try scorers, but I may have missed one or two. Within a week or two, second row Pete Kane will be a new dad. Expect him and a stroller next season. Good luck Kane’s. The score really says it all. We started scoring immediately and never really let up. Despite the score, the Poltroons played hard and never let up. They were in it the entire game and scored late. For us, it was just a matter of getting the ball out to the backfield and let the speed score. Well done. Welcome to the newest old boy Dave Levine who performed triple duty. First he brought the goalpost pads, then while slated to play wing jumped in as referee for the first 20 minutes and finished the game out in the centers. Now that’s an old boy. The average age of our front row dropped by 15 or more years with the play of Tom Ogden and Kevin McManus, if this works out, they could become the steady front row for the Gents for the next 15 or so years, which is still less than Brian Wynne has played as an old boy. Rookie of the year honors go to Jonathan Pratt. A native of Wales, I found Jonathan in a bar in Port Washington, Long Island and was trying to see if the Irish pub we were both in was showing any rugby. He has a Wales jersey on and he laughed and said not here. I invited him out to play and it took him a year but he was a steady presence in the backfield this season and played through an injury. If you haven’t gotten to know him yet, you should. Mostly because he is on the cusp of actual fame. When not playing rugby or brewing beer around the world, he’s a comedian. Really. He was at Caroline’s earlier this month. If you want to know his next gig, he’ll be glad to have a stacked house. Jonathan_Pratt@pall.com gets you on his list. Overall, we had a pretty good season. We had light showings in NJ for the Old Boys Spring Festival and then on the road against the Connecticut Greys. Thanks to our buddies on the Lions who joined up with us for the trip to Connecticut and to Fran Russell who brought a few guys down from Boston to join us. Fran of course jumped in against us to play for the Poltroons. Our ranks swelled against the Greys at home in a close game and then it all came together against the Lions and we capped the season with this drubbing of the Poltroons. Not officially retired, fullback Jarl Ginsberg suffered an injury that would make any man cringe. He is on the mend, but don’t go asking him to sing bass for a while. Anyway, encourage him to come out and play again, as no real man should end his career doubled over in pain holding the family jewels. jarl.ginsberg@columbiamanagement.com Last playing opportunity of the season. Pat O’Callaghan is putting a team in for JoJo Moore on June 27 at the New York Military Academy in Cornwall on the Hudson. If you want to play you’re in. pat@thewindownetwork.com Finally, this email system isn’t working very well anymore. So I am reviving the yahoo group we have. Go to yahoo groups and sign in for updates etc. the group is called GentlemenofNY. Going forward this is where the emails and updates will come from. Updates are always on the website at www.newyorkrugby.com and click on old boys. Some new pics, compliments of Ellen Fagan (who injured herself retrieving a ball) are up there too, or will be soon. So pass this on to anyone who is or should be playing with the Gents. I have attached a copy of the May newsletter. Check it out. As always, thanks to everyone who put in the extra effort to keep this rag-tag band of merry men on the field for another season. Expect three fall games starting off with the annual Morris ruckin’ regatta. See you at Saranac. Cheers, Dave oldboyprop@secondrowproductions.com |
