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NEWS
7/1/09 → 9 Cougars traveled up to Columbia to play in their second 7s tournament. The 1st match was against Savannah Men's Club, they scored first but we came back and won by two trys through some excellent team play. In the second match we came up against a very tough Charlotte professional side and only lost by 9 point through some excellent defensive and offensive work, making it into the playoffs. The battered Cougars were out of steam after their tough previous match and after lunch lost horrendously to the Charleston Outlaws in the first round of the playoffs. Overall their were a lot of positives to be taken from the tournament and things which we can work on for our next round of games.
5/23/09 → The Cougars took a depleted 7s team to the Memorial Day Tournament, hosted by the Outlaws, on Daniel Island. The first game ended with the Cougars losing 12-5 before turning it around in the second game vs the Misfits with a solid 29-15 win. Tries came from, Wade "Easter" Berreth, scoring a powerful run from the wing, Mike "O" Bannon, Kirk Wrenn and two blindside darts from Rupert "Pip" Munro. The final game came right down to the wire, with the Cougars narrowly losing 12-10.
Man of the Day: Wade Berreth
Dick of the Day: Brendan "Cpt. Ahab" McSherry, for thinking he had scored, while only on the 5m line.
Top Scorer: Rupert Munro (17pts)
5/1/09 → Pictures from the Blackout tournament are now in the gallery section. The Cougars won the first game of the day against NC State before losing to the deserving winners, Wake Forest, who has beaten UNC earlier in the day.
4/11/09 → The Cougars are hosting our first ever tournament this weekend and would love all the help and support we can get.
4/4/09 → The Cougars traveled to play the Citadel this weekend which was guaranteed to be an intense rematch of our previous clash. The match started off sloppy with the Cougars making quite a few substitutions and both teams having trouble getting things started. Brendan McSherry spent his first game at prop and new comer to the team, Allen Tang, was consistently strong in his first match. The Citadel went up in the first half while the Cougars trailed in what seemed to be a full on kicking game. In the second, both the Cougars' forwards and backs came together to score a few trys and to come out on top. A surprise of the match was Greg Hayes' TWO drop goals during play. Most likely a first for the College. Brendan "Cpt. Ahab" McSherry, Tyler "T-9000" Pitmman, Rupert "Pip" Munro, and Mike "O"'Bannon all scored. The Cougars were victorious 38-24.
Man of the Match: Allen Tang
Dick of the Day: Ian McKenzie, apparently you must throw the ball backwards in rugby.
3/13-15/09 → The Cougars travelled down to Savannah this weekend, entering into the legendary St. Patty's tournament. This year marks the 31st time this prestigious tournament has been held drawing teams from all over the country and even some from abroad. Over 70 teams made it this year to compete all weekend on 10 pitches in downtown Savannah. The Cougars first match up was against SEC monsters Auburn. The first half the Cougars played solid holding the mostly 30 and older Tigers to only 3 points. We were worn down though in the second, and the added combination of poor refereeing allowed the Tigers to pull ahead 13-0. We lost a hard fought match, mostly due to our inability to finish the drives once inside their 22, but were not discouraged by the Division One juggernauts.
The second match of the day was against Towson University out of Maryland. This match was even closer with Towson going up early in the first half to take the lead 7-0. The Cougars fought back and Greg Hayes put up three points on a penalty. The half ended with the Cougars down 7-3. The second half was brutal with each team failing to score. After a long drive with no time remaining on the clock the Cougar pack drove Towson into their own try giving Freshman 8-man Jon Bernstein the opportunity to pick the ball and dive across the line. Greg Hayes finished the conversion as the whistle blew giving the Cougars a 10-7 victory.
On Sunday, the Cougars faced the United States Air Force 3rd side, along with a few random players. The match was sloppy with the Cougars emerging victorious 12-10. Overall the Cougars played great earning a well deserved second place finish in our bracket, the cup was nice too.
Man of the Match: Jon Bernstein
Dick of the Day: Logan Honeycutt, for leaving his jersey in Savannah
2/28/09 → The Cougars hosted the Citadel for the first time ever at home. The match was one sided as the backs finally emerged and performed to their ability. Tyler Pittman switched back to scrumhalf and performed beautifully. The Cougars went up early with multiple penalty kicks in a row. Greg Hayes was almost perfect on the day scoring 18 points on Conversions and penalty kicks. We had three tries on the day. The first went to Outside Center Mike (O)' Bannon, who caught a quick pass on the outside and hammered through a few cadets to put it in. In the second half the Citadel was pinned down inside their own 22. Our backline pressure was intense causing them to lose ground as they sent it outside. On the pass from the center to the wing, Austin Coon sprang into action, intercepting the pass in mid-air easily putting in the second try. The third try on the day went to Tyler Pittman. Greg Hayes took the ball towards the goal, and formed a menacing maul on Citadel's 5 meter. The forwards help drive the maul in close, and as it fell to the ground Tyler was there to pick the ball and run over a cadet on his way across the try line. The pack lost almost zero scrums and almost zero lineouts, adding great support for the first time since January. The Cougars won the match 33-0 ending our matrix season at 3 wins and 2 losses.
Man of the Match: Mr. Mike (O)' Bannon
Dick of the Day: Nobody!
2/21/09 →
Coastal Carolina traveled down to play the Cougars this weekend. Weather conditions were perfect as the teams took the field. The Cougars dominated the first half running all over the massive Coastal pack. Mid way through the first half the Cougars were attempting to score and were awarded a scrum down on Coastal's 5 meter. The pack took control driving Coastal into the new goal posts. The ball came out wide to Ryan Murray, the Fly half, and he ran right over the opposition putting the first points on the board. Greg Hayes put it through from the sideline for the conversion. Coastal came back in a furry quickly pinning us down near our own try line. After a penalty the spun it out wide to hammer it in for a score. After some more poor play Coastal broke it open and put in a second try just before the half. The score was 7-14. No one scored in the second half which was again dominated by the tiny Cougars Pack.
Man of the Match: Lawson Ballard, in his first match at lock he played beautifully.
Dicks of the Day: The entire back line!
2/14/09 → The Cougars made it almost all the way to Lander when the match was called off due to field conditions. Heavy rain made the pitch unplayable. Lack of a field forced Lander to forfeit, giving the Cougars another win 15-0 by default.
2/10/09 → This week the Cougars were fortunate enough to receive two large donations that are worth mentioning. First, long time benefactor Mr. Lea, contributed heavily to the team, helping to replace long term equipment needed to keep us competitive in the future. Second, new backs coach Clint the Lego-Man, has contributed both monetarily and is in the process of helping to improve the horrible conditions of the Cougars pitch at the Yard on James Island. It is more of a sand box right now. Clint is a great new addition to the team as our weakest point has been our back play over the past six months. We hope to see this kind of support continue as we host a fundraiser next Tuesday at O'Malleys. Contact us for more information. Thanks again to Mr. Lea, Clint, and all of the Cougar supporters out there.
2/7/09 → The cougars started the Matrix off with an easy victory over new additions, USC-C side, 45-5. We then took on Furman and lost a heart breaker 15-8. Tyler Pittman scored a great try on the wing ending the half 5-5. Furman then scored two straight to go up 15-5. After a long drive we put up three more via penalty kick. The rest of the match was a tug of war for field possesion, with time finally running out. We next travel to Lander, and finish the Matrix with two home games vs Coastal and the Citadel.
1/31/09 → The Cougars hosted new Matrix additions USC-C side this weekend. The weather was perfect and the Cougars played perfectly. Defensively we gave up only three points to a penalty kick, while offensively scoring seven tries. Using all of our subs we maintained a huge lead from the first half winning the test 45-3. The Cougars are good and warm for Furman next weekend.
1/25/09 → The Cougars traveled down to Georgia Southern this weekend to participate in the 1st annual Southern Conference tournament. A step in the direction of NCAA birth. Eight teams attended, C of C A and B, Ga Southern A and B, Appalachian State University, Davidson, Furman, and the Citadel. This is the first tournament The Cougars have entered two teams. Although the baby Cougars played well they finished Saturday 0-3 against Ga Southern A, Appalachian State, and Furman. The Cougars A side went 3-0 on Saturday scoring 101 points to 7. The first match, under much confusion put the Cougars on the field with less than a minute to spare before kickoff. In glorious traditional style of our squad, we did not stretch or warm up and still managed to triumph over Ga Southern's B-side 27-7, the only points scored against us during the day. Next we challenged Davidson and came away with another victory 34-0. Finally the Cougars took on Matrix rivals Citadel. The match was smooth with the Cougars winning 40-0. Two shutouts on the day and once again amazing kicking from Greg Hayes brought the Cougars into the playoffs for Sunday. On Sunday the Cougars first matched up against Ga Southern's A team. The match was even throughout and at the end of regulation was 10-10. After a long push and a penalty in triple overtime, Greg H. kicked it through the stumps to clinch the win 13-10. Next the Cougars took on Appalachian State University in the SoCon Championship. The Cougars went up early 3-0 scoring on a quick penalty, but the Mountaineers were relentless. Going back and forth scoring tries App state finally held the Cougars off 15-10. The Cougars came in second at the tournament winning their first trophy since 2003. The team is warmed up and ready for the Matrix to start against new additions USC-C Side.
