Dec.
13-14, 2014: Atlantis Men, Women 11-3 at Tobago 7s
(Atlantis
tournament #147)
Emil Signes
FEBRUARY 6, 2014 (rev. 2230 hrs)
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Banner for
Tobago 7s.jpg
Chris, Glen and Josie welcome you to the 2014
Tobago Sevens
to do as of 2/6/15 (if I get info)
get remaining player info & comments
FRIDAY 12/12 pix: jersey ceremony / COLOURS
Summary
For the second consecutive
year, Atlantis brought both a men’s and a women’s team to Tobago
for the 4th annual Tobago Sevens on December 13-14, 2014.
Both Atlantis men and Atlantis women took part: the
men (5-2) made it to the semifinals and the women (6-1) to the
finals. The tournament champions were Esher (UK) men and Stars
(international) women.
Atlantis' Kimber Rozier took home the MVP trophy for the women's
division.
Judged by our
combined record, 11-3, we should be happy. Judged by our
expectations, however - we came to win - there was
disappointment as well. But it's not the end of the world; we
congratulate our victorious opponents and take pride in the good
things we did on the field. We move on, ever striving to
improve.
Off the field, the men and women of Atlantis got along famously
and the cultural benefits of the tour were enormous.
4-wg6-KImber on
break-800h.jpg / 4-wg6-KImber scores-800h.jpg / 4-wg6-KImber
converts-800h.jpg (Nene camera)
Kimber Rozier led scorers of
both Atlantis men's and women's teams with 47 points and was
the tournament MVP.
Here, in the semifinal against the Howlers (Canada), she
scores and converts her own try.
The Atlantis
Tour Party
Nonplaying members of
the tour party were managers Marsh Pennington (Atlantis player
#221, staff 116) and Amy Kingsbury (staff #117), coaches Chris
Ryan (Atlantis player #157, staff 48), Rosalie MacGowan
(Atlantis player #787, staff 79) and Dana Creager (Atlantis
player #428, staff 106) and Billy Nicholas (staff #113), trainer
Casey Maxwell (staff #118), video man Bjorn Haglid (staff #105),
and I, the Emperor (staff #1). The players are listed in the
tables that follow the picture. Out of 23 players, 17 of them -
7 women and 10 men - were foreign tour rookies.
12-Colours-1200w.jpg
(Emil camera)
The entire
group at Colours for our pre-tournament meal
Top: Mitch Vannoy, Billy Nicholas, Marsh Pennington,
Glenn Thommes, Bjorn Hagld, Chris Schade, Casey Maxwell, Ty
Elkins, Jimmy Rosado over Ty Anderson, Bob Rosado, Chris
Frazier over Aki Raymond, Jess Wooden, Luke Markovich, Chris
Mattina, Rosalie Macgowan (hidden by pole), Chris Ryan
Middle: Sam Pankey, Amy Kingsbury, Dana Creager, Josie
Ziluca, Ariel Johnson, Hannah Gauthreaux, Brianna Kim, Abby
Gustaitis
Bottom: Lauren Rhode, Louis Tulio, Kimber Rozier, Hunter
Griendling, Nereah Persinger, Emil Signes
-
still
missing a bit of data below -
Atlantis
Women at Tobago 2014 (red = foreign
tour rookies)
Atlantis
|
First
|
Last
|
Club(s)
|
Jersey
|
Ht
|
Wt
|
Age
|
Pos.
|
Pos.
|
#
|
Name
|
Name
|
7s (, 15s
if different)
|
#
|
in.
|
lbs.
|
yrs
|
15s
|
7s
|
1027
|
Hannah
|
Gauthreaux
|
Old Blue (NY), Notre Dame College
|
IX
|
|
|
20
|
W
|
W,S,H
|
1028
|
Hunter
|
Griendling
|
DC Furies
|
X
|
|
|
27
|
|
C,F
|
1029
|
Abby
|
Gustaitis
|
NOVA
|
I
|
71
|
170
|
23
|
#8
|
LHP
|
941
|
Ariel
|
Johnson
|
NOVA
|
II
|
65
|
135
|
24
|
Fl, C
|
H,P
|
1030
|
Brianna
|
Kim
|
NOVA 7s, U. Virginia (7s & 15s)
|
XII
|
64
|
138
|
21
|
S++
|
S,F,C,H
|
1031
|
Sam
|
Pankey
|
DC Furies
|
III
|
67
|
160
|
31
|
C,Fl,H
|
P
|
1014
|
Neariah
|
Persinger
|
Oklahoma Tigers
|
XI
|
67
|
145
|
18
|
W
|
W
|
898
|
Lauren
|
Rhode
|
DC Furies
|
V
|
68
|
135
|
25
|
FH
|
F,S
|
1032
|
Kimber
|
Rozier
|
Atlantis
|
IV
|
63
|
145
|
25
|
FH
|
F,S
|
996
|
Jess
|
Wooden
|
Atlanta
Harlequins
|
VI
|
67
|
145
|
26
|
FB
|
C,F
|
914
|
Josie
|
Ziluca
|
San Diego
Surfers
|
VII
|
65
|
155
|
25
|
IC,OC
|
P,H,C,W
|
Atlantis
Men at Tobago 2014 (red = foreign tour
rookies)
Atlantis
|
First
|
Last
|
Club(s)
|
Jersey
|
Ht
|
Wt
|
Age
|
Pos.
|
Pos.
|
#
|
Name
|
Name
|
7s (,15s if
different)
|
#
|
in.
|
lbs.
|
yrs
|
15s
|
7s
|
1019
|
Ty
|
Anderson
|
Schuylkill River, W. Chester U.
|
XII
|
69
|
170
|
22
|
Fl,S
|
S,F,H
|
1020
|
Ty
|
Elkins
|
1823, Charlotte RFC
|
II
|
71
|
195
|
30
|
W,C
|
W
|
1021
|
Chris
|
Frazier
|
Potomac Exiles
|
IX
|
75
|
225
|
23
|
2R,Fl,8,
C,W
|
P
|
1022
|
Luke
|
Markovich
|
1823
|
I
|
72
|
205
|
26
|
F,C
|
P,H,F,C
|
934
|
Chris
|
Mattina
|
New York AC,
Wilmington
|
V
|
73
|
195
|
21
|
FB
|
F,C
|
1023
|
Akinola
|
Raymond
|
Potomac Exiles
|
VIII
|
69
|
170
|
20
|
W,S
|
W,S
|
947
|
Jimmy
|
Rosato
|
Schuylkill River
|
X
|
75
|
220
|
26
|
FB
|
P
|
1024
|
Robert
|
Rosato
|
Temple
|
VII
|
72
|
195
|
22
|
W
|
W
|
1025
|
Chris
|
Schade
|
1823
|
XII
|
70
|
220
|
24
|
Fl
|
H,P
|
937
|
Glen
|
Thommes
|
Schuylkill
River, Wilmington
|
VI
|
75
|
215
|
22
|
Fl,8
|
P
|
1026
|
Louis
|
Tulio
|
Philadelphia-Whitemarsh
|
XI
|
69.5
|
190
|
40
|
FB,C
|
F,C
|
948
|
Mitch
|
Vannoy
|
Schuylkill River, Wilmington
|
IV
|
70
|
175
|
24
|
S
|
S
|
Thanks to Bjorn Haglid,
videographer supreme, we got a voice & video ID of all the
players on both squads.
Here are the men identifying themselves:
2014-1213-Luke & video ID.jpg (still from video)
Click on image for video
Luke
Markovich starting the personal ID's for the men
Here are the women identifying themselves:
2014-1213-Jose
& video ID-1200.jpg (still from video)
Click on image for video
Josie Ziluca starting the personal ID's for the women
Brianna Kim commented on the experience of
being a young tour
rookie : "This was my first
international 7s experience, which was intimidating and
exciting at the same time. I am so thankful for the
opportunity to play with people with such a varying range
of experiences; from current Eagles to players younger
than me (and that's saying something!) with amazing
potential. I am used to college tournaments and
competition, so Tobago 7s was a completely different
experience that not only opened my eyes to the talent all
over the world but also really opened my eyes to the
unique culture of rugby. Meeting people all over the world
and meeting my teammates (both male and female) was one of
the best parts. And Tobago was a beautiful place to visit;
I definitely have to visit again."
There were more rookies than usual on this tour; in fact the
lowest Atlantis number (they are given chronologically) was
898, Lauren Rhode; Lauren did not play for Atlantis until June
2012, and that was at a local tourney in Bethlehem, PA.
She first toured with Atlantis (along with 2nd lowest number
Josie Ziluca) to Laos in January 2013. So the most
traveled Atlanteans had less than two years with us. Of
course we had some Atlantis rookies that were far from rookies
to international rugby (e.g. Kimber, Sam, Louis, more).
Ariel Johnson added, with the point of view of a young
Atlantis veteran, "To have the
opportunity to not only do something I love, which is play
rugby at high levels, with skilled, dedicated athletes and
against talented competition, but to travel and experience
the culture and background of the people and places I visit,
it's more than rewarding! Tobago 7's is so much fun! After
being on a few tours with Atlantis, I've come to realize the
Atlantis tradition never disappoints!"
Background
Tobago
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
(independent from the UK since 1962) comprises the two
southernmost islands of the Caribbean chain. We often
don’t realize how far south it is: at its closest T&T is
only 7 miles from Venezuela and it is far enough south to be
outside the hurricane belt.
The ethnic composition of T&T is about 35% East Indian, 35%
African, 23% “mixed,” and less than 1% white. Of the
original pre-Columbian inhabitants, the Amerindians, it is
estimated that less than 0.1% remain. Its population is about
1.3 million, with less than 60,000 living in Tobago. In
Tobago itself the major ethnicity is Afro-Caribbean.
Tobago is only about 2,000 square miles, larger than Rhode
Island but smaller than Delaware. Christopher Columbus
spotted it in 1498 and other Europeans soon followed.
Among the European rulers of Tobago were the Spanish, Dutch,
English, French and Courlanders (I had to do some research last
year to find out that Courland is now in western Latvia –
weird).
It’s a beautiful island with many natural attractions, and
offers opportunities for swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving,
horseback riding, off-road excursions, mountain biking, many
other fun activities. For those of us that came just for
the Thursday through Sunday window, there wasn’t time to do too
much else (well there was Christmas caroling, goat racing and
the beach). Last year a whole crew of people came early and
stayed late and had amazing stories; a couple people did stay on
for a couple of days this year, and it sounds as though they too
had fun.
0-Tobago in Caribbean-1000w.jpg (Google Earth)
Tobago on the map. The red marker in the lower right
indicates Tobago.
To the SW is Trinidad and the nearest mainland is
Venezuela, with Colombia and Central America to the west.
The women's first game was against Curaçao, just north of
Venezuela, about 500 miles west of T&T.
Our tour baby, Nene Persinger, was born 5 islands north of
Tobago, in Dominica.
Tobago
Sevens.
Trinidad and Tobago has held an international tournament since
1987; for most of its life it was known as the Caribbean Sevens and held in the
industrial capital of Port of Spain in Trinidad. The
Caribbean Sevens lasted until 2009. After a year off,
it was reconstituted in Tobago as the Tobago Sevens.
The switch to Tobago in 2011 provided a physically
spectacular venue with beaches everywhere; in addition,
large numbers of teams were lodged in a small number of
hotels so some social interaction was possible. I do,
however, admit to a certain separation anxiety from from
Trinidad; I kind of like kinky old Port of Spain.
Atlantis played in its 147th tournament since 1986, and
fielded its 208th and 209th separate squads. We have now
fielded 131 male squads and 78 female squads (since we
fielded our first boys’ and girls’ squads earlier this year,
men and women’s squads are no longer adequate descriptions).
Rugby
in Trinidad and Tobago. Rugby, as is the case in the
US, is a very minor sport in T&T. Nevertheless it
continues to be at the top of the West Indies nations - in
the latest World Rugby (formerly IRB) rankings, T&T is
ranked 53rd in the World (nearly 200 nations play rugby, and
more than 100 are ranked; the
US is 16th).
Atlantis US Sevens
Rugby
.
Atlantis
is an invitational rugby team whose specialty is sevens. It
was founded in 1986 as a men’s team from the Eastern US (“Atlantic
Sevens”).* Within a few months - when I was
named national coach - it was expanded to include the entire
USA and, in 1992, women.
* Just as a "by the way," Atlantis US Sevens Rugby predates
the earliest Atlantis Hotel by a dozen years.
Atlantis has multifaceted goals. One of our most important
is to develop promising players and improve their level of
play (and ours) by mixing them with more experienced and
accomplished players.
To further these competitive goals, Atlantis has implemented
a program of camps and clinics to be able to develop players
in a controlled environment under the tutelage of excellent
and experienced coaches.
The Atlantis men’s first tournament was the 1986 Harvard
Sevens, in which they were runners-up, and the women first
played at the 1992 Benidorm Sevens (Spain), which they
won. In its first 28½ years of existence, 209 Atlantis
squads have played in 147 tournaments in 31 different
countries.
2014 saw the first-ever boys’ and girls’ U-19/HS teams; 2015
will welcome the Atlantis U-16s. Male teams have played in
104 tournaments and female teams in 63. In 20 of
those - 6 in the US, 9 in Trinidad & Tobago, and
one each in Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba
- Atlantis has fielded both male and female teams at
the same tournament.
As of December 2014 Atlantis' overall record is
738-312-11: the Atlantis men/boys are 397-233-7 and
the women/girls 341-79-4. Among these groups
they have won 44 tournaments.
1992-05 Atlantis Women &
Fiji-Benidorm-900w.jpg / 2014-0720 Atlantis
boys at Surfside.jpg (archives)
Left: Champions of
1992 Benidorm Sevens, Fiji Men (Waisale Serevi,
lower left) and first-ever Atlantis
Women's Team
Top: Chris
Harju, Kathy Brown, MB Spirk, Julie Drustrup, Krista
McFarren / Below: Sheri Hunt, Tam Breckenridge, Tara
Flanagan, Tracy Moens, Elise Huffer
Only
non-Eagle on women's team was Mary Beth Spirk. MB
now has more than 500 wins as D-III NCAA
Basketball Coach (top 20 in US)
Right: Champions of 2014
Surfside Sevens, the 2nd-ever Atlantis High School Boys
L to R: Jack Foley, Chris Curcio, Ryan Maguire, Austin
Weber, Manny Soto, Jack Bradfield, Stephen Siano,
Tarik James, Liam Boyle, Raekwon Caswell, Jack McLean,
Luke Stratton, Amir Furman, Aeden Mangan, Ryan
Bradfield, Emil Signes
Co-Ed Atlantis
Chris Ryan: I have been on many Atlantis tours.
After each one I look back and am able to find ways in
which each one is better than those before. For
this trip the camaraderie of the group is what struck
me as the best part. It truly seemed like everyone got
along and enjoyed each other's company. There were
always coed Atlantis groups wherever you looked.
This is certainly true. But it got me thinking. I
agree that the camaraderie was fabulous, possibly the
best. But if it was the best, it wasn't just
better than a mediocre past or better than a good past
or even better than a very good past; it was better than
a fabulous past. And then I realized that, in the
section on Atlantis' history, above, while I mentioned
men's tours and women's tours, I haven't really talked
about the history of coed tours. So thanks for making me
think, Chris: here's a little bit on how our co-ed tours
began and progressed.
Having fielded Atlantis women's teams in Spain and Hong
Kong, I figured it was time to field them at home and in
concert with the men, and at the 1996 Cape Fear Sevens,
one women's team accompanied 3 men's teams, our
first-ever co-ed venture. The women won the
tournament. In 1998 and 99 we again fielded co-ed
teams in Cape Fear and in 1999 also at the Magnificent
Sevens in Toronto. By 2000 it was time to go
overseas and Atlantis took 2 teams - men and women - to
the Santa Teresa Sevens in Venezuela. I didn't go
- had something to do with my "real" job - but based on
comments I got from the teams afterwards I wrote, "It
was a typical Atlantis co-ed venture, I'm told: both
sexes wary of the other at the beginning, and best
friends at the end."
In 2000 and 2001, we also took co-ed squads to
Trinidad, as I'll note below.
In 2002, Atlantis men and women toured Brazil together
and the story was the same. It turned into a fabulous
co-ed event. See http://emilito.org/rugby/atlantis/2002/t_096.html
for the story. The women won the tournament, and the
men, with only seven players, made it to the finals,
finally fading in the second half. Here are the two
Atlantis teams plus the Niteroi (Rio de Janeiro area)
men and women on the first evening in Brazil, just
after we'd played.
1-16 Niteroi
& Atlantis together-900w.jpg
Brazil 2002: Atlantis and Niteroi Men and Women All
Together
It was a fabulous tour. Was it better than this year?
As my mother taught me, "Comparisons are odious." They
were both fabulous! Win on the field and enjoy
ourselves off it - those are our (mutually inclusive)
goals.
Here's our history of co-ed
Atlantis participation:
Date
|
Country
|
Tournament
|
tourn
#
|
#
men
|
#
women
|
#
boys
|
#
girls
|
Best
Result
|
Comments
|
7/6-7/7/96
|
USA
|
Cape Fear 7s
|
50
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
M: champions
|
women finalists
|
7/5-7/6/97
|
USA
|
Cape Fear 7s
|
58
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
best men QF
|
7/4-7/5/98
|
USA
|
Cape Fear 7s
|
65
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalists
|
best men QF
|
7/3-7/4/99
|
USA
|
Cape Fear 7s
|
72
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
W: 1st & 2nd
|
best men SF
|
7/17-7/18/99
|
Canada
|
Magnificent 7s
|
73
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
men's team was collegiate
|
7/8/-7/9/00
|
Venezuela
|
Santa Teresa 7s
|
78
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
both champions
|
held on a rum plantation
|
12/2-3/00
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Caribbean 7s
|
84
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalist
|
both men SF
|
12/1/2/01
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Caribbean 7s
|
90
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
W: 1st & 2nd
|
youngest 11 beat oldest 11
|
7/27/28/02
|
Brazil
|
Torneio do Inverno de 7-a-side
|
96
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
M: finalists
|
12/6/7/03
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Caribbean 7s
|
107
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
M: finalists (lost to NOVA)
|
12/4/5/04
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Caribbean 7s
|
112
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
M: SF
|
12/2-3/06
|
Trinidad & Tobago |
Caribbean 7s
|
119
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
W beat NOVA for 1st & 3rd
|
12/1-2/07
|
Trinidad & Tobago |
Caribbean 7s
|
123
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
M: SF
|
12/6-7/08
|
Trinidad & Tobago |
Caribbean 7s
|
127
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalists
|
M: SF
|
11/19/10
|
Mexico
|
Cancun 7s
|
133
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: champions
|
M: SF
|
12/2-3/11
|
Cuba
|
Habana Howlers 7s
|
135
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalists
|
50-yr old Krista McFarren
shone!
|
2/8-10/13
|
USA
|
Las Vegas Invitational 7s
|
139
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: plate co-champ
|
great party for me!!!
|
12/7-8/13
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Tobago 7s
|
141
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalists
|
M: SF
|
1/23-14/14
|
USA
|
Las Vegas invitational 7s
|
142
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
G: finalists
|
boys & girls U-19
|
12/13-14/14
|
Trinidad & Tobago
|
Tobago 7s
|
147
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
W: finalists
|
incentive for next year
|
Atlantis
at T&T Sevens: a History
This is the 14th time
Atlantis has participated in a T&T sevens tournament (12
in Trinidad, when it was called the Caribbean Sevens,
and 2 in Tobago). We have fielded 28 sides in those
tournaments, 16 men's sides and 12 women's sides. The first
3 Caribbean Sevens we attended (1995-1997) were men-only
tournaments; the next time we entered was 2000 and we
entered two men's teams and a women's team. In 2001 we
entered two women's teams and a men's team. In 2002 we
entered only a women's team and in 2005 only a men's team.
From 2009 to 2012 we did not enter any teams. In the
other seven years we fielded both men and women's teams, for
a total of nine co-ed squads.
This is the 13th men’s squad to reach at least
the semifinals; three of those squads have reached the
finals. The women have reached the finals 11 times, having
won the tournament 6 times. In 2001 the two Atlantis
women’s teams met each other in the finals; this year’s
women’s coach Dana Creager* was
a member of that group (and she also played in 2000 and
2002, when we won. Other members of this tour that played in
the Caribbean Sevens include both men's coaches Chris Ryan
(2000, semifinalist) and Rosalie MacGowan (2007 & 2008,
champions and finalists). None of this year's players played
for us when the tournament was in Trinidad (though four of
this tour's staff - Chris Ryan, Marsh Pennington, Dana
Creager and Rosalie MacGowan - did).
* Dana Creager story (there are many):
in 2001 there was a redheaded guest player from Canada
that played for the T&T club Northerns and gave us
fits. She was back in 2002 and we recognized
her. In addition she was playing for the Trinidad
and Tobago national team. We played a 6+1 defense against
them, but the 1 wasn't a sweeper, it was Dana
Creager. We had whoever the appropriate person was,
per our defense, cover this star player, and Dana was to
double-team her wherever she went.
We found out in 2002 that that Canadian's name was Heather
Moyse. And it wasn't just we that thought she was so
good... It turns out that she went on to play for Canada
in rugby for several years (including two World Cups - one
7s, one 15s), and in 2010 and 2014 won the bobsledding
gold medal at the Winter Olympics... And came in 4th in a
Pan American cycling event ... And ... more ... And, just
in case you were wondering, using our defense we shut out
Heather and T&T, whom we beat twice, both by 19-0
scores.
2000-12-01 Atlantis 2 men 1
women team.jpg (archives)
2
men's, one women's squad to Trinidad's Caribbean Sevens
in 2000
Players
in this picture include several future national
or high-level select-side coaches:
Seated are Al Caravelli (L) and Alex Magleby (R, both
future USA National Men's Sevens Coaches)
Kneeling are Chris Ryan (L),
Dana Creager (4th from L, both future USA ODP* Coaches),
Jack Foley (5th, future Rugby PA Coach), Greg
Schor (9th, future USA Maccabi Sevens Coach)
* ODP = Olympic Development
Program
T&T and I
Besides bringing
Atlantis to T&T on many occasions, I had the opportunity
to coach in Trinidad and Tobago, acting as a guest coach for
their national team on two occasions - in 2000, when they
were preparing for the 2001 Rugby World Cup 7s qualifier in
Chile, and again in 2004 during their preparation for the
USA Sevens in Los Angeles. They were both wonderful
experiences. In 2000 I wrote an article on the
experience for Rugby Magazine about
my time in T&T, and the tournament organizers thought
enough of it to reprint it in the 2000 Caribbean Sevens
program. Flying home from T&T I showed the article
in the program to the person sitting next to me on the
plane, a Trini woman. She was impressed (she said) and
said I'd gotten it right (I'm easily taken in by praise).
Here is the 2000 article as I submitted it to Rugby:
Coaching
Sevens (and other activities) in Trinidad and Tobago.
In 2004 I caught a lot of flack from USA Rugby for helping
T&T because I was the coach of the USA Women's team
(there was no women's presence, however, at the USA Sevens
at that time), so I was told I couldn't officially be the
T&T coach. I did, however, help run their
practices in Trinidad and attend their meetings in LA. I
discovered in Trinidad that we had an excellent lineout
thrower, a brilliant jumper and 2 strong lifters, so I spent
a part of every practice working on a driving LO, setting it
up at the opposing team's 5. Against the USA in LA,
T&T got a penalty kick on the right-hand side of the
field about 30 meters out, and (with my brain saying "put it
in touch, put it in touch") T&T put the ball into touch
at about the 5. I watched with a bit of anxiety to make sure
the 4th T&T player walked quietly to the back of the LO.
It was a perfect throw to 2 (supported by 1 and 3), then 4
came in and drove him over the line for the perfectly
executed driving lineout try. I, sitting in one of the
USA boxes, made the mistake of saying "Yes!" when it
happened, drawing (understandable) disapproval. I'm
told the TV color commentator laughed and commented on how
T&T didn't really understand the game (and were
therefore simply "lucky"), because "nobody drives lineouts
in sevens." I have never seen that lineout on video nor
heard the commentary, but I can visualize the real thing as
if it were yesterday. The US, as expected, won the
game 5 tries to 2. Independent of the outcome, coaches can
be rewarded by little things.
2004-0211-T&T7
in LA.jpg (archives)
Hanging
out with T&T Sevens Team in LA
But I digress. Back to 2014.
Itinerary:
pre-tourney
Everyone arrived in time for a
Thursday morning practice, some one or two days earlier. Those
that arrived Wednesday and went out on a boat were treated to a
rare sighting of a threatening sea monster; see below.
2014-1210-DSCF4116-CR
underwater-800w
Spotted off the coast
of Tobago
Thursday we gathered everyone together at 8:30 AM for an overview
of the teams' playing philosophy and what we would be covering at
practices. This presentation was the extent of my coaching, from
which I went into Emperor mode. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't
difficult to keep my mouth shut.
The men's and women's squads headed to and from our three
practices together then worked out on their own. Chris Ryan
and Rosalie MacGowan ran the men's practices and Dana Creager and
Billy Nicholas the women's.
2014-1211
Dana scrum practice-1000w.jpg /2014-1211 Pudge
expounds to Bob-1000s (Emil camera)
Dana and Chris
run our first practices
2014-1211 Casey hard at work-1000w.jpg
Our
trainer: Casey Maxwell was hard at work throughout the tour
I'm all about team pictures. Following Thursday's practices we took our first,
in the stands next to
where we'd practiced all day.
First
Team Picture
2014-12-11-DSCF0974-practice-900w.jpg
(Emil camera)
First team picture - following
Thursday practices
Social
Activities
Thursday Evening Caroling Session. Given the
season, the
tournament held a Christmas caroling session on Thursday night
where each team was invited to present a couple of carols.
We joined in with a little boy-girl caroling which was valuable
and fun if just for the practice session bonding part. Of
course, neither we nor any other team particularly shone.
Luckily we're a rugby team and not a singing team.
2014-1211
choir practice1-800w.jpg /2014-1211 choir practice2-800w.jpg
(Emil camera)
We followed our double session
on-the-field practices with a post-dinner Choir practice
Left: Girls singing, boys in back, waiting / Right:
Boys ready to jump in
Nicknames. Friday after practice we had
a nicknaming session. The purpose of these, like many
other tour activities, is to get the team to know and bond with
each other (after all, you can't really nickname someone without
finding out something about them). For this group I had
the oldest man nickname the youngest woman, she named the next
oldest man, etc ... Thus, to nickname them, the men had to get
to know something about the women, the women something about the
men, the oldest about the youngest, etc, etc, etc. A short piece
of the nicknaming session is shown below.
2014-1212 At the nickname
session-960w.jpg (still from video)
2014-1212 nicknames-brief segment.mp4
At the nickname session: Ty, Nene,
Shade
Click on image
for a short piece of the nicknaming session
Goat races. On Friday afternoon the tournament held a goat
race. I didn't attend (it was my time to make sure all the
preparations for the weekend video were taken care of), but the
following comment came from Jess: "Josie and Nene ran in a goat
race. Josie's goat was all over the place and made it
hard for all the other racers to have a straight shot to the
finish line. Nene, however came in 2nd."
2014-1212
Nene goat race.jpg
Nene - in foreground -
coming from way behind to almost win
She started the
race with her goat and another all tangled up
Click on image to view
Note: browser issues.
The link on the above figure seems to work in Safari as I
thought it would. In Chrome it asks to download it (I
said ok), then downloads it again at each viewing (I now have
a dozen files downloaded of the same thing). In Firefox it
shows a distorted version of the file. In Internet Explorer it was sideways. Dear
Reader, if you can explain and suggest a solution for me,
please let me know; thanks.
"Another good food call was our team dinner. I
asked Brian Stollmeyer, good friend and organizer of the
Tobago Sevens (and before that the Caribbean Sevens), for a
nice place to have a team dinner, and he suggested Colours,
a restaurant on the Milford Road leading out of Crown Point
(and less than a 10-minute walk from our hotel). Colours
is owned and operated by retired Caribbean Airlines pilot
Stephen Dolly. It turned out to be a great choice, as he
reserved the entire restaurant for us and Friday night all 33*
of us were able to eat at 3 tables in the same room. Food was
buffet style and endless." (* This year there were 31.)
Here is a picture from
last year's meal at Colours, when our shirts complemented
the decor and lent more meaning to the word Colours.
2013-12-05
Why its called Colours-900w.jpg
Atlantis at Colours,
2013
Local eateries. Most people got breakfast at Crown
Point, next door to our hotel. There was also a deli a
couple minutes walk. There was fast food and other
restaurants less than a 10-minute walk. My favorite was
Skewers, specializing in Middle Eastern food. Another team
favorite was Chef's. And there was an ice cream place most
people stopped at for a desert after dinner. And ... I'm sure
among them the team found a dozen more good places ...
Those that had to race back to work left late Sunday night; more
than half the team stayed another full day, and there were a
couple of people that stayed till Thursday. Tobago is a nice
place for a relaxing stay with the option of adventure.
Jerseys
and Jersey Presentation
Friday evening the coaches presented each
player on the two squads, meeting together, with their jersey
for the weekend, to finish Friday with the tournament on our
mind. Lately we've been trying to represent something
unique for each tournament we attend. This tournament's
jersey design represented the surfaces of steelpans of various
sizes. The steelpan, the national instrument of Trinidad
and Tobago was developed in the 1940s when people started
playing on discarded oil drums during World War II, and has
since developed into a sophisticated musical instrument.
2014-1213-IMG_0624-Ariel & Ty-900h.jpg
Ariel Johnson and Ty Anderson sporting the
Atlantis jersey design for the 2014 Tobago 7s
steel pan surface.jpg / 2000-12-02 Steel
Band of kids.jpg
Left: view of a
steelpan surface / Right: a kids' pan band Atlantis
observed in Port of Spain in 2000
-add Jersey Ceremony Pix
Game
Days
The Playing Fields
The
game fields were in good shape and despite some heavy rain,
held up pretty well throughout the weekend.
Jess Wooden:
"Although a majority of my time on this tour was spent in
airports, the time I did spend in Tobago was
fantastic. The weather held off for our first two days
of practice which allowed us to get in quality reps with one
another before the tournament. And even though it
rained during the tournament, the mountains in the backdrop
of the field made for a picturesque rugby experience.
2014-1214-IMG_0653-view from the
field-1200w.jpg
View from the field. This picture was taken after a
full day of rain. The field has survived.
Our Competition
There were 6 teams in the men's division and 5 in the women's
that I figured had a shot to go all the way.
Atlantis, the Dog River Howlers and Stars entered both men's and
women's teams. Other fancied teams in the men's division
were Esher, NY ODA (New York Olympic Development Academy), and
Rah Rah Rugby. Two teams - SWifts and Heidi's Heroes -
also represented the UK in the women's division of the
tournament.
Local teams have won this tournament before, and I remember
Atlantis losing to Caribs a couple of times in the past, but
based on 2013 I didn't think that would happen, and it didn't. I
hadn't visited T&T between 2006 and 2013, and - at least in
comparison to the international competition - it seemed to me
that in 2013 the local clubs hadn't played quite as well as they
did in the first stretch of years in which I visited with
Atlantis, i.e. 1995-2006.
Here is some information on the other competitive teams:
Dog River Howlers: The Howlers club, organized by Karl
Fix of Regina, Saskatchewan, was founded in 2007, and is made up
of players from all over Canada as well as from other countries.
The Howlers have toured several interesting countries, including
recently Cuba and Colombia, and perhaps most notable of all the
invitational clubs raise lots of money to contribute to
worthwhile endeavors which are not related to rugby; they use
the game as a vehicle to build bridges between people around the
world.
Stars: The Stars, organized by Liz Entwhistle are a first
year international touring sevens team having remarkable success
in that first year. They recruit from across the US and
pair these players with players from abroad, so far with
Australia, Canada and the UK. Liz has put in place a great
scouting system that has brought results! The Stars had several
international players, both men and women, from the US, from
Tonga, from the Aussie Rugby League; in short, they had athletes
and they knew how to play sevens rugby.
New York: The New York City 7s squad forms part of the
Northeast Olympic Development Academy (ODA) based in New York
and Boston. They were the defending tournament champions. They
are coached by a Scot, Steve Lewis, a former West of Scotland
halfback, with a long and successful coaching history, who
emigrated to the USA a couple of decades back.
Esher: Esher (pron. Eesher) is a London-area side
that competes in England's National League One. They were
finalists in Tobago in 2013 and brought a better team this year,
not to mention a whole host of supporters who took advantage of
the all-inclusive Apollo charter for the week, organized by
Golden Holidays.
Rah Rah Rugby: On their Facebook site, Rah Rah Rugby is listed as
"Rugby Union and Rugby League Recruitment Specialists."
Rah Rah Rugby's team comprised players from Australia, New
Zealand, England and the USA.
SWifts and Heidi's Heroes: The capitals "S" and "W" stand
for South West and both these teams are from the South West of
England. "Heidi's
Heroes" is named
after the mother of
the teams' captain, Millie Wood. Heidi died of
cancer and her husband set up the team to raise
funds to help women post-mastectomy and to teach
disadvantaged kids to swim. The teams are coached
by Kevin Moggridge, who played in the Caribbean 7s
in Trinidad years ago.
Summary:
Women
Atlantis dispatched two Caribbean teams - Curaçao and T&T's
Rainbow - to begin the tournament, and then, in a fierce defensive
struggle, managed to defeat the Stars 14-0 on two tries by Hannah
Gauthreaux.
On Sunday there was another big win against the University of the
West Indies and a close win against SWifts. In the
semifinals a close win over Canadian rival Howlers was followed by
another defensive struggle against Stars in the final match.
Unfortunately for Atlantis, the Stars squeaked by 7-5.
Summary:
Men
Atlantis men were
undefeated on Saturday, with a victory over the invitational side
Rah Rah Rugby our only close game. The men ended up 5-2, losing to
the Stars (runners up to Esher in the final) in the semis, and New
York in the 3rd place match, despite getting out front with the
game's first two tries.
Day 1: First Day Undefeated
Prior to the Games
The entire tournament
gathered prior to the first game and first dedicated a moment of
silence to Chantal Maclean, a dedicated and promising teenage
rugby player from British Columbia and the Howlers, recently
killed in an automobile accident. Following that, a young
steel pan player played the Trinidad and Tobago national
anthem. The steel pan is the national instrument of
Trinidad and Tobago and various images of steel pans were on our
jerseys for this event.
Here is the T&T
national anthem, "Forged from the love of Liberty."
Standing next to the pan player in the picture below is Brian
Stollmeyer, organizer of this tournament as long as I've known
about it. Click on the image to see the last few seconds of
silence followed by the anthem. The pan player can be seen
in the last few second of the anthem, on the right.
2014-1213-0-playing anthem.jpg
(Nene camera)
Youngster playing T&T national anthem / Brian Stollmeyer
in front
Click image to hear anthem
Saturday
Games: Women
Top: 2014-1213-DSCF1047-Women in kit-1200w.jpg / Bottom:
2014-1213-DSCF1048-Women-back of jerseys-1200w.jpg (Emil camera)
Women before the first
game. These were the first set of Atlantis jerseys with
names on the back
L to R: Sam
Pankey, Neariah Persinger, Kimber Rozier, Lauren Rhode, Hannah
Gauthreaux, Abby Gustaitis, Ariel Johnson, Brianna Kim, Hunter
Griendling, Jess Wooden, Josie Ziluca
Atlantis Women Game 1
vs. Curaçao (49-0). Atlantis scored fast and furiously
in this game. In a knock-on-filled first minute we pressured
our way down the field and Ariel Johnson scored the opening try
converted by Kimber Rozier. Josie Ziluca scored the next try with
about a 50-m run following a turnover. Hannah got the third after
Lauren Rhode looped Jess Wooden from a scrum and fed Hannah.
Kimber scored the 4th at half time with a run from the base of a
scrum on the right at about the Curaçao 22.
With the score 28-0 at half time we got some new scorers in the
game. Neariah AKA Nene Persinger got the first two tries, the
first from a scrum in our own territory that was just moved out to
the wing where she beat her opposite. The second came from a
kick out of their own In-Goal by Curaçao; Brianna Kim started the
counter-attack which Nene finished. The last score followed a
turnover; Sam Pankey got the ball from Hunter Griendling and took
it from her own half to score. Jess converted all 3 tries giving
us 7 for 7 in conversions and a 49-0 win.
11-wg1-Nene
scores v Curaçao-750w.jpg (still from video)
After the
first game our 18-year old, Neariah, led our try scoring with
two. Jess is in support.
To see Nene's two tries from the end zone camera, click on the image
To see all of our tries in this game click on Atlantis
Women Tries vs. Curaçao.
A video of this game cut down to Ball-in-Play
may be found at Atlantis
Women vs. Curaçao - Ball in Play
Atlantis Women Game 2 vs. Rainbow (66-0). Rainbow is a club from San Fernando, an impoverished
city south of Port of Spain on what is called "The Train Line."
Rugby players on Rainbow tend to live in difficult situations,
and rugby can provide an escape - albeit temporary - from these
realities.
Atlantis scored almost at will in this game: Hannah began the
game with a hat trick in the first 3:50. Among these 3 tries,
scored from kickoffs, there were only 2 rucks to interrupt the
open-field play. Kimber scored the 4th following a turnover, and
Lauren the 5th first-half try with about a 30-m run from the
base of a ruck. Kimber converted all 5.
The game proved a good scoring position for the wings, as Nene,
replacing Hannah there in the second half, got her own hat
trick. Basically, the ball just got out to the wing and
she scored; breaking a tackle on one of them.
The other two second half tries were by Jess and Hunter; Jess
stepped rather than give Nene the ball and exploited a big
gap. Hunter pounced on a mishandled ball at Rainbow's
goal. Jess converted 3 of the 5 second-half tries.
11-wg2-Nene
v Rainbow-from vid-1200w.jpg (still from video)
No one took still pictures of
the first two women's games, but once again, Nene stood out in
video clips
She scored a hat trick vs.
Rainbow giving her a total of 5 tries for 2 games
To see all our tries in this game click on Atlantis
Women Tries vs. Rainbow.
Click
to see Atlantis
Women Game 2 vs. Rainbow cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Women Game 3 vs. Stars (14-0). This was a
defensive match all the way. Atlantis scored the only two tries of
the game, oddly - because lineouts don't occur too often in sevens
- both from lineouts. The first began with a ball won at the back
of the LO and, following a ruck in the middle of the field, we
exposed Stars' lack of coverage on the other side and Hannah
scored about an 80-m try. On the second, Jess got outside her
defender, drawing in the wing, and got the ball to Hannah for the
try. Kimber and Jess converted the two tries.
To see both our tries in this game click on Atlantis
Women Tries vs. Stars (Pool Game)
Click to see Atlantis
Women Game 3 vs. Stars cut down to Ball in Play.
9-wg3-IMG_0531-Bri
congrats Hannah-1200w.jpg (Nene camera)
Bri congratulates Hannah on her
try vs. the Stars
The spectators enjoy the encounter as well
2014-1213-team
pic men-1200w.jpg (Emil camera)
Men's team on game day
Standing: Casey Maxwell, Chris Ryan, Rosalie
MacGowan, Ty Anderson, Bob Rosato, Mitch Vannoy, Jim Rosato,
Chris Frazier, Chris Mattina Chris Schade, Emil Signes
Kneeling: Ty Elkins, Louis Tulio, Glen Thommes, Luke
Markovich, Marsh Pennington
Relaxing: Akinola Raymond
Atlantis Men Game 1 vs. Rah Rah Rugby (14-5). The first
game for the men was a tough one against this team who on their
Facebook site is listed as "Rugby Union and Rugby League
Recruitment Specialists." We started the game by tapping our
excellent KO to no one as the support person had gone through and
the tap was picked up by Rah Rah who drove it deep into our
territory - a reminder about the difficulties with communication
when players aren't used to each other. At any rate, we
scored out first try when Ty Elkins tiptoed down the left
sideline, missed going into touch by about 1 mm., then flung the
ball back... Luckily the person that retrieved the ball was Luke
Markovich, and after a quick ruck the ball got out to Jimmy Rosato
who caught a sliding defender over-pursuing and slipped through
for a 45-meter try.
Again Rah Rah got the ball deep into our territory where we turned
it over. After a lot of ball movement in our own 22, the
ball got out to Glen Thommes on the right sidelines. Glen
took it the last 80 meters for the second converted try.
The second half was unexciting and unfulfilling; Rah Rah scored an
unconverted try and we hung on for a 14-5 won.
Our tries may be found by clicking on the image below.
6-mg1-IMG_0403-Glen
beats Rah Rah D-1050w.jpg (Nene camera)
Click on image to see
our two tries vs. Rah Rah
Glen Thommes on his way to a long try vs. Rah
Rah
Click
to see Atlantis
Men Game 1 vs. Rah Rah Rugby cut down to Ball-in-Play.
Atlantis Men Game 2 vs. Rainbow
(24-0). As noted above, Rainbow is a club from San
Fernando, a small impoverished town south of Port of Spain.
From what I'm told rugby provides a worthwhile activity often
otherwise missing in the lives of the players. About a dozen
years ago a couple of these players, thanks to opportunities
offered by 19-time Atlantean player Keith McLean, came to play for
a season with Philadelphia-Whitemarsh. I saw one of them -
Ron Silverthorne - during this trip; he was looking fat and happy.
My first remembrance of Rainbow was a bunch of guys off to the
side of the pitch at one of the early Caribbean Sevens (in the
90s) and a bunch of smoke rising over their heads. When I
walked by it didn't smell of tobacco. At any rate, Rainbow is now,
as it was then, a bunch of fast guys enthusiastic about rugby who,
with a bit more on-the-field discipline, could be a lot
better. This game was a relatively solid - if not always
comfortable - win.
The first two tries - by Chris Mattina and Bob Rosato at the very
start and very end of the first half - were counterattacks of
Rainbow kicks, covering about 35 and 60 meters, respectively.
The first try of the second half started inside our own territory
and, after getting pushed way back towards our own 22 but
maintaining possession through several phases, the ball got to
Glen Thommes who ran about 60 meters for the try.
The final try of the game was scored following a scrum in our
territory. Louis Tulio made a break following a 5-6 switch
with FH Luke Markovich, got the ball back to Luke who carried it
several yards before feeding wing Akinola Raymond for the last 40
meters. Aki handed off the defender and scored.
Chris Mattina made two conversions to make the final score 24-0.
11-mg2-IMG_0473-Rainbow
hair flying-Tulio-1000w.jp (Nene camera)
Louis Tulio just manages
to get this Rainbow player by the ankle
To see all our tries
in this game go to Atlantis
Men Tries vs. Rainbow
Click
to see a video of Atlantis
Men Game 2 vs. Rainbow cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Men Game 3 vs. Tobago (17-0). Rugby
in Tobago is relatively new, and sadly for them, there continues
to be only one club in Tobago. Again, they have relatively good
athletic ability (we only managed to score 3 tries against them),
but need more coherence and competition.
Early in this game Atlantis got a try from a PK. They took
it up, rucked a few times, then got it to Aki Raymond who stepped
once and scored the opening try. There was no conversion and
the score remained 5-0 till half time.
Ty Elkins scored the first try of the second half when Atlantis
won the Tobago kickoff and got it to him; he ran between the two
edge defenders for about an 80 meter try.
Glen Thommes scored the last try with a big run following a Tobago
turnover.
2-mg3-Ty try vs
Tobago-1000w.jpg (still from video)
Ty breaks Tobago tackle for
long score
To see all our tries in this game
go to Atlantis
Men Tries vs. Tobago
Click
to see a video of Atlantis
Men Game 3 vs. Tobago cut down to Ball in Play.
Day 2: The
tough games
Sunday Games: Women
Atlantis Women Game 4 vs. SWifts
(12-0). SWifts (note the capitals "S" and "W") is part of a large
club from South West England that brought, as well as SWifts, another team called "Heidi's Heroes," a team named after
the mother of the teams'
captain.
This was a very tough
game again dominated by defense. And we had too many
unforced turnovers.
Lauren scored the first
try at 4:30 after an inside loop following a
scrum: she stepped into a gap it had
created. Sam used her
basketball skills to go up for the next KO and
following a ruck, we got it wide to Nene who scored down the left
hand side. Kimber converted to close the
scoring.
The second half was evenly played as both
teams knocked on try-scoring opportunities.
5-wg4-Kimber
clears to Lauren at SS v Swifts-750w.jpg (still from video)
Kimber clears
ball to Lauren vs. SWifts under pressure
at scrum
To see all our tries in this game go to Atlantis
Women Tries vs. SWifts
A
video of this game cut down to Ball-in-Play may be found at Atlantis
Women Game 4 vs. SWifts.
Atlantis Women Game 5 vs. U. West Indies (49-0).
UWI is
based in Trinidad, although there are campuses in Barbados and
Jamaica as well. I love to see the effort that Trinidad
and many of the other nations in the West Indies put into
their women's rugby and
I wish them well; they have some good athletes. Besides
their national teams, however, their clubs have yet to grow to
the stage where they can threaten us. Nevertheless they
make us work, and we always need to respect that by playing well. In this game we did
that.
Abby Gustaitis scored the first two tries of the game, the first after we got the ball back from a penalty
following our KO. We had
good ball movement, then Abby took three
defenders over the goal line for the try at
0:45. The second was from
an interception near the UWI goal line at 2:45. Lauren finished the
first-half scoring by running a gap in the UWI
line. Lauren made all 3 kicks.
Hannah took the
2nd half opening kickoff back for an 80-m try at 0:30. Nene
followed with a try from a PK at the UWI 22, and Hunter scored
a try
following another UWI penalty at
3:15. Nene finished the scoring at
6:40 with about
a 35-m run.
Kimber made all 4
second
half conversions and the final score was 49-0.
10-wg5-Wilmark-112-Hunter tackle.jpg
(Wilmark)
Hunter tackles ball free vs. U. of
the West Indies
A
video of this game cut down to Ball-in-Play may be found at Atlantis
Women Game 5 vs. U. of the West Indies.
To see both
our tries in this game go to Atlantis
Women Tries vs. U. of the West Indies
Atlantis Women SF vs. Howlers (Canada)
(19-12). The Dog River Howlers and we have been big
rivals ever since their founding by Karl Fix about 10 years ago. Before that
Atlantis men struggled to defeat any team Karl put together,
since our first meeting against
the Maple Leafs, a 15-12
loss in the Caribbean Sevens in 1995. The men defeated the Howlers for the first and only time in 2013
in Las Vegas, and the women have defeated the Howlers a couple of times, but
we still have a
losing record against them.
So it was nice to
win this semifinal match which, as usual between our
two teams, was hard-fought.
The
first try was a simple 6-7 switch between Jess and Hannah from a
scrum, as Hannah burst through the Howler D for the score.
Lauren scored the second try following a Howler turnover.
The Howlers scored at the end of the half to get within a score.
Kimber scored at 2:40 of the second half following lots of ball
movement following a scrum when she found a gap in the
defense. The Howlers scored again to put them within 7
with time left, but Atlantis held on for the 19-12 win.
1-wg6-Abby
fends off Howler-500w.jpg / 1-wg6-Howler
peeking-Abby-1000w.jpg (Nene camera)
Left: Abby fends off one defender /
R: Looks like this defender is trying to sneak a peek
To see all our tries in this game click
on Atlantis
Women Tries vs. Howlers
Click to see Atlantis
Women Game 6 vs. Howlers cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Women Final vs.
Stars (5-7). This was another hard-fought game but
sadly we came out on the short end of a 7-5 barnburner.
The first try was a score in the left hand corner by Hannah at
2:30 following a weird episode in which the referee incorrectly
awarded us a try that she then took back. Hannah's try was set
up by a 5-6 loop that pulled the wing in towards flyhalf Lauren
who then fed Hannah, at wing, for the try in the corner.
9-wg7-WI-IMG_0684-Hannah try
in final-750w.jpg (Nene camera)
Hannah
gets the ball down for our only try in the final.
It was at the touchline and we couldn't convert.
Click
on image to see try.
Stars' try was early in the second half. From a PK to
Stars we never got our defense right and left a gap that Stars
got through to begin their march to the goal. We had a
couple of missed tackles and got outmuscled near the goal.
And one try in the corner vs. one try between the posts usually
means the team that scores between the posts gets two more
points. Final score Stars 7 Atlantis 5.
So many missed opportunities ...
To see our try in this
game click on Atlantis
Women Try vs. Stars (Final) (or on image above)
To see the Stars' try that eventually won the tournament,
and the two penalties that preceded it, Start
of 2nd half Final to Stars Try
Click to see Atlantis
Women Game 7 / Final vs. Stars cut down to Ball in
Play.
Sunday Games: Men
Atlantis
Men Game 4 vs. Caribs (31-0). Caribs
has won most T&T championships in the last 20 years, i.e.
since I've been going there, and they won again this year.
"Whether or not they're the best team in T&T," I was told
while I was there, "is a matter of contention here."
Glen Thommes won the kickoff, took it up and fed Chris Frazier
who took it in for one of the quickest tries of the weekend
(17 seconds in). Midway through the first period, Carib turned
the ball over to Atlantis and Glen kicked the ball ahead,
picked it up and scored the try. The first half ended
with a penalty to Atlantis; Chris Mattina took a quick tap and
scored and converted the try.
We had two tries in the second half; the first was from a
stolen LO that flyhalf Mattina brought back to the forwards
where Glen scored his second try. The last try was from a
2-man LO; Jimmy Rosato came from the back to take the ball in
the front of the LO and took it down the sideline to score the
last try.
6-mg4-Glen wins LO-960w.jpg (still from video)
Glen
coming down with LO against Caribs as Mitch goes to take
the return pass
To
see our tries in this game click on Atlantis
Men Tries vs. Caribs.
Click to see Atlantis
Men vs. Caribs cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Men Game 5 vs. Stars (0-26). As we didn't have any tries
ourselves in this game, I thought the Tries
scored against Atlantis by Stars would be instructional.
Basically the Stars played straight ahead "muscle sevens," and did
it very well. The first try was from the opening KO and
involved 2 missed tackles. On the second try the Stars moved
the ball back and forth several times while still going forward,
gaining yardage with each one. The third try was a scrum close to
our line; their fly half dragged the tackler over the line for the
score. The last try also started from a scrum which
collapsed as the ball was coming out, giving the Stars' SH a
chance to get over the gainline; one ruck and a missed tackle
later and they were over.
2-mg5-IMG_0573-ty
vs stars-1000w.jpg (Nene camera)
Ty
Elkins attacks Stars sweeper
Click to see Atlantis
Men vs. Stars cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Men Game 6 vs. RSCC (31-7).
RSCC is the Rainbow Sports and Cultural Club and provided a
second team for Rainbow and numbers for the tournament.
Atlantis scored off the opening KO, when they tackled Rainbow
out of the ball; Luke Markovich was the try scorer. The next
try was from a penalty tap and was scored by Chris Frazier.
RSCC scored the next try after one of our passes bounced off
the ground and they picked it off; the sequence ended with
them kicking ahead to score.
The third try came from a scrum deep in Atlantis territory;
Chris Mattina danced through the line and finished with an 80+
meter try.
In the second half, Mitch Vannoy set up a try by dragging two
defenders across the field with him and feeding Luke on a
switch into space for the try. Luke also converted. The last
try started with a stolen Rainbow scrum and ending up with
Glen barreling over a couple of tacklers for the score.
4-mg6-vid-deep strike-600w.jpg (still from video)
Deep strike allows Louis to
attack the blind side
To see our tries in this game click on Atlantis
Men Tries vs. RSCC.
Click to see Atlantis
Men vs. RSCC cut down to Ball in Play.
Atlantis Men Game 7: 3rd place game vs. New York ODA
(10-19). New York is part of the Northeast Olympic
Development Academy (ODA).
This game started out really well as we scored the
first two tries. Jimmy Rosato took the first KO
down the left sideline, then pulled out (! - when's
the last time we've seen this?) and brought the ball
back to continue the attack. More than a dozen
passes and 3 rucks later Ty Elkins went across in the
right corner at 0:55.
The next try started with a scrum and ended up with
Chris Mattina getting across a crowded goal line in
the fourth minute. But that was to be all we
got.
We got the ball back less than a minute later and it
looked like we were going to get try #3 when Ty Elkins
had a long run down the right touchline. NY
ended up with the ball, however, and got it back 90
meters for the try just before half that included a
couple of rucks and 3 missed tackles.
We started the second half with the ball but turned it
over at a very physical encounter and NY methodically
moved it down the field to take a 12-10 lead. We
turned the ball over again following the next kickoff
and it was 19-10. They looked to have scored again,
but the touch judge informed the referee of a knock on
and the final score ended up 19-10 to New York.
9-mg7-wil-529-Frazier
wins KO-1200.jpg (Wilmark)
Chris Frazier wins KO
vs. New York ODA
To see our tries in this game click on Atlantis
men Tries vs. New York ODA.
Click to see Atlantis
Men vs. New York ODA cut down to Ball in Play.
I'd be lying if I said we
weren't disappointed on both sides' final game ... ending up in an even numbered position (2nd and 4th in this case)
is never the way
you want to go out of a tournament. But our captain was able
to put it in perspective. Lauren: "It was an honor to compete for
Atlantis on the very competitive side in Tobago
this year. We grew, learned, and improved
together over the four days of practices and
matches, and the hard work showed in our score
line as we advanced from pool play without
conceding a single try. While the final result
left us all hungering for another shot, I am
extremely grateful for this opportunity and
proud of what we accomplished!"
Dana spoke for all the staff when
she commented: "Although
we didn't get the outcome we wanted, I'm still very happy
with how hard the girls played all weekend. I had a
blast getting to know the players from both the men's and
women's team and working along side of some very talented
coaches."
Last Team Picture
We did have one last team meeting late in the evening for
a fine session and rookie show, but the picture below,
following the games, was the last time we were all
photographed together.
2014-1214-both teams
after games-DSCF1052-1200w.jpg (Emil camera)
The two Atlantis teams
after the games
Top, L to R:
Emil Signes, Rosalie MacGowan, Billy Nicholas, Dana Creager,
Sam Pankey, Chris Mattina, Ariel Johnson, Bob Rosato, Hunter
Griendling, Louis Tulio, Jess Wooden, Ty Anderson, Kimber
Rozier Mitch Vannoy, Lauren Rhode, Chris Schade, Glen
Thommes, Chris Ryan, Casey Maxwell
Bottom, L to R: Marsh Pennington, Ty Elkins, Abby Gustaitis,
Luke Markovich, Neariah Persinger, Josie Ziluca, Hannah
Gauthreaux, Brianna Kim, Chris Frazier, Jimmy Rosato,
Akinola Raymond
Scoring totals for all Atlantis
games, as well as individual scoring, are given below.
Scoring Recap
Atlantis Men
|
|
Atlantis Women
|
Type
|
W/L
|
PF
|
Opponent
|
PA
|
|
Type
|
W/L
|
PF
|
Opponent
|
PA
|
Pool 1
|
W
|
14
|
Rah Rah Rugby
|
5
|
|
Pool
|
W
|
49
|
Curaçao
|
0
|
Pool 1
|
W
|
24
|
Rainbow
|
0
|
|
Pool
|
W
|
66
|
Rainbow
|
0
|
Pool 1
|
W
|
17
|
Tobago
|
0
|
|
Pool
|
W
|
14
|
Stars
|
0
|
Pool 2
|
W
|
31
|
Caribs
|
0
|
|
Pool
|
W
|
12
|
Swifts
|
0
|
Pool 2
|
L
|
0
|
Stars
|
26
|
|
Pool
|
W
|
49
|
West Indies
|
0
|
Pool 2
|
W
|
31
|
RSCC
|
0
|
|
Semifinal
|
W
|
19
|
Howlers |
12
|
3rd Place
|
L
|
10
|
New York ODA
|
19
|
|
Final
|
L
|
5
|
Stars
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5-2
|
127
|
Total
|
50
|
|
|
6-1
|
214
|
Total
|
19
|
Atlantis Men
|
T
|
C
|
Pts
|
|
Atlantis Women
|
T
|
C
|
Pts
|
Chris Mattina
|
4
|
10
|
40
|
|
Kimber Rozier
|
3
|
16
|
47
|
Glen Thommes
|
6
|
0
|
30
|
|
Hannah
Gauthreaux
|
9
|
0
|
45
|
Luke Markovich
|
2
|
1
|
12
|
|
Neariah
Persinger
|
8
|
0
|
40
|
Ty Elkins
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
|
Lauren Rhode
|
4
|
2
|
24
|
Chris Frazier
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
|
Jess Wooden
|
1
|
8
|
21
|
Aki Raymond
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
|
Hunter
Griendling
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
Jim Rosato
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
|
Abby Gustaitis
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
Bob Rosato
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
|
Sam Pankey
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ariel Johnson
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
Josie Ziluca
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Atlantis
|
21
|
11
|
127
|
|
Total
Atlantis
|
32
|
27
|
214
|
Total
Opponents
|
8
|
5
|
50
|
|
Total
Opponents
|
3
|
2
|
19
|
Final Five. Following the conclusion of play, the top
5 women's and mens sides were:
Place
|
Women's Team
|
Representing
|
|
Place
|
Men's Team
|
Representing
|
Cup
|
Stars
|
International
|
|
Cup
|
Esher
|
UK
|
2
|
Atlantis
|
USA
|
|
2
|
Stars
|
International
|
3
|
Heidi's Heroes
|
UK
|
|
3
|
New York
|
USA
|
4
|
Dog River
Howlers
|
Canada
|
|
4
|
Atlantis
|
USA
|
Plate
|
SWifts
|
UK
|
|
Plate
|
Guyana
|
Guyana
|
Interesting Miscellany. For both teams, a small number of players
dominated the scoring. For the men, our only returners,
Chris Mattina and Glen Thommes, decorated select-side players,
scored virtually half the tries. This was not a particular
surprise; they're both very dynamic players and Chris is a
kicker and was our leading scorer last year.
For the women, Kimber Rozier led the scoring with 47 points (3
tries and 16 conversions). As she is an accomplished Eagle and a
kicker, this is not surprising. What is surprising is that
our two youngest players - Hannah Gauthreaux, 20, and Neariah "Nene"
Persinger,18 - led in tries scored with 9 and
8, respectively, accounting for more than half of our tries.
Thanks to the ARPTC TM camp
for allowing us to discover both of these. And in fact all but
three of the players on the women's side attended Julie McCoy's American
Rugby Pro Training Camp in Little Rock this past August.
MVP Kimber Rozier. Here is Kimber receiving
the tournament's MVP trophy. "Tobago was nice," she
comments, "the tour was a lot of fun, and I'd
definitely go again." She adds, though, "obviously the rugby was my
favorite part." I concur. Much
as I enjoy the non-rugby stuff, the memories of even
the non-rugby stuff are colored by how we perform on
the field.
2014-1214 Kimber with MVP trophy-1200w.jpg (Emil
camera)
Kimber receives MVP trophy from
Howlers' Leo Lane
2014-1214-DSC_0828-2-Kimber MVP from Stolly.jpg
Kimber and her trophy
2014-1214-IMG_0776-Women with awards-1000w.jpg
(Nene camera)
Women after award ceremony
In the
photo below, T&T's Allan Fraser has jumped into our trophy
picture. Allan is relevant to this article on two
counts: 1. He is Atlantis #739, having played for us in 2005
when we came down to Trinidad short a player, and 2. He is
(I'm pretty sure) the guy that scored on the 2004 lineout play
at the LA 7s that I referenced in the background section of
this article.
2014-1214-Allan Fraser-Atlantis-trophy-1000w.jpg
T&T's Allan Fraser jumps in
a picture with our trophy
Lots of people joined us to get photographed with the trophy.
More Photos
Nene - or more generically
Nene's camera - took tons of great pictures. I have selected
some of her more than 400 pictures to present. In addition,
a "Wilmark Johnatty" posted a bunch of great pictures from the
tournament. I have selected a few of these as well.
Post-tourney
Sunday
night: rookie show. Approximately
2/3 of our tour party - player
and staff - were Atlantis foreign
tour rookies. As per a long-standing rugby
tradition, rookies are expected to perform some kind of show for the veterans.
This has morphed from my first
rookie rugby appearance
- in the 70s - when each rookie in turn was
expected to give an
individual performance
to one in which the rookies en masse perform a
coordinated "show." Gradually - with the result that rookies
now get
the last
laugh - this event has
turned into making
fun of the veterans
on tour. Always good for laughs.
Just 20 seconds of this tour's show
follow. If you weren't there you won't understand it; hell, I was there and don't remember
this bit, BUT ... the important part is that the audience - men and women
both - seemed
to be amused. AND that the rookies obviously had fun
putting it together.
2014-1214-20sec rookie show.jpg
20 seconds of rookie
show: they're making fun of "someone"
Click on image
to see video
Sunday night: fine session & party.
We had a second fine session and the team dispersed. Some went off to the
tournament party; I have no reports.
12-Tobago/pix/2014-1214-Finemasters-500s.jpg
Finemasters:
"We've made a little list"
Monday beach party. About
half the team raced out Sunday night to make it home in time to work Monday
morning. Several of
us stayed through Monday for a no-stress fun beach party.
I joined the crew that packed up their bags and headed out to
the airport for a late Monday evening flight to Trinidad followed by a midnight
flight home.
2014-1215-view
of the beach-1000w.jpg
This beach
was about 50 yards
from our hotel. It
was about 80º
F.
2014-1215
group in water-1200w.jpg
Group enjoys warm water
in mid-December
Ariel, Abby, Ty A,
Hannah, Billy, Aki, Shade, Luke, Chris F,
Bob, Chris M, Louis, Glen, Jim
2014-1215 Nene Ariel Josie-800w.jpg
/ 2014-1215 Neariah in the sand-800w.jpg
Left:
Neariah/Nene, Ariel, Josie on beach / Right:
Neariah in the sand
Brianna Kim was one of that crew: "I stayed an extra
day with a number of people. We spent all day at the
beach while enjoying free beer and food, and then when
we got tired we headed to the pool for frozen drinks
and to watch the sunset. For dinner, we all went to La
Cantina, and shared pizza and wine. It was a great
last day of the trip!"
Tuesday and Later. Monday's
beach party was great, but some were even luckier and stayed
later.
Mitch Vannoy was one of the tour party that stayed. "It was some of the most fun I have had in a
while. I have never experienced any life outside of the U.S.
and this experience has got me hooked. The group I traveled
with drove around the island in a rented van for almost two
days and saw the sights. We experienced life outside of our
hotel and different restaurants and villages outside of the
ones we were exposed to during the tournament."
Ariel Johnson and Ty Anderson stayed as well: "Ty
and I stayed a few days after the tournament ended. Tuesday
the 16th and Wednesday the 17th we set out to rent scooters,
and after finding out that wouldn't be possible due to lack
of scooters, we didn't let that stop us. Josie 'Soccer Mom'
Ziluca and the rest of us rented a van! The first day we
went around the entire island, stopping periodically at
small beaches, little towns, and an abandoned water wheel.
Ty Anderson and I decided to break off from the group while
they went to eat, so we could drive to the highest point of
the Island to watch the sunset. This was something I really
wanted to do because a group of us (Phil Bolton, Amy Naber,
Marcus Respes, Lori Gerber Lewis and I) had all done this
last year! It's so pretty from up top, especially when the
sun in setting!! The second day we decided to dedicate
solely to going to Argyle Falls. There was lots of climbing,
swimming, rock jumping and well, waterfalls! It was an
enjoyable end to a truly incredible trip."
2014-1216appx-view from the
top-Ty&Ariel-1000w-jpg
View partway up Ty and Ariel's climb
Josie
Ziluca commented: "I stayed in
Tobago for three days after the tournament
and it was a serendipitous time in the
Caribbean. Monday I, along with teammates,
enjoyed the beach and sunny weather during
the post tournament party. On Tuesday and
Wednesday a group of us rented a van and
toured the island of Tobago. I was the lucky
driver of the vehicle. It was a blast
playing 'chicken' in the roadways, honking
to oncoming vehicles approaching the many
blind and sharp turns, and driving through a
herd of cattle on a remote road through the
thick, green island. At one point when the
radio signal had lost reception, we all
began singing Christmas carols. Bouncing
around the high cliffs, looking out past the
vegetation across the Atlantic and later the
Pacific, we were as happy and care-free as
we could be.
2014-1216 or 17 waterfall.jpg /
2014-1216 or 17 waterfall & players.jpg
The players that stayed found some
nice places to visit, including this waterfall
Josie continues: "It absolutely amazes me that the
great sport of rugby can bring together adventurous people
who are willing to give their heart to the sport and then
open their minds to the scenery and culture of another
country. It's quite a beautiful thing that can be cherished
for a lifetime.
"Thank you Emil for yet another amazing trip."
Thank you Josie,
and it amazes me too!! (And
being amazed is
a good thing.)
And speaking of amazing ...
Abby Gustaitis: "I had an absolutely amazing time! I would
highly recommend this tour to any future Atlantis player.
Having the men's and women's team there made it that much more
entertaining, competitive and an overall wonderful experience.
The weather was beautiful and the occasional rain shower was
pleasant. I learned so much in the short time with this team
of great athletes and under these coaches. I wouldn't trade
this experience for anything!
"Thank you so much for the opportunity."
Jess: "As always, I am very
impressed with how well the team comes together by tournament
time. We had an excellent group from all over the country
and we held our own vs some pretty talented and physical teams."
Ty
Elkins: "The tour was absolutely
phenomenal minus not winning. We had a great group of guys and
a great staff. Thanks again."
Aki Raymond: "My week In Tobago
really made me know my worth as a 7s rugby athlete, I realized
that if I work really hard I will become unstoppable. I took a
lot from this trip, and I will become a monster on the field,
just wait on it!"
Louis Tulio (shown here playing for the Classic Eagles vs.
Australia in Bermuda): "I have been on many
rugby tours, some epic ones at that, but I must say, the tour to
Tobago with Atlantis 7’s is in my top 3.
"The comradery between the girls team and boys team was
something I have never experienced at such a level. It was
amazing to see the wonderful skills, the preparation approaches
and overall class of the players on both teams. The
Atlantis tradition is amazing, it is a true testament of the
Emperor, the staff, and the players before me that have laid the
foundation and expectations. I have been lucky to have
some great accomplishments in rugby; and having an Atlantis
number holds the same level of pride for me as representing the
USA in both Union & Rugby League. I just wish I would
have played 7’s coming up, because I absolutely fell in love
with it.
Appendices
Appendix 1 -
Individual Scoring by Game
Appendix 2 - Location of Game Video
Ball-in-Play: on emilito.org
Tries: on emilito.org
Vimeo Videos: Entire Games from Bjorn Haglid
