SCRC Digest

by Ted Hardy

It's that time again college rugby fans. Time for another edition of the SCRC Digest. The second weekend of SCRC conference play proved to be a big one. South Carolina and Ole Miss continued their solid early season form as both teams improved to 2-0 in conference play. The big news came out of Tennessee as the Volunteers scored three tries in the final quarter to pull away and defeat Florida 42-24. The loss puts Florida in a precarious position in regards to reaching the postseason. With two losses, the Gators are going to need some help to reach the SCRC playoffs.

Looking forward, the SCRC has four games on tap this coming weekend, two from each division.

SCRC Players of the Week

East Division

The East Division Player of the Week is Ryan Roper, a Sophomore No. 8 from the University of Tennessee. Roper led the Volunteers to a big East Division win over rival Florida. Roper scored two tries in the game and led the Tennessee defense.

"He did a excellent job on defense both at the edge of the ruck against Florida’s hard charging forwards and also in space tracking down Florida’s talented All-South flyhalf," said Tennessee Head Coach Marty Bradley.

West Division

The West Division Player of the Week is Josh Oriez, a Sophomore flanker from the University of Alabama. Oriez, who hails from Fishers, Indiana led the Crimson Tide in tries last season as a Freshman. Oriez got 2013 off to a great start as he touched down four tries in Alabama's 46-5 win over Mississippi State this past weekend.

"His tenacity on the game field as well as at practice shows his strong desire for the game," said Alabama Head Coach Mark Seitz. "His knowledge of the game and cheerful disposition, even when being sat on by an opposing Prop, shows me potential for a future leader."

Coaches Corner

In our first Coaches Corner of the season we get some quick thoughts from Tennessee Head Coach Marty Bradley.

"Tennessee v Florida is always going to be a physical contest and this year was no different. The teams have a ton of respect for each other but would also love nothing better than to ruin the other’s spring with an early season loss," said Bradley of Tennessee's win over Florida.

"There are tough contests ahead of us but starting 1-0 with a victory over the team that beat us in the championship final last season obviously gives us some hope that we can have some success in the conference again this year," added Bradley in regards to the Volunteer's prospects for the remainder of the season.

SCRC Week 3 Preview

Georgia (0-1) at South Carolina (2-0) - South Carolina is off to a great start and have a prime opportunity to pick up their third win of the season at home against Georgia. The Bulldogs struggled in their conference-opener against Kentucky as they were shutout at home. The Gamecock's got two tries from Tim Hamill and 11 points off the boot of flyhalf Tim Holkenborg in their win last week over Vanderbilt. Holkenborg has tallied 26 points already this season.

Kentucky (1-0) at Florida (0-2) - Kentucky makes the long trip to Florida this coming weekend to play what should be a very anxious University of Florida squad. The Gators are off to a rough start this season and need a big win to get back on track. Kentucky surprised many with a road win over Georgia to start their season and would like nothing better than to kick the Gators while they are down.

Auburn (0-1) at LSU (1-0) - Auburn faces the tough task of going on the road to face LSU. Auburn is coming off of a home loss to Ole Miss last week and face a very solid LSU squad that is gearing up for a playoff run. LSU is led by Senior flyhalf Allen Alongi who posted 19 points in LSU's Week 1 win over Alabama.

Vanderbilt (0-1) at Ole Miss (2-0) - Ole Miss is another squad off to a good start and is at home with a great opportunity to add another win to their total. Vanderbilt got the better of Ole Miss last season, earning a 31-12 victory. The Commodores played South Carolina tough last weekend, but just couldn't keep up. Ole Miss has been strong in their two wins and currently leads the SCRC with a +35 point differential.

SCRC Standings

 

 

East Division
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	DIFF
South Carolina	2	0	0	81	54	+27
Tennessee	1	0	0	42	24	+18
Kentucky	1	0	0	15	0	+15
Georgia	0	1	0	0	15	-15
Vanderbilt	0	1	0	26	46	-20
Florida	0	2	0	52	77	-25
West Division
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	DIFF
Ole Miss	2	0	0	62	27	+35
Louisiana State	1	0	0	44	12	+32
Alabama	1	1	0	58	49	+9
Auburn	0	1	0	15	30	-15
Mississippi State	0	2	0	17	78	-61