St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club

The St. Louis Bombers polished off a very physical Palmer side 36-14 in Davenport, Iowa with the help of some crafty veterans. Fullback Danny Fernandez and wing Chris Schlereth each have worn the Eagle jersey and both scored a pair of first half tries to propel St. Louis to victory.

Palmer showed their hand early in the match by getting their big men involved with several pounding runs. The home side was rewarded with the first try to flanker J.J. Farrell to give Palmer the momentum and a 7-0 lead.

St. Louis then responded with four unanswered tries of their own. Schlereth scored from a Brian Meyer assist, quickly followed by a Fernandez try from a well executed backline move to put the Bombers in front 12-7. Schlereth's second try of the match was the result of some smooth handling on a counter attack from lock Hayden Mexted and Fernandez. Another counter attack saw the Bombers calmly move the ball away from pressure, with Mexted feeding wing Brian Harthill, who then connected with Fernandez to push St. Louis out in front 22-7 at the break.

A powerful Bomber scrum gave flyhalf Rene Monette a chance to waltz in from five meters out and extend the lead to 29-7 early in the second half. However, Palmer showed no quit as lock Danny Mosely led the charge back into the Bomber end and his try cut the Bomber lead to 29-14. Bomber center Brian Meyer's intercept try capped the scoring at 36-14 in this hard-hitting affair.

Danny Mosely lead by example all day and was Palmer's toughest man to tackle. Palmer flyhalf Mike Dzurgot and center Jeff Michael consistently kept the ball in front of their big forwards.

St. Louis was able to mix their squad for the match, with several reserves getting a full run and many regulars resting up for the looming playoffs. Flanker Zach Giljum, hooker Tim Chambliss, center Tom Nardin, lock Josh Rainey, flanker Jim Hoffmann and wing Brian Harthill stepped up and performed well in the black jersey. The CR2 playoffs begin Saturday, with St. Louis hosting the Denver Highlanders at 1PM in Forest Park.

The Bombers White side fell 10-5 in Davenport. Playing against a side filled with many former football players new to the game, and refereed by a Palmer player, the feel of the match could only be described as "dangerous". The Whites wisely spent more time looking after one another than they did trying to score points. Props Andy Adank and Josh Weissflung led from the front and veteran Charlie Milton's impersonation of a lock was convincing. Jim Crutchfield and Brian Harthill paired up nicely in the centers. The #9 jersey will never fit the same as prop John McBride stepped in for a half at scrumhalf.