Category: News

Bombers Double Home Games

Gus Kemp reaching tall

Last weekend was a big weekend for the Bombers as both sides would face tough league matches. The Bombers B side, coming off their first league match and big victory beating SMRFC 46-15 the week before, would face the Hornets in their second league match. The Bombers A side, having a week off, would face KCRFC for their first home league match of the season.

Bombers vs. SMRFC Photos

The Hornets match started off with a quick try and conversion by the Bombers followed by a Hornets penalty kick making it 7-3. The Hornets would take the lead 10-7 with a try scored by Brian Saak from the back line. The Bombers would fight back and put up two quick scores off a scrum and shifty ball running and penalty kick by JD Stephenson giving a 24-13 lead at halftime.

The second half would start with a 70 meter run by the Hornet’s Brian Saak for a try on what most people would call a “questionable” call or “no call” for that matter (You know it’s bad when both teams are on agreement). Either way the game must continue and it ignited the Bombers into a scoring frenzy.

The DIII side would defeat the Hornets 50-27 and take their second victory of the season. Colin Fitzhenry from the Bombers and Brian Saak from the Hornets would receive man of the match.

Bombers vs. Hornets Photos

Colin Fitzhenry
Colin Fitzhenry

The DII match against KCRFC would be the second league match, but first home game for the A side Bombers.

The Bombers would score first with a try and penalty kick, but KCRFC would answer back with a big scrum driving into the try zone. The Bombers would struggle with scrums throughout the game as the new cadence was in affect.

The Bombers lead at half by five as the match tough for both teams. Sean McDonald would squib-kick the ball down the right side line and as he broke through the defensive line the ball popped up into his hands and took it in for a try.

The last 5 minutes of the game were the toughest minutes of all. The Bombers only had six point lead and KCRFC was deep in the Bombers zone. On the last play of the match, KCRFC would have the ball off a Bombers penalty and were setup for pods. KCRFC tried to run the ball outside of the Bombers pack line but was met by Zack Hawkins who put a stop to that. The Bombers would get the ball back after a ruck and kick it out to end the game. The Bombers would hold off KCRFC for a 27-21 win.

Next weekend is another big match for the DIII side as they face a very strong Royals team. This will be a great but tough match for both teams. The DII side will play Lindenwood in a friendly match after the DIII game. Kick off is at 1pm and both games are at Lucier Park.

Bombers vs Memphis

The 2013-2014 season kicked off last Saturday as the Bombers traveled down the Memphis to take on the Memphis Blues. In typical rugby fashion it just happened to be one of the hottest days with temps well into the 90s. Not in typical rugby fashion was that this match would count as a League match for the Bombers, but not for Memphis. Reason – since the unions changed, our conference lost a team and did not pick up a new team to replace the one that left, so a “Friendly” game must be considered a League match.

Despite the hot weather the Bombers turned up the heat as well leading 36-12 at half. JP set the tone with a big hit and drive of a short arm penalty early in the game. The new scrum cadence seemed to cause some issues but strength and technique would still win the scrums.

Nine different Bombers, including three new members to the team, would score a try. Joe Auger would score three tries himself and Chris Bellavia would go 7 for 11 on conversions!

The heat was taking its toll on both teams as exhaustion was setting in. Memphis was deep in the Bombers end hammering away, but a strong defensive line kept Memphis out of the try zone all second half.

The Bombers would go onto win 69-12 in the first league match of the season.

The next match is the home opener for the Bombers. The DIII side will face SMRFC in their first league match at Lucier Park. Kick-off is at 1pm, Saturday September 14th. Come on out, bring the family, friends, dogs, and enjoy some good Bombers Rugby!

Schedule

There will be a field clean up and setup early Saturday to get it ready for the season, all players must attend!

*Tyler Masters did not go to Memphis

T-minus & Counting

As we all love the dependability of the St. Louis weather (heavy sarcasm) the summer heat has decided to appear once again and right at the start of the fall season. That being said here’s a little recap of the summer and what to expect this fall.

The Bombers enter two teams in the summer 7s competition; Both teams would reach the semi-finals, but the Bombers2 would fall to the Ramblers1 who would face the Bombers1 for the championship. Bombers1 would defeat the Ramblers1, winning the championship and going undefeated for the season. The Bombers2 finished very respectfully only losing three games the entire season.

Prior to the 7s Championship week the Bombers traveled down to Memphis to partake in the Elvis 7s tournament. The Bombers played six games, making it all the way to the championship but would fall to the Baja Warriors on a last minute try.

So now that 7s are complete and the hot humid summer air is back, 15s may now begin.

Practice has all ready begun and if you haven’t been out yet, practice is ever Tuesday and Thursday at Steger park starting at 6:30pm. There is touch before hand at 6pm if you want to get a good warm up in. The schedule for both the DII and DIII sides have been posted under the “Current Schedule” tab and there may be some changes coming so please check back often.

The first game is September 7th against the Memphis Blues in Memphis and we need everyone to be at practice to get ready. We had a very good run last year making it to the Sweet 16s and are looking for a National Championship this year.

If you or someone you know is interested in playing rugby, please come on out to a practice season. All ages are welcome! We also have an Academy team so if you’re in High School and want to improve your skills or learn the game for the spring season, come on out and play for the Bombers.

Remember to bring and drink plenty of water with these high temps.

If you have any questions about recruitment, please contact Mike McMillon or check out our Facebook page and leave a comment.

St. Louis Bomber's Apology

The St. Louis Bombers would like to apologize to anyone who was offended by the sign posted at our recent Golf outing. Such offensive language is deplorable and can no longer be tolerated in today’s society. We would like to offer our deepest apologies to anyone who is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered and ask that they not judge us as a whole based upon this singular action. We also wish to extend our sincere apologies to the St. Louis Ramblers Rugby Club for directing the sign towards them. The views reflected in that sign are not the views of the St. Louis Bombers organization and are not going to be tolerated going forward. While I would hope that the views and actions of one Alumni would not reflect upon the whole of the St Louis Bombers RFC organization, we realize that we are all judged by the individual actions of all of our members, past and present. As an organization that has had numerous openly gay members, started a women’s team, and sponsored a High School side, we truly value the inclusiveness and equality that sports can promote. One of the greatest aspects of this sport is that while we openly pummel and beat each other on the field, once the game is over, we eat, drink, socialize and thus become friends. These retrograde views diminish what in our opinion is one of the greatest parts of our game, and will reflect negatively on all of us who play and love Rugby. In this instance, we as an administrative staff failed in our oversight responsibility in preventing this sign from getting created and posted. Ultimately, it is our responsibility to prevent such reprehensible views from being promoted through the St. Louis Bombers or elsewhere. As the offense took place at our Golf Tournament Fundraiser, we will donate a portion of our proceeds from the event to Human Rights Campaign in order to help battle against these kinds of views. These views and actions cannot, and will, not be tolerated going forward.

St. Louis Bombers Rugby – President