First Practice / Coach's Note

The second half of the season starts tonight, February 3rd, with the first practice of the spring season. Practice will be every Tuesday and Thursday at Willmore Park in South City starting at 6:30pm sharp. You can come early to play touch before hand Everyone is welcome to come participate as we get ready for our first game in early march.

Practice Location

Coach’s Note:

“Tonight is our first official club training of the season. It was a very solid effort having such consistent numbers out over the winter break and I guarantee we will be in a better position come playoff time because of that, so long as we bring that same enthusiasm and intensity into the season.

We have about 55 – 60 “Active Players”, who are all expected to be there tonight. Sessions will be planned around these numbers. — Note also that attendance from here on will be factored into selection decisions for games. We are always needing more players so please keep bringing people out.

Thanks,

Ben”

The only things required for practice is a good pair of boots, mouth guard, and water. If you are new to the club you will need to see Neal Ford to be CIPP’d with the Bombers and added to the distribution list.

Be ready to work as we look forward to seeing everyone at practice.

Alumni Day

Over the weekend the Bombers had two home league matches for this year’s Alumni Day. The Bombers had setup a large tent with picnic tables, BBQ and ice cold beer provided by our sponsors.

Prior to both matches a moment of silence was observed in honor of two fallen ruggers from earlier in the week. Austen Lamb, 19, played for the Bombers Academy team under John Watson and was attending South East Missouri State. Austen was involved in an auto accident and died of his injuries later in the week. Charles Labry was attending Lindenwood University and part of the LU rugby team when he was killed in a separate auto accident. It’s hard to see two young athletes taken away so early and both will be greatly missed.

The DIII side took on the Scorpions in the first match of the day. The Scorpions were first to get onto the board with a drive from a lineout and take a 5-0 lead. The Bombers were quick to respond with a try and playing fast-hard defense and offense. The Bombers would only give up that first try in the game and go onto beating Kohlfeld 69-5. Man of the match for the forward went to Colin Fitzhenry and Paul Deutch for the backs.

The Bombers DII coming off a big win last weekend against KCRFC was looking to repeat against the Ramblers in the second match. The Bombers were strong in the scrums and controlled the lineouts. The backs were able to cut through the Rambler’s defense and the Bomber’s forwards slowed the Rambler’s offense.  The DII side would beat the Rambler with the final score 67-17. Taylor Driller received Man of the Match for the forwards with his strong defensive plays and Mark Menne for the backs.

Photos

Following the second match the Lindenwood Woman’s rugby team took the pitch to take on ISU. The LU Lions had a field conflict and were unable to play at Lindenwood University and so the Bombers offered their field for use. The LU Lions would beat ISU 74-0 in a very fun match to watch.

Bob Muckler - Ryan Colombo - Bob Harris
Bob Muckler – Ryan Colombo – Bob Harris

It was a good day for the Bombers as both sides not only won their games, but also acquired bonus points. The Alums also had a great time with their player raffle on who would get man of the match. The winners were given gift cards to Colombo’s Bar & Tavern from Ryan Colombo himself.

Schedule

Next week is the last home game for the fall season on both sides. The DIII side will face the Hornets at 1pm and the DII will take on the Omaha GOATS at 3pm. Saturday night will be “Own the Bar Night” at Colombo’s Bar & Tavern from 5pm – midnight and the Bombers will receive half of the register during that time. There will also be auction items and drink specials throughout the night.

Weekly Newsletter

Weekly Newsletters

If you haven’t noticed yet the St. Louis Bombers have started a Weekly Newsletter. These newsletters will give a brief review of the previous week, what to expect this week, standing, and any other news related to the club. You can find the newsletter box on the homepage or select “Newsletters” under the “About the Bombers” menu.

Bombers vs Islanders

To recap the last couple of weeks the Bombers have had some bumps along the way. After a win in Chicago the Bombers DII side had their first league match against the KC Islanders in Kansas City, but would fall 13-27 to the Islanders. The DII side faced the Lindenwood Lions the following Friday in a friendly match at LU. The Bombers struggled against a very fast LU team and loss 12-88. The DIII side had their second league match against the Belleville Rowdies and ran up the scoreboard with a 56-14 win.

October is Domestic Abusive Awareness month and the Bombers held a fundraiser and food drive for our first Ladies Day on October 11th. The DIII side fell 5-32 in a tough match against the Royals while the DII side had a huge win 50-12 over KCRFC.

Bombers vs Rowdies

Photos

This upcoming weekend, the Bombers have their Alumni Weekend at Lucier Park. Both sides have league matches as the DIII side faces Kohlfeld and the DII side takes on the Ramblers. There will be a large tent with BBQ, beer and half time entertainment. Kickoff is at 1pm.

Calendar

Own the Bar will be held at Colombos Bar & Tavern on October 25th after the last home match of the fall season.  Both sides will have big league matches next Saturday.

Schedule

Make sure to “Like” the Bomber’s Facebook page stay up-to-date with day to day stuff. Also check back on Tuesday’s for the weekly newsletter.

John “The Jet” Henley – Bomber Rugger – Mizzou Football Great

Jet Henley (left), Mizzou Rugby game 72On Sunday, August 24, one of the University of Missouri’s all-time football greats, John “The Jet” Henley, (Wide Receiver – 1969-72) and former Bomber (Winger, 1972) passed away at his home in San Bernardino, California.  He had been battling liver cancer for 2 years.  Jet had a stellar gridiron career at Mizzou including the school record for most receptions, All-Big 8 and All American Honors. .  He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1972, but did not sign, opting  for a successful law career.

Little did the MU Athletic Department  know, that during his playing career at Mizzou, Jet was burning up the rugby pitch (under an alias of “David Mojack” ) as a winger for the Missouri Tiger Rugby Team during the off-season. Football players were forbidden to play rugby.  It was there that Henley was recruited along with Jim “LC” Dierker (Bombers 1971-80) by Sterling Hayden,  Mizzou Rugby Player/Coach, to play for the St. Louis Bombers.

Both Henley and Dierker were “guest” players on the famous or infamous Bomber tour to Charlottesville, Virginia to play in the classic Commonwealth Cup Tournament. This elite tourney featured the top teams in the U.S., United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.  With 9.3 hundred yard sprinter speed and able to hit like a line-backer, Henley complemented the Bomber Black team of incredible size and toughness, who welcomed both of the Mizzou recruits.  The Bombers did not win the tournament, but left a huge impression on the Eastern Rugby Union on and off the field.
Henley-double-newspapersIt was on that wild East Coast tour, that tall tales were spun about “stair diving, chandelier eating, keg stealing, and the “Flight for Life”.  One such story was about Henley and Dierker “dining and dashing” from a McDonald’s with 100 hamburgers and fries for a “free” team dinner.  Or when the tour bus was pulled over in Indiana, where a Bomber (Jet/Dierker suspects to this day), was accused of throwing a full beer can out the window, and hitting a “Hoosier” in a pickup.  The Highway Patrol ended up arresting the bus driver, leaving the team and bus stranded on the roadside.

Jet Henley, to his dying day, was always proud of his St. Louis Bomber pedigree, whether wearing his black game jersey or T-shirt, or traveling to San Diego in 2006 to see the Bomber Super League Game against OMBAC.

In one of his last conversations with Dierker, just a few weeks before his death, Jet, recalled the Bombers saying, “ Hey, how are  Kyle and the Bombers doing?   Next time I get back to St. Louis, let’s swing by Thurmer’s for a cold 9-0-5.  I love those guys.”  God bless John “The Jet” Henley.  They don’t make them like that any more.  A Bomber for life and beyond!

Bombers vs Griffins

Saturday’s D2 match against the Chicago Griffins was a little sloppy but it was good to get a win on the road.

The Griffins opened the scoring with some strong forward play finished off by a 9 pick and drive, but the Bombers hit back immediately with backs slicing through in the mid-field. Early on it looked like the backs were going to have an easy day making some great plays early; however throughout the game there were many errors that prevented the Bombers from really taking a large lead in the game. The Griffins got back to within 7 points at 19-12, but the bombers were able to close the game out and maintain the majority of possession for the last 30 minutes of the game.

Photos

The Bomber scrum was extremely dominant and was a large factor for the victory, as they were able to win most of the opposition’s feed. The forwards attack structure was slightly better than against Palmer but still need a lot of improvement in that area. The backs showed once again that there is a lot of talent, but they are still finding themselves as a unit, and with several players having differing availabilities for the last 2 weeks, it has been difficult to find consistency and gain cohesion amongst the backs squad.

The Griffins provided a tough match, and ran hard runners wide off the ruck and through their inside backs as well as having some very sharp counterattack of Bomber errors by their outside backs, but their defense did not contain our backs in open field running and their set-piece could not match the Bombers.

Despite the sloppiness the Bombers would beat the Griffins 29-12.

Unfortunately the D3 match vs Franklin County was cancelled due to St Borgia High School denying Franklin County use of their field due to wet conditions.

This weekend the Bombers DII side has their first league match against the KC Islanders in Kansas City. The DIII side is off this week but will have another league match next weekend against the Rowdies.

Schedule

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Starting September 23rd practice will be moved to Willmore Park in South City on Tuesdays, and to Franz Park in Dog Town on Thursdays. This is where we will practice for the remainder of the season and both start at 6:30pm. Maps to both locations can be found on the practice page.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Bomber Bombshells want to help raise awareness with a Ladies Day at the Bomber’s home game October 11th. There will be food, drink, games, merchandise, and great prizes throughout the day. There will be T-shirts sold to help raise money for charities that deal with Domestic Violence. All are welcome to come out and enjoy the day with the Bombers and the Bomber Bombshells. More info to come.

BRFC WEEKLY NEWSLETTER