Ramblers Run in Seven Tries Against The Sundogs

The Ramblers traveled to Lawrence Kansas, this past weekend and came home with 45-5 win over the Johnson County Sundogs. The Ramblers ran in 7 tries on the day, and flyhalf Justin Vogt was 5/7 on conversions. On a miserably hot (+90F) afternoon, the Ramblers dominated the open field with strong open running and hard fought battles at the break down. Strong set pieces at the scrum and lineouts saw plenty of ball for our backs to freely move around the field. The first Ramblers try came 20 minutes in. After breaking the gain line from a scrum, good open-field passing, scrumhalf Joe Rothermich took a pass from inside center Nick Moyneur and dove over for the try. 5 minutes later, captain Colin Heath got his first try of the day with a bruising run from the side of a scrum from 10 meters out. Rookie wing Doug Uthoff got his first career try on a well crafted set play from a Rambler scrum. Unfortunately some lazy defense allowed the Sundogs an unconverted try from a quick tap penalty just before halt time. The Ramblers were quick to make amends and center Chad “Mac” McDermott broke free and sprinted 60 meters for the 4th Ramblers try of the day. Halftime score 28-5 in favor of the Ramblers.

The second half started slow for the Ramblers and saw a determined effort from the Sundogs. Strong try line defense for the opening 10 minutes of the second half kept the Sundogs at bay. The introduction of our “assist leader” Doug Aten and rookie Jerin Van Wyk on the wing re-established our attacking form. Jerin showed great awareness on the wing with some very strong runs and apparent fearlessness in the tackle.  With the backline injected with fresh legs, the Ramblers saw more attacking plays that led to tries from fullback Ryan Lane, a second from captain Colin Heath (assisted by Doug Aten) and some effortless footwork and hurdling saw Justin Vogt dance in for his first of the day.

The Ramblers picked up the all important bonus point and saw some gutsy and determined play from Rookies Doug Uthoff, Kamron Ahmad, Nick “Milky” Iffrig and Jerin Van Wyk.  Man of the match was awarded to Joe Rothermich for his determination at the breakdown and ability to open the ball to the back line.

Up next the Ramblers travel to Springfield, Mo. to take on Tulsa RFC.

Final Score Ramblers 45 – Sundogs 5.

Tries: Colin Heath (2), Joe Rothermich, Justin Vogt, Ryan Lane, Doug Uthoff, Chad “Mac” McDermott

Conversions: Vogt: 5 out of 7