Although we lost a hard played match 5-22, all players involved played good hard rugby. From start to finnish we took it to the opposition in the forwards… our srcums were a little sloppy due to the fact we had a much smaller front row. But full credit goes out to Belly, Keith and Jason. They stood up and worked hard to ensure that the tightheads were minimal. Both locks, Flowbee and hags also played some great rugby. special mention goes out to Flowbee for some good old fashion rucking which led to the opposition player crying on the ground. any one who can make a grown man cry without kicking them in the nuts deserves a hand shake. Hags put the fear in the eyes of a few opposition backs with some great hard running and tackling. Our loose forwards wern’t as loose as the needed to be but still were noticed with great hitting from both Kyle and Sol. I would love to saysomething nice about Waterboy… ok… he was out there! (we love you water boy).

The backs unfortunatly didn’t see much ball, but we did have a few stand out players. in his first Fort Rugby match our Irish import played an outstanding game on the wing… Jeff also ran well at 13 and with maybe just a little more room could have really opened up a can of whoop ass. with a little more ball i believe we can be a very dangerous backline and great things will be seen out of them in future games.

Unfortunatly due to a couple of break away tries and a drop goal to Queen City mid way through the first half, we went into the break down 0 – 17. however Fort Collins came out in the second half with an attitude that shocked Queen city. We rucked and mauled better and even hit harder than we did in the first half which resulted in a well deserved try. Queen city scored another try late in the game to seal the game.

Starting line up:

1. Belly
2. Keith
3. Jason S.
4. Hags
5. Flowbee
6. Sol (c)
7. Kyle
8. Waterboy

9. Jake B.
10. Christian
11. Fintan
12. Terje
13. Jeff (vc)
14. Micah
15. Marty

Reserves used:

Drew, Gabe, Brandon,

Man of the Match.
A-side: Jason S. (it was close between Jason and Fintin, but due to some great foot work from jason he sealed the deal.)
B-side: Brandon (and in his first ever game of rugby)

Mug of the match:
A Side: Jake B (for thinking we were playing touch)
B-side: Kawika (for blowing a 3 on 1 over lap… let the ball do the work mate)

Well done to all. it was a fantastic start to the season and we will build nicely to come out in two weeks and stick it to the quins.

Fort Collins came with a short team to play the University of Wyoming Cowboys. With no extra players, Fort Collins took to the field against the younger, fitter team, and for the first half, neither team was able to score. When the second half came around, the Flamingos, running into the wind, played a hard game, coming out on top at the end. Final score 19-7 Fort Collins Wins.

Fort Collins took to the feild with heart and excitement. The Flamingos quickly set the pace for the game securing two quick penalty kicks, and securing the lead. The Barbarians and Flamingos spent the rest of the game driving headily into each other, keeping a close game with the Flamingos maintaining their lead up until the final ten minutes of the game. The Barbarians then executed two well performed drives and conversion kicks, putting the Barbarians in the lead at the end, final score 21-32 Barbarians.

With 25 Flamingos, dozens of supporters, and many whores, we played a B-Side game against a motly crew consisting of some Barbarians, some whores, and even some Flamingos, to finish the day off with another great rugby game.

Flamingo Spring Migration

Following the game and afterparty, we held our 4th bi-annual pub crawl. Once again, the migration was a huge success, and we thank our sponsor bars for hosting us.

Metro State showed up short sided, so the Flamingos lent them 3 players. This was just the start of their problems today. The Flamingos scored first and were quickly followed by Metro’s only try. Fort Collins did some soul searching and decided they wanted to play rugby and began to play their game. The final score was Fort Collins 60 and Metro State 5.

Across Town, CSU was playing the Highlanders. The Highlanders also travelled light, so it was arrainged for Fort Collin’s B-side to meet CSU’s B-side. This was also a heated match, but the score was a lot closer. It also featured a Flamingo player getting yellow carded AND a Flamingo getting Red Carded Twice! Why twice? Because the player in question tried to replace an injured team mate, after he had already been ejected from the match. Fort Collins finished the match with only 12 players on the pitch, but still came out ahead at 17 to 10.

Fort Collins competed against Harlequins for the closest game of the season. Within the first ten minutes of the game, the Quins took a quick lead through a try and sucessful conversion. They then returned a second score through a drop-kick, which the Flamingos quickly returned during a penalty, bringing the score to 3-11. The Flamingos didn’t stay down long, however, and through strong play, good tackles, and solid attacks, fort collins ended the half 13-11. Our second half, the Quins stood toe to toe with Fort Collins, with the Flamingos driving in one more try, to bring the score to 20-11. A series of penalties, and the Quins brought the score to 20-14, and with some more penalties, and a yellow card to the Flamingos, the Quins drove one last try, with a successful conversion, within the last 40 seconds of the game.

Final score, 20-21, Quins win.

On a cold day, at Noon, 17 Flamingos brave the cold to stand up to the younger, faster, Colorado School of Mines. Starting the game quickly on their feet, Mines quickly scored 3 goals, swiftly outmanouvering the Flamingos on the field. Not to be outdone, the Flamingos dominated their pack and drove in a score at the end of the first half in a scrum down. The second half saw Fort Collins consistantly fighting down the field toward the try line, and Metro keeping the Flamingos from gaining any more scores. Final score, 3 trys to 1, Mines.

Fort Collins Flamingos played Queen City Rams, at Jacobs Park, in Denver. Queen City began the game with three quick tries through gaps in the Fort Collins defense, quickly building a strong lead. Even with such a hard start, Fort Collins kept high spirits, strengthened our defensive line, and held a strong defense through the rest of the game. Our offense was strong throughout the game, and most of Queen City’s tries were scored by capitolizing off their speed, through gaps in the Fort Collins defence. Final score of the game was 33-14 Queen City.

Colorado School of Mines then played against Queen City, beating Queen City 40-0.

The final game of the day was Flamingo’s B-side against Colorado School of Mines. This game saw a much more controlled and collected Fort Collins team. With a very organized defence and a strong offence, Fort Collins won the game 24-0.

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The Flamingo’s first scrimmage of the sping season versus CSU was a success yesterday, with the two teams playing three 30 minute “halves”. This was a great learning experience for both sides, and has given Fort Collins a few focus points for the next 2 weeks of training. Thanks CSU, and good luck on the rest of your season! Fort Collins players need to attend training at 5:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, AND need to work on fitness on their own. The first scheduled match of the season will be against the Division I Denver Highlanders on March 5th.

Let me start with a big THANK YOU to Amy Porter, for the amazing house which she arranged for the team.

9:40 AM, Saturday morning, on a frozen field of snow, over two dozen Fort Collins players, and more than a dozen Flamingo Supporters, had their first match of the day. We would be playing against Queen City Rams, for the first game of the tournament. Our players took the field, playing a hard fought match with QC, finding the score 1-0 in our first win of the season. With one win under our belt, we went on to play School of Mines, playing another tough game, coming out with a 3-2 win at the end.

Our third game, was against School of Mines Alumni. This was a tougher, bigger group of players, and going back and forth throughout the game. In the final moments, we allowed our backs to be drawn in, allowing for a score bringing us to a 2-3 loss, putting us in a three-way tie for first in our bracket. Due to points scored, we came in second in our bracket, going in for semi-finals against the Blue Goose.

The final game, semi-finals vs. Breckenridge, the Blue Goose showed their skills in spinning the ball out to their backs, and capitilizing on overloads, finishing us with a 0-4 loss, putting us in a tie for third place with the Harlequins. Breckenridge went on to win the tournament.

Following the tournament, Fort Collins players, huggers, and friends, returned to the house to party, eventually finding the bars, well into the night. Through the night, we showed once again our strength as a club lies both on the field, and off the field, leaving us with, once again, a great tournament under our belts.

Perhaps we should begin with the difference between a back, a forward, and a forward who runs like a back. Yes gabe, I’m referring to you. He was unstoppable, At full speed the fake to the right, the side move to the left, the spin move, and the slide into the rhubarb to touch it town! I think the tires came off during the side move to the left, but it could have been on the spin!

Needless to say, such moves should be left to backs, as Brundage demonstrated ten miles down the road. Brundage made the same first move, but he kept it just inside the touch line, cut across with a spin move, took it to touch. Jeff managed to keep the tires in tact, but in the end, was still stuck in the ditch.

Now some prefer to move like a forward. Pete has really stepped up to show how that is done. It doesn’t take fancy moves, it takes speed and force to drive through the opposition. Pete was certainly at full speed when he decided to make his run. He busted right through the pylons that had spread the field in front of him. Then kept it going and “hit the gap” avoiding the semi that was coming head on!

And then there are those who are not part of the action, just raise there hand and blow the whistle for the try. Driving Dodger damn sure showed up in Missoula to signify the completion of the team, raise his arm, and set up for the first kick off!

Well, the kick was up, the yell of “Who wants it” was unanimously responded with “I do”. Where does it land, of course, in Tom Price’s lap, literally. “Fort Collins Would-be fornicator” was seen with a stripper in his lap, and her room number in the team hotel, freshly ringing in his ears. Perhaps it was the overload of “fighting snappers womens ruggers” that caused the missed tackle, but “Hope” slipped by outside, going in for a score that Tom could only think longingly of.

The rookie to the Flamingos and inside center, Scott, picked up where Tom left off though. The 8-man that he was lined up against was a ferocious opponent to say the least. Not many can “pull off” the “arm tackle” but reports from the game say that she did. Scott was able to get back up, but unable to shake off the 8-man. The ball was pitched to the outside center to take it in.

Ryan Harms made the catch, and was off. His opponent, though just as ferocious, was no match for Harms. He danced, he ran (not fast enough if you ask me), he made a fast break, and the score was “wide open” when he stopped short, and touched it down outside of the try zone. She missed the tackle, went low, and Ryan took advantage of it, but at the end of the play, opted out of the try in a defiant act, placing it just outside of the uprights.

The glory of the back line was only matched by the ferocity of the pack. Butters showed how to work in the middle. He moved fast, he was knocking people over left and right, he was throwing people, and shouting for support. It was the best dancing at the party. Unfortunately the fighting snappers rushed in and formed a maul around the new lock. Surrounded by catholic school girls, he had nothing to but try for some ball movement, and serve detention. I hear tell that several are still waiting for him to show up after school.

And in the eye of the hurricane was our trusty hooker. Keith was steady and true, in the middle and bringing it back to his team. Though the “pick and go” was seen several times, this team player always gave it to his team mates, giving the glory to the centers. His unselfish acts proved the heart of the team, never once trying to score himself. He did good work on the pitch too!

Last but not least (well, maybe least) was the full back. He moved fast, he got in the play, and when the perfect opportunity for the score was presented, was in the wrong place. Aerodynamic hair was no match for the speed that she had. She was making her move when he looked away, and when he looked back, she was gone. A good lesson for a first time full back on not loosing track of the play.