Maryland Exiles Start 2019 with a bang

On an absolutely freezing day, Maryland Exiles took on Vienna Youth Rugby at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, VA. We had twenty five players that braved the bone chilling temperatures and an opponent that was tough and ready to go.

Play went back and forth as both teams struggled to tie together phases of play. The Exiles were the first team to get on the score board as six phases of play that was tied to straight ahead running with support led to a Jabari Agyemann try. Vienna Youth Rugby answered right away by sending the ball wide through the hands and our tackling was not up to the task. Halftime: 5-5.

When we came back, the forwards went straight to work. Again, we were successful in putting together multiple phases of play. Sophomore Prop Tex Shumaker demonstrated ball carrying skills on three separate occasions going forward and was rewarded with a try. And while Vienna found our interior defense very strong, they were able to turn the corner and beat us on the outside for another try. The team had an answer and moved the ball through multiple phases again that led to a Franck Tchoube try. It looked liked the day was ours, but a last gasp Vienna movement sent the ball to the right side of the field. Their try led to the full time score: MDX 15 Vienna 15.

In the JV scrimmage, Ryan Deerin scored going coast to coast picking the ball up from the base of a scrum. It was a shifty play which showcased Ryan's speed and quickness. Again, Vienna had an answer though running through the center of our defense and the game wrapped up with a tie score: MDX 5 Vienna 5.

The scrimmage showcased a lot of things that we did right. We especially did well hitting off the sides of rucks and stringing together phases of play. We have lots of work to do. We have to work on line speed and tackling.

Next week: Gonzaga on Saturday and West End on Sunday