New Orleans Rep Side 10s

Flock in the swamp

This memorial day National Collegiate Rugby hosted a 10s tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tournament consisted of rep side teams from all corners of the United States. The Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference sent a team consisting of players from University of Washington, Oregon State, Oregon Institute of Technology, Western Oregon, and University of Oregon. 

This was a fantastic opportunity for the Pacific Northwest playing under the name, The Northwest Cascade to show that our rugby was legit and for the country to start talking about us. The University of Oregon had 5 players on the team. Freshman; Michael Colucci, Sophomores; Wes Walters, Nick Laughlin, and Jeremy Gunderson, and Junior; Logan Dietner who were all ready to put on a show for the rest of the country.

During pool play the Cascade Rolled through their opponents. In the first game The Cascade walloped the Cardinals CRC, a team consisting of players from the southeast, 41-5. This surprised many people around the tournament because nobody expected the Pacific Northwest to put together such a strong side. They continued their dominance in pool play with back to back shutouts. First by defeating the Liberty Rams of New England 22-0 and then a 41-0 thrashing of the Northern Lights Berserkers, a team hailing from the upper midwest. Players from the University of Oregon were pivotal in these games scoring multiple tries and making big plays on both sides of the ball.

Coming off a dominant day one The Northwest Cascade had secured the number one seed for bracket play. They started their day off playing the Socon Sharks of the Carolinas. The first half was close and The Cascade was only tied seven to seven at the break. Thanks to some strong performances from Oregon Ducks Backs Michael Colucci, Logan Dietner and Wes Walters The Cascade was able to pull away and secure an easy victory 26-7. 

The Cascade then faced their toughest challenge of the weekend against another Liberty Rams team that was far superior to the team the Cascade had handled earlier in the tournament. They got off to a slow start and went into the halftime break down by a couple of scores. This deficit proved to be too much and the cascades undefeated weekend came to an end.

The final game of the weekend for The Cascade was personal; they faced the Norcal Pelicans. This was the battle of the west coast and a battle for a third place finish. The Cascade came out hot and jumped on the pelicans in the first half. They were able to hang onto the lead and secure a podium finish for the tournament. They also had the highest point differential of any team all weekend.

Rugby is growing in the United States and the west coast is an area at the forefront of that growth. In New Orleans, The Cascade, led by five University of Oregon players showed the nation what rugby is like in Oregon and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. Jeremy Gunderson was a menace on the field, on defense his Iron shoulder would crush the opponents and often force them to lose control of the ball. Wes Walters was a ballhawk on the field and used his quickness to score a few tries and open up running lanes for the rest of The Cascade. Nick Laughlin made multiple big plays including scoring a crucial try in the third place match. Michael Colucci was a playmaker and continually made plays to open up space for other players. The Freshman also surprised many by putting his shoulder through some people and making some big hits. Logan Dietner was a catalyst for the Cascades offense using his speed and ball skills to score tries and put pressure on opposing defenses. The University of Oregon showed the rest of the country and conference that we will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come and that we should not be overlooked ever again.