Category: Women’s Team

HRFC Harlots MAC Champions

Harlots Win MAC Rugby Championship

Harlots MAC Semis

Saturday, May 7, 2016 – Mid-Atlantic Conference Semi Finals

Today our lovely ladies traveled to Alapocas Run State Park in wet Wilmington, Delaware to begin a run at a National title. In order to get there, though, the Harlots first needed to take on a feisty Doylestown side.

Playing up hill the first half is always a chore, and the first half of this match was tough slogging for the Harlots. Nice drives were stymied short of pay dirt, but there were some bright spots. Fly half Georgia had some brilliant kicks, and combined with great coverage by McSpeedy, the Harlots were able to keep the more aggressive side at bay. Playing solid defense and utilizing a steady attack, the Harlots kept the game close. The determination that has carried our Ladies to the playoffs was on display throughout the half. Alas, Doylestown scored first, and with that the rout would be on. However, at the half the score would be just 0-5 Doylestown.

Coach Adi rallied the troops together during the break, and with that our women of ill repute would start the second half working hard. What’s that? We said the rout was on? And so it was, for our ladies. As usual, the Harlots started scoring allllll daaaaaay loooong. In fact, they scored 3 tries in just about 8 minutes.

The game quickly got out of hand, and there was no drop off once all substitutions were made. In the end, the second half was an awesome display of offensive firepower and defensive tenacity which would lead to a final score of 34-5 in favor of the Harlots.

Highlights included Georgia’s kicks and ball movement, Ali’s in-your-face defense, Teja’s hard running and hard hitting, Cheese’s hard running, and “OC” Original Courtney’s kicking the door in and doing the dirty work all day long.

Nice job ladies. Tomorrow brings the dreaded and really tough looking Brandywine side. They are big, fast and decisive. Gonna be a tough match.


Harlots MAC Champions

Sunday, May 8, 2016 – Mid-Atlantic Conference Finals

MOTHER’S DAY IS A WOMEN’S RUGBY DAY!

The MAC championship match was here, and it saw our favorite and beloved Harlots taking on a solid Brandywine side. This would be no easy task for our Ladies. They would need to play their best rugby of the season to pull off the “upset” over the Brandywine women. Instead of putting in the much needed effort, the Harlots decided to up the ante for Mother’s Day and play possibly the best game in franchise history.

Repeating the strategy from Saturday’s game, our Gals played up hill and into the wind first half. However, the women, bolstered by their full retinue of players and the return of the sun (making her first appearance since February, trouble with her CIPP), did not wait until the second half to start the attack. Right from the opening kickoff, it was obvious that our heroines would seek to control the tempo of the game. Team rugby took center stage when just three minutes into play LD burst the scoring open. Aggressive, attacking rugby with hard crashes and well-timed offloads created the opportunity. With the points after good, Harrisburg was up, just like that, 7-0.

The match went back and forth for the next 20 minutes. The Harlots kept the bigger Brandywine side on their heels with punishing runs and aggressive team defense. Brandywine attempted to counter this new-look Harrisburg team by moving their backline back 15 meters from the breakdowns in an effort to tire out our ladies before they could make contact. However, rugby is a game of ebbs and flows and gravity takes its toll. Utilizing the wind and the downhill, Brandywine kicked over the Harlots with some well placed, booming kicks. This tactic slowed HRFC’s pace a little and opened up the field just enough to set up two successive tries for them.

Coach Adi gathered the troops after the opposition’s second try and rekindled the Harlot fire. The final score of the first half saw Muscles stunning Brandywine, breaking tackle after tackle on her 80 meter run for the try zone. With another conversion made, our Ladies were up 14-10 and would not relinquish the lead.

The second half brought more of the same. This time, the wind and hill were in the Harlots’ favor. Taking a bit longer to score in this half, the Harlots waited until six minutes into the half to get on the boards when “OC” Original Courtney used her world-famous door kicking ability to nail a tough penalty kick.

The Women did not let off the gas. Pressing the attack, playing in-your-face defense, and possessing a champion’s attitude, our Girls continued to bring their game to the bigger Brandywine team. Once again, after some nice team play, McSpeedy finally broke free and scored a try. But, the Harlots were not done yet. LD wanted to see the try zone one last time and dotted down the final ‘Burg try of the day. Brandywine would score a last-gasp try very late in the game, but would not be able to threaten the Harlots’ lead. Final score was a beautiful Mother’s Day Bouquet of 27-15 in favor of the Harlots.

This game was arguably the best, most complete game the Harlots have ever played. They played defense “up field” which severely impeded the other team from running their offense. It led to multiple mishandles and forced them to run sideways. Offensively, the ladies ran an organized attack. Operating off the same page, they made very few errors that were unforced. They ran straight and attacked gaps. Brandywine is a top-notch team, but they had no answer for our much more aggressive style. Well deserved victory by our Ladies – you all should be proud!

Highlights included, but definitely were not limited to: Georgia, not enough can be said about the game she played – she kicked, tackled, and ran the way every fly half should, but few can. “OC” played some of her personal best rugby, as well. Team mother Goody ran the show at scrum half and kept the team pace aggressive, but under control. Lauren put in an excellent half, running strong and with support. Ali just continued to crush on defense. Reapsome did the dirty work. Honestly, way too many highlights. But the best highlight was the “team” win. Unselfish play, smart decisions, and aggressive team defense.

Phenomenal job, Harlots! Next up: USA Rugby Club National Quarter Finals in Pittsburgh, PA!

HRFC Harlots Champions

Canada

OH, CANADA!

Are you prepared to invade Canada for the 3rd time in US history? Eh?

Do you crave warm maple syrup, denim jackets, and silly games on ice? Eh?

Do Wayne Gretzky, Alex Trebek, and Celine Dion make your innards stir? Eh?

Do you love Strange Brew, the CFL, & Zamboni machines? Eh?

IF SO, THE HRFC IS PLANNING A TOUR FOR YOU!

We are going to Montreal in August 2015!

(that’s in Canada – it’s a country North of Pennsylvania)

We are still in the planning stages, but the preliminary trip is itinerary is 4-5 days in Montreal.

Included in the trip:

  • 15s rugby match for both the men’s and women’s teams
  • 7s rugby tournament for both the men’s and the women’s teams
  • Travel – on a bus, but not the Caribbean Buses Company
  • Accommodations
  • Official tour kit


Approximate cost:

$600-$800

Interested? Eh?

Please fill out THIS QUICK SURVEY.

HRFC 7s Tournament

28th Annual 7s Rugby Tournament Recap

If you haven’t heard, this past Saturday was the 28th Annual Harrisburg Rugby 7s Tournament. Officially, THE BEST 7s RUGBY TOURNAMENT OF THE SUMMER – as voted on by Harrisburg Rugby enthusiasts the world over. Harrisburg 7s 2014 lived up to the hype. We laughed, we cried, things were said, and things were broken in an emotional roller coaster that left both of our A side teams just short of bringing home hardware. Before we get to the recaps, we would like to extend a very special thanks to all members of the HRFC family who helped put together another successful tournament, both behind the scenes and under the tents. Without you, this tournament would not happen – or in the very least it would never be anything other than a bunch of bozos playing with a ball on unlined fields and urinating on themselves. So THANK YOU ALL (insert slow clap).


Our women had tough slogging all day, as they were once again pooled with the eventual tournament winners, the dreaded Brandywine Riot, and some unforgiving scheduling with which to contend. Highlights of the day included stout defense led by Jordan and Lauren, phenomenal team offense with great support, and the return of Becky (have baby will ruck).

The women started out strong versus an over matched Whitehorse side. Dominating early, as expected, and finishing strong. The unofficial scorecard – as voiced by many spectators – was “a lot to a little”.

Harlots vs Whitehorse
HRFC Harlot Jordan drives against Whitehorse after an off load by Becky while Lauren and Cheese watch in anticipation.

The women then went on to face a stubborn Brandywine team, who took advantage of a few missteps from our ladies and won a game that was closer then the score showed. The women had some long breaks from several different players, but unfortunately they could not finish some of the runs. Brandywine walked away hoping not to face the Ladies again.

Harlots vs Brandywine
HRFC Harlot Brit passes to the outside after the Harlots win a scrum down against Brandywine.

Despite the loss, our women made the playoffs and had the eye of the tiger when they squared off vs Keystone. The Harlots seemed to get stronger as the match went on. They utilized strong team concepts on defense and multiphase attacks on offense to knock the once mighty Keystone team out of the tournament. In one of the best “coaching moments” of the summer, Lauren had a nice half break, made a well timed pass to support runner Erica (coming from depth with velocity), who took the ball down close to the try line and offloaded the ball back to Lauren, who supported her own pass to score a well deserved 5 points. The play embodied everything the women have been bringing to the table all season. Great teamwork and unselfish play.

Squaring off against Brandywine for the 1,000,000,000th time this season in the semi finals, the women gave the eventual tournament winners all they could handle. This rematch was not what Brandywine expected at all. The women were supporting their breaks and shutting down the bigger women for the ‘Wine. Several lead changes occurred with the match seeming to tilt towards a victory. Alas, a last second try sealed the fate for our battle hardened Harlots. Although the end left a bitter taste, the women played well all day and gained the respect and admiration of the home town fans. Many proclaimed, “wow, they are good!” Such high praise. Great day ladies, but there are still chances to bring home hardware.

Harlots vs Brandywine 2
HRFC Harlots Jordan and Erica team up to take down a Brandywine runner.


The men looked to build on last week’s strong performance and did not disappoint. Highlights included stifling team defense throughout most of the day, attacking and scoring in a multitude of ways, and never giving up to always finish strong.

The boys started of a little sluggish to say the least against a very stacked Molly’s side – who eventually won it all – but battled back to finish the game strong and start the day rolling.

HRFC vs Mollys
HRFC’s Cody takes down a Molly Maguire player in a hard-fought, uphill battle.

The men next took on the Allentown Blues, who did not have any answers for what the ‘Burg threw at them. The men dominated in all facets of the game and blanked the Blues with stellar defense and an unrelenting attack.

HRFC vs Blues
HRFC’s Andrew looks to offload to Nick before being taken to ground by a member of the Blues while Scooter looks on.

The next victim was the completely over matched Pecan Sandies, who were a solid team, but they could not over come the ineptitude of their leader (unless he is available for any more tournaments, in which case he was awesome), nor the no-holds-barred attack of our boys. Once again, needing points to solidify a spot in the Plate, the men did not let up on the gas, handily shut out the Sandies, and took the coveted bye in the first round of the plate.

In the playoffs, the men took on the Lancaster Roses and left them feeling less then fresh. After standing up to the initial push of the Roses, who drew first blood, HRFC took control of the match and the roses never again touched pay dirt. The men used every player at it disposal and they all were up to the challenge on the way to a very lopsided rout.

The stage in the finals seemed to be set up to repeat the semis where the men took on a well rested Severn River. The men were down early but rallied to tie the match up. Unfortunately, in the efforts to set up the tying try, the men lost their captain, as Zach went down with a leg injury. The men seemed to be lost at sea for a few minutes losing the ability to tackle or finish on some breaks. But the Men did not quit, became aggressive on defense, and went on the attack. In the end, the Men finished just short of a victory (or tie, no one really knows the final score), but in the process offered up the most exciting game of the day. Way to go guys, lets not sit on our near laurels – lets continue to build. Zach left big shoes to fill, but lets keep building.


The Men and women also had B side teams in the tournament. Those guys and girls played their butts off and and deserve a big round of applause as well. The men played both B and motley, and cross-rostered on several teams. The women forced a game from a forfeit and helped wear down the competition. Great showing by all.

HRFC 2 vs IUP
HRFC B-side’s AJ offloads before being taken to ground by his opponent.

Harlots 2 vs Frederick
HRFC Harlots 2’s Gilbert makes a break against Frederick while Piglet sets herself up as support.


Special thanks to all of our Captains, who helped collect money, set lineups, and all around took responsibilities off coach’s plate all day long.

Another successful Harrisburg Rugby 7s Tournaments is in the books. Thank you again to everyone that participated and helped make this year’s tournament such a huge success. A special thank you to The Campbelltown Volunteer Fire Company for allowing us to hold our 7s rugby tournament on their company grounds. Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the fans and spectators who made the journey out to Campbelltown on Saturday to support your – and ultimately our – rugby club. We hope you enjoyed the show!

To view the results of the 28th Annual Harrisburg 7s Rugby Tournament, please CLICK HERE.

To view more pictures from the 28th Annual Harrisburg 7s Rugby Tournament, please CLICK HERE to visit the album on Harrisburg Rugby’s Flickr site.

Now, WHO WANTS A MUSTACHE RIDE?!

Super Troopers
HRFC’s Brett, Scooter, Crocket, and Nick H. sporting this year’s 7s jerseys.

Family Fun Day

HRFC Family Fun Day THIS SATURDAY!

This Saturday (April 5, 2014) will be a HRFC Family Fun Day!!

HRFC will be grilling out at the pavilion as you play or watch a full day of rugby. We have events for the kiddos, so bring your family out! There’s a full day of rugby scheduled with the Harlots kicking off a playoff match at noon followed by the Men at 2pm.

We have planned a tentative exhibition match played by the Youth Rugby League and maybe a local celebrity.

PLUS other kid friendly activities. So invite your family to enjoy the fun!!

We ask HRFC members to bring a dessert or side dish to make this a great big picnic.

We hope to see you and your family this Saturday!

(PS – Apparel orders will be accepted all day at the event!)