August 3^rd was the annual Memphis Elvis 7s tournament in Memphis and is one of the most fun 7s tournaments to attend.

This year three St. Louis teams entered the tournament; SMRFC, Eureka Kings, and the St. Louis Bombers. The Bombers sent a team of 14 with some new and young guys to the tournament.

The Bombers won their pool winning all three games against Blue City Kings 37-0, Gryphons 24-12, and Memphis Blues III 37-0 and would be the #1 seed going into the playoffs.

All three St. Louis rugby teams would win their pools and advance to the playoffs. The Bombers would play the Gryphons again in the first playoff match and would be a lot tougher game than the first but the Bombers would win 24-21.

In the semi-finals the Bombers would face the Eureka Kings, who defeated SMRFC in their first playoff match. Eureka would be the first to score and held onto the lead for the majority of the game. Down by 5 Mark Menne would have a huge break away that lead to a try by Alex Ochao and conversion by Mark to win the game.

The Final match was the Bombers vs. the Baja Warriors. Baja would take the lead, but the Bombers would quickly tie the game back up. Being down by one try the Bombers were on the offensive with only a minute left in the game to tie and take the lead, but Baja would intercept the ball and take it in for the game ending try.

Check out the Photos

Despite finishing second in the tournament it was still a very good day for the Bombers. The Bombers have finished in the top three the last three years of the tournament, including the year we had 5 forwards playing. We look forward to next year’s tournament.

Special thanks to Jeremy and Kate Baker for driving in from Kentucky to par-take in the tournament.

**Tyler Masters did not attend the tournament this year.

The St. Louis Bombers recently traveled down to Irving, TX to take part in the DII Sweet 16s playoffs for a chance to move onto the Final 4 and National Championship.

The Bombers first match was against Santa Rosa from California. The Bombers opened up strong and lead at half, but would struggle in the second half. The heat made for an exhausting game and USA Rugby would mandate breaks at the 20 and 60 minute marks for water. Santa Rosa would capitalize on miss plays by the Bombers and scored back to back tries within 5 minutes. The Bombers would have strong play sets but were unable to get more than one try in the second half. The Bombers would fall to Santa Rosa 47-21 in the Sweet 16s and face the Frisco Griffins in Sundays match.

Despite both teams losing their chance to continue onto the Elite 8 and Final 4, the Bombers and the Griffins were playing for something a little more; Pride.

Sunday match was a little cooler with overcast, which felt great, but it was warming up quick. The Bombers came out hitting hard and holding the line. Rucking was some of the best it has been all season with Josh Rainey just plowing through the defensive player. The Bombers again lead at half 13-12, and were determined not to give it up. The scrums were pretty well matched in the first half, but when Jay Gorenstein and Chris Wroughton entered the scrum, it was complete annihilation. All but 10 minutes of the second half was played in Frisco’s half and the Bombers were able to score a try near the end of the game by Jay Gorenstein. Bombers would beat Frisco 18-12 in our final game of the 2013 season.

Photos – Santa Rosa

Photos – Frisco Griffins

The Bombers DII finished 8-3 in League and Playoff games and 10-6 overall for the 2012-2013 season. Bombers also took 1^st place in both the Little Rock and Ruggerfest Tournaments.

Big thanks to all the players for a great season as well for the Old Boys. The club would like to thank Robbie for having the team over to his house down in Texas for BBQ and Vinny for his commitment to the club through all of the appeals. Thanks to Ben Meyer and Aaron Spencer for stepping up and coaching this year.

Crawfish boil is this upcoming Saturday, June 1^st, at Bob Jones’ house starting around 4:00pm. All are welcome and please bring a side dish and some drinks as well. Also the Bomber’s Golf Open will be August 10th so mark your calendar and more info will be coming soon!

Bombers 7s is starting this week and if you’re interested in playing or just staying in shape come on out to Steger around 6:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. 7s in Forest Park starts June 13^th and are every other Thursday. If you know anyone interested in playing rugby, bring them to practice to play some touch and learn the game or email Mike McMillion.

Looking forward to next season!

To the All Mighty Bombers!

The Bombers to the Sweet 16s!

If you thought the Bombers weren’t going and are now confused, it will all be explained in due time.

Back  on April 27th was the West Tournament up in Omaha and the Bombers would fell to Glendale in the opening match which meant that the Bombers season had come to an end. It was a hard blow to everyone that put so much time and effort into the season to see it just end.

Prior to any of the game all players are checked by an official to make sure they are on the roster, have photo ID, CIPP’d, and meet the numbers of games played regulations. If everything clears, you are free to play.

The Bombers challenged the eligibility of a key Glendale player, citing his CIPP registration and number of upper level games played. The basic rules are that if a team has two Division teams all players can play in both Divisions, but once a player has played in 50% or more of their League matches, that player is ineligible to play in the lower Division. And the deadline to have CIPP registration in was March 15th.

• a) Player must be CIPP registered for the club, either upon initial enrollment or submission of an official waiver request seeking an in-season transfer, by the earlier of:       – Page 7 Section 3.2
                 i) any participation in a League/Qualifying Match, OR
                ii) no later than 11:59 pm Mountain Standard Time Zone on:
                                       ‣March 15th for Men’s competitions.
• d) Any player who has played in 50% or more of a club’s League/Qualifying Matches in a higher division is not eligible to play in a lower division of the USA Rugby Championships. – Page 8 Section 3.3

If either rule is violated and an ineligible player takes the field, the match is ruled of forfeit and the win is awarded to the other team.

The challenge went before the Appellate Committee of the West and was ruled that Glendale “did violate the spirit, intent and letter of the governing rules” and that the match “has been over turned and the STL shall advance to the USA R32″.

Glendale would appeal the West’s decision to USA Rugby and was overturned into Glendale’s favor citing  that there were “miscommunications, decisions and possible errors“, but felt that the decision of the West RFU “should not have imposed such a dramatic and impactful ruling“; forfeiting the game to the Bombers.

The Bombers would appeal USA Rugby’s decision and on Tuesday night the Bombers found out they would be going onto the Sweet 16s in Dallas.

The Bombers will face against Santa Rosa (CA) on Saturday at Spring Trail Park, kick off at Noon on field #2. From here on out it’s win or go home, and after 3 weeks from the original appeal the Bombers aren’t planning on going home anytime soon.

Rules cited: http://www.usarugby.org/documentation/membership/Eligibility_Regulations_2012-13.pdf

Last weekend the Bombers, along with 9 other DII and DIII teams, traveled up to Omaha, NE for the Rugby Westerns and a chance to more onto the Sweet 16s in Dallas.

The Westerns is composed of four DII teams and the victors of Saturday’s matches would play for the championship on Sunday and continue on the Sweet 16.

In Saturday’s match the Bombers would face the Glendale Raptors from Colorado and the Omaha GOATS would face Tulsa. The Bombers were first on the board with a 30 meter penalty kick from James Sills. Glendale was first to score a try with kick from their #10 to an on running winger caught on the fly. The Bombers kept up the defense and the offense was able to score their first try near the end of the first half. The Bombers struggled getting control of the ball from the kick off and Glendale was able to score right at half, making it 13-12 at half in favor of the Bombers.

The Bombers offense played exceptional rugby in the second half with two tries called back and had many opportunities to score but it was the small things that kept the Bombers from the try zone. Glendale would defeat the Bombers 34-16 and face Tulsa on Sunday for the Westerns Championship. Man of the match went to Dave Klug for hard work and leaving it all on the field.

The defeat meant that the Bombers season has come to an end but not before taking on the Omaha GOATS on Sunday. The match gave both sides a chance to play all their players and those who didn’t get to play in Saturday’s match. Both teams went back and forth on taking the lead and the Bombers had many opportunities to take the lead. The GOATS lead the majority of the second half 14-10 and wasn’t looking to good for the Bombers as time was about to expire with Omaha having the ball. The final play of the game was to be a scrum to the GOATS, deep in their zone, but the Bombers pack weren’t finished yet. The Bombers took control of the scrum, gained possession of the ball and was taken in for the winning try. The conversion was made by Jim Morrison making the final score, 17-14 in favor of the Bombers.

Photos

We may not be going to the Sweet 16s, (or might*) or to the National Championship, but the club has seen many improvements over the season and would not have gotten as far as we did without the coaching, all the players, and heart everyone has put in.

To those who have been playing with the Bombers for many years, the new recruits, and those hanging up the boots, Thank You!

Make sure to keep checking the website and Facebook Page for updates with summer 7s and upcoming events. We have a lot of things planned such as the Crawfish cook-out, award ceremony, float trip, and golf tournament.

To the All Mighty Bombers!