Pitt Women’s Rugby v Michigan State University
November 16 2019…Phillip Murray Playground…somewhere in the vicinity of Pittsburgh Pa….
A nice 40 degree day with the sun shining brightly…but that little breeze would kick up on occasion reminding me….I made the right choice in wearing 27 layers of clothing
I don’t do a play by play but just share my observations and thoughts
I arrived 5 minutes late for the match and was informed by Reece’s (Rhys’s, Reeses ) master that Pitt was up 5-0…Forgive me for misspelling your beautiful bernese mountain dog’s name .
I thought the match was pretty even in the first half . I believe halftime score was 15-5 in favor of the Panthers .
I enjoy the speed strength and determination of these athletes… but I hate seeing injuries….the little ones where they need there fingers taped together I can deal with,,,but the ones where you can’t get off the pitch on your own …I can feel your pain…I actually did…she was lying on the ground crying loudly…as the trainer examined her leg…the rugger said…”it hurts so bad”…teammates came out to help her off as she could only bear weight on one leg .
As the match went on I did pass by her as she laid on the cold ground with a bag of ice on her leg…it was like that party bag size of ice…The UPMC trainer was with her and I heard the trainer say….”this is not considered an emergency “….and the lady rugger replied…”not by rugby standards…no “
Those rugby folk are as tough as hockey players…hope you heal quickly.
At the halftime break…on my way to use the facilities I passed the MSU team and their coach…huddled together at one end of the field…I heard the coach say…and I will paraphrase here…but in effect she said…luckily for you they are not well coached…If this was Indiana…it would be 60-0…play like you know how …play like Spartans .
Well they started out that way as the lady Spartans scored a try and made the conversion …narrowing the gap to 15-12…..but that kind of woke up the Pitt squad…who just played smarter and faster…and learning from first half mistakes …like learning where the try line is
Pitt was just too fast and better conditioned in my eyes . In my eyes they were better coached…Michigan State was frequently whistled for making high tackles…
Once Pitt got rolling in the 2nd half they just steamrolled the team from michigan…By my tally I thought the score was Pitt 53…Michigan State 19…but in my old age my math is not always the best…nor my english
Congratulations ladies…onward and upward
H2P !!!
Tucker's Thoughts 