Practice and Lancaster/Doylestown.

We practiced scrummaging on Thursday, which was highly informative. I have a (very natural!) fear of learning new things, and so I was suspicious of Lisa's assertion that the second rows should not a) bind on to one another before entering the scrum, and b) kneel at all during the preparation to scrum down. Instead, she asked that we crouch down, bind on to the prop, and that we only bind on to one another after we had securely attached ourselves to our props. This emphasizes the importance of the connection between second row and prop; as she told us, the connection between the second rows is negligible, but the connection between lock and prop is of paramount importance. My suspicions were completely unfounded - as per usual - and I actually quite like that way of doing things. We practiced going up on the balls of our feet, as well, which I like. One of the things that clicked into place for me during the game this weekend was how the second row can simultaneously hold the prop back when they go up on the balls of their feet and keep themselves in the same position. Balance and body positioning are important, imagine that.

PWRFC played two games this Saturday, one against the Doylestown Women's Rugby Football Club, and one against the Lancaster Thorns. We played two mixed sides, which worked out surprisingly well. The team was apparently not playing as well as they had in Nashville - I am once again kicking myself for not going - but they were still good games, and a lot of fun.

In the first game against Doylestown, ball retention and lineouts were generally thought to be pretty poor; however, I was really excited to see how well the back line played. I think there's a noticeable difference from last season; the back line got the ball more often, and as a result we were able to score more tries. The back line players seem to be having more fun, too. Travis had some really spectacular runs, and a fantastic tackle that stopped the player dead in her tracks. VM made a huge contribution. One of the tries was a pass from KTrain to VM on the try line, which is not something I would have ever predicted to happen.

Afterwards, there were apparently some complaints that we had played too strong a team against Doylestown, and that the players were playing too hard. I will admit that I would not want to go against a team that has SB on it, as she has a tendency to throw people on the ground by their faces; these sides, however, were thoroughly mixed. If we had brought anything but our strongest game to the pitch, I think it would have been an insult to ourselves and to the other team, so I'm glad we came out as hard as we did. Granted, I might be a little bit biased, and I didn't hear the complaints firsthand.

I played in the second game against Lancaster at lock with PH. I was very nervous beforehand, since it was my first game of the season. The weakness in the second game was generally thought to be the defense. We had particular trouble with #13, who was a fantastic runner and very hard to bring down. We drove the ball in with a scrum, which was very exciting, and showed that even with a mixed scrum we can work in concert. SW had a couple of great runs; she said afterwards that she had consciously been working on her attempts to evade, and I think it was noticeable. We told her that the next time she cuts in front of another player, she should say "www.footworkcamp.com" as she runs by. I hope she takes the advice. Everyone on the teams played very well, and I'm really excited about the progress that we've made. I think that because people had seen a better series of games in Nashville, they saw this weekend's games as worse, but to me they looked marvelous.

I was annoyed with my play, for various reasons; one very obvious one is that I nearly scored twice, but through poor decision making did not actually make it. I can acknowledge that my fitness has improved, although I still need to work on intervals more regularly and my endurance in general. (I was definitely fading a little in the second half.) I was more conscious of off-sides this game, and I worked a little bit on thinking about the field; a little improvement in those areas goes a long way with me. I was not, however, successful in not growling, which will continue to be a thorn in my side.

I've been dog- and housesitting this weekend, and the dogs have followed me everywhere. My clothes are coated in the terrier's fur. The dogs are sweet, though, and the house is lovely; I am deeply envious of my professor's study. I continue to dream of the day I get tenure. I've gotten a lot of work done while I've been here, though there's still quite a ways to go. I'm sick, too, with a slight fever, and the resulting lightheadedness and stuffed head are not helping me get much done. Oh well. Back to the grind.