Tarheels tame the Tigers!

South D1 League

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

Carolina A 31, Clemson 10

Clemson — UNC took home a convincing victory in Death Valley Saturday with a 31-10 mauling of the Clemson Tigers.
The Carolina line-up had been tinkered with by coach Andy Richards following a slew of game-week injuries and illnesses. Freshman wing/center Ade Ayodele came down with the flu and wings Alex Lee and Daniel Van Nierkerk were also unavailable. Fly-half Ed Perkins was also questionable before the match with a knee injury, but started the game and was able to go 80 minutes.
The Tar Heels knew the importance of the day, and the mood was stern and focused before the 2 p.m. kickoff. A far cry from the frosty Raleigh pitch the week before, Carolina took a dusty field in windy but warm weather, following a jersey ceremony in which the Tar Heels received their colors from generous donor Chuck Paterno, father of All-South prop Jackson “Jiggles” Paterno. Complete with music blaring, fans in the stands, flags, banners, and the national anthem, the Clemson rugby atmosphere was more like a high school football game than a rugby match.
UNC received the kick-off and started the match nervous and jittery. The Clemson offense had the Tar Heels with their backs to the goal line, but Carolina won a scrum after a Tigers’ knock on and Perkins’ boot cleared the Heels out of danger. Minutes into the match staunch center Mike Claunch went down with a knee injury after a tackle on the Clemson #10. Todd Gardner came on at scrum-half, moving Rufaro Sikipa to fullback and forcing freshman Evan Rose up into the centers. It looked as if standout Eric Martin was out for the game too, but the Jesus look-a-like rose from injury and continued on for all 80 minutes.
Further frustrating the flow of the game was Justin “Ref Killer” Epifanio’s second sin-binning in three weeks. The official also sent a Clemson flanker off for stomping Perkins’ delicate posh head. Epifanio had taken exception to this.
The rest of the first half saw both sides commit a plethora of handling errors and see overloads go unexploited. The Tar Heels tackled tenaciously and played good defense, but were erratic offensively. The boys in blue turned it on, however, after Clemson hit a penalty to take a 3-0 lead late in the half.
Freshman Alex Lee began his takeover of the game as Perkins put him through a seam in the defense. Lee sprinted sixty meters, weaving through defenders, and then off-loaded to a charging Rick Baker. Baker took it the last ten meters, stiff-arming one defender and then dragging another into the left corner of the try-zone. A fired-up Baker attributed his superior pace to the famed six-pack fitness program of senior lock Taylor Rogers, which has transformed the body of the Vice President into a veritable (if exceedingly arrogant) fitness machine. Perkins’ conversion was wide, and the whistle blew for halftime, UNC up 5-3.
At the break, coach Andy Richards stressed the need to play fluid and confident rugby, and Rufaro Sikipa and Rick Baker gave inspired speeches, challenging the heart of the club and exhorting the boys to step up to the challenge.
Carolina opened up the game in the second period. Offensively, the Heels kept it tight, running off Perkins and supporting well. Frequent breaks by Paterno, Rose, and rookie center Sam Giffin kept Clemson on the back foot, and Alex Lee took another ball off Perkins, hitting the right line and this time going untouched to score under the posts for Carolina. Perkins slotted the conversion to put the enthused Tar Heels up 12-3 five minutes into the half
It didn’t take long for Lee to get back to work, as UNC controlled the rucks and Perkins again put the freshman flanker through for a try, this time the Brit shredding a number of Clemson tackles.
Down 19-3, the Tigers knew it was make or break time with only 20 minutes left in the game. They ran hard and well, and some Carolina handling errors aiding them in their march down the field. A perfectly executed play off a line-out inside the UNC 22 saw their winger crash through the Tar Heel defense for a converted Clemson try to cut the lead to 19-10.
Carolina kicked off to a Clemson team intent on further rallying, but great tackling by the forwards kept the Tiger pack under wraps. Clemson swung the ball wide repeatedly, and had some success breaking the line, but Evan Rose and Rufaro Sikipa were able to make try saving tackles.
After a turnover, Perkins booted to the Clemson fullback who attempted to beat Emmanuel Bello around the corner, but the Carolina winger was too fast for the opposition, and flanker Mike Krouse hustled to the scene to scoop up the loose ball and dart for the try line. It seemed like the King of Bourbon Street was corralled, but true to his most popular nickname, The Kroose Missile exploded into the try zone for a 26-10 Carolina lead.
Far from defeated, an angry Clemson side drove down the field and saw several chances at scoring tries yield nothing. An eight man pick was stopped dead in its’ tracks by Zach Chesson, a break by a winger was corralled by Derek Yates and Sikipa, and then scrum-half Todd Gardner and hooker Shaun Blanchard held up a Tiger forward in the try zone. Gardner followed his great defense by inexplicably quick-tapping and then standing still underneath the posts. Spurred on by the referee’s shrug, a Clemson player smashed into Gardner, but thankfully a hussy and indignant Perkins cleared the ball out for UNC.
Carolina regained the attack with ten minutes left in the match, and employed the expansive passing out of the tackle that had aided them so well all throughout the second period. A “black-ball” call close to the goal-line had the UNC pack inches from scoring, but the forwards stayed their notorious white-line fever. Perhaps inspired by the secessionist soil of his home state, Gardner redeemed himself from the worst execution of the quick-tap in 42 years of UNCRFC history by selling a perfect dummy to Perkins and then diving over for the try, the path cleared by a Clemson defense who rushed to spot the Heels forwards that had joined the backline.
Not content with Gardner having the most brainless play of the day, or perhaps simply arrogant, Perkins did not wait for a try but drop-kicked the conversion only to see it go wide. Thankfully, at this point the differential was only between a three or four score cushion on Clemson, and the Tar Heels were able to hold on for the last few minutes to preserve a 31-10 victory.
The Heels erupted in celebration as the final horn sounded. To come back from suspension in the fall and beat a rival for the first time since the spring of 2004 and in a convincing manner was a rewarding achievement for UNC.
The B-side then took the pitch and rallied for 21-15 win, capping the day as one of the clubs’ best in recent memory.
UNC now looks to its’ toughest test yet: facing the Tennessee Volunteers (the defending South Champions) in Knoxville this Saturday.

UNC Lineup: Baker, Blanchard, Paterno, Martin, Rogers, Lee, Epifanio, Chesson, Sikipa, Perkins, Claunch, Giffin, Yates, Bello, Rose. Subs: Gardner, Krouse, Raczkowski, Russo.

Man of the Match:

Tries: Lee (2), Krouse, Gardner, Baker
Conversions: Perkins (3 of 5)
Penalties:
Drop Goals:

Reported by Shaun Blanchard

Modified Feb 17, 2008. 09:36 am