Blacksburg Rugby

A choppy outing earned Blacksburg a last-minute 20-19 loss on the road at Roanoke in the final trial match before the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union Senior Mens Division III playoffs.

After Blacksburg handled Roanoke 38-5 when the clubs met in the Fall 2011 Virginia Rugby Union Senior Men's Division III competition schedule, the visiting club might well be guilty of not taking hte hosts seriously enough. Blacksburg's performance woes in the exhibition began long before the match with the withdrawal of several regulars, and continued when more players were lost after poor weather delayed the start of the match and forced some home due to other committments.

Despite the thinned ranks, Blacksburg managed an early 14-0 lead before ill discipline began to cost the visiting side. Late in the first half, a temporary send-off from a yellow card left Blacksburg temporarily short-handed and gave Roanoke a path back into the match. Roanoke pounced at the opportunity and punished errors and penalties from Blacksburg for the rest of the match.

Holding a lean 19-17 lead in the last minute, Roanoke were gifted a penalty in front of the sticks, and the resulting kick earned the hosts a 20-19 lead. One last desperate flurry from Blacksburg after full-time ended up short, leaving Roanoke with a home victory in the trial match and Blacksburg regathering for the knockout rounds later in the month.

Blacksburg thanks Roanoke for hosting the trial match. Now, one final week of rest awaits Blacksburg before do-or-die time when Blacksburg and North Bay square off in the MARFU territorial quarterfinals in Aberdeen, Maryland, on 30 April.

Roanoke 20 (3T 1P 1C)

Blacksburg 19 (Smith 2T; Rhodes T; Bucher 2C)