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KC Blues vs St. Louis Bombers
Join the Kansas City Blues in Lawrence as we kick off the Fall 2024 League Matches vs last year's National Champs at KU's Westwick Rugby Complex.
Date: Saturday, September 7th,
Time: D1 2:00pm, D2 3:30pm
Location: Westwick Rugby Complex
E 1094 Rd, Lawrence, KS 66047
Results:
KC Blues at Des Moines RFC
August 24, 2024
D1: W 55-8, D2: L 29-31
The Kansas City Blues gathered for the first time in a Walmart parking lot in the year 2024. On a forgivingly cool Saturday morning, an overcast sky looked down on a group of young men dressed in game shorts and Blues tops as they divided into cars and headed north up US 35. A preseason doubleheader against Des Moines Rugby club awaited just a casual 180 miles north at arguably the best Men’s Rugby infrastructure and complex in the Midwest. A respectable foe, willing to field teams to both play their own division and play up division, it would be valuable field and game time for both sides. The first sniff of grass and contact. Cool air and a slight breeze. The Rugby God’s smiled down on Des Moines.
The Division 1 game started off hot, with 4 tries in the first 15 minutes there was plenty of action from the start. Greg Fry made the first long line break for the Blues, then a pass to our new imported Scrum Half Shuki pushed the ball deep into Des Moines territory. A penalty gave a kick to touch, a won lineout and a push into the try zone by Jimmy Lillis and the Blues scored the first try of the season. The Blues were immediately on attack again after a nice kick return by Blakeston Bryant, a long run by Kyle Renner and eventually punched in after Chris McBride threw a beautiful offload after contact to Stephen Lomas who dove into the try zone. Next Kyle Renner again shook off multiple tacklers and went for a long try run. Not too long after the ball swung wide to Wing Luke Christensen who booted it over the head of the defense and ran it down to scoop his own kick and score another try. Lastly, Kiwi George Latta took an 8 man pick off a defensive lineout near the Des Moines goal line for a headfirst dive into the try zone for the last score of the half.
The second half saw much of the same, young scrummy Aiden Chavez took a quick tap off a scrum penalty and hit flanker Danny Apgar on a pass into space that carried him the last 10 meters into the try zone to open it up in the second half. Chavez again had a nice take that broke the line and offloaded to Kyle Renner who eventually hit speedster Joell Pierre for the try. Then the defense caused a turnover deep into Des Moines territory that was scooped up and finished off by Jacob Rueter for a try. Des Moines held their own throughout the match against the higher division squad and kept battling. They kicked for points off a penalty and scored a try late in the second half. All in all, was a great match for both sides working out the kinks and getting the first field time in of the season. Final score Blues D1 55 – Des Moines 8.
The Division 2 match was a much more tightly contested affair. A lineup of young faces anchored by veterans such as Jordan Rice and Scott McAvoy led the charge. Aidan Chavez and Joell Pierre again showed off their athleticism and speed with long runs and a pair of trys. The game also saw the debut of Colombian Winger Arley Urrutia who made multiple plays out in space. The game battled to the end, a one score margin and the Blues has the ball in hand with a chance to go win at the end but a lost ball in contact gave the ball back to Des Moines who kicked it out for the win.
All in all, a fantastic day or Rugby to open the season for the Blues. A giant thanks to Des Moines who are always welcoming and gracious hosts. It is a privilege to be able to play at their facility. Next up is the regular season opener that brings the defending National Champs to town. The game will be a double header, both D1 and D2 and will be played at Kansas University’s Westwick Rugby Complex in Lawrence Kansas. A full day of area Rugby ahead. Let’s get this season started.
D1 Roster:
1 Jay Estes, 2 Stephen Lomas, 3 Chris McBride, 4 Jimmy Lillis, 5 Matt Wirken, 6 Blakeston Bryant, 7 Danny Apgar, 8 George Latta, 9 Shuki Konishi, 10 Cameron Kirkland, 11 Jacob Reuter, 12 Greg Fry, 13 Osi Nauer, 14 Ahmed Barro, 15 Kyle Renner, 16 Scott McAvoy, 17 Omar Tapia, 18 Mike Lillis, 19 Zach Cohen, 20 Shane Phillips, 21 Jordan Rice, 22 Joell Pierre, 23 Aidan Chavez
D2 Roster:
1 Scott McAvoy, 2 Mike Lillis, 3 Omar Tapia, 4 Jason Schwab, 5 Zach Cohen, 6 Aydin De-Ruyter, 7 Shane Phillips, 8 Konnor Thompson, 9 Luke Christensen, 10 Jordan Rice, 11 Reid Franke, 12 Gavin Kirk, 13 JT Bergner, 14 Joell Pierre, 15 Aidan Chavez, 16 Jon Khalil, 17 Chaz Donici, 18 Sean Roppe, 19 Chauncey Hatten, 20 Fabi Bortolotti, 21 Logyn Siders, 22 Parker Higgins, 23 Arley Urrutia
