Last year's showdown between these two teams went into a last minute try by Bishop Dwenger #8 standout Bri.  As the Bishop Dwenger Saints marched in at the Mercenaries home pitch Voorde Park, the air was filled with anticipation. 

Bishop Dwenger struck first when their All-State standout Brianna Campbell broke through wide scoring the first try near the touch line.  The Lady Mercs regrouped and maintained their composure ready to kick it back again.  This time, the Lady Mercs took it to Bishop Dwenger scoring 5 unanswered tries and three conversions leading 26-5 at the half. 

Outstanding defense by backline players, Amira, Bianca, Jamie, Emily, and Ellen proved dominant against their backs.  Impact players in the forwards played by Abbey, Stephanie, Becca, Angela, and Hannah proved too much for the Saints. 

The Saints came to South Bend, but the Lady Mercs marched in all over winning 67-5.

Notable players and scorers: Ellen Makris, Emily Eades, Bianca McManus, Hannah Churchill with two tries each.  Jamie Appleman, Angela Kirori, and Amira Francis with one try each.  Amira converted 5 of her kicks. 

The Lady Mercs vs Penn rivalry is always an exciting one for all rugby enthusiast.  This match was nothing short of exciting.  Penn came out first scoring on SB with a try from a few missed tackles.  Both teams went back and forth trying to exploit each other's weakness to gain possession of the ball.  In the last minutes of the match, Penn was up 16-15 when South Bend capitalized on a loose ball off a tackle and was about to punch it in for the score when a penalty was awarded to Penn.  Penn took advantage of the opportunity scoring the last try on a defense that was not ready winning 21-15 over South Bend.

HIGH TEA The Morris Inn at Notre Dame
Saturday, March 3, 2012    2:00PM - 4:00 PM
$12/person or $7/children under 12
Dress Code: Your finest attire is encouraged!

Join the SB Mercenaries Rugby Club as we present "High Tea" at the Morris Inn. Enjoy a relaxing and fun-filled afternoon amongst your friends and family members while learning about the traditions of rugby. 

Please RSVP to Emee Miller at emeemiller@sbcglobal.net

"Enjoy Life sip by sip, not gulp by gulp." ~ The Minister of Leaves.

The Rugby Indiana All-Stars travel up north and go up against an experienced Canadian team.   A good effort against a very experienced Canadian team proved a bit too much for the Rugby Indiana All-Stars.  RI came out strong but in the end lost both matches to Canada. 

The players enjoyed meeting and gaining new friends across the borderline and traveled to do some sightseeing.  When asked about how the rugby trip to Canada went, Emily Eades quipped, "Canada trip is awesome!  It will definitely be a memorable experience for me and all the other girls."

This generation's new "Four Horse Women" represented Rugby Indiana against other All-Star athletes in the Midwest.  Angela "DC" Kirori, Ellen "eMak" Makris, Emily "Hulk" Eades, and Stephanie "Skubi (scooby)" Kubiak provided extra firepower for the Rugby Indiana All-Stars against other Midwest All-Star HS girls. 

At the end of the championship tournament, the Rugby Indiana All-Stars prevailed earning a three-peat winning the Championship for the third time in a row.  

The  team now sets their eyes and travel up north to play the Canadian All-Star team from Windsor area.  

ROAD TO STATE
The #3 ranked, South Bend Lady Mercenaries won against Carmel during State Playoffs on Sunday, May 15  and is now heading back again to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Final Four)! This marks the second time the SB Mercenaries Girls rugby team competing for the State Title in the last 3 years.

A motivated Lady Mercenaries rugby team took the pitch against Carmel with a mission to defend their home turf.  Moving the ball wide and then systematically picking apart Carmel's defense, the women of Mercenaries rugby scored 20 unanswered points in the first half. 

The relentless attack did not stop as they culminated 17 more points finishing the match with South Bend 37, Carmel 7.  Distributing the ball between the players proved too much as tries were scored by Abbey Matthys, Angela Kirori, Meghan Taylor, Emily Eades, Hannah Churchill and two tries by Ellen Makris.

Lady Mercs now await their next competitor as they move onto postseason match up in the playoffs.

Rivalry between the two teams were ignited at the beginning of the match.  South Bend played with only 14 girls to start and Penn started off extremely strong with break away runs by their all-state standout, Abbey Ritter.  

Penn thought they had put the Lady Mercenaries team away but to their surprise, South Bend came back with 3 unanswered tries.  Emily Eades busted through defenders on multiple scrum half picks while a strong presence by the pack led by Abbey Matthys and Stephanie Kubiak showed their tenacity.

Penn Lady Kingsmen sneaked by 34 - 27 versus South Bend Lady Mercenaries. 

Try scorers:  Emily Eades (3), Abbey Matthys, Stephanie Kubiak

Conversions:  Stephanie Kubiak (2)

On a soaked, drenched Sunday, the Lady Mercenaries played in-state opponent, Carmel winning 22-0.  With a renewed mission and game plan, the girls came out aggressive and were relentless in attack both defensively and offensively.  

Though plagued with injuries, the team played with heart and courage to prove that they are one of the tougher teams in the Midwest.  Quick ball and counter attacks took Carmel by surprise and never caught up with South Bend's style of play.

Try scorers were:  Lindsay Matthys, Angela Kirori, Michelle Szymanski, Ellen Makris

Conversions:  Stephanie Kubiak 

A group of hungry, tired, and bruised up team met with some parents and their coach to go to team dinner.  After dinner, the team went over the details of what went well and what went wrong during the first day of the tournament.  

Adjustments were discussed and a couple game plans were established.  The girls then spent time with themselves as a team to relax, play, and hang out as "sisters" in preparation for next day's match-up. 

Apr 30th - First Day of Tournament

SB    0 vs. Brookfield   22

South Bend Mercenaries girls rugby provides excitement to the crowd!  The Lady Mercenaries rugby club came off sluggish losing to Brookfield 22-0.  Brookfield contained the Lady Mercenaries attack by counter-attacking with fast movement of the ball outside.  Quick passes and misdirections by Brookfield along with re-positioning players caused confusion and chaos within the Lady Mercs team.

SB 20  vs. Lakeview 0 

Adjustments were made and the team came out aggressively moving the ball out wide and catching at pace to score against Lakeview.  

Tries awarded:  Tara (2), Abbey Matthys, and Angela Kirori  

Double Header Match - SB vs HSE

South Bend Mercenaries girls rugby travel down to Indianapolis for a double header match up between HSE and Columbus.  

South Bend came out strong dominating on rucks and loose play against HSE in the first half. The Lady Mercenaries pressure defense proved too strong for HSE as they were met at the gain line by South Bend.  Quick breaks and penalties also were capitalized by South Bend as they won the match 29-0.  

Tries scored:  Amira Francis (2), Hannah Churchill, Tara Taljaard, Heather Hoffa

Conversions:  Amira Francis (2) 

 Double Header Match - SB vs. Columbus

After the match up with HSE, the SB girls rugby team took some time to recover and prepare for Columbus.  

SB came out and played lethargic and messy.  Columbus took advantage of missed opportunities by the Lady Mercenaries capitalizing on penalties and bad passes.  South Bend played Columbus style rugby - smashing their way onto the opponent but did not prevail.  

Although, the girls lost to Columbus 22-0, the girls did gather themselves in the second half keeping the ball in Columbus territory but not able to go in for the try.   

A hard fought match up between Bishop Dwenger and South Bend ensued on April 14th as Bishop Dwenger scores in the last minute against South Bend.

An uncharacteristic slow and overconfident start causes South Bend to lose their first match of the season.  Both South Bend and Bishop Dwenger played timid and sloppy losing possession and territory as each team tried to capitalize on each other's mistakes.  

Tied at 12 -12 with only 1:39 to go before end of regulation, the Lady Mercenaries committed two crucial penalties giving the ball to Bishop Dwenger on South Bend's 40 meter line.  Bishop Dwenger crashed inside twice then popped off to their standout #8 who was on a burst and outran two Mercenaries on the outside to score the winning try.

Bishop Dwenger won  the match up 17-12.  

Tries for South Bend (one each): Amira Francis, Hannah Churchill.  

Conversion made - Amira Francis (1) 

A surprise attack by South Bend forward crashes and offloads kept the Lady Tigers of Warsaw on their heels and out of their game plan.  

The Lady Mercenaries was slow on the breakdowns but more than made up for it with aggressive tackling and moving the ball wide and back in to create chaos among Warsaw.

South Bend won their first regular season match 15 - 0.  Try scorers for South Bend was Angela Kirori, Emily Eades, and Amira Francis. 

The start of the rugby season showcased 6 of the teams in northern Indiana during the Jamboree Invitational.  Lady Mercenaries played 5 matches and came out victorious with a record of 5-0 defeating Penn A, Bishop Dwenger, Penn B, Warsaw A, and Warsaw/Dwenger mixed team.

Great movement of the ball proved viable for the Lady Mercenaries as they used their speed and hands to gain territory.  All of the girls gained much needed experience during the jamboree. 

On a blustery and cloudy day, the Mercenaries Rugby Club showcased their rugby skills. Hundreds of excited onlookers lined the streets as the parade participants stepped off at the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.  

Mercenaries Rugby players marched on and performed lineouts, scrumdowns, mauls, and passing drills to the delight of the crowd.  The Mercenaries Rugby players passed the ball to many interested youth on the sides.  

At the conclusion of the parade, the team set up a photo opportunity with the Notre Dame Leprechaun and cheered along with the community as the "greening" of the river took place.

Next Up, Rugby Time!
On Sunday, March 20  the SB Mercenaries women's team (Lady Mercenaries) travel to Warsaw to participate in the Jamboree Invitational.

The Lady Mercenaries Rugby team, alumni, and coaches provided some much needed blood to the local blood bank, South Bend Medical Foundation.  All of the girls provided support and encouragement to each other as they learned about the importance of giving blood but more importantly, giving back to the community.  

Each year, Mercenaries rugby players are encourage to participate in various service learning projects and philanthropy events in the area.  Players learn valuable traits in life such as civic responsibility and a deeper understanding of themselves and their community.

Afterwards, players enjoyed the camaraderie of their peers and the availability of food and drinks at the conclusion of their donation.

Mercenaries Rugby encourages everyone in our community to donate blood to the South Bend Medical Foundation.  The life you could be saving may be yours or someone close to you!

GIVE BLOOD + PLAY RUGBY