Jersey Auction Day 1

Today is the first day of our online auction for our recently retired jerseys! Jerseys up for auction today: numbers 1 through 5.

How to bid:

  • Comment on this post with your name, email address, the jersey number you want, and your bid amount.
  • Opening bids must start at $30.
  • You may bid more than once. Do not delete your previous comments, simply re-bid with a new comment.
  • Auction closes at 12 midnight CDT. Winning bidders will be contacted the next day to confirm they’ve won and update them on how to submit payment.

Alumni Weekend Fast Approaching

With the start of the fall season just around the corner, that means the annual WWRFC/UWWRFC Alumni weekend is almost here. This year’s alumni weekend will be August 26th and 27th. We will be celebrating 41 years of women’s rugby in Madison.

The joint alumni weekend with the University of Wisconsin Women’s team will begin on Friday with a kick-off social at State Street Brats. This was a great success last year despite the weather and we hope to continue the tradition.

As the weekend continues, we look forward to starting our home season out right with some fun intra-team/alumni scrimmages on Saturday morning and a picnic lunch for all. Friends and family are all welcome; we just ask that you please bring a dish to pass for the potluck picnic.

The social will continue at Wilson’s when the festivities move from the pitch.

Stay up to date on all the Alumni weekend details on the Alumni page.

RSVP to ww_rfc@yahoo.com to let us know you are coming!

We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Division 1 League Schedule Announced

We are excited to announce the official release of our fall Division 1 league schedule! In the next few weeks we will also announce friendly matches as they are scheduled.

As usual, all home games are played at the Rugby Sports Complex in Cottage Grove, Wis. Field locations for away games and times for all games will be announced closer to match dates. Visit our Schedule page for more updated information. If you will be in the area for a given game, please stop by to cheer on the WWRFC!

Aug. 27, 2016: Home, alumni game (non-league), Cottage Grove, WI
Sept. 10, 2016: Home vs. Detroit Women, Cottage Grove, WI
Sept. 17, 2016: Away vs. Minnesota Valkyries, MN
Sept. 24, 2016: Away vs. Chicago North Shore, Chicago, IL
Oct. 1, 2016: Open
Oct. 8, 2016: Open
Oct. 15, 2016: Home vs. Chicago Women, Cottage Grove, WI
Oct. 22, 2016: Away vs. Detroit Women, Detroit, MI
Oct. 29, 2016, Home vs. Minnesota Valkyries, Cottage Grove, WI

Head Coach Wanted – Compensation Available

The Wisconsin Women’s Rugby team is currently seeking a head coach starting in August 2016. We have been back-to-back National Finalists in Division 2 the last 2 years, including winning the National Championship in 2015. In the fall we will begin Division 1 league play in the Midwest, making us the only Division 1 team in Wisconsin.

• We are looking for someone who is able to help our club continue to grow and develop at the D1 level and help our players advance competitively.

• No previous coaching experience is required, but is valued.

• Level 200 coaching certification is required, the team will pay for your USA Rugby coaching certification course if needed.

• Minimum attendance at 1 practice a week and most games on Saturdays (Ideally, 2 practices per week and all games).

• Coaching roles include planning and leading team practices in season, developing overall team strategy and game plans, working with team leaders to select game-day rosters and providing feedback to players to help them develop their skills.

• Compensation includes payment of match related travel and a stipend.

• Other details of position are negotiable with team leadership.

Our 2016-2017 competitive schedule runs from late August to late October and March to early June and will include games against teams in Chicago, Twin Cities and Detroit. We practice twice a week on Monday and Wednesday at the Wisconsin Rugby Sports Complex from 5:45 pm-7:45 pm.

We return a hard-working roster with lots of potential looking to prove ourselves at the Division 1 level.

Interested applicants should email the team at ww_rfc@yahoo.com with contact information, rugby history, and why you’re interested.

Please help our team climb to the next level.

Midwest Division 1 Will Be New Home for Wisconsin Women

midwest.jpg

The Wisconsin Women’s Rugby team will be returning to Division 1 competition in the Midwest Rugby Union starting this Fall 2016.

With direction of the Midwest and an approval vote of our active club membership, our team will be climbing up to Division 1 and we look forward to the many opportunities and challenges this will provide us.

We will be recruiting heavily this summer to help our team grow into a strong D1 club and welcome all new players to contact us to join the team.

We look forward to league matches against our D1 Midwest friends and still scheduling regular friendlies against the many awesome D2 teams we’ve battled with the past few years.

Thank you also to all of our alumni, family, and friends for your continued support!

Wisconsin Head Coach Bob Jafferis To Retire

Our team is sad to announce the official retirement of our head coach, Robert “Wee Bob” Jafferis, now that our spring 15s season has come to an end. Wisconsin Women’s Rugby is thankful for these past four years and we appreciate all of Coach Bob’s time, energy, and the love of rugby he shared with our club.

Coach Bob has led our rugby team to a series of history-making wins. Under Bob’s coaching, the Wisconsin Women qualified for back-to-back USA Rugby national championships, winning the national title in 2015 and finishing second overall in the nation a few weeks ago. Additionally, the team qualified to four straight Midwest Final Fours, competing in the Midwest Championship match for three of those four years and winning the regional title twice in 2015 and 2016. In Midwest women’s regular-season league play, the team finished no less than second overall each year, turning in two undefeated seasons in both 2013-2014 and 2015-2016.

Coach Bob also reminds us every day that we play because we love this game and that we’re on this team to have fun. He amuses us with hilarious rugby stories and teaches us international rugby skills along with the dark and subtle arts of the front row. Bob is a strong supporter of the game for women of all ages. Through his generous efforts, our club started our first-ever financial endowment fund to grow the long-term future success of this club and provide opportunities for future teammates.

Our team would be remiss if we did not also thank Bob’s wife Marsha. Thank you Marsha for letting Bob be our coach and for being a fan of our team.

If you see Coach Bob sometime this summer, please join us in giving him a hug, a handshake, and a job well done. Three cheers for Coach Bob. We’ll miss you!

*****

The Wisconsin Women will be looking for a new head coach starting immediately. Please look for our official team job posting out soon and please contact us if you or someone you know is interested.
Thank you!

13450993_10153616939381680_1804687586764383781_n 13516601_10153616939296680_7693625114026271063_n 13494773_10153616939231680_8756733404395023675_n 13450889_10153616939191680_5505559243462309184_n 13418845_10153616939181680_8856576138372643857_n 13501632_10153616938841680_4980730430037357618_n 13432140_10153616938816680_4848604907268307676_n 13450272_10153616938786680_4848650458949027354_n 13450858_10153616938741680_7702281013751806110_n 13495299_10153616938661680_1291434145080179725_n 13510982_10153616938666680_9116717125994483899_n 13445743_10153616938671680_8759707091019345031_n

Wisconsin Finishes 2nd In Nation for 2015-2016 Season

Another historic year of rugby came to a close Saturday, June 4 as the Wisconsin Women’s Rugby team capped the 2015-2016 season as the USA Rugby Division 2 National Runners-Up.

Undefeated in all D2 competition throughout the year, Wisconsin lost its national title match to the Life West Gladiatrix (Hayward, CA) 66-20.

Via USA Rugby:

Life West steals Women’s DII Club title from holder Wisconsin
Chad Wise • June 4, 2016

GLENDALE, Colo. – Life West scored 12 tries in a 66-20 defeat of reigning title-holder Wisconsin Saturday to win the USA Rugby Emirates Airline Women’s Division II National Championship in its first year in the competition.

Beginning a five-match championship weekend at Infinity Park, the Gladiatrix ticked the scoreboard from the opening minute of the match to the end of the 80th, starving Wisconsin of the possession necessary to launch a proper title defense.

Catherine Benson and Angelina Lomu each recorded a hat trick of tries, with Lomu scoring her first of three in the first minute of the match. Life West found several gaps in the Wisconsin defense from the opening restart and the first pass out to the wing landed in Lomu’s hands for a broken Grace Hovde tackle and 40-meter run to the try zone.

Wisconsin had a few set pieces turned over by the Gladiatrix in the following minutes, and the pressure inside the team’s half of the field yielded more points for Life West. Despite a mishandled pass on the wing, prop Catherine Benson used her mobility and strength to get through the line from five meters for a 12-0 lead.

Benson doubled her tally in the 10th minute after full back Cameo Motley created a gap along the gain line inside her own half. She was taken down with a high tackle within 10 meters of the try line, and Benson received the first pass from the tap for a 17-0 score.

Wisconsin got on the scoreboard through Ashley Shaw but Life West replied immediately for a 22-7 lead midway through the first frame. The Gladiatrix went over the line twice in the span of five minutes, though both attempts at five points were deemed to have been held up by the match official. Continuing to dominate the set pieces, Life West kept the ball in the offensive third and fly half Megan Foster went over the line from a scrum win.

Foster set up the next try – and successfully kicked the conversion – to extend the lead to 34-7 with a break inside the offensive 22. Motley took the ball over, and Pinson followed suit from five meters for a 39-7 score line. Benson rounded out the first 40 minutes with her hat trick from the final restart, 44-7.

Life West had used its quick offloading and strength to create gaps and bust through defenders throughout the opening frame, and continued until the final whistle. Wisconsin refused to be ignored, scoring two tries and kicking one penalty goal, but No. 8 Jenn Sever scored a brace of tries and set up her scrum half, Lauren Kenyon, for one for a 66-20 final.

Foster, the match’s Most Valuable Player, cited Life West’s ability with ball in hand as well as reading the opposition as the team’s keys to victory – in addition to the first-minute start.

“I think the first try really set the tone,” the AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American said. “We just feed off of that. Every game that we’ve scored early it’s just been non-stop. We just go with each other, kept it positive out there, and when we do that we’re pretty unstoppable.

“Wisconsin were definitely tough and had some hard hits. Credit to them for playing hard. But I think we did really well exploiting their weaknesses. We saw space wide, we used our hands to get it wide, had players cutting back in, read their hips; we came out and played our best.”

Life West Gladiatrix | Women’s DII National Championship
1. Tupou V Palu
2. Aubrey Huey
3. Catherine Benson
4. Megan Pinson
5. Rose Russell
6. Mele Taumoefolau
7. Tiara Littleton
8. Jennifer Sever
9. Lauren Kenyon
10. Megan Foster
11. Angelina Lomu
12. Andie Toetu’u
13. Hali Deters
14. Mirelle Raza
15. Cameo Motley
16. Sarah MacArthur
17. Moana Blandford
18. Vika Eli
19. Fane Eli
20. Alivia Picardo
21. Ilai’Saane Kefu-Teaupa
22. Jessica Lewis

Wisconsin | Women’s DII National Championship
1. Sarah Thomas
2. Emily Mastandrea
3. Melissa Polheber
4. Brittany Aprahamian
5. Jill Lehmann
6. Samantha Clevenger
7. Lauren McCormack
8. Grace Hovde
9. Kristine Peterson
10. Jennifer Johnson
11. Felicia Carlson
12. Shannon Walsh
13. Ashley Shaw
14. Justine Wypych
15. Sybil Levine
16. Sarah Pinkston
17. Katie Klas
18. Alayna Hronek
19. Corin Jensen
20. Callie Graves
21. Kimberly Gilmore
23. Tamara Wade
24. Cecilia Smith

13406974_10153585880541680_144019649975564686_n2015-2016 USA Rugby National Final – Official Team Photo for Wisconsin Women’s Rugby Football Club. Saturday, June 4, 2016. Photo taken by Patrick Barron.

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Wisconsin Advances Back to USA Rugby National Final June 4

The Wisconsin Women’s Rugby team won both its matches at the USA Rugby National Playoffs in Pittsburgh, Pa., this past weekend, May 21-22.

With the two wins, Wisconsin now advances to the USA Rugby Senior Club Division 2 Women’s National Championship on Saturday, June 4 in Glendale, Colorado.

As the East Champions, Wisconsin will play the West Champions, the Life West Gladiatrix from California. News recap here from The Breakdown.

Wisconsin defeated the Charlotte (NC) Women, 67-19, on Saturday, May 21 in the national Round of 8. News recap here from the Breakdown.

In the national Final 4, Wisconsin defeated the Harrisburg (PA) Harlots, 31-17, on Sunday, May 22, in very poor, muddy field conditions to advance to their second-straight USA Rugby National Championship. Wisconsin is the reigning 2015 Division 2 National Champions.

The team needs your help to travel to Colorado to defend the national title. Please consider a donation to help us reach our $10,000 goal.

Happy Winners! East Champions!
Happy Winners! East Champions!

Wisconsin Travels to USA Rugby National Playoffs, Round of 8 vs. Charlotte Women

[WWRFC team photo by Patrick Barron]

After winning the team’s second-straight Midwest Division 2 women’s championship May 8, the Wisconsin Women are now traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa., for the 2016 USA Rugby National Playoffs Friday, May 20 – Sunday, May 22.

This is USA Rugby’s “Elite 8” and “Final 4” weekend. Wisconsin will need to win both of its matches in Pittsburgh to return to Glendale, Colorado on Sunday, June 5 to defend its 2015 USA Rugby National Championship.

Wisconsin will face the South Champion Charlotte (North Carolina) Women on Saturday, May 21 at 10:45 a.m. central/11:45 a.m. eastern.

A full schedule of all matches in Pittsburgh is below.

The match will be livestreamed on usarugbytv.com. Wisconsin will also be providing a live twitter feed from the sidelines via the team’s account – www.twitter.com/WIWomensRugby. Additionally, fans can follow the team’s new Snapchat account all weekend – Snapchat user name WIWomensRugby.

The Pittsburgh regional will also host the Division 2 Round of 8 match between the Burlington (Vermont) Women and the Harrisburg Harlots (Pennsylvania) at the same time on Saturday. The winners of the two Saturday matches will play Sunday at 10:45 CT/11:45 ET. The losers will play a consolation match at 7:15 a.m. CT/8:15 a.m. ET. All of Sunday’s matches will also be livestreamed.

Wisconsin is raising $10,000 to fund its trip to the national playoffs in Pittsburgh and possible trip to Glendale, Colorado should the team continue to win and advance. Please consider making a donation to help the team offset travel costs here.

usarugby_pittsburgh schedule

Wisconsin Women Win 2016 Midwest Championship, Qualify for USA Rugby Nationals

The Wisconsin Women’s Rugby team won the 2016 Midwest Women’s Division 2 Championship this past weekend. This is the second-straight Midwest title for Wisconsin and fifth-straight Midwest final four appearance.

Wisconsin defeated the Buffalo Women 100-5 Saturday in the Midwest semifinal and fought-back from a halftime 19-21 deficit to defeat rivals the Milwaukee Scylla 47-33 to claim the trophy. The regional final was considered a national round of 16 (“Sweet 16”) match and was quite the battle to watch for fans in attendance.

The club has qualified for the USA Rugby national playoffs (“Elite 8”) in Pittsburgh, Pa., May 21-22. As the Midwest’s top seed, Wisconsin will play the South’s champion, the Charlotte (NC) Women that Saturday. The winner will play the winner of the other national playoff match between the Burlington (VT) Women (Northeast Champion) and the Harrisburg Harlots (PA, Mid-Atlantic Champion) on Sunday, May 22. Sunday’s winner will advance to the USA Rugby national final two weeks later in Glendale, Co.

Wisconsin is the reigning 2015 USA Rugby National Champions.

Stay tuned for more detailed updates soon!