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Last Saturday was a rugby double-header for OMBAC Family Day down at the Little Q. It was warm enough to almost feel like summer, and the crowd was sizable for such a lovely day. During halftime of the PRP game, some of the Eagles Sevens players came out and ran a demo for all the kids in the crowd. It was pretty freaking cute. Adorable rugby, who knew?
Any time I get to see each of my favorite OMBAC players suit up and get playing time is a win for me, and by that standard Saturday was great (I’ll let you guess who my favorite players are…). In terms of wins and losses, it was more of a mixed bag. The D1 side played well against the first place team, LARC. Unfortunately, the scoreline was not in our favor. Still, OMBAC put out a solid effort and the game was entertaining with a couple of moments to get the fans riled up.
Things turned out better on the PRP side of things, with OMBAC sticking out SFGG for a “surprising” 36-21 win. As someone who doesn’t carry any previous knowledge of the teams or players in the PRP, I have yet to be surprised by an OMBAC victory. They are clearly a team with potential and heart, as they proved in beating Santa Monica. Being the underdog was definitely an advantage here.
Sometimes I can tell who is having a solid game just based on how many times that person pops up in front of the camera lens. On this day, that player was Orin Catrett, who scored two tries and was generally running up and down the wing like crazy.
The wind blew a steady stream of dandelion-like pieces of foliage across the field all day. The fluffy, floating bits and the golden tones of the late afternoon light lent a dreamy quality to the spectators view of the game. It would have made for beautiful video but it was a real pain for photos. If you notice things that look like dust on the lens, it’s really the stuff on the field.
A quick note to clarify the licensing of all the rugby photos that I’ve posted:
I’m releasing all the photos for the 2014 season under a Creative Commons – Attribution license because rugby is a growing sport in the USA. I’m not privy to any numbers, but I’m familiar with how clubs like those at the current D1 and PRP level operate. When it comes to things publicity and marketing, there’s never enough money or time to do what you really need to get the word out. The Creative Commons philosophy and licenses makes creative works available to everyone within the bounds of copyright law at no charge. Used properly, it can be very helpful to small, indie types of businesses. Or growing sports leagues.