Apologies for the delay, folks! But let me tell you, the past three weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement, making this Weekend in Review the most thrilling yet. From the long-awaited kickoff of Women’s D1 action to the delightful chaos unfolding in Men’s D2 (the good kind of chaos, mind you), there’s been so much going on. But hey, don’t just take my word for it—dive into all the action-packed details below!
Men's Premiership
The ladder remains the same as three weeks ago, but with more matches played across the board, there are a few details to note. Dallas RFC are still on top, they added a win to their record on March 9th as they traveled to Glencoe Park to take on the Quins. The Austin Blacks stay in the number 2 spot as they also banked a strong win on Derby Day over at Nixon Lane. SaberCats 2 stay within one bonus point of the Blacks thanks to their win over the Quins on February 24th. The Austin Huns did manage to get a win over the Dallas Harlequins as well, leaving the Quins still looking for their first W on the scoreboard. Plenty of matches left on the D1 schedule as these teams will steam through until the end of April. We always said this one would come down to the end, and it sure looks that way.
On Saturday March 23rd the Austin Huns travel to the Dallas RFC, while the Austin Blacks host the SaberCats 2 – if all goes as the standings predict, no changes will happen. However the Huns did beat Dallas in the first outing of the season, and the Blacks have yet to face the SaberCats, so this could very well be the weekend for an upset.
Women's D1
Big excitement on the Women’s D1 front as the first of two head-to-head matches took place this past weekend with the Houston sHARCs traveling to the Austin Valkyries. It was the sHARCs who opened the scoring in the 6th minute with lock Rachel Fiorini diving over, followed shortly by teammate Aila Prieto on the wing. The front row of Austin had a word to say as they found points thanks to Alison Stone and replacement Danielle Scott; but Houston would have the final word thanks to two more by Fiorini, and the rest of the sHARCs squad who sealed the deal 52-12. Both teams will have the opportunity to rest and regroup as they rematch on April 6th at Aveva Stadium in Houston.
Men's D2
Massive shake ups in the Men’s Division 2 as we have no less than 11 games to recap over the last three weeks. Let’s start with the top teams. One undefeated team is left standing as we head into the business end of the season; the men from HURT stand alone on the top of the table. It wasn’t an easy task, after a strong win over The Woodlands they traveled to Burr Field on March 2nd and took on the then-undefeated Austin Blacks. The game was down to the wire, and was a low-scoring defensive affair; but it was HURT who reigned victorious at the final whistle, 17-14. There was no time to rest though, as HURT took to the road again, this time heading north to Fort Worth. Another battle ensued, of which HURT was able to emerge with a 24-19 win. The Blacks, on the other hand, traveled south to San Antonio the next weekend and fell to a very good San Antonio side 29-26.
Two Austin Blacks losses allowed Dallas RFC to skip the queue and use their three wins to vault them into the number two spot on the table. It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine for the Reds though; first they had to get through Fort Worth (which they did 27-24), followed by HARC (19-14), and then finally head to DARC where they gave themselves a bit more breathing room and took it 29-5. San Antonio are sitting at 4th, but with two less games played than any of the top three. They also only have that one loss as a blemish on their record and that was from December against the Dallas RFC. By the time they get to 8 games played, they could easily be sitting pretty at the top.
Fort Worth is also worth a closer look. At first glance they are 3-3, middling at number 5 of 10 teams. Their losses come from HURT (5 points), Dallas RFC (3 points), and the Austin Huns (back in December). They do have some ground to make up, but this story is far from over.
The Woodlands and Grand Prairie are both also with only six matches played, currently sitting 6 and 7. They do have the chance to move up, but would need some giants to fall to give them a realistic hope at the post-season. Further down we’ve got the Austin Huns, DARC, and HARC. All have played the lion’s share of their full slate of games, and even with a late surge, their season ending date is set.
In summary, it’s about to get crazy. With so many one-score matches on the table, it’s clear that the playoff teams are far from confirmed, and it’s all to play for.
Games to watch: Fort Worth (5) vs San Antonio (4) on March 16th, Austin Blacks (3) vs Fort Worth (5) on March 23rd, and HURT (1) vs San Antonio (4) on March 23rd. Talk about spicy.
Women's D2
A few movements in the Women’s D2 through the three matches that took place. Little Rock regains first place thanks to wins over Dallas RFC and Round Rock Rage, both rather convincing. San Antonio Riveters found their first win of the season and made the leap from the bottom of the table to fourth. There’s a pretty clear distinction between the top three and the bottom four teams, but San Antonio (4) and Round Rock Rage (5) have only played three matches, so if they start on a winning streak they could easily catch up with the rest of the pack.
March looks to be a busy month, sHARCs host BARC on March 16th while San Antonio hosts the Rage; Little Rock hosts San Antonio on the 23rd while Rage travels to the Quins on the 30th. By the start of April we’ll have a better idea of what the postseason spread will look like.
Men's D3
Starting off in the D1C subdivision, the Austin Blacks further cement the number one spot as they chalked up a 42-22 win over the Austin Huns on derby day. The Dallas Quins jump to second place thanks to their 50-8 rout of the Huns the weekend before, as well as toppling the Reds last weekend. The Huns remain in third with Dallas RFC in fourth. The Huns still have a chance at the playoffs but in order to jump back over the Quins, they will need to guarantee wins over Dallas RFC on the 23rd and the Quins on April 6th. The Blacks have one more game left, against the Reds on April 6th; but playoffs are certain for them, regardless of the outcome.
Everything was chugging along as expected in the D3 Central until this past weekend. Fort Hood Old Skool got a bit of a scare when 0-5 McAllen turned up in Killeen and gave them a run for their money. It would be Old Skool 17-5 at the end of the day, but not without last minute panic. San Antonio were similarly shocked when Corpus Christi came knocking and the final ended in a 22-22 draw. Postseason may not be on the cards for McAllen and Corpus but it looks like they are planning to go out in a blaze of glory. They go head to head on March 23rd, expect fireworks to fly.
Heading north, Little Rock are in full control of the standings; but all is not what appears on the surface. Sure, Little Rock are 5-0, and yes they won their last game 62-0, but they only just edged the Crusaders 33-28, and the Crusaders won over OKC Tribe 28-26. When games are being decided by a try or less, is anyone really safe? There’s too many matches left to predict who will be the second seed emerging from this subdivision; you can safely count on one of the Oklahoma teams, but that’s about it.
Finally checking in on the south and Louisiana; last recap we regaled you with a dramatic tale of the Houston Arrows traveling to Louisiana and returning with a win. Ah how the tables have turned. On March 2nd, Shreveport launched their own crusade and took down the Arrows on home turf 26-20. The rivalry between these two is enough to write a soap opera. Now Shreveport is back on top, and with 6 BP to Houston’s 3, it looks like they might stay there until the end of the regular season. Galveston is not yet out, but they have to go through the two top dogs in order to stay in, Shreveport on the16th and the Arrows on the 23rd. Bay Area have finished their season, which as we say in Texas, more pre-season prep for sevens!
As the four D3 subdivisions start to close out their regular seasons, stay tuned for a special update about the four regional playoff games and the eight teams who will be involved. As we touched on before, some know they are in, while others have to continue to fight for it.
Men's D4
No movement in either standings table for the D4 subdivisions. In the South HURT hosted The Woodlands, a match that went the way of the hosts 29-0. On March 16th we see the long anticipated rematch of The Woodlands vs HARC, followed by The Woodlands vs HURT again on the 23rd.
In the North Collin County remain on top (no big surprise there). Dallas RFC got a cheeky little win on March 2nd as they squeaked by Fort Worth 5-0, enough to keep them second on the table. A few matches were rescheduled, leaving us little change to actually work with. There’s still a handful of matches to be played; Fort Worth host Collin County on March 23rd while Dallas host Las Colinas. Denton will come back into action on April 6th as they travel to Las Colinas. Reminder that these teams do not compete for a National Championship, so the regular season is all they’ve got. Expect all teams to be aiming to finish on a high.
Note to reader: All data is gathered from team-entered match reports on RugbyXplorer, all information is up to date at time of posting. If you notice any inconsistencies or errors, please check with your team admin and if issues persist let me know at kat@texasrugbyunion.com.
All other commentary is unbiased and for fun.
*Featured photo courtesy of Bethany Walker (@bethanywalkerphotos)