AGGIES NAME 2011 CAPTAINS

Junior Flyhalf Conor Mills was named the 2011 captain for Texas A&M Rugby.  Mills is a two-year starter for the Aggies and was their leading scorer last season.  Mills was a member of the Junior World Trophy team (that played in Tibilsi, Georgia) and the Western Collegiate All-Stars in 2011 and brings with him a wealth of experience to the leadership position.  Mills was very humbled and honored by his selection and stated, "I want to uphold the tradition established by all the Aggie captains over the years, and lead my team to a highly successful season."

Senior Braden Coleman was chosen as the 2011 vice captain.  Braden is a veteran prop who started throughout last season.  He has demonstrated a tremendous amount of physical toughness and the ability to lead by example while in College Station.  Braden is soft-spoken, but lets his actions speak for themselves.

The Aggie rugby community is very proud to have these two fine gentlemen as their captains and know that a great deal of success will accompany their selection.

Wallabie in Lone Star Country

This last weekend (Sept. 17-18) a number of Texas coaches had the privledge of getting to work with Australian coaching legend Bob Dwyer.  Dwyer, who won the 1991 World Cup with the Wallabies, presented his style of running rugby to those in attendance.  Dwyer is a humerous and engaging speaker and had his audience paying close attention throughout the two-day clinic.

Dwyer emphasized the utilization of proper technique in pressure situations, claiming this it is the key to playing successful rugby.  He discussed the point that players will take poor options (rugby is a game of mistakes), but proper technique guards against those poor options.  "Give it a crack, and if it doesn't work, then keep giving it a crack.  As long as you are using proper technique, there are no bad options," said Dwyer.

Mike Penistone, a Leicester coaching legend, was also part of the clinic and discussed the importance of properly structured practice.  According to Penistone, a practice consists of three elements: 1)Teaching technique, 2) Applying that technique under pressure, 3) Applying the technique in a game situation.  Penistone demonstrated a number of drills and games which illustrated his concepts.  Like Dwyer, Penistone was entertaining and spent a great deal of one-on-one time with each of the coaches answering questions which was invaluable.

Aggie Coach Mills, Bob Dwyer, and Coach Jim Wolfinger

Both coaches underscored the importance of creating space and using space once it is created.  Dwyer feels closer spacing and quicker ball movement is a key element in creating space.  He also discussed the importance of staying away from static play in contact and the need for teams to devoid themselves of the stop-start game.  Another element of this philosophy was the stress on a narrow attack in order to concentrate the defense while then attacking the space created.  Once this has been accomplished ball carriers must be properly supported and the team must constantly realign.

This was a brilliant weekend and well-worth the time spent.  Kudos go out to Dave McPhail (President of TRU) and the Woodlands RFC for putting on such a first-class event.  Bringing in such quality coaches is a testiment to the committment of the TRU in raising the level of coaching throughout Texas.

Aggie 7s Tournament



The very first Aggie Sevens Tournament was played at the Penberthy Rec Sports Complex on Saturday, Sept. 10.  The tournament featured teams from TAMU, UT, University of Oklahoma, Baylor University, and Sam Houston State.  The Aggies entered four teams in the competition - varsity, varsity II, junior varsity, and a developmental side. 

The varsity side played extremely well after only a week of practice and managed to play their way into the championship game before losing to OU 20-7.  The Aggies had defeated the Sooners 21-0 in the opening game of the tournament, but did not have enough left in the tank in the championship game.

All the A&M teams played a physical style throughout the day and it was a great learning experience for the large number of new players on the Aggie's squad.  Director of Rugby Craig Coates did an excellent job of organizing the tournament and making it a enjoyable day for everyone.