EIRA Players Celebrate Progress, But More Work To Be Done
EIRA Players Celebrate Progress, But More Work To Be Done
In the first four meetings between Eagle Impact Rugby Academy and the Spanish U18 side, it's fair to say EIRA was smoked.
Scored of 61-15 and 55-15 in 2021 were followed up with 36-3 and 43-24 in 2022. Only that last one really harbingered that the players, as well as the coaches, were starting to understand just how quickly the Spanish played, and how EIRA teams might score points.
And prevent them.
Flash forward a year and June 29 EIRA held Spain to a 17-17 tie. A tie that could very well had been a victory.
"We came here to finish a job and execute and the forwards were especially united in what we wanted to do," said West Houston Lions flanker Hunter Finlay. "We had good line speed on defense and our tackling was good, especially our two-man tackles."
GRR spoke to several players and their message was the same—intensity, focus, and hard work goes a long way.
"It was a very, very good game from the forwards," said scrumhalf Declan Cadden of Blackrock College in Ireland. "They played hard. At the breakdown, our forwards worked hard to give us quick, clean ball and that allowed us to run our shape."
Cadden partnered with Ben Saunders of West Houston, who started at fllyhalf, and then Matt Chevalier (Neuqua HS, Illinois) and Euan Latimer of Back Bay in Southern California came on and they just kept the pressure on.
"We had some adversity," said Regis Jesuit prop Trevor Schweer. "We had some injuries in the forwards and so we knew we had to fill in for those guys. I think we scrummed really well; we won all our own scrums and stole some of theirs. Working with Daniel Callahan and Holden Hahn at hooker we felt really comfortable."
Spain is very quick to the breakdown but the EIRA forwards understood that, and brought not only speed but a physical presence. It made all the difference, as Spain wasn't always getting good ball to use, and EIRA was getting better possession.
"What the forwards did made it super easy in the backline," added Charlotte Cardinals center Finlay Mitchell. "We felt we were on the front foot during most of the game and we had good possession to work with. When we entered halftime we just talked more about our defense and how we had to show 100% commitment to line speed. We'd defended well but we had let down mentally a couple of times."
Indeed, Spain's three tries came from mistakes in the EIRA 22—a turnover, a poor kick chase, or a miscommunication. The first try came off a turnover and the other two off counter-attacks. Spain was not really able to construct much offensively.
For captain Akariva Vuta, who plays for the Puna Chiefs in Hawai'i, this was a stirring experience.
"I was honored to be the captain of this team," he told GRR. "I told them they should enjoy this progression from where we were. It was easy for me because we have so many leaders on the team. I don't have toi baby them. We just got to work."
The EIRA team is rightly pleased with the tie, but now want more, and on July 2 the two teams go at it again.
"We know what we need for the second match," said Mitchell, "and it's a kill mentality."
Added Vuta: "we can celebrate this but now we can focus on what we need to do to win."