The Cincinnati Wolfhounds rugby club looks forward to escaping the harsh winter weather every March in Savannah, but that’s not why the team makes the 10-hour drive from Ohio.
PHOTOS: St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament
They come to win the St. Patrick’s Day Rugby Tournament, and they accomplished that goal for the second time in three years on Sunday at Daffin Park.
The Wolfhounds, a USA Rugby Division I side that plays in the Midwestern League, rallied from a halftime deficit to claim a 26-22 victory over the Barbarians, a mixed side of veteran ruggers from around the Southeast.
The turning point came early in the second half when 19-year-old Rashad Finley scooped a Barbarians fumble and streaked the length of the field for a five-point try that pushed the Wolfhounds ahead. The Barbarians threatened until the match’s final minutes but couldn’t achieve the winning score.
“Looking at the competition we played and coming with three victories, we came away with the feeling that we know we can compete on any level,” said Wolfhounds coach Nick Lauterbach, who said the club also won the tournament’s Premier Division in 2011 before being unable to attend last year’s event. “We knew (the Barbarians) would be a tough match. We didn’t know much about them, but looking at their scores and knowing a few of their players, we knew the match would come down to the last minute.”
Each play in the Premier Division championship match was greeted with lusty shouts from a throng gathered on the south side of Daffin Park. The Wolfhounds later celebrated underneath the goal posts by singing the club’s fight song and offering loud cheers for themselves, the Barbarians and the referees.
The Barbarians huddled after the match and immediately starting talking about avenging the loss in 2014.
“We only came together about two months ago and haven’t had many practices, but these guys have so much experience,” said Barbarians coach Jason Zehmke. “The Wolfhounds are a Division I side, and to only lose by four is a massive achievement. Losing isn’t the end of the world, but we’ll bring that bitter taste in our mouths back with us next year.”
The championship match capped a two-day tournament that saw eight division winners crowned from more than 80 teams. The tournament also raised money for the Humane Society of Greater Savannah and America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia.
“The tournament went off really smooth, no bumps and no hitches,” said tournament director John Schomburg of the Savannah Shamrocks rugby club. “It’s mostly about the participants, but there were thousands of people wandering Daffin Park for two days without any out-of-the-ordinary incidents. Win or lose, no grudges are held, and it was just a big social event where everybody was happy.”
DIVISION WINNERS
Gold — County Pirates 19, Eastern Suburbs 3
College — Indiana University 54, Buffalo State 3
Division 3 — Cherry Point 13, Island Warriors 7
Women’s White — University of Central Florida 48, Marshall University 0
Women’s Purple — Harliquan 14, Gypsy Rugby International 13
Men’s Social — Union County 20, Blind Pigs 10
Men’s Brown — Mystic River 36, Gainesville 8
Old Boys — ORBS 53, Detroit/Windsor 26