WOMEN’S LOGGERHEADS x RHINOS PREVIEW
July 7, 2022
In the opening round of Premier Rugby Sevens action in San Jose, the Loggerheads x Rhinos Women finished the competition as victors.
For the men, it was a slightly different story with the team losing out in the Men’s Consolation game, on the back of 3 injuries. Now, the teams licensed by San Clemente, California, based Rhinos Rugby are preparing for their second stop on their PR7s tour, Washington DC. This week, there will be a slight change to coaching, with Serevi and Women’s head coach, Katie Dowty, unavailable due to prior engagements, meaning that Frankie Horne and Andre Snyman will be doing the lion’s share of the coaching.
CONTRASTING PERFORMANCES
Beginning the 2022 edition of PR7s with a win at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, for the Loggerheads x Rhinos Women was the perfect way to start their campaign. Already, the team lead the women’s competition and head into Washington DC and DC United’s Audi Field as the team to beat. With the highly touted Katie Dowty performing the role of head coach, and ably supported by Springbok international, Andre Snyman, the side was cohesive from the off. Numerous players are, or have been, regulars in the Rhinos Rugby High-Performance program, learning under the watchful eye of Frankie Horne [Head of Rhinos x Loggerheads]. Angie Olukunmi was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament, as the likes of team captain, Pleuni Kievit, Liz Tafuna and Sophie Pyrz all stood out, mixing with the long-established elite in the form of Stephanie Rovetti and Hannah Lopez. Winning all three of their games on Saturday afternoon, where they bested the Experts 31-15 in the Women’s Final, Frankie Horne was enthused with how the group performed in their first hit out of the tournament.
“It was definitely a mixed bag this weekend,” Horne said. “The girls were really on fire, but they were stacked up as one of the better groups and had been more involved with the high-end bits and pieces of rugby.
“Some of the girls came back from Japan [Nagato Blue Angels in the Japan’s Professional Women’s League], some have just finished up their competitions, some have been with Rhinos Rugby for a big portion of the year, and the other girls that were selected and came in were also involved with good squads.”
For the men, their fortunes were somewhat different. Losing their opening game 7-31 to the Headliners, beating the Loonies 28-10 and then falling to the Loonies in their Consolation game 26-7.
Another squad buoyed by Rhinos Rugby High-Performance players, with the likes of Matai Leuta and Patrick Madden parachuted into the squad, it was a frustrating afternoon for Horne.
“On the men’s front, the boys were either from Rhinos – some that are fairly young – and some of the boys had just finished up with MLR, so they are used to 15s systems and that is a tad non-conducive to Sevens,” Horne said.
“We also lost three guys in our first two matches, so it is a mixed bag. We did also fail a bit with not sticking to stuff we discussed, whereas the girls did stick to their stuff.”
LOOKING TO WASHINGTON DC
This weekend at Audi Field sees the Loggerheads x Rhinos Women as the team to beat after having been so dominant across each of their matches, starting with a 17-0 victory over the Headliners, followed by a mixed performance in their 21-12 win over the Loonies, and winning the Tournament Cup with a 31-15 in against the Experts Women in the Final. Being the only team to win all their games in the entire San Jose competition, Horne says the squad’s main objective will be to be even better in week 2 on the East Coast.
“There is a good vibe with the girls, and a good hype, we just want to keep them on that ride and keep them fresh and prepped for the week, but we are going to work on the things we didn’t do well,” Horne said.
“On the things they did do well, you want to see if you can fine tune that to get a better understanding, because other teams will have access to footage and analysis from the weekend.”
Following their challenging opening round, there will be changes for the Loggerheads x Rhinos Men team going into the nation’s capital. This is largely down to the injuries sustained by Jay Hare and Cian Barry, neither of whom are able to participate in this round. Turning to their wider training squad, Horne is hoping that their experiences in San Jose will lend itself well to the side as they look to bounce back in Washington DC.
“For the men, there was a disconnect and overall lack of understanding of what we wanted to achieve,” Horne said.
“The girls were really jacked up for every challenge and the energy in the group was a lot better, but we will take it on the chin and see if we can get on the same page this week.”
