The Dirty Ducks had hopes of a Pacific Coast playoff berth this season, but an untimely academic schedule, some key injuries and an unlucky draw of top-tier competition denied Oregon women’s rugby a postseason appearance.
Cal entered the qualification round as favorites over the Dirty Ducks. But beyond just playing at Treasure Island, an artificial island in San Francisco, the Bears gained a bigger advantage when Oregon showed up significantly undermanned.
“We practiced dead week and finals, but everybody was juggling their schedules just to get out and play,” senior club coordinator Megan Adams said.
Although the Dirty Ducks’ grabbed an early lead, the Bears dispatched Oregon 54-5.
Oregon was victimized by a lack of personnel. Players were forced to adopt new positions to fill in the gaps, a tough task against their ranked competition.
The absence of a few key players made all the difference for the Ducks in the loss. However, the veteran on a young Dirty Ducks squad relayed a positive message to the team.
“We didn’t know Cal very well and they were honestly just better than us,” Adams said. “But we played as hard as we could and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
The Ducks rebounded with a 17-5 win over Sacramento State in a game that meant very little on paper, but was significant for the Ducks. No playoff implications were on the line, but the Dirty Ducks, who lost early in the fall term to Sacramento State, had something to prove the second time around.
“I guess we needed to get the jitters out against Cal,” junior Nicole Steele said. “We wanted a little revenge against Sac State, too.”
An already stretched squad of 16 had been cut to 14 for the Sacramento State game, meaning the Dirty Ducks pulled off a win despite enduring the match one player short the whole way. Head coach Dustin McShane elaborated on his team’s effort against Sacramento State.
“It showed how much heart they had, really,” McShane said. “They played until the very end just like they had all year long, same as the Cal game, too.”
With all but the alumni game behind them, Oregon rugby is now focused on building its young program for next year. This year, the squad had 15 rookies, most of which were freshmen. The Dirty Ducks say goodbye to three devoted members after the academic year, but the majority will stay on board for the 2010-2011 season.
Even with a healthy roster of veterans next year, Oregon will still welcome newcomers. In the coming weeks, the Dirty Ducks will transition from practicing at Riverfront Field to playing touch on the grass outside Gerlinger Hall. This increases the squad’s visibility and allows passersby the chance to understand the game for its maneuvers and the tactical facets of the game.
“I think rugby gets a bad rep as a sport which is really dangerous,” Steele said. “Plus, people want to be more active in the spring and anyone can try it out.”
Playing touch rugby is the equivalent of playing flag football instead of tackle, but the action on the pitch is continuous. This period of the Dirty Ducks’ season outlines the teams’ ethos for the year as a whole. It was a building-block season, one in which little was expected except progress.
“We’re a very young group … but all year we battled and I’m very proud of this team,” McShane said.
The Dirty Ducks have established a solid foundation which they will continue to build upon in the future. Although playoffs were not in the cards this year, the experience of playing the best in the country also helps to build the young team up. From Adams’ perspective, the program is in a good place.
“The status of the team is very healthy in general,” Adams said. “We all know what it takes to make it to the next level after playing Cal.”
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