The Topeka Wizards did show signs of improvement against Nebraska on Saturday afternoon, but poor tackling and filling gaps once again turned out to be a killer for TRFC.  This enabled Nebraska to come out with the 65-14 victory.

At times there was good flow to the Topeka offense, something that was lacking from the Wichita game.  Early on, the Wizards were deep inside the 5 meter line and it looked as if Eric Olson was going to score, but Nebraska did an excellent job holding up the ball inside the try zone.  The tempo for the Wizards was also a lot more manageable than it was a week earlier.  This helped with support and getting the ball out to the back line.

Nebraska on the other hand had an easier go of it when it came to scoring.  At times, the Wizards D was sound, but one missed tackle would prove to be disastrous as the speed of the Huskers would kick in and lead to easy trys.  This enabled Nebraska to not have to work its offense up into the 22 to try and score, for most of their trys came from big plays outside the 22.

TRFC's support was better this weekend as the Wizards were able to take time to spread the ball around and get some movement up and down the field.  The kicking game is another element that is showing to be a standard part of the Topeka game plan.  Once that is worked on, that will be nice addition to what Topeka wants to achieve as a rugby club.

Scoring for the Wizards were Jon Cox and Eric Olson, each with one try.  Jon also added points to his day as he kicked for the points after.

It was a good friendly against a team that Topeka has not seen much of it the past.  There are things that did improve, but what needs to be worked on showed that it has been a slower process to get where it needs to be, especially with tacking low.  The practice sessions this week will be key to see how the rest of the season pans out.

The Wizards will be home this coming weekend against the Kansas City Blues DIII side at 2pm at McDonald Field on Saturday, Oct. 1.  TRFC will be looking forward to this match-up as we get back to playing more familiar foes and get back to resuming league play.

The Topeka Rugby team came out flat in their season opener against Wichita Saturday afternoon.  By a humbling score of 68-3, TRFC saw that it has a lot of work to do to get where we want to be as a club.  Poor play on both sides of the ball made it a long afternoon for Topeka.

The offense never found its footing.  Jon Cox accounted for the Wizards sole points on a penalty kick half way through the first half.  TRFC struggled to maintain any fluid possession, as it lost many line outs and scrums.  There were some moments where it looked like Topeka would get it going, but those moments were too far and few in between.

TRFC had a lot of gaps in its defense due to poor tackling and support.  Wichita exploited them, especially on the wing and kicking game.  Tackling continues to be a problem.  TRFC got called on many high tackles and missed tackles plagued the day.

The bright spot from Saturday was that it was the first game of a long season.  The team understands where we are at and there is a lot of hard work to be done in practice.  Some things will need to be fixed quickly, as The Wizards well be hosting Nebraska University Rugby Club on Sept. 24.

The Huskers did some dominating of their own Saturday, as they put away Kearney State University, 86-7.

Next Game: Vs. Nebraska, Sept. 24, Noon, McDonald Field, Topeka.