By Joseph Duarte
EBC Florida bureau
TAMPA, Florida (Eagle News) — The Lakeland Renegades, a new expansion team for the 2019 season, impressed rugby fans by clinching a spot in the US Association of Rugby League (USARL) playoffs. However, their aspirations to go deep into the playoffs came to a halt when the Tampa Mayhem steamrolled through them in the South Conference semifinal.
The Mayhem scored early and often, establishing control of the game. By halftime, Lakeland was scoreless and Tampa was up by 46 points.
Three minutes into the second half, the Renegades would finally score a try, but the Mayhem continued their onslaught while denying Lakeland any further scores. With six minutes remaining, the Renegades surrendered their attempt to play further, making way for the Mayhem to advance to the conference finals with a 68-6 victory.
Despite the loss, Renegades Head Coach David Ulch had some takeaways from the match.
“We showed a lot of heart in the past three or four games,” said Ulch. “All the guys that have been coming out to practices have been doing well in keeping the momentum up. And, yes, we’ve been losing by a big amount, but they’ve shown a lot of heart.”
Ulch, the former Head Coach of the Mayhem, looks to build the Renegades roster in the offseason, noting the rugby talent pool in the Lakeland area.
“We got a lot of talent there in Polk county, it just has to be found out.”
Another noteworthy milestone for the new franchise was the selection of players to represent the Renegades in the USARL All-star game to be held in September.
“They are young and talented. And they just need more game time and experience. And this is going to be something cool to watch as they get older and more experienced,” said Ulch.
As for the Mayhem, they look to build on their emphatic win with Justin Branca leading the charge as the team’s top try scorer. In their win over the Renegades, Branca also commented on fullback Jethro Hauser’s performance.
“He was amazing. He came on the line hard, fast, and you can see he blew everybody away with his speed,” said Branca. “We missed him for a lot because he has some military duties. But when he’s here, he’s a game changer and we’re really excited to have him back.”.
The Mayhem will be seeking their first win in two seasons against the Jacksonville Axemen.
“They’re well coached. They’re well disciplined. They got a lot of athletes,” said Branca. “We put a little test to them last week and came up short. So, we’re looking forward to coming up full squad and really putting it together what we can do as a team, and hopefully taking it to the National Championship.”
(Eagle News Service)