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Author: Lief
Date submitted: Februrary 18, 2002

A dramatic turnaround in form enabled San Luis Obispo to score a convincing win over Eagle Rock on Saturday at Riverbottom.

The old adage ‘you play like you practice’ proved true, as several key aspects we worked on during the week were vastly improved from the previous game. Maintaining possession at the breakdown and support play were the two areas that stood out the most.

The game started on a positive note for SLO as we camped out in the Eagle Rock half until hooker Lou Ruscetta took a quick penalty and showed a turn of speed most of us never knew he had – he crashed over the line with three defenders on his back to open the scoring. Soon after, scrumhalf Nick Filice replicated the previous try, taking a quick penalty and catching the defense napping for our second five-pointer. The half-time score ended at 17-0.

Three lapses in concentration by the SLO boys in the second half marred what should have been an emphatic victory. All three lead to soft tries, as Eagle Rock capitalized on a sleeping San Luis defence, in much the same way we had done in the first half. Fortunately, San Luis Obispo were scoring tries as well, as Mike Doig and Lief McKay both crossed for doubles in the second half. The SLO backs ran rampant at times, scoring 5 of the 6 tries on the day, and squandering perhaps a couple more golden opportunities.

Highlights of the game were many, but the standout performance was cagey back Paul Cappellano making his first appearance as blindside flanker. Cappy was ubiquitous, and probably made more tackles in 80 minutes than in the last ten seasons combined. He led the forwards by example, and was ably supported by Lou Ruscetta, Kevin Wolf, Craig Marlo and the entire forward pack. In the backs, Forest Nielsen moved back to flyhalf and played a clever game, and the center pairing of Sean Leamy and Sean Bolduan are building a consistently better combination. Winger Mike Doig looked dangerous every time he touched the ball, but as usual, this wasn’t often enough.

There is still plenty of work to be done this week as we prepare to take on the high-flying South Orange County Gators at Riverbottom.

Score: San Luis Obispo 43 (L Ruscetta try; N Filice try; M Doig 2 tries; L McKay 2 tries, 5 conversions, penalty) defeated Eagle Rock 15

MVP: Paul Cappellano

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