Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 31, 1994 TAG: 9411120045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The club that has dominated the sport in Virginia since 1978 got its 300th victory by winning the Ed and Sandy Lee Cup at Green Hill Park Sunday.
Norfolk, the top seed, won its 15th state title in 17 years by blasting third-seeded Richmond 34-7 in the championship game of the men's club division. Richmond led 7-5 early in the first half before the Blues scored 29 unanswered points. Only twice, in 1989 when it lost to Richmond and last year when the tournament was canceled, has Norfolk not won the Cup. The Blues' club record is 300-94-7.
``It's been a lot of hard work and almost three decades of rugby,'' Blues coach Billy Wilson said. ``We're going to use this as a springboard for the East Coast playoffs next weekend.''
Ironically, Norfolk's 100th and 200th club wins also came with Cup victories. Win No.100 was a 15-11 win over James River for the 1983 title while a 23-6 win over Virginia Beach for the Cup at Norfolk's Lake Taylor High School in 1987 was the 200th victory.
``There was a big emphasis put on winning No.300 this weekend,'' said Blues player David Chapman, who also played on the former Norfolk Rugby Club that won the Virginia Rugby Union State Championships in 1975 and 1976.
Wilson was pleased to see the tournament come to Roanoke County for the first time, although it has been played on his home turf in Norfolk or in Richmond in the past.
``Roanoke [County] did a fantastic job,'' the Blues coach said. ``Everyone here was hospitable. I think it's really great that the city would let us come in here and do something like this.''
Johnny McLean, the President of the Virginia Rugby Union, echoed Wilson's sentiments. McLean, who lives in Roanoke, is the chairman of the Roanoke Rugby Football Club and the Director of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union.
``It's fantastic,'' McLean said of having the tournament in the Roanoke Valley. ``A lot of credit must go to the Roanoke County Parks and Recreation Department, especially Eddie Ford and Bill Thorne. Without their help, we couldn't have done it. You couldn't ask for a better place to play."
Ford, who along with Thorne are the Special Events Coordinators for Parks and Recreation, said the event had a positive economic impact on the Valley and he hoped to get the event again next year.
``We're hoping, but every year you have to go through a bidding process,'' Ford said. ``We'll get with the [Roanoke Rugby Football] club and evaluate from there. Everybody I talk to says they've never been to a nicer site than this.''
But the home team's performance wasn't as positive. Roanoke, seeded second, lost twice in three games and fell in the fifth-place game of the club division 15-5 to Blacksburg.
In the day's best match, Virginia Tech, the West's No.1 seed, won the men's college division 26-20 over Mary Washington, the No.1 seed from the East.
James Madison allowed only one try in three wins and defeated Radford 8-0 in the women's college division final.
Mary Washington's women's team received the Best Sportsmanship award selected by the Virginia Referees' Society.
by CNB