FAMOUS RUGGERS

Famous ruggers

By Wes "Brigham" Clark and Thomas J. Hamill

The way I see it, a game that's been around for as long as rugby has is going to have some famous players. Here are a few.

Prince William and Prince Harry:

Well, of course. William will be king some day; what other sport would be appropriate for a future king? Badminton? An Internet correspondent has this: "Prince William as an Eton Rugby player; he is not that good and is on the third XV; a friend of mine was coaching a Catholic school team against that side and before the game told his players that they would have a chance to tell their grandchildren that they tackled the King, so every time William touched the ball, he would be descended on by the entire team. At the end of the game one of the boys walked up to him, shook his hand, and said 'My mum has a cat named after you. William had no comment.'"

Trevor Rees-Jones:

Princess Diana's bodyguard and the only survivor of the car wreck, which claimed her life. While standing in line at the grocery checkout I saw his picture in a National Enquirer. He's described as playing in a "semi-professional" club in England (Oswestry in Shopshire, perhaps?). The photo indicates he's a lineout jumper.

Bill Clinton:

No doubt rugby has done more for him than he has done for the game. (Or the office of the Presidency, for that matter.) He played in England while a anti-war protestor and part-time student. A rugby site on the Internet maintains that he was a "...rather lumpy, but excellent" second row forward for the Little Rock (Arkansas) Rugby Football Club. However, my source at the Little Rock RFC says he never played for them.

Candace Gingrich:

The sister of the former Speaker of the House. Plays for the Washington Furies.

Boris Karloff:

He founded the Southern California Rugby Football Union in 1935. Neck electrodes or no, I think he must have been a forward, if he played. (I'm not sure he did.) From what I read he was a big cricket fan as well.

Sean Connery:

Played school-boy rugby and his son (Jason?) lived in Minnesota at one time and played for Minneapolis

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Pope John Paul II?:

An Internet site maintains that he played for Poland, but the official Vatican web site has a questions and answers page that addresses this rumor. It says - in answer to a direct question about rugby - that as a youth he played soccer as a goalie. I have to believe the Vatican (in this matter).

Ted Kennedy:

Played for Harvard. According to Jack Olsen in his book, The Bridge at Chappaquiddick: "In one of Harvard's rugby games, against the New York Rugby Club, he carried his own 'little extra effort' a few steps too far, getting into three fights and being ordered to the dressing room. After the game, he apologized to the referee."

From the ytedk.com site, this: "Once back at Harvard, Teddy made the rugby team. During one match in 1954, Ted got into three fistfights with opposing players and was finally thrown out of the game. According to referee Frederick Costick, Teddy was the only player he had ever expelled from a game in 30 years of officiating.

"Rugby is a character-building sport," Costick said. "Players learn how to conduct themselves on the field with the idea that they will learn how to conduct themselves in life. When a player loses control of himself three times in a single afternoon, to my mind, that is a sign that, in a crisis, the man is not capable of thinking clearly and acting rationally. Such a man will panic under pressure."

David Niven:

Such an elegant guy - he must have been a back. He also played a rugger on the screen, I'm told - but I don't know in what film.

Richard Harris:

He also portrayed a rugger in "This Sporting Life."

Jim Baker:

You remember him from Reagan days, perhaps. (Not Jim Bakker, the defrocked priest.) He played at Princeton.

George Allen:

Recent former governor of Virginia, played for Virginia RFC in Charlottesville.

Billy Campbell:

Another former Virginia RFC player; he was "the Rocketeer" in the movie of that name.

Ernesto "Che'' Guevara:

Marxist guerrilla legend in Cuba - he played in Argentina, according to Reuters.

Richard Burton:

One correspondent told me he recalled seeing mention in Rugby World that this famous actor played for Combined Services or the R.A.F. He was Welsh, it doesn't surprise me. Story: When Richard Burton heard that his club team did not have a clubhouse to go back to and had been barred from every pub in the district, he bought them their own pub, where after the match, they and their opponents retired to an upstairs room and could be as noisy as they wished.

John Steed:

Who? You know, the dapper, bowler-hatted Avenger played by Patrick McNee who fought bad guys with Emma Peel (Diana Rigg). In one episode he admitted that he "...played rugger at university." In another episode he reveals that he was a wing three-quarter (#14). I'm sure he also excelled at cricket and darts.

Andy Capp:

The little working-class bloke in the comic strips by Reggie Smythe. He dabbles in football (soccer), rugby (probably league, not union) and snooker. My guess is he plays darts, too.

Dr. John Watson:

In his younger days - long before he met Sherlock Holmes - he played rugger for Blackheath., according to the Sussex Vampire story.

Rugby savant and investigative reporter Thomas J. Hamill adds:
"I came up with the following former rugby players who have made it in the outside world:
Fran Tarkenton - The Hall of Fame quarterback was in a deodorant commercial several years ago playing a scrumhalf. I was not able to find independent confirmation, but I heard several years ago (before the commercial) that he actually played.

Gary Anderson - The Vikings kicker who didn't miss a field goal one season until the Super Bowl was on the line was born in South Africa. His early days kicking a fatter ball have been frequently documented in NFL telecasts.

Chris Farley - Did you notice the Marquette Rugby Jacket in "Tommy Boy?" Chris went to Marquette and played rugby. He showed up at his first practice wearing baggy shorts and a pink polo shirt. During matches he would hike his shorts into sumo mode. Don't we all know one of these? Hmmmm. What position would Chris Farley have played? Let's see.... could it have been... PROP?

Jim Murphy-

Creative partner in Pixar Entertainment and Chris Farley's roommate and team mate at Marquette.

The Wilmington, Delaware Rugby Mafia - For years, the power structure of Wilmington, Delaware and the Wilmington Rugby club were one and the same. Late mayor Dan Frawley played and had the city's minor league stadium named after him. Former mover and shaker (and now convicted murderer) Tom Capano was often identified by his rugby connections prior to his arrest for killing his estranged girlfriend. (Goes to show that we can take our misogyny too far.) The Wilmington connection has been documented several times in Rugby Magazine.

Frank Blee - Maybe a stretch, but the New Jersey assemblyman from Atlantic City was my team mate and a prop at Dickinson College 1978-80.

Roh Tae Woo: President of South Korea; served during 1988 Olympics

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Tony O'Reilly: Chairman of Heinz Foods is a former Irish International and also a former British Lion. From an O'Reilly bio: "A world-class sportsman, Dr. O'Reilly played rugby for Ireland 29 times and for the British and Irish "Lions" team 10 times. He is a member of the Test Series winning British Lions Tour of South Africa in 1955 and of the Tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1959, where he established scoring records on both tours that have remained unbroken." He once told a story of when he played England at Twickenham and found that he had forgotten to bring laces for his boots. No other Irish player had spares so he went to the England dressing room to ask if they had any spare laces. Outside the door he heard the England captain exhorting his players to smash the Irishmen from the bogs and to trample anyone that got in their way. O'Reilly waited until he reached a climax, stuck his head round the door and asked, in a very pronounced Irish accent, if anyone had any hairy twine they could spare for him to tie his boots on.

David Dixon: Offensive guard, Minnesota Vikings (must be something about the Vikings), 6'4", 350-pound former lock from New Zealand. Walked on in junior college, transferred to ASU, and has now had a good career in the NFL. He just signed a four-year, $10 million contract, so he can compare net worth with Jonah Lomu.

Thomas Dolby: When not blinded by science, he played until his hands became too valuable.

Mick Luckhurst: Former NFL kicker had bigger balls in England.

Tom Foley: Pennsylvania Senate candidate and Commissioner of Labor. His playing while doing humanitarian work in Ireland is well documented.

Steve Tasker: Too small to be drafted by the NFL, he took up rugby in the spring of his senior year at Northwestern. From what I understand, they used him at flyhalf. Then the Bills drafted him and he went to about 10 Pro Bowls as a special team specialist.

Andre the Giant: Played as a kid in France.

Ernie Els: Played as a kid in South Africa (if you can believe that) until his gift for golf became apparent.

And one who became famous, then played rugby: Tom Okon: Who? If you're over 30, you know him. The kid in the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial, gets Green's Jersey for a coke. Went on to play High School rugby at Fordham Prep.

Mark Cuban, current owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and founder of broadcast.com (now Yahoo! Broadcast). He supposedly played at Indiana University, where his houseboy was a young man named Rooster. In 2009, Knoxville's Pat Dorwin contacted Cuban through "The Sporting News" and asked him a few rugby questions that Cuban thoughtfully answered in print, well, except he didn't much care for 7s.

TOUR MATCH RECAPS

KNOXVILLE 59 BARBARIANS 10 @ MURRAYFIELD, SCOTLAND

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-McARTHUR
4-JORDAN
5-OEGEMA
6-REYNOLDS
7-DAUGHERTY
8-NIEKERK
9-M DULIN
10-BRADLEY
11-BENNETT
12-LITTLE
13-LAIL
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON

16-SANDMAN
17-BARBER
18-ROGERS
19-ADCOX
20-CUNNINGHAM
21-PEAGLER
22-CLARDY

SCORING: BRADLEY (8 CONV., PK-19 POINTS); BENNETT (2 TRIES); HUSKEY, McARTHUR, JORDAN, OEGEMA, NIEKERK, LITTLE (1 TRY EACH)
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KNOXVILLE 47 EDINBURGH 14 AT NORTHERN PARK (40-7 HALFTIME)

1-HAMPSTEAD (C)
2-SANDMAN
3-McARTHUR
4-CHRISTOPHER
5-ROGERS
6-CUNNINGHAM
7-POWELL
8-ADCOX
9-DULIN (DORWIN @ 40 MINUTES)
10-PEAGLER
11-BENNETT
12-GARMAN
13-EVERETT
14-CLARDY
15-BLALOCK (GODFREY @ 40 MINUTES)

16-MILLER
17-BARBER
18-JORDAN
19-NIEKERK
20-GODFREY
21-BRADLEY
22-DORWIN

SCORING-PEAGLER (TRY, 5 CONVERSIONS, PK-18 POINTS); BENNETT (2 TRIES); EVERETT, CLARDY AND CUNNINGHAM (1 TRY EACH)
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KNOXVILLE 53 GLASGOW 17 @ NORTHERN PARK (36-17 HALFTIME)

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-BARBER
3-McARTHUR
4-CHRISTOPHER
5-CERNE
6-JORDAN
7-POWELL
8-OEGEMA
9-BRADLEY (TO FLYHALF @ 40 MINUTES)
10-DORWIN (BENNETT @ 40 MINUTES TO WING)
11-DULIN (TO SCRUMHALF AT 40 MINUTES)
12-GARMAN (TO WING @ 40 MINUTES)
13-EVERETT
14-CLARDY (PEAGLER AT 40 MINUTES TO CENTER)
15-BLALOCK

16-MILLER
17-HAMPSTEAD
18-NIEKERK
19-PEAGLER
20-GODFREY
21-WILSON
22-BENNETT

SCORING-DORWIN (TRY, PK, 4 CONV.-16 POINTS); EVERETT (3 TRIES-15 POINTS); BRADLEY (TRY, PK, 2 CONV.-12 POINTS); GARMAN AND OEGEMA (1 TRY EACH).
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NOTES: KNOXVILLE TOUR CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY EXPRESSED SOME CONCERN ABOUT HIS TEAM'S DEPTH IN THE BACKS.

"WE PICKED THE TEAM ON ITS VERSATILITY," HUSKEY SAID. "BUT, IN RETROSPECT, IT WAS A BAD DECISION TO BRING ONLY ONE TRUE SCRUMHALF IN MIKE DULIN. OTHER GUYS LIKE MARTY (BRADLEY) AND PAT (DORWIN) HAVE EXPERIENCE THERE, JUST NOT LATELY."

HUSKEY ANNOUNCED THURSDAY, OCT. 29 THE POSSUMS HAD ADDED SCRUMHALF MARK SZYDLO TO THEIR 30-MAN ROSTER AND DROPPED UTILITY BACK DON CLARDY FOR THE UPCOMING TEST VS. SCOTLAND.

"MARK WILL BE ON THE BENCH AGAINST SCOTLAND IN JERSEY NO. 20," HUSKEY SAID. "UNFORTUNATELY FOR DON, A BAD PASS AND A MISSED TACKLE HAD LED TO THE OTHER TEAMS DIRECTLY SCORING TRIES. HE'LL BE BACK LATER, I AM SURE."

HE SAID THE HAMSTRING STRAIN THAT TOOK DORWIN OUT AT THE HALF AGAINST GLASGOW, LEADING TO A NUMBER OF POSITIONAL CHANGES, SHOULD BE FINE FOR THE TEST.
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MURRAYFIELD - On the bright side for the Knoxville Possums: A 57-14 drubbing of the hapless Scots. On a darker note were the potentially serious leg injuries that flyhalf Marty Bradley and fullback Tom Wilson suffered in the Test.

Bradley was injured after taking a low hit away from the ball as the Possums scored a try on the way to a 17-7 lead just 20 minutes in. He had made a long cut-out pass to outside center Ed Everett, who drew the fullback inside and Everett's pass allowed wing Pat Dorwin to cruise in from 35 meters out.

It was Dorwin who got Knoxville, now 4-0 on its tour, on the scoreboard just 3:36 into the match with a juking 65-meter run with Bradley's conversion making it 7-0. Five minutes later, Scottish pressure led to a blocked kick that Alan Henderson gathered to score the first of his two tries.

With 16 minutes gone, Bradley picked up the ball off a ruck and beat the cover to touch down but his conversion hit the post and it was 17-7 on the way to a 24-7 Knoxville lead at the break.

The Possums would outscore Scotland 33-7 over the final 40 minutes behind two tries from flanker John Daugherty - who also helped squelch two skirmishes between the teams with a right hook that felled a Scottish lock while fellow flanker Doug Powell finished off a late hit on Daugherty with a two-punch KO of of Scotland center Rob Henderson.

No cards were handed out.

"We've always given back what we get dished out - with interest," said Possum captain Tyler Huskey. "It's just rugby. We do not take any (expletive deleted)."

But the Possums are taking some scalps on their Circa 1980-2000 Grand Tour, outscoring the Barbarians, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Scots 212-55.

"We've got guys who know how to fnish and A side players that know how to move the ball from No.'s 1 to 22," Huskey said. "Now, our depth will be tested with the trip to Italy."

Knoxville faces two club sides and a Test in Rome before moving on to France for seven matches, including Tests against the French and the All-Blacks.

KNOXVILLE 53 SCOTLAND 14 @ MURRAYFIELD

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-McARTHUR
4-OOGEMA
5-CERNE
6-POWELL
7-DAUGHERTY
8-NIEKERK
9-DULIN (SZYDLO AT 57 MINUTES)
10-BRADLEY (PEAGLER AT 20 MINUTES)
11-BENNETT
12-LITTLE
13-EVERETT
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON (GODFREY AT 57 MINUTES)

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-HAMPSTEAD
18-ADCOX
19-REYNOLDS
20-SZYDLO
21-PEAGLER
22-GODFREY

SCORING: DORWIN AND DAUGHERTY (TWO TRIES EACH); PEAGLER (TRY, TWO CONV.); BRADLEY (TRY, CONV.); WILSON (3 CONV.); POWELL, LITTLE AND DULIN (1 TRY APIECE).
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NOTES: EVERETT (4), BENNETT (4) AND DORWIN (3) ARE THE LEADING TRYSCORERS.

BRADLEY LEADS IN TOTAL POINTS WITH 38 (2 TRIES, 11 CONV., 2 PK), FOLLOWING ARE PEAGLER (27) AND DORWIN (26).
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BRESCIA, ITALY - MOST RUGBY CLUBS ARE GOING TO FEEL CONFIDENT WHEN THEY HOLD THEIR OPPONENTS 20 POINTS BELOW THEIR SCORING AVERAGE.

NOT BRESCIA ON A WINDY AFTERNOON AT THE ARENA CIVICA AGAINST THE STORMING TOUR SIDE FROM THE STATES, THE KNOXVILLE POSSUMS.

OUTSIDE CENTER ROBERT PEAGLER TALLIED 23 OF THE POSSUMS' 33 POINTS - KNOXVILLE HAD AVERAGED 53 IN ITS 4-0 TOUR START - ON THREE TRIES AND FOUR CONVERSIONS.

THE POSSUMS ADAVANCED TO 5-0 WITH THE 33-3 WIN AND AWAIT TREVISO AT THE SAME VENUE BEFORE THE TEST AGAINST ITALY IN ROME.

"ROBERT HAD A SUPER GAME AT SECOND CENTER AFTER WE HAD INITIALLY SLOTTED HIM AT INSIDE CENTER," SAID KNOXVILLE CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY. "WE INITIALLY LIKED HIM NEXT TO FLYHALF ED EVERETT, BUT A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE MATCH, ROBERT SWITCHED POSITIONS WITH BARRY LAIL, WHO IS MORE OF A POWER RUNNER."

IT WAS KNOXVILLE'S ABILITY TO KEEP THE BALL MOVING FORWARD WITH A NUMBER OF INSIDE PASSES BETWEEN BOTH THE FORWARDS AND BACKS, EVENTUALLY OPENING UP HOLES IN THE BRESCIA DEFENSE.

"WE WENT WITH SOME DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS IN THE FORWARDS TODAY AND THEY REALLY CLICKED," HUSKEY SAID.

LAIL'S PASS TO PEAGLER OPENED THE POSSUMS' ACCOUNT 7-0 EIGHT MINUTES IN. BRESCIA KICKED DEEP AND EVERETT FOUND TOUCH WELL INSIDE BRESCIA'S 22 AND A QUICK LINEOUT WAS SPOILED WHEN PEAGLER PICKED OFF THE THROW FOR AN EASY TRY, 12-0.

WING FRANK BENNETT'S RUN DOWN THE RIGHT SIDELINE LED TO A POP PASS TO PEAGLER AND A TRY THAT MADE IT 19-0 JUST 20 MINUTES IN. EVERETT'S GRUBBER SKEWED LEFT OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE POST, ALLOWING THE FLYHALF TO BEAT BRESCIA'S FULLBACK TO TOUCH DOWN.

KNOXVILLE 33 BRESCIA 3 @ ARENA CIVICA (26-0 HALFTIME)

1-SANDMAN
2-BARBER
3-HAMPSTEAD
4-ADCOX
5-CHRISTOPHER
6-REYNOLDS
7-CUNNINGHAM (C)
8-OOGEMA
9-SZYDLO
10-EVERETT
11-BENNETT
12-LAIL
13-PEAGLER
14-GARMAN
15-GODFREY

16-DAUGHERTY
17-HUSKEY
18-NIEKERK
19-POWELL
20-DULIN
21-LITTLE
22-BLALOCK

SCORING: PEAGLER (3 TRIES, 4 CONV., 23 POINTS); LAIL AND EVERETT (1 TRY EACH).
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NOTES: HUSKEY SAID THE LEG INJURIES TO MARTY BRADLEY AND TOM WILSON WEREN'T SERIOUS, THOUGH THEY WOULD LIKELY SIT OUT THE TREVISO MATCH.

"RIGHT NOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT BRADLEY AT FLYHALF, PEAGLER AT INSIDE CENTER AND EVERETT AT OUTSIDE CENTER FOR THE ITALY TEST," HUSKEY SAID. "THEY HAVE BEEN PLAYING WELL AND THIS COULD BE A DYNAMIC COMBINATION COMBINED WITH THE SPEED AND TRYSCORING OF OUR BACK THREE."

HUSKEY EXPECTED MORE LINEUP CHANGES AGAINST TREVISO. "MIKE DULIN AND PAT DORWIN WILL LIKELY SPLIT HALVES AT FLYHALF, WITH MARK SZYDLO AGAIN AT SCRUMHALF," HE SAID. "WE HAD STRONG BENCH AGAINST BRESCIA BUT KEPT THE STARTING 15 IN THE WHOLE MATCH. EXPECT THAT TO CHANGE."
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KNOXVILLE 37 TREVISO 17 @ ARENA CIVICA (22-0, HALFTIME)

1-SANDMAN
2-CUNNINGHAM
3-HAMPSTEAD
4-ROGERS
5-CHRISTOPHER
6-JORDAN
7-ADCOX
8-NIEKERK (C)
9-SZYDLO
10-DORWIN (TO WING @40 MINUTES)
11-BENNETT
12-LITTLE
13-GARMAN
14-DULIN (TO FLYHALF @40 MINUTES)
15-BLALOCK

16-DAUGHERTY
17-McARTHUR
18-OOGEMA
19-POWELL
20-PEAGLER
21-LAIL
22-GODFREY

SCORING: DORWIN (2 PK, 3 CONV., 12 POINTS); DULIN (2 TRIES); GARMAN, ROGERS AND NIEKERK (1 TRY EACH).
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ROME, ITALY - KNOXVILLE GOT OUT TO ITS USUAL QUICK START, BUT IT WAS THE FINAL MINUTE THAT LET THEM DOWN.

ITALY GAVE THE POSSUMS THEIR FIRST TOUR LOSS AFTER A 6-0 START AFTER A STUNNING RETURN OF A CLEARING KICK ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE MATCH TO DEFEAT KNOXVILLE 21-20.

WITH THE ITALIANS KEEPING CONSTANT SECOND-HALF PRESSURE WITH PLENTY OF LINE -BREAKS, KNOXVILLE COULDN'T ADD ANY POINTS TO ITS 20-13 LEAD AT THE BREAK.

"THEY KEPT US ON OUR BACK FEET THE LAST 40 MINUTES," SAID KNOXVILLE CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY. "WE COULDN'T %#$@ING TACKLE."

FLYHALF RAMIRO PEZ CUT THE SCORE TO 20-16 ON A PENALTY KICK WITH A FULL 32 MINUTES LEFT AND ITALY KEPT THE KNOXVILLE DEFENSE BUSY WITH FULLBACK TOM WILSON MAKING TWO TRY-SAVING TACKLES ON THE TOUCHLINE.

ITALY FULLBACK DOMINIC BERTOLUCCI WENT ON A RAMPAGING RUN AFTER KNOXVILLE FLYHALF MIKE DULIN COULDN'T FIND TOUCH AND WENT THE DISTANCE AS THE FINAL HORN BLEW.

THE POSSUMS GOT ON THE BOARD JUST FIVE MINUTES IN WHEN WING PAT DORWIN SCORED AND WILSON CONVERTED AFTER FLYHALF MARTY BRADLEY ALREADY HAD RE-INJURED HIS LEG. WILSON ADDED A PAIR OF PENALTIES TO MAKE IT 13-0 BEFORE PEZ BOOTED TWO OF HIS OWN. WILSON'S TRY MADE IT 20-13 AFTER 40 MINUTES BEFORE ITALY RALLIED IN THE SECOND HALF.

ITALY 21 KNOXVILLE 20 @ ROME (13-20, HALFTIME)

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-McARTHUR
4-ROGERS
5-JORDAN
6-POWELL
7-DAUGHERTY
8-NIEKERK
9-DULIN (TO FLYHALF AT 2 MINUTES)
10-BRADLEY (SZYDLO TO SCRUMHALF AT 2 MINUTES)
11-BENNETT
12-PEAGLER
13-EVERETT
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-HAMPSTEAD
18-OOGEMA
19-ADCOX
20-SZYDLO
21-LAIL
22-GODFREY

SCORING: WILSON (TRY, 2 PK. 2 CONV.-15 POINTS; DORWIN (TRY)
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BOURGOIN, FRANCE - LETTING AN OPPONENT HANG AROUND CAN HAVE EXPLOSIVE CONSEQUENCES AS THE TOURING KNOXVILLE POSSUMS (CIRCA 1980-2000) LEARNED IN THE RECENT 1-POINT TEST LOSS TO ITALY.

THE POSSUMS WERE IN DANGER OF FOLLOWING THE SAME PATTERN AT BOURGOIN. LEADING JUST 20-19 WITH 53:18 TO PLAY, A THREE-TRY BOMBARDMENT FOLLOWED FOR KNOXVILLE AS IT RAN OUT TO A 41-19 WIN TO IMPROVE TO 6-1 ON THE TOUR.

CENTER ROBERT PEAGLER, ONE OF THE OLDER PLAYERS ON AN OLD SQUAD, SCORED 16 POINTS WHILE SOUTH AFRICAN-BORN MIKE JORDAN, PLAYING MOSTLY AT LOCK ON THE TOUR, HAD A STORMING GAME IN THE NO. 7 JERSEY, RIPPING OFF THREE TRIES AND PERFORMING DEMONICALLY ON DEFENSE.

KNOXVILLE 41 BOURGOIN 19 @ BOURGOIN (13-7 HALFTIME)

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-HAMPSTEAD
4-ROGERS
5-CERNE
6-REYNOLDS
7-JORDAN
8-OOGEMA
9-SZYDLO
10-EVERETT
11-BENNETT
12-LITTLE
13-PEAGLER
14-DULIN
15-DORWIN (BY GODFREY AT 29 MINUTES)

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-McARTHUR
18-NIEKERK
19-ADCOX
20-LAIL
21-BLALOCK
22-GODFREY

SCORING: (PEAGLER 2 PK. 5 CONV.-16 POINTS); JORDAN (3 TRIES-15 POINTS); HAMPSTEAD AND DULIN (1 TRY EACH).
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HUSKEY NOTED THE CONTINUED DAMAGE TO BRADLEY'S ANKLE (KNOCKED OUT AFTER JUST TWO MINUTES VS. ITALY) AND DORWIN'S HAMSTRING (REPLACED SHORT OF 30 MINUTES AGAINST BOURGOIN), MAY LEAD TO SOME OF THE "ON CALL" PLAYERS BEING ADDED TO THE SQUAD.

"OR WE MIGHT JUST PUT PINK JERSEYS ON THEM IN PRACTICE SO THEY DON'T 'TWEAK' ANYTHING FURTHER," HE SAID.
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KNOXVILLE 69 CASTRES 7 @CASTRES (42-0, HALFTIME)

1-HUSKEY
2-SANDMAN
3-HAMPSTEAD (BARBER @ 45 MINUTES)
4-CHRISTOPHER
5-CERNE
6-REYNOLDS
7-JORDAN (CUNNINGHAM @ 45 MINUTES)
8-POWELL (ADCOX @ 45 MINUTES
9-SZYDLO
10-EVERETT
11-GARMAN
12-PEAGLER (LAIL @ 45 MINUTES)
13-BENNETT
14-DULIN
15-GODFREY

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-BARBER
18-NIEKERK
19-ADCOX
20-LAIL
21-BLALOCK
22-LITTLE

SCORING: PEAGLER (3 TRIES, PK, 7 CONV., 32 POINTS); GARMAN AND BENNETT (2 TRIES EACH); EVERETT (TRY, CONV.)' LAIL AND JORDAN (1 TRY EACH)
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NOTES: HEADING INTO THE TEST VS. FRANCE, A RAMPAGING ROBERT PEAGLER IS IN TOP FORM. HE LEADS KNOXVILLE IN ALL SCORING CATEGORIES WITH EIGHT TRIES, FOUR PENALTY KICKS AND 17 CONVERSIONS FOR 86
TOTAL POINTS.

ED EVERETT HAS FIVE TRIES WHILE PAT DORWIN, FRANK BENNETT, MIKE JORDAN AND MIKE DULIN HAVE ALL FOUND THE TRY ZONE FOUR TIMES.

DAVE CHRISTOPHER RECEIVED THE FIRST YELLOW CARD OF THE TOUR AGAINST CASTRES.
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AFTER SOME TIME OFF, EXPECT THE POSSUMS TO BE FULLY HEALTHY FOR THE UPCOMING TEST VS. FRANCE, LEAVING THE SELECTORS SOME TOUGH CHOICES.
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KNOXVILLE 41 FRANCE 14 @STADE DE FRANCE (20-7 HALFTIME)


SAINT DENIS, FRANCE - LED BY THEIR PESKY "GNATS," KNOXVILLE HUMBLED A FULL-STRENGTH FRENCH SQUAD IN A TEST MATCH.

SCRUMHALF MIKE DULIN ATTACKED CONSTANTLY OFF THE BASE OF THE RUCK, WING FRANK BENNETT TALLIED TWO TRIES AND WING PAT DORWIN SCORED ONE TRY AND SET UP ANOTHER IN THE COMPREHENSIVE 41-14 WIN THAT PUSHED THE POSSUMS' TOUR RECORD TO 8-1.

"THIS WAS BY FAR OUR MOST ALL-ENCOMPASSING MATCH," SAID PROP AND CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY, WHO ALSO FOUND THE TRY ZONE. "MIKE'S PLAY AT THE BASE OF THE SCRUM ADDED TO SOME FANTASTIC INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE FORWARDS AND BACKS."

JUST EIGHT MINUTES INTO THE MATCH, DULIN PASSED TO DORWIN AND HE JUKED THE FULLBACK TO TOUCH DOWN WITH FULLBACK TOM WILSON'S CONVERSION MAKING IT 7-0. WILSON ADDED A 32-METER PENALTY FIVE MINUTES LATER TO UP KNOXVILLE'S LEAD TO 10-0.

TEN MINUTES LATER, DULIN STARTED A MOVEMENT DOWN THE LINE TO THE LEFT, WITH DORWIN FILLING IN FROM HIS OPPOSITE WING SLOT. HE ALMOST SCORED BUT FLICKED THE BALL TO BENNETT WHILE BEING TACKLED FOR THE TRY TO MAKE IT 17-0.

FLYHALF ED EVERETT WAS TACKLED LATE AND WILSON CONECTED FROM 25-METERS OUT TO UP THE POSSUMS LEAD TO 20-0 WITH 27 MINUTES GONE IN THE OPENING HALF.

AFTER THE BREAK, DULIN WENT TO BENNETT ON THE SHORT SIDE OF THE PITCH, AND HE JUKED INSIDE TO MAKE IT 27-7 BEFORE FRANCE MADE IT 27-14 AFTER A CHRISTOPHE DOMINICI TRY AT THE 50-MINUTE MARK. KNOXVILLE ADDED TRIES AT 67 AND 73 MINUTES.

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-McARTHUR
4-CHRISTOPHER
5-CERNE
6-DAUGHERTY
7-POWELL
8-NIEKERK
9-DULIN
10-EVERETT
11-BENNETT
12-LAIL
13-PEAGLER
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-HAMPSTEAD
18-OOGEMA
19-JORDAN
20-SZYDLO
21-GARMAN
22-LITTLE

SCORING-WILSON 2 PK, 5 CONV., 16 POINTS; BENNETT 2 TRIES; DORWIN, DULIN AND HUSKEY, 1 TRY EACH.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES: HUSKEY SAID OUT-OF-FAVOR FLYHALF MARTY BRADLEY WOULD START THE NEXT MATCH.

"WE NEED TO SEE WHERE MARTY IS IN HIS CONDITIONING," HUSKEY SAID.

HE WOULD NOT COMMENT ON AN IMPENDING DISMISSAL OF AN UNIDENTIFIED PLAYER FOR CONSTANT CURFEW VIOLATIONS, NOR WOULD HE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WINGER FRANK BENNETT, RUMORED TO BE LEAVING THE SQUAD ONCE ITS FRENCH VERSION OF THE TOUR ENDS AFTER MEETING A WOMAN IN PARIS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES: HUSKEY ANNOUNCED TUESDAY NIGHT UTILITY BACK DON CLARDY WAS RECALLED FROM THE PRACTICE SQUAD AT THE EXPENSE OF KEVIN BLALOCK. BACKS JERRY GODFREY AND JIM MURRAY VOLUNTARILY SWITCHED PLACES, WITH MURRAY, A KICKING FULLBACK, ELEVATED TO THE 30-MAN ROSTER. BOB HAMPSTEAD HAD TO RETURN TO THE STATES FOR AN URGENT BUSINESS MATTER AND IS EXPECTED TO RETURN IN 10 DAYS, HIS PROP SPOT WAS TAKEN BY PAUL CURETON.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 21 TOULOSE 9 @ PARC DE PARIS (14-6, HALFTIME)

1-CURETON
2-BARBER
3-SANDMAN
4-ROGERS
5-NIEKERK
6-REYNOLDS
7-JORDAN
8-ADCOX
9-SZYDLO
10-BRADLEY
11-CLARDY
12-LITTLE
13-CUNNINGHAM (C)
14-GARMAN
15-MURRAY

16-HUSKEY
17-MILLER
18-OOGEMA
19-POWELL
20-DULIN
21-DORWIN
22-LAIL

SCORING: MURRAY 3 CONV.; GARMAN, JORDAN AND OOGEMA, 1 TRY EACH
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW ZEALAND 20 KNOXVILLE 14 @ STADE DE FRANCE (10-14, HALFTIME)

SAINT DENIS, FRANCE - KNOXVILLE GOT OFF TO ITS USUAL FAST START - TOUCHING DOWN A TRY LESS THAN TWO MINUTES INTO THE TEST AGAINST NEW ZEALAND - BUT IT ALL WENT FOR NAUGHT IN A SCORELESS SECOND HALF AS THE ALL-BLACKS POSTED AN EXCITING 20-14 WIN.

THE POSSUMS GRAND TOUR SAW ONLY THEIR SECOND DEFEAT AGAINST NINE WINS - THE OTHER LOSS BY A SINGLE POINT WHEN ITALY SCORED ON THE FINAL PLAY OF THE MATCH.

GETING KNOXVILLE GOING EARLY WAS EIGHTMAN DOUG POWELL, WHO SCOOPED UP A LOOSE BALL AND OUTPACED THE ALL-BLACKS FROM 55 METERS OUT. FULLBACK TOM WILSON'S CONVERSION MADE IT 7-0 JUST 1:46 INTO THE TEST.

NEW ZEALAND STRUCK BACK MINUTES LATER WHEN SCRUMHALF BYRON KELLEHER DOTTED DOWN AFTER THE ALL-BLACKS BLITZED THE POSSUMS' TRY LINE. DAN CARTER'S CONVERSION TIED THE SCORES AT THE 4:19 MARK.

THERE WAS PLENTY OF LINE BREAKS AND POTENTIAL TRIES OVER AN ACTION-PACKED NEXT DOZEN MINUTES AND KNOXVILLE MADE GOOD WITH A LOOSE BALL WHEN BARRY LAIL SNARED IT AND PASSED DOWN THE LINE TO POWELL, RICK OOGEMA AND WING FRANK BENNETT, WITH HIS SCORE MAKING IT 14-7 ONLY 16 MINUTES IN.

BUT IT WOULD BE THE LAST TIME THE POSSUMS COULD DENT THE SCOREBOARD. CARTER'S PENALTY CUT KNOXVILLE'S LEAD TO 14-10 AT THE BREAK.

THE POSSUMS WOULD COLLAPSE A MAUL AT 55 MINUTES AND THE REFEREE AWARDED A PENALTY TRY THAT CARTER CONVERTED TO GIVE NEW ZEALAND ITS FIRST LEAD AT 17-14. BOTH TEAMS KEPT ATTACKING BUT LINE BREAKS WERE SNUFFED OUT BY BOTH TEAMS' BACK THREE.

CARTER'S PENALTY AT 70 POINTS ACCOUNTED FOR THE FINAL POINTS OF THE MATCH.

"WE PLAYED THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD TO A VIRTUAL STANDSTILL," SAID KNOXVILLE CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY. "I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF THESE GUYS. WE DOMINATED POSSESSION AND TERRITORY FOR MUCH OF THE MATCH BUT JUST COULDN'T BREAK THROUGH THE ABs DEFENSE WHEN WE NEEDED TO."


1-HUSKEY (C)
2-MILLER
3-McARTHUR
4-OOGEMA
5-NIEKERK
6-DAUGHERTY
7-JORDAN
8-POWELL
9-DULIN
10-EVERETT
11-BENNETT
12-LAIL
13-PEAGLER
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-CURETON
18-CHRISTOPHER
19-ADCOX
20-SZYDLO
21-BRADLLEY
22-LAIL

SCORING: POWELL AND BENNETT, 1 TRY EACH; WILSON 2 CONV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: HUSKEY SAID THE 15 KNOXVILLE PUT ON THE PITCH AGAINST NEW ZEALAND GAVE HIS TEAM THE BEST CHANCE TO TOPPLE THE ALL-BLACKS.

"WE MOVED BRIAN (NIEKERK) INTO A LOCK POSITION AND HAD A BACK ROW OF FLANKERS JOHN DAUGHERTY AND MIKE JORDAN WITH DOUG POWELL AT EIGHTMAN," HUSKEY SAID. "THOSE THREE ARE NOT THE BULKIEST PLAYERS, BUT ALL OF THEM ARE DEADLY TACKLERS AND STRONG STRIKE RUNNERS."

HUSKEY SAID HE EXPECTS NIEKERK BACK AT NO. 8 AS THE TOUR MOVES INTO ENGLAND THIS WEEK.

"HE MAY EVEN GET A GAME AT INSIDE CENTER AS WELL," SAID HUSKEY, ADDING PROP BOB HAMPSTEAD IS DUE BACK FROM A BUSINESS METING IN THE STATES FOR THE UPCOMING TOUR LEG IN ENGLAND, BUT WOULDN'T ELABORATE ON WHETHER HAMPSTEAD'S REPLACEMENT PAUL CURETON WOULD FALL BACK TO THE PRACTICE SQUAD, WHICH JUST ADDED TWO PLAYERS IN PHIL HOPSON (SCRUMHALF) AND GREG BROYLES (SCRUMHALF/FLYYHALF).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 33 PERPIGNAN 22 @PERPIGNAN (26-14, HALFTIME)

1-CURETON
2-CUNNINGHAM
3-SANDMAN
4-OOGEMA
5-CERNE
6-REYNOLDS
7-MILLER
8-ADCOX
9-SZYDLO
10-BRADLEY (C)
11-BENNETT
12-GARMAN
13-WILSON
14-CLARDY
15-DORWIN

16-BARBER
17-JORDAN
18-CHRISTOPHER
19-POWELL
20-DULIN
21-EVERETT
22-LITTLE

SCORING: CLARDY 3 TRIES; ADCOX 2 TRIES AND BRADLEY 4 CONV.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: SUNDAY'S MATCH MARKED THE DEBUT FOR GREG BROYLES, WHO STARTED AT INSIDE CENTER AND SCORED A TRY. CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY SAID HOOKER FRANK BARBER WAS SENT HOME TO THE STATES TO GET A STAPH INFECTION TREATED.

HUSKEY ALSO SAID BUSINESS MATTERS WOULD KEEP PROP BOB HAMPSTEAD BUSY UNTIL THE END OF THE TOUR AND PROP PAUL CURETON WOULD REPLACE HIM UNTIL THE TOUR ENDS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 31 NORTHHAMPTON 0 @ MAJESKI STADIUM (17-0, HALFTIME)

READING, ENGLAND - NEW COUNTRY, SAME RESULT.

IT WAS BUSINESS AS USUAL SUNDAY ON THE KNOXVILLE POSSUMS GRAND TOUR. THE START OF THE ENGLISH LEG SAW THE TEAM UP ITS MARK TO 12-2 OVERALL WITH A 31-O THRASHING OF NORTHHAMPTON.

FULLBACK JIM MURRAY CONVERTED ALL FOUR OF KNOXVILLE'S TRIES AND ADDED A PENALTY KICK. POSSUM TRYSCORERS WERE BARRY LAIL (2) DEBUTANTE GREG BROYLES AND MIKE GARMAN.

KNOXVILLE PLAYS BRISTOL AT THE STOOP BEFORE A TEST AGAINST THE ENGLISH AT TWICKINGHAM.

1-HUSKEY (C)
2-SANDMAN
3-McARTHUR
4-ROGERS
5-CERNE
6-DAUGHERTY
7-ADCOX
8-NIEKERK (POWELL @63 MINUTES)
9-DULIN (SZYDLO @63 MINUTES)
10-BRADLEY
11-GARMAN
12-BROYLES
13-LAIL
14-CLARDY (DORWIN @63 MINUTES)
15-MURRAY

16-CUNNINGHAM
17-POWELL
18-JORDAN
19-DORWIN
20-SZYDLO
21-EVERETT
22-LITTLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 38 BRISTOL 3 @THE STOOP (17-3, HALFTIME)

LONDON - IF THE ENGLISH THOUGHT THE TOURING KNOXVILLE POSSUMS WERE LOOKING AHEAD TO THE TEAMS' UPCOMING TEST, THEY WERE DEAD WRONG.

KNOXVILLE, 13-2 ON ITS TOUR, DEMOLISHED BRISTOL 38-3 AT THE STOOP TUESDAY NIGHT IN FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND SNOW FLURRIES. THE ROUT CAME ON THE HEELS OF A 31-0 ROMP OVER NORTHHAMPTON.

"OUR DEPTH AND EXPERIENCE ARE DEFINITELY SHOWING," SAID CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY, WHO WATCHED THIS ONE FROM THE STANDS.

THE POSSUMS DEFTLY TOUCHED DOWN THREE FIRST-HALF TRIES IN THE RIGHT CORNER OF THE TRY ZONE FOR A 17-3 LEAD AT THE BREAK.

1-CURETON
2-MILLER
3-SANDMAN (C)
4-ROGERS
5-NIEKERK
6-POWELL (DAUGHERTY @59 MINUTES)
7-ADCOX
8-CERNE
9-SZYDLO
10-PEAGLER
11-BENNETT
12-LITTLE
13-CLARDY
14-GARMAN
15-DORWIN (MURRAY @59 MINUTES)

16-JORDAN
17-DAUGHERTY
18-CHRISTOPHER
19-MURRAY
20-CUNNINGHAM
21-EVERETT
22-LAIL

SCORING: PEAGLER 4 CONV.; BENNETT 2 TRIES; LITTLE, POWELL, GARMAN AND CERNE, 1 TRY EACH.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: HUSKEY SAID HE THOUGHT THAT EVERY PLAYER WHO WOULD START THE TEST AT TWICKENHAM SAW ACTION IN THE TWO GAMES. ASKED IF HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT ENGLAND'S BACK ROW SIZE, HUSKEY SCOFFED AND SIMPLY SAID, "NO," ALTHOUGH 6-5, 260-POUND STEVE CERNE GOT HIS FIRST START AT N0. 8 AGAINST BRISTOL. CERNE NORMALLY STARTS AT LOCK WITH 6-5 AND 250-POUND BRIAN NIEKERK AT EIGHTMAN, ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE KNOXVILLE BACK ROW HAS EXPERIENCE AT THE BACK OF THE SCRUM.

ASKED IF THE ENGLISH MEDIA WAS PORTRAYING THE SIDE FROM THE STATES AS OVERRATED, HUSKEY REPLIED: "I HAVE NO IDEA. I ONLY LOOK FOR THE (BASEBALL) BOX SCORES."

KNOXVILLE IS A CONVERTED PENALTY TRY AND A 1-POINT DEFEAT ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE MATCH FROM BEING UNDEFEATED.

WEATHER WON'T BE A FACTOR AS THE TWICKENHAM GROUNDS HAVE BEEN COVERED. ENGLISH MEDIA SPECULATED ON THE FOLLOWING 15 FOR KNOXVILLE:

1-HUSKEY
2-SANDMAN
3-McARTHUR
4-OOGEMA
5-JORDAN
6-DAUGHERTY
7-POWELL
8-NIEKERK
9-DULIN
10-EVERETT
11-BENNETT
12-LAIL
13-PEAGLER
14-DORWIN
15-WILSON

"THEY'RE CERTAINLY UNDERSIZED AT THE WINGS, WITH BENNETT (5-8) AND DORWIN (5-6)," WROTE THE LONDON POST'S NIGEL TUFNEL. "THE FLANKERS ARE WIRY BUT EXCELLENT TACKLERS WHILE THE LOCKS (RICK OOGEMA-CANADA AND MIKE JORDAN-SOUTH AFRICA) OFFER INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE, AND THAT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE." HE PREDICTED A 20-17 KNOXVILLE WIN, BUT SAID ENGLAND COULD RUN RAMPANT IF ITS BACK THREE CAN BREAK SOME TACKLES.

THAT LINEUP WOULD DISPLACE HOOKER RYAN MILLER FOR THE BULKIER SCOTT SANDMAN. STEVE LINK (FLANKER) WAS TO JOIN THE PRACTICE SQUAD THURSDAY AFTER PROP STEVE "WILDMAN" MOORE ALLEGEDLY LIVED UP TO HIS NAME, REPORTEDLY BRAWLING WITH THREE BOBBIES DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS MONDAY. MOORE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED PENDING THE MULTIPLE CHARGES.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BY NIGEL TUFNEL
LONDON POST
SPORTSWRITER

LONDON - IT WAS 1998 ALL OVER AGAIN FOR ENGLISH RUGBY THURSDAY NIGHT.

WHILE IT WAS IN AUSTRALIA MORE THAN A DECADE AGO THAT ENGLAND SUFFERED ITS HEAVIEST DEFEAT EVER (76-0), THE MATCH AT TWICKENHAM BROUGHT BACK SOME OF THOSE DARK MEMORIES AS THE TOURING KNOXVILLE POSSUMS RAMBLED OUT TO A 42-0 LEAD AT THE HALF ON THE WAY TO A 63-14 THUMPING.

WING PAT DORWIN (FIVE TRIES) AND FULLBACK TOM WILSON (TRY, NINE CONVERSIONS) COMBINED FOR 48 OF THE VICTORS' POINTS.

THE POSSUMS (14-2 TOUR RECORD) CAME OUT FIRING AS DORWIN BROKE AWAY FROM 65 METERS OUT TO TOUCH DOWN WITH WILSON'S CONVERSION MAKING IT 7-0 JUST 3:01 INTO THE MATCH.
DORWIN NOW HAS 1O TRIES ON THE TOUR.


"PAT PLAYED AN EXCELLENT MATCH," SAID CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY. "WE HAD THOUGHT ABOUT MOVING HIM TO NO. 11 TO MATCH UP WITH JASON ROBINSON INSTEAD OF THE MORE PHYSICAL JOSH LEWSEY. GLAD WE LEFT THAT DECISION IN THE MEETING ROOM."

INDEED.

A LITTLE MOE THAN THREE MINUTES LATER, OUTSIDE CENTER ROBERT PEAGLER TOOK A PASS WEAK FROM A SCRUM, DREW IN THE DEFENSE AND PASSED TO DORWIN FOR A 45-METER TRY.

KNOXVILLE WOULD REGAIN ITS POINT-A-MINUTE PACE AT 20 MINUTES IN WHEN FLANKER DOUG POWELL BROKE TWO TACKLES AND GRUBBED INTO THE TRY ZONE, FALLING ON THE BALL FOR A 21-0 KNOXVILLE LEAD.

"JUST A GREAT INDIVIDUAL EFFORT BY DOUG," HUSKEY SAID.

SCRUMHALF MIKE DULIN FOUND TOUCH ABOUT EIGHT METERS FROM THE ENGLISH GOAL - AND A BRAIN FREEZE CAUSED A QUICK-THROWIN. THE RECEIVER WAS NAILED, TURNED AND STRIPPED OF POSSESSION WITH THE PASS SPUN QUICKLY TO WING FRANK BENNETT TO MAKE IT 28-0.

KNOXVILLE EIGHTMAN BRIAN NIEKERK HOOFED A LONG PUNT DOWN THE PITCH, PEAGLER RECOVERED AND WENT ON A LONG RUN BEFORE THE COVER CAUGHT HIM. SCRUMHALF MIKE DULIN QUICKLY DUG THE BALL FROM THE RUCK, PASSING BACK TO NIEKERK FOR THE TRY, 35-0 AT 36:55 INTO THE HALF.

ENGLAND, FOR REASONS KNOWN ONLY TO COACH MARTIN JOHNSON, KEPT BOOTING POSSESION AWAY. A LINEOUT WENT QUICKLY THROUGH POSSUM PLAYERS' HANDS TO WILSON, WHO JUKED IN FROM 70 METERS OUT, 42-0, AT THE BREAK.

DULIN STARTED THE BALL DOWN THE LINE TO DORWIN FOR A TRY AT 54 MINUTES THAT MADE IT 49-0 BEFORE LEWSEY GRABBED A CONSOLATION TRY AND ANOTHER
TALLY HAD THE SCORE AT 49-14.

DORWIN'S FINAL TRY WAS A FLUKE AS THE MATCH CAME TO A END. CENTER BARRY LAIL TRIED TO BOOT THE BALL INTO TOUCH
AFTER THE HORN SOUNDED. THE BALL SKEWED OFF LAIL'S LEFT FOOT AND DORWIN SOMEHOW RACED THROUGH THE COVER TO TOUCH DOWN IN THE RIGHT CORNER.


KNOXVILLE 63 ENGLAND 14 @TWICKENHAM (42-0, HALFTIME)

SCORING: DORWIN (FIVE TRIES); WILSON (TRY, NINE CONVERSIONS); BENNETT, NIEKERK AND POWELL, 1 TRY EACH.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KNOXVILLE SCORING (16 GAMES)

PEAGLER-8 TRIES, 21 CONV., 4 PK-92 POINTS

DORWIN-10 TRIES, 7 CONV., 3 PK-73 POINTS

WILSON-2 TRIES, 21 CONV., 4 PK-63 POINTS

BENNETT-10 TRIES-50 POINTS

BRADLEY-2 TRIES, 15 CONV., 2 PK-46 POINTS

TRIES-EVERETT-5, JORDAN-5, GARMAN-5, DULIN-5, LAIL-4, CLARDY-4, POWELL-4, OOGEMA-3, LITTLE-3, NIEKERK-3, HUSKEY-2, DAUGHERTY 2, ADCOX-2, McARTHUR-1, CUNNINGHAM-1, ROGERS-1, HAMPSTEAD-1, BROYLES, 1, CERNE-1

MURRAY-7 CONV., 1 PK-17 POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE POSSUMS GRAND TOUR

IN TRYING TO DRUM UP SOME INTEREST IN FOLKS GOING TO THE BLOG, I TOOK MY EA SPORTS "RUGBY 1998" GAME AND REPLACED THE USA WITH POSSUMS, ADDING EACH PLAYER TO THE GAME AND CALCULATING THEIR SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES.

GUESS I MADE OUR ATTRIBUTES A LITTLE TOO HIGH, AS THE POSSUMS DOMINATED - AND I AM NOT GOOD AT PLAYING THE GAME. FOR A LONG TIME, THE TOP 30 IN THE TOURING PARTY AND THOSE ON CALL WERE LISTED ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT SIDEBAR - AND IT WAS IN GENERAL CONSENSUS WITH MOST ALL-TIME POSSUM TEAM VOTES

I POSTED STUFF ON FACEBOOK, BUT NOBODY SEEMED INTERESTED AND I LOST MY SPARK IN FINISHING IT WHEN MY PS3 CRASHED AND ALL THE PLAYER DATA WAS LOST.

THE TOUR WAS SET TO DEPART AFTER OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY AND TOUR THE SIX NATIONS WITH A NUMBER OF TESTS.

***

THE KNOXVILLE POSSUMS (CIRCA 1980-2001) OPENED THEIR GRAND TOUR WITH A 59-10 THRASHING OF THE BARBARIANS AT MURRAYFIELD, SCOTLAND.

IT TOOK KNOXVILLE JUST 90 SECONDS TO FIND THE TRY ZONE, WITH WING FRANK BENNETT SCORING THE FIRST OF HIS TWO TRIES. FLYHALF MARTY BRADLEY (19 POINTS) KICKED THE FIRST OF EIGHT STRAIGHT CONVERSIONS.

TODD LITTLE FOLLOWED MOMENTS LATER WITH A SCORE IN THE SAME CORNER AS THE POSSUMS EVENTUALLY JUMPED OUT TO A 28-3 LEAD IN THE WIN. JAMES HOOK (WALES) HAD A PENALTY KICK WHILE NEW ZEALAND SCRUMHALF JUSTIN MARSHALL SCORED WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT ON THE PLAYSTATION 2 RUGBY 2008 SIMULATION.

"THIS WAS CERTAINLY A TOUGH WAY TO OPEN AN AMBITIOUS TOUR," SAID KNOXVILLE CAPTAIN TYLER HUSKEY. "WE HAVE A 30-MAN ROSTER AND PLENTY OF OTHERS IN CONTENTION TO PLAY."

KNOXVILLE SCHEDULE

*VS BARBARIANS AT MURRAYFIELD, SCOTLAND--59-10

VS EDINBURGH AT NORTHERN PARK--41-14

VS GLASGOW AT NORTHERN PARK--53-17

*VS SCOTLAND AT MURRAYFIELD--53-17

VS BRESCIA AT BRESCIA, ITALY--33-3

VS TREVISO AT ARENA CIVICA--37-17

*VS ITALY AT ROME--20-21

VS BOURGOIN AT BOURGOIN--41-14

VS CASTRES AT CASTRES--69-17

VS CLERMONT AT CLERMONT-canceled

* VS FRANCE AT STADE DE FRANCE--41-14

VS TOULOUSE AT PARC DE PARIS--21-9

*VS NEW ZEALAND AT STADE DE FRANCE--14-20

VS PERPIGNAN AT PERPIGNAN--33-22

VS NORTHHAMPTON AT MADJESKI STADIUM, ENGLAND--31-0

VS BRISTOL AT THE STOOP--38-3

*VS ENGLAND AT TWICKENHAM--63-14

TOUR HALTED

VS WORCESTER AT ADAMS PARK

VS LONDON WASPS AT FRANKLIN'S GARDENS

VS SARACENS AT RECREATION GROUND

*VS SOUTH AFRICA AT TWICKENHAM

VS LONDON IRISH AT WORCESTER SIXWAYS

VS NEC HARLEQUINS AT VICARAGE ROAD

*VS FIJI AT MEMORIAL STADIUM

VS LEINSTSER AT LEINSTER, IRELAND

VS ULSTSER AT ULSTER

*VS IRELAND AT LANDSDOWNE ROAD

VS MUNSTER AT IRISH PARK

*VS BARBARIANS AT LANDSDOWNE ROAD

VS CARDIFF AT CARDIFF, WALES

VS LLANELI AT LLANELI

*VS WALES AT MILLENIUM STADIUM

VS NEWPORT-GWENT AT NEWPORT

*VS SAMOA AT WEST GLAMORGAN

VS WORCESTER AT KINGSTON PARK, ENGLAND

*VS AUSTRALIA AT TWICKENHAM

*VS URUGUAY AT KINGSHOLM PARK

*VS CANADA AT WEXFORD ROAD

*VS NEW ZEALAND AT TWICKENHAM

VS PARIS AT STADE DE PARIS

*VS USA AT MILLENIUM STADIUM

*VS SOUTH AFRICA AT MILLENIUM STADIUM


*-INDICATES TEST MATCH

SEASON RESULTS

FALL 1992
MOUNTAIN CUP
BLACKSBURG, VA.

KNOXVILLE 16 RICHMOND 5
KNOXVILLE 63 RADFORD 0
KNOXVILLE 10 BLACKSBURG 23
--------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 26 HUNTSVILLE 52
KNOXVILLE 17 LEXINGTON 24
KNOXVILLE 89 TENNESSEE TECH 0
TRIES: RICH HOLLAND-4 (REPLACED AT HALF)

MID-SOUTH TOURNAMENT
HUNTSVILLE

KNOXVILLE 10 NASHVILLLE 32 (HALF 3-3)
KNOXVILLE 42 FT. CAMPBELL 0
KNOXVILLE 32 CHATTANOOGA 7
------------------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 20 CHATTANOOGA 18


SPRING 1993
KNOXVILLE 33 AUGUSTA O

KNOXVILLE 10 HUNTSVILLE 33
KNOXVILLE B 13 HUNTSVILLE 12

SAVANNAH (BLIZZARD OF '93)

KNOXVILLE 3 NEW YORK DAC 0
KNOXVILLE 7 CAPE FEAR 5
KNOXVILLE 0 OTTAWA 35
------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 38 BLACKSBURG 0

NASH BASH
KNOXVILLE 46 U. OF MICHIGAN 12
KNOXVILLE 20 U. OF WINDSOR 12
---------------------------------------

KNOXVILLE 20 CHATTANOOGA 28

KNOXVILLE 8 CHARLOTTE 20

KNOXVILLE 30 RENEGADES 0

KNOXVILLE 29 CHATTANOOGA 8

KNOXVILLE 24 ASHEVILLE 12

KNOXVILLE 39 QUEEN CITY 10

KNOXVILLE B 38 QUEEN CITY B 5


FALL 1993
4TH ANNUAL MOUNTAIN CUP IN BLACKSBURG
SEPT. 4
KNOXVILLE 58 RICHMOND RATS 0
TWO TRIES APIECE FROM TOM WILSON AND PAT DORWIN IN WHAT WAS ALMOST A POINT-A-MINUTE SHOWING IN THE 60-MINUTE MATCH.

KNOXVILLE 26 ASHEVILLE 7

SEPT. 5
KNOXVILLE 31 BLACKSBURG 10
POSSUMS BROKE AWAY FROM 5-3 LEAD AT THE HALF TO WIN THE FINAL.

SEPT. 11
KNOXVILLE 38 CHATTANOOGA 5

SEPT. 25
KNOXVILLE 5 DAYTON 43
KNOXVILLE B 10 DAYTON 0

SEPT. 26
KNOXVILLE 21 LEXINGTON 23

OCT. 3
KNOXVILLE 50 VANDERBILT 9
KNOXVILLLE B 43 VANDERBILT 0

OCT. 9
KNOXVILLE 24 ASHEVILLE 12

MID-SOUTH TOURNAMENT AT KNOXVILLE
OCT. 16
KNOXVILLE 15 HUNTSVILLE 25

OCT. 17
KNOXVILLE 38 CHATTANOOGA 10
KNOXVILLE 15 JOHNSON CITY 12

OCT. 30
KNOXVILLE 21 JOHNSON CITY 13

NOV. 6
KNOXVILLE 8 AUGUSTA 13

NOV. 13
KNOXVILLE 0 HUNTSVILLE 40
KNOXVILLE B 12 HUNTSVILLE 5



SPRING 1994
KNOXVILLE 11 ASHEVILLE 12
KNOXVILLE B 17 ASHEVILLE 0

KNOXVILLE 3 NASHVILLE 27

KNOXVILLE B 7 NASHVILLE 39

KNOXVILLE 30 BLACKSBURG 8
KNOXVILLE B 16 BLACKSBURG/CHATTANOOGA 19

SAVANNAH (MUCH WARMER)
KNOXVILLE 38 DAYTONA 3
KNOXVILLE 7 MARYLAND EXILES 30-TRY BY GREGG GIDDISH
KNOXVILLE 7 AUGUSTA 12

NASH BASH
KNOXVILLE 15 MEMPHIS OLD #7 20
KNOXVILLLE 14 ST. LOUIS RAMBLERS 32


KNOXVILLE 6 QUEEN CITY 10
KNOXVILLE B 18 QUEEN CITY 5

DOGWOOD TOURNAMENT
KNOXVILLE 12 GREENEVILLE 5
KNOXVILLE JOHNSON CITY

FINAL
KNOXVILLE 26 UT 8

FALL 1994
VS. ASHEVILLE W 46-26; SEPT. 17
TRIES: PAT DORWIN-2, KEVIN BLALOCK, MARTY BRADLEY, SCOTT CALDWELL, DON CLARDY, DOUG POWELL AND ANDY KLAEHN-1 EACH

VS. JOHNSON CITY W 57-0; SEPT. 10
TRIES: RICH HOLLAND-2

AT CHATTANOOGA W 8-7; SEPT. 17 (MARTY HAD REPORTED THIS AS A 5-7 LOSS IN MARSUPIAL MAGAZINE, BUT A CHECK OF THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL SHOWED A 1-POINT KNOXVILLE WIN) TRY-DON CLARDY, PENALTY KICK-BRIAN NIEKERK

AT CHATTANOOGA W 23-7; SEPT. 17
TRIES-FRANK BENNETT, GREGG GIDDISH, JODY MUNIZ; CONVERSIONS-BRIAN NIEKERK-2; PENALTY KICK-NIEKERK

AT ROANOKE L 18-19

AT MEMPHIS OLD #7 L 0-22

AT MEMPHIS OLD # 7 B L 0-17

AT MEMPHIS DRY GULCH W 24-14

MIDSOUTH TOURNAMENT
VS. HUNTSVILLE W 41-12
VS. NASHVILLE L 15-35
VS. LEXINGTON W 45-20


AT JOHNSON CITY L 20-32

SPRING 1995
KNOXVILLE 15 CHATTANOOGA 14
KNOXVILLE B 5 CHATTANOOGA 15

KNOXVILLE 53 JOHNSON CITY 0

KNOXVILLE 34 ASHEVILLE 12
TRIES: DON CLARDY-3; SCOTT CALDWELL AND PAT DORWIN-1 EACH; CONVERSIONS: MARTY BRADLEY 3; PENALTY KICK: BRADLEY
KNOXVILLE B 7 ASHEVILLE B 15


NASH BASH
KNOXVILLE 62 GRAND RAPIDS 3
TRIES: TOM WILSON-4, TYLER HUSKEY-3, AND MARK ALTOONIAN AND MARTY BRADLEY-1 EACH; CONVERSIONS: BRADLEY-5, OSCAR DOSTER; PENALTY KICK: BRADLEY

NOTE: WILSON'S FOUR TRIES TIE HIM WITH KEVIN BLALOCK
(POSSUM DEBUT) AND RICH HOLLAND (IN JUST THE
FIRST HALF) FOR
THEMODERN-DAY TRY-SCORING MARKS, ALTHOUGH NASHVILLE'S AJAX WILLIAMSON SCORED SIX AS A KNOXVILLE GUEST PLAYER IN THE DOGWOOD AGAINST BLACKSBURG. PAT DORWIN HAD FOUR VS. WESTERN SUBURBS (WASHINGTON, D.C.)N AT CAPE FEAR, BUT NEVER MANAGED A HAT TRICK 15s. HE BOTCHED ANOTHER FOUR-TRY 7s MATCH IN NASVILLE VS. AUBURN, WHO OPENED THE MATCH KICKING HIGH TO KNOXVILLE'S LEFT. BRIAN NIEKERK EASILY OUTJUMPED THE DEFENDER AND TAPPED IT BACK E
PERFECTLY TO DORWIN. CATCHING ON A GOOD ZIP, HE BLEW PAST ONE DEFENDER AND IMMEDIATELY CHIPPED OVER THE ONCOMING C0VER, SNAGGING A PERFECT BOUNCE TO DOT DOWN 10 SECONDS INTO THE MATCH. LATER HE DROPPED THE EASIEST TRY IN THE WORLD

KNOXVILLE 22 LEXINGTON 0


DOGWOOD TOURNAMENT
KNOXVILLE 22 HUNTSVILLE ?
TRIES: KEVIN BLALOCK-2 AND STEVE CUNNINGHAM; CONVERSIONS: MARTY BRADLEY-2; PENALTY KICK-BRADLEY

KNOXVILLE 22 FINDLAY 23

KNOXVILLE 20 CHATTANOOGA 12 (THIRD PLACE)
TRIES: SCOTT CALDWELL, DON CLARDY, DON HENNESSEY AND MARTY BRADLEY


KNOXVILLE 24 QUEEN CITY 22
KNOXVILLE B 19 QUEEN CITY 5

SPRING 1996

FEB. 24
GREENEVILLE  26-5
KNOXVILLE 24 GREENEVILLE 21

MARCH 2
KNOXVILLE 8 CHATTANOOGA 5
KNOXVILLE 32 UTC 0

MARCH 9
ASHEVILLE CANCELED

MARCH 16
DAYTON 7 KNOXVILLE 0
DAYTON 10 KNOXVILLE 7

MARCH 23-24

WISCONSIN PAGANS 20 KNOXVILLE 15
KNOXVILLE 19 MEMPHIS OLD #7 17

MARCH 30
KNOXVILLE 17 LEXINGTON 17


APRIL 13-14
DOGWOOD TOURNAMENT-


FALL 1996

AUG. 31-SEPT 1
MOUNTAIN CUP
VS. BLACKSBURG L 0-19
VS UNITED (RICHMOND) L 12-15

SEPT. 7
VS. JOHNSON CITY A W 41-10
B (12s) W 23-22

SEPT. 14
VS. LEXINGTON W 34-3
STEVE CUNNINGHAM SCORED A HAT-TRICK

SEPT. 21
VS. GREENEVILLE CANCELED

SEPT. 28
VS. ASHEVILLE W 42-0
THREE TRIES FOR BRIAN NEIKERK
B (10s) W 26-0

OCT. 12-13
MID-SOUTH TOURNEY AT HUNTSVILLE
VS. HUNTSVILLE L 25-32
VS. FORT CAMPBELL L 8-12

OCT. 19
VS. CHATTANOOGA W 33-15
FIRST WIN OVER THEM IN LAST THREE SEASONS

OCT. 26
VS. QUEEN CITY W 76-0


SPRING 1997
FEB. 15
AT NASHVILLE L 10-36

FEB. 22
AT JOHNSON CITY A L 5-7
B SIDE W 19-5

MARCH 8
VS. CHATTANOOGA Bs W GAZILLION-0

MARCH 22
AT CHATTANOOGA L 6-7

APRIL 5-6
DOGWOOD TOURNAMENT
VS. JOHNSON CITY W 34-7

VS. FINDLAY, OHIO W 22-0

CHAMPIONSHIP
VS. GREENEVILLE W 17-16
-----BEGINNING OF A STRONG RIVALRY STARTED WITH DOGWOOD FINAL WIN

APRIL 12
VS ROANOKE W 21-20
-----LUCKY WIN AS PAT DORWIN, PLAYING FULLBACK FOR LIKE-AGED ROANOKE, CHIPPED OVER STEVE CUNNINGHAM AND ANOTHER POSSUM, PICKED UP THE BOUNCE AROUND MID-FIELD AND TOUCHED DOWN
AT THE LEFT POST WITH MINUTES TO GO. UNFORTUNATELY, ROANOKE DID NOT HAVE A KICKER THAT COULD EVEN MAKE THAT KICK AND BRIAN NIEKERK'S LONG-DISTANCE PENALTY WITH SECONDS LEFT WON IT.


FALL 1997
AUG. 12
AT CAPE FEAR W 17-10

SEPT. 6
VS. BLACKSBURG W 28-5

SEPT. 13
AT HIGH COUNTRY L 15-28

SEPT. 20
VS. CHATTANOOGA W 63-7

OCT. 4
AT QUEEN CITY W 53-7

OCT. 5 AT KELTS W 47-10

OCT. 11
VS. GEORGIA W 56-10

OCT. 18
JOHNSON CITY AT MID-SOUTH W 65-5

OCT. 19
U. OF MEMPHIS AT MID-SOUTH W 34-7

NOV. 8
VS. GREENEVILLE L 10-12

SPRING 1998

FEB. 21-22
MARDI GRAS TOURNAMENT

ARLINGTON, TEXAS W 30-10
OZARK LAU SIDE W 15-6
AUSTIN HUNS W 23-3
LSU OLD BOYS L 22-22
LOST 3-1 IN A KICKOFF AFTER 10-MIN. OT

FEB. 28
NASHVILLE L 13-18
QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST PHYSICAL GAME EVER PLAYED AT THE FORKS

MARCH 7
AT CHATTANOOGA W 27-3
FORWARD-DOMINATED PLAY

MARCH 14 W
10 PLAYERS ON AN ASHEVILLE/JOHNSON CITY COMBO SHOWED

MARCH 21
AT DAYTON L 5-22
A VERY STRONG DIV. II TEAM

APRIL 18
MIDWEST DIVISION III QUARTERFINAL
AT FLINT W 48-5
A BIG, FAT THANK-YOU TO THE MIDWEST RFU FOR ALL THE TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

MIDWEST DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP
SEMIFINAL
MAY 2 AT CHICAGO
VS. KELLOGG W 27-5
SEEMED TO BE A CONFIDENT BUNCH ... UNTIL THE MATCH STARTED

FINAL
MAY 3
VS. BREMER COUNTY, IOWA W 20-12
DIVISION III CHAMPIONS !!!!

CLUB AWARDS

1991
MVP-MARTY BRADLEY
CLUB MEMBER-FRANK BARBER
MVP NEW PLAYER-STEVE ROADS
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR-DAVE CHRISTOPHER
WHINEY HINEY-BOB BROWDER/OSCAR DOSTER

1992
MVP-MARTY BRADLEY
CLUB MEMBER-MARTY BRADLEY
NEW PLAYER-MIKE DULIN
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR-GREGG GIDDISH
WHINEY HINEY-TIM CHAMBERS


1993
MVP-MARTY BRADLEY
CLUB MEMBER-BRIAN NIEKERK
NEW CLUB MEMBER-SCOTT SANDMAN
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR-WAYNE CRAVENS
CLUB AWARD-NICKNAME/LOGO OF THE YEAR BY RUGBY MAGAZINE/SENT BY PAT DORWIN


1994
MVP-MARTY BRADLEY
CLUB MEMBER-BRIAN NIEKERK
NEW CLUB MEMBER-TYLER HUSKEY
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR-RICHARD HOLLAND
WHINEY HINEY-JACK GEIBIG


1996
MVP-TYLER HUSKEY
CLUB MEMBER-BRIAN NIEKERK
NEW CLUB MEMBER-BILL McARTHUR, JOHN DAUGHERTY
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR-ERIC BOOTH
WHINEY HINEY-TYLER HUSKEY


1997
MVP-JOHN DAUGHERTY
CLUB MEMBER-TYLER HUSKEY
NEW CLUB MEMBER-KENNY CHRISTIAN/MARK SZYDLO
WHINE HINEY-JOHN DAUGHERTY


1998
MVP-JOHN DAUGHERTY
CLUB MEMBER-ED EVERETT
NEW CLUB MEMBER-RON SILVER
WHINEY HINEY-PAUL CURETON

2005
MVP-MATT NOSS
CLUB MEMBER-RYAN MILLER
ROOKIE-COREY CASON
MOST IMPROVED-COREY CASON
WHINEY HINEY-SCOTT ADCOX, ROBERT PEAGLER

ALL-TIME BEST QUOTES

FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, MARTY BRADLEY BROUGHT US "MARSUPIAL MAGAZINE," DESCRIBED AS A PERIODICAL DEDICATED TO THE LIFE AND TIMES OF POSSUM RUGBY.

"SELDOM GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT, BUT ALWAYS POLITICALLY CORRECT."

AS MARTY SAID, THE MAGAZINE OFTEN WROTE ITSELF DUE TO OUR OWN ANTICS AND THE RUNNING OF OUR MOUTHS - THE BEST QOUTES FOLLOW.

"SHUT YOUR CAKE HOLE."
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP."
"THAT SURE WAS A NICE RADAR DETECTOR."
----VARIOUS THINGS DOUG BROWN SAID TO BOB BROWDER TO TRY AND PISS HIM OFF DURING THEIR SUPPORT IN MILWAUKEE OF THE KARS.


"THIS IS THE LAST ONE OUT OF A 12-PACK AND THE BEER STORE CLOSES IN FIVE MINUTES."
----RUMOR HAS IT THAT THIS IS WHAT STEVE MOORE TOLD THE OFFICER THAT PULLED HIM OVER ON THE 4TH OF JULY FOR DOING 80 IN A 55 MPH ZONE. HE GOT OUT OF THE TICKET.

"HE IS JUST CLEARING THE COB WEBS OUT OF HIS HEAD."
"I HOPE HE BROUGHT A PUSH BROOM."
----A CONVERSATION BETWEEN BRIAN NIEKERK AND STEVE CUNNINGHAM ON WHY TOM WILSON WAS SITTING BY HIMSELF UNDER A TENT AT CAPE FEAR.

"MY KIT BAG SURE IS HEAVY. I DIDN'T THINK I PACKED THAT MUCH."
----MIKE DULIN, NOT REALIZING DOUG BROWN HAD TAKEN ALL HIS CLOTHES OUT OF THE BAG AND FILLED IT WITH SAND FROM WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH.

"I'M SURPRISED SOMEONE HASN'T SHOT HER FOR HER PELT."
----REX WOLFE, COMMENTING ON THE APPEARANCE OF A GIRL IN THE NEXT CAR ON THE INTERSTATE DURING A TRIP TO CHARLOTTE.

"REX WOLFE IS THE FINEST DAUGHTER THAT MY FATHER EVER RAISED."
----KEN WOLFE, REX'S BROTHER, TO THE KARPS IN FT. WALTON.

"YOU BOYS HERE FOR A SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT?"
----BRIAN NIEKERK, TO THE KALAMAZOO SEVENS TEAM THE NIGHT BEFORE THE KARS BEAT THEM IN THE FINALS IN CLEVELAND.

"I'M GOING TO TAKE A PICTURE OF HER BUTT, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE'RE A RUGBY TEAM."
----JOHN GRAHAM, TO THE YOUNG LADY'S BOYFRIEND ON FT. WALTON BEACH AS HE PHOTOGRAPHED HER SHOWERING THE SAND OFF HER BODY.



"I CAN'T STAY AND PLAY IN THE SECOND GAME. I HAVE TO GO HOME AND PUT THAT SECOND COAT OF VARNISH ON THE FLOOR."

"I WHIPPED INTO A PARKING LOT OF A ROADSIDE BAR, RAN BEHIND THE BUILDING AND INTO THE WOODS, THEN FELL ASLEEP ON A ROCK PILE."

"SINCE WE ONLY HAVE 13, IT'S A GOOD THING WE BROUGHT GUYS WHO DON'T PASS ANYWAY."

"FAT, DRUNK AND STUPID IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE."


"JUST SAVE ME A SHRED OF DIGNITY."


"I HAVE TO GO RELIEVE THE WIFE."


"I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN ANYONE KNOCKED DOWN BY A RUGBY BALL BEFORE. THAT BALL REALLY KICKED HIS BUTT!"
-----FEMALE SPECTATOR IN SAVANNAH AFTER WAYNE CRAVENS WAS FLAILED TO THE GROUND WHILE TRYING TO CATCH A ROUTINELY KICKED BALL.

"HE SURE IS HIGH MAINTENANCE. I WISH I HAD HAIR THAT NICE."
-----A GROUP OF GIRLS DURING A SUNNY AFTERNOON AT THE FORKS.

"HE'S SICK TODAY, SO HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COME OUT AND PLAY."
-----SPOUSE OF A PLAYER IN ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING EXCUSES FOR NOT SHOWING UP FOR A MATCH. NEWSFLASH - HURT FEELINGS AND BRUISED EGOS HAVE NEVER BEEN OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED ILLNESSES BY HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS.

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME AGAIN?"
-----MARTY INTRODUCING HIMSELF TO THE GUY THAT WAS ABOUT TO PUT THE THIRD STITCH BELOW HIS EYE ON A PARK BENCH IN SAVANNAH. SINCE THE GUY HAD BEEN WORKING ON HIS FACE FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES, IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE LATE TO BE CONCERNED WITH HIS NAME, MEDICAL TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE.

"THE MAN WITH THE BLUE NOSE SPEAKS THE TRUTH."
----AFTER JODY MUNIZ COUGHED UP THE CONDOM IN CINCINNATI, SCOTT SANDMAN PAINTED HIS FACE WITH POOL ROOM CHALK.


"OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY!"
-HEARD ON THE FIELD MORE TIMES THAN ON COMEDY CENTRAL

"IF YOU DON'T COUNT PAT, OUR AVERAGE AGE ON THIS SIDE IS ABOUT 24."

PLAYER 1-"I AM SO EMBARRASSED TO PLAY FOR THIS TEAM THE WAY YOU GUYS ACTED... "
PLAYER 2 TO PLAYER 3-"WASN'T HE ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO START FIGHTING?"


OVERHEARD WHILE WATCHING THE REPLAY OF MATCHES AT THE MID-SOUTH TOURNAMENT....
"I REMEMBER THAT PLAY. THAT'S THE MAUL WHEN I REALLY SMEARED PAT DORWIN."
"I GUESS YOU WOULD CALL THAT A PAT SMEAR THEN WOULDN'T YOU ..."

"@#$% IT. JUST %$#@ IT, I'LL BE SOCIAL CHAIRMAN AGAIN."

"YOU MISQOUTED ME IN THE LAST NEWSLETTER. I NEVER SAID THEY HAD TO BE YOUNG, JUST DRUNK ..."

"WHEN IS THAT THING GOING TO POP, LITTLE MAMA?"
-A VERY UNIQUE WAY OF ASKING A PREGNANT LADY WHEN SHE IS DUE.


"I'M SPENT. THE ONLY THING THAT IS GOING TO SWELL ON ME TONIGHT IS MY KNEE."

"WE ARE LEAVING IN 11 MINUTES."


"THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I EVER MOVED BECAUSE I WANTED TO AND NOT BECAUSE THEY ASKED ME TO."

"I DON'T HAVE TO THROW UP, I JUST WANT TO."
-----JUST ANOTHER IN A LONG LIST OF STRANGE PRE-GAME RITUALS FOR A POSSUM.

"DON'T EVER PLAY THAT MAN IN MY PRESCENCE AGAIN."
-----A COACH OVERHEARD AT THE DOGWOOD OBVIOUSLY DISSATISFIED WITH A PLAYER.

"IF I COULD GET UP, I'D KICK YOU IN THE ASS - WITH MY GOOD LEG, OF COURSE."


"TOM MAY HAVE MOVED, BUT WE STILL HAVE SOMEONE TO CARRY ON THE TRADITION OF WEARING A SPEEDO ON THE BEACH ..."

"SERIOUSLY, THAT WAS THE BEST REFFED GAME THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. BUT, I'VE ONLY SEEN THREE GAMES."

DRUNK PLAYER - "IM NOT GOING, I'M STILL IN MY UNDERWEAR."
SOBER PLAYER - "DON'T WORRY, YOU'RE INVISIBLE."

"I JUST HAD TO HELP AN OLD GAY MAN OUT ..."

"IT'S 40 DEGREES OUTSIDE, FOR GOD'S SAKE WILL SOMEONE TELL HIM TO PUT A SHIRT ON."

"WHAT D'YA MEAN I DON'T SUPPORT YOUR SYSTEM? I GO TO COURT WHEN I HAVE TO ..."

"I SAID I MIGHT GO TO MARDI GRAS ... M-I-T-E!"

RESPONSE NO. 1-FLINT, MICHIGAN
RESPONSE NO. 2- PLAYING RUGBY
RESPONSE NO. 3-SOME GREAT BIG SOBs.....
-------ANSWERS TO QUESTION USED TO EVALUATE A HEAD INJURY TO A FLINT PLAYER. YOU CAN GUESS THE QUESTIONS.

"I'LL WHIP EVERYBODY HERE!"
"MAYBE NOT ..."
-------INTOXICATED PATRON AS HE WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR OF A LOCAL WATERING HOLE, NOT REALIZING THE BAR WAS FULL OF CELEBRATING POSSUMS.

"WE REALLY HAVE TO STEP UP OUR RECRUITING. I'M SURE THERE ARE A LOT OF EX-FOOTBALL PLAYERS OUT THERE THAT ARE JUST SITTING AROUND WITH NOTHING ELSE TO DO BUT BEAT THEIR WIVES ..."
-------STRANGE WAY TO GET A GUY PLAY RUGBY - AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

KARNAK THE MAGNIFICENT
HE KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING ...
-------DESCRIBE TUNA TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET.

PRIMAL FEAR...
-------WHAT YOU FEEL WHEN YOU ARE RIDING IN A CAR WITH KARL BEHIND THE WHEEL.

PREMATURE EJACKULATION...
-------WHAT IT'S CALLED WHEN EVERYBODY THOUGHT JACK GEIBIG WAS GOING TO WIN THE WHINEY HINEY.

SACRILICIOUS...
-------WHAT DO YOU CALL TOM WILSON DROOLING OVER YOUNG CATHOLIC GIRLS.

ART REYNOLDS' FINGER...
-------NAME THE ONLY THING THAT GET'S PULLED MORE OFTEN THAN PAT DORWIN'S HAMSTRING.


"ISN'T IT IRONIC ... FOR THE LONGEST TIME WE HAD A VERY STRONG CLUB BUT STRUGGLED AS A TEAM; NOW, WE HAVE A VERY STRONG TEAM BUT STRUGGLE AS A CLUB."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T WASH ME FEET? I STAND IN THE SHOWER EVERY MORNING!"

"I WAS GOING TO BUY A COPY OF 'THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING,' AND THEN I THOUGHT: WHAT THE HELL GOOD WOULD THAT DO?"

"SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE, HE PULLED HIS HAMSTRING AGAIN."

"WHINEY EDDIE?"

"NOTHING WILL CUT A TOURNAMENT SHORT LIKE GOING TO JAIL ..."

HEARD AROUND THE BURN BARREL AFTER SANTA CLAUS 7s: "WOMEN ... IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE VAGINAS, WE'D BE THROWIN' ROCKS AT 'EM."

HEARD ON THE SIDELINES DURING AN U23 MATCH: "THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT - WATCHING OUR FUTURE WHILE WE DRINK AWAY OUR PAST."

"ALL THOSE PEOPLE WANT TO DO IS GO TO CHURCH," SCOTT SANDMAN ABOUT WHERE HE LIVES, HEARD ON THE SIDELINES DURING THE 2010 UT OLD BOYS GAME. A FEW MINUTES LATER, BOB HAMPSTEAD WAS SHOWING SCOTT THE 30th ANNIVERSARY BOOK. "IT EVEN HAS FANTASY (RUGBY) IN THE REAR," BOB INFORMED HIM.
"ISN'T THAT WHERE THEY (FANTASIES) ALL ARE?" SCOTT REPLIED.

"STUPID BITCH! SHE GAVE ME DIRECTIONS AND I FORGOT EM'!"
- TOM WILSON - WHEN ASKED BY STEVE LINK WHERE THE NEXT TURN WAS WHILE LOOKING FOR THE POST MATCH PARTY.

"I'VE HAD HER" - DOUG BROWN - WHEN LINK POINTED OUT A BABE AT THE TAP ROOM - DOUG HAD A POLE POSITION FOR ELBOW SEX THAT NIGHT AND AS IT TURNED OUT HIS ELBOW HAD ALREADY EXPERIENCED MOST OF THE GIRLS IN THE BAR!

"_________________ FROM HELL!" INSERT ANY SUBJECT MATTER IN THE BLANK - WILDMAN.

"BALLS ON MAD MAN!" - RICK ??? LAST NAME? - WILD MAN HAD THE BALL IN A MAUL AND NO ONE KNEW WHO RICK WAS TALKING ABOUT.

"I CAN TELL YOUR SINGLE - NOTHING IN THE FRIDGE BUT A SIX PACK AND A STICK OF BUTTER" - FRANK BARBER REFERRING TO STEVE LINK'S LACK OF PANTRY AND FRIDGE SNACKS.

CLUB OFFICERS

1991
PRESIDENT-FRANK BARBER
VP-BOB BROWDER
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-BOB HAMPSTEAD
MATCH SEC.-TIM CHAMBERS
SOCIAL CHAIR-BUCK ROGERS
CAPTAIN-MARTY BRADLEY
CO-CAPTAIN-BRIAN NIEKERK


1992
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-PAT DORWIN
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
MATCH SEC.-HARRISON AMBROSE
SOCIAL CHAIR-FRANK BARBER
CAPTAIN-MARTY BRADLEY
CO-CAPTAIB-MIKE DULIN



1993
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-PAT DORWIN
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
MATCH SEC.-SCOTT SANDMAN
CAPTAIN-MARTY BRADLEY
CO-CAPTAIN-SCOTT SANDMAN



1994
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-PAT DORWIN
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
MATCH SEC.-PAT DORWIN
SOCIAL CHAIR-JODY MUNIZ
CAPTAIN-TYLER HUSKEY
CO-CAPTAIN-MARTY BRADLEY





1995
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-PAT DORWIN
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
SOCIAL CHAIR-DAVE CHRISTOPHER
MATCH SEC.-PAT DORWIN
CAPTAIN-TYLER HUSKEY
CO-CAPTAIN-MARTY BRADLEY





1996
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-ERIC BOOTH
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
SOCIAL CHAIR-RYAN MILLER
MATCH SEC.-DOUG BROWN
CAPTAIN-TYLER HUSKEY
CO-CAPTAIN-STEVE CUNNINGHAM




1997
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-ERIC BOOTH
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
SOCIAL CHAIR-MARK CLENDENEN
MATCH SEC.-DOUG BROWN
CAPTAIN-TYLER HUSKEY
CO-CAPTAIN-STEVE CUNNINGHAM

1998
PRESIDENT-BRIAN NIEKERK
VP-GREG BROYLES
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-TUNA
SOCIAL CHAIR-MARK CLENDENEN
MATCH SEC.-DOUG BROWN
CAPTAIN-TYLER HUSKEY
CO-CAPTAIN-STEVE CUNNINGHAM

2000
PRESIDENT-ED EVERETT
VP-GREG BROYLES
SEC.-MARTY BRADLEY
TREASURER-RYAN MILLER
SOCIAL CHAIR-MARK CLENDENEN
MATCH SEC.-PAT DORWIN
CAPTAIN-BILL McARTHUR
CO-CAPTAIN-SCOTT ADCOX

2007
PRESIDENT-SCOTT ADCOX
VP-RYAN MILLER
CAPTAIN-MATT NOSS
TREASURER-JAY McNABB
SOCIAL CHAIR-BRYAN WHITE
SEC.-HEATH HILDRETH
MATCH SEC.-ADAM INGLE

POSSUMS 7s HISTORY

FROM THE 1982 WORLD'S FAIR TOURNAMENT, TO HOSTING THE TENNESSEE 7s TOURNAMENT FOR MORE THAN 30 STRAIGHT YEARS, TO CONSECUTIVE APPEARANCES IN THE OPEN DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AT CAPE FEAR IN THE 1990s, KNOXVILLE HAS ALWAYS FARED WELL IN THE SHORTER VERSION OF RUGBY.

BRIAN NIEKERK FORMED THE KNOXVILLE AREA RUGBY SELECTS (KARS) IN THE EARLY 1990s, LEADING TO A NUMBER OF STRONG TOURNAMENT SHOWINGS. THE KNOXVILLE AREA RUGBY PARTY SELECTS (KARPS) CAME INTO BEING AS WELL.

1992
CHARLOTTE
2-2

FT. WALTON BEACH
3-1 CONSOLATION BRACKET CHAMPS

TENNESSEE 7s
APRIL 18
ELVIS @ THE OPRY BEAT A STRONG UT TEAM IN THE CUP FINAL.

SOUTHEASTERN 7s ATLANTA
KARS WENT 5-1 TO WIN OPEN DIVISION OVER ELDER WHITE, AVENGING ONLY LOSS.

MURFREESBORO
JUNE 20
KARS STARTED 2-0, THEN LOST TO ELVIS @ THE OPRY 13-10 AND 12-10 TO HUNTSVILLE.

NASHVILLE
JULY 11
THE KARS GOT OFF TO A PERFECT START VS. AUBURN WHEN BRIAN NIEKERK TAPPED A SHORT KICKOFF BACK TO A CHARGING PAT DORWIN, WHO CHIPPED OVER THE DEFENSE, CAUGHT HIS KICK AND TOUCHED DOWN. DORWIN FINISHED WITH A HAT TRICK IN THE ROUT, DROPPING A FOURTH TRY IN-GOAL. THE KARS FOLLOWED WITH WINS OVER NASHVILLE II, MOOSEMEN AND UT TO FINISH THIRD WITH THEIR ONLY LOSSES COMING AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION (NASHVILLE) AND RUNNER-UP BIRMINGHAM. THAT DID EARN THE KARS AN AT-LARGE INVITATION TO THE MIDWEST RFU TOURNEY JULY 25.

MIDWEST 7s CHAMPIONSHIP
CLEVELAND, JULY 25
AFTER DROPPING GAMES TO THE CLEVELAND ROVERS 12-0 AND PITTSBURGH HARLEQUINS 12-6, IT WAS TWO AND DONE FOR THE KARS. THE WEEKEND WAS COMPLETE WITH POKER, THE WORST HOTEL ROOM EVER AND AN INDIANS GAME IN WHICH THE FIRST 15,000 PEOPLE THROUGH THE GATES GOT A COMPLIMENTARY COLLECTIBLE PIN - PAT DORWIN WAS APPARENTLY FAN NO. 15,001.


1993
QUEEN CITY 7s
CHARLOTTE
MAY 22
WE STILL SEEMED LOCKED INTO THE 15s MODE, TYPICAL OF OUR EARLY-SEASON 7s PLAY. WE WENT 2-2, INCLUDING A 24-12 LOSS TO CHARLOTTE, WHO FELL IN THE FINALS TO KANSAS STATE, OUR OTHER LOSS. WE BEAT TRIAD 49-0 AND STOPPED COLUMBIA EASILY AS WELL. PAT DORWIN BROKE HIS THUMB BUT PLAYED ON THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, MOSTLY THEN FOR THE KARPS.

ROVERS 7s
CLEVELAND
JUNE 5
THE ROLLING CASINO VAN GOT IN ABOUT 1 A.M. AND WE STARTED THE DAY SLOWLY, FALLING 17-14 TO CLEVELAND. WE OUTCLASSED BOWLING GREEN 26-5 AND KEVIN BLALOCK'S LATE TRY GAVE US A 12-10 WIN OVER THE CLEVELAND ROVERS.
WE FINISHED SECOND IN OUR POOL AND FACED THE TOP-SEED FROM THE OTHER POOL IN THE SEMIS. THE CLEVELAND CATS JUMPED OUT TO A 15-7 LEAD BUT MIKE DULIN PICKED UP HIS POP KICK AND SCORED FROM 70 METERS OUT, THEN PICKED UP THE BALL FROM BEHIND THEIR SCRUM AND RACED IN FOR THE WINNING TRY. WE STOPPED KALAMAZOO 7-0 IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP TO QUALIFY FOR MILWAUKEE.




STONES RIVER 7s TOURNAMENT
MURFREESBORO
JUNE 19
KARS LOST TO MEMPHIS OLD #7 IN EXTRA TIME IN THE SEMIS, THEN DESTROYED MTSU FOR THIRD PLACE. THE KARPS HAD FUN, AIDED BY TWO BARE-FOOT SOUTH AFRICANS.

CAPE FEAR
JULY 3-4
THE KARS LOST TO ROANOKE IN THE SEMIS SUNDAY TO FINISH 4-1.

TENNESSEE 7s
KNOXVILLE
JULY 10
THE KARS WERE STOPPED BY CAMP LEJUENE IN THE SEMIS OF THE OPEN DIVISION. THE KARPS SWEPT THROUGH THE CONSOLATION DIVISION FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.
CLEVELEAND BEAT THE MARINES IN THE OPEN DIVISION FINAL WHILE MTSU TOPPED UT IN THE QUALIFIER DIVISION.

MIDWEST RFU 7s
CHAMPIONSHIP-MILWAUKEE
JULY 24-25
KNOXVILLE 12 STEEL VALLEY 12
KNOXVILLE 14 QUAD CITY 12
KNOXVILLE 12 METRO 21
KNOXVILLE 7 KALAMAZOO 28

1994
THE POSSUMS SCORED ON OF THEIR GREATEST TRIES EVER IN NASHVILLE. OFF A LINEOUT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PITCH, FLYHALF PAT DORWIN TOOK A LONG PASS ON THE RUN AND BOOTED LONG AND DEEP TO TOUCH ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FIELD.

DORWIN HUSTLED ACROSS THE PITCH, TOSSED A LONG LINEOUT, THE BALL WAS WORKED LEFT, THEN BACK RIGHT WITH ALL POSSUMS HAVING A TOUCH. DORWIN SWITCHED WITH KEVIN BLALOCK AND HE CUT BACK LEFT TO THROW A BEHIND THE BACK PASS TO STEVE CUNNINGHAM, WHO DOTTED DOWN.

1995

THE KARS REACHED THEIR PINNACLE WITH A CLUB-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION WIN OVER THE PHILADELPHIA MAVERICKS.

AFTER AN OPENING 5-0 LOSS TO DAYTON, THE POSSUMS REELED OFF FIVE STRAIGHT VICTORIES, HIGHLIGHTED BY SUNDAY'S SEMIFINAL ROUT OVER NEMESIS LOUISVILLE.

THE POSSUMS OPENED SUNDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT BY SURPRISING TOP-SEEDED EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY AS EXPERIENCE WON OUT OVER YOUTH.

"IN THE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO, YOU'D OFTEN SEE TWO OR THREE ECU PLAYERS LYING ON THE GROUND AS WE PUNCHED IN ABOUT SIX TRIES," SAID PAT DORWIN, THAT WEEKEND'S SCRUMHALF.

LOUISVILLE WAS UP NEXT.

"THEY WERE TO OUR 7s TEAM WHAT NASHVILLE WAS TO OUR 15s TEAM FOR MANY YEARS," DORWIN SAID. "BUT NOT THAT DAY."

TOM WILSON AND DORWIN EACH SCORED A PAIR OF TRIES AS KNOXVILLE TALLIED A 49-14 ROUT.

"IT WAS THE BEST 7s GAME I WAS EVER INVOLVED WITH THE KARS," SAID DORWIN, WHO COMBINED WITH ANDY CLEARY TO SCORE 11 OF THE POSSUMS' 18 TRIES ON THE WEEKEND.

"TOM WILSON DROP-KICKED CONVERSIONS ON 16 OF THOSE SCORES, SO THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY A HUGE FACTOR," DORWIN SAID. "WE HAD SIZE IN PROPS BRIAN NIEKERK AND STEVE ROADS, SAVVY WITH HOOKER STEVE CUNNINGHAM AND ANDY, SPEED WITH WING FRANK BENNETT AND MYSELF AND A DO-IT-ALL PLAYER WITH TOM AT CENTER."

KNOXVILLE STOPPED PHILLY 14-10 IN THE FINAL.

1996

THE KARS RETURNED TO THE CLUB DIVISION FINAL THE FOLLOWING YEAR, BUT RAN INTO A STRONG TEAM IN METRO (MINNEAPOLIS), FALLING 26-5 IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

"METRO WAS LED BY FLYHALF THOR BOLSTAD, A 7s AND 15s MIDWEST RFU SELECT SIDE PLAYER FOR MANY YEARS AT THAT POSITION," SAID DORWIN.

POSSUM CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

KNOXVILLE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME APPEARANCES

1998 MIDWEST DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP

CHICAGO

SEMI-FINAL

KNOXVILLE 27 KELLOGG 5

TRIES: JOHN DAUGHERTY (2), MARK SZYDLO (2), BILL McARTHUR; CONVERSION, ED EVERETT

CHAMPIONSHIP

KNOXVILLE 20 BREMER COUNTY 12

TRIES: PAT DORWIN, FRANK BENNETT, ED EVERETT AND DOUG POWELL

Possums take down Dogwood championship
April 7, 1997

The trophy stayed home.

Knoxville edged Greenville, S.C., 17-16 in the final of the Dogwood Tournament, held April 5 and 6, 1997.

Six teams competed in the two-pool tourney. In Bracket One, Knoxville stomped Johnson City 34-7 before the Possums shut out Findlay, Ohio, 22-0. In the second pool, Greenville romped Chattanooga 47-0 and beat Toledo 20-13.

Final

Ten minutes into the championship, with the pitch softened by a morning rain, Knoxville center Todd Little scored a try and lock Brian Niekerk converted for a 7-0 Knoxville lead.

Greenville flyhalf Rich Cobb booted two penalties to one by Niekerk to bring the halftime score to 10-6 in Knoxville’s favor.

The second half started with Knoxville prop Tyler Huskey bursting up the middle for a 25-meter try that Niekerk converted to put the Possums in front 17-6.

Cobb was knocked out of the game and wing Greg Blinston moved to flyhalf. He promptly slotted a penalty to bring the Griffins within eight points at 17-9.

A try by Greenville wing Lynn Moore, converted by Blinston, tightened the scoreline to 17-16.

The Griffins pressured late on a scamper by scrumhalf Tom Liddle, but a Knoxville player alertly kicked the ball away when no support arrived for Liddle after he was tackled and set the ball.


Knoxville Greenville
Huskey (C) 1 Little
Miller 2 Courtney
McArthur 3 J. Roberts
Cerne 4 Haywood
Niekerk 5 Speaks
Daugherty 6 Van Evera
Cunningham 7 Lecroix
Powell 8 D. Roberts (C)
Hopson 9 Liddle
Broyles 10 Cobb*
Bennett 11 Moore
Little 12 Howland
Koroa 13 Clardy
Dorwin 14 Blinston
Braswell 15 Quirk

*replaced by Jackson
Ref: Craig Kartiganer

Final-play ‘Header’ gives Greenville win over Knoxville
Monday, April 15, 1996

A “Rooster” got kicked in the head – and the Possums ended up dead.

Greenville, S.C., defended its Dogwood Tournament title in bizarre fashion, scoring on the last play of the game when a kicked ball bounced off the face of a Knoxville player into the try zone where Griffin No. 8 Dan Roberts fell on it for the easy game-winning try.

The tourney was held at Forks of the River Park April 13 and 14, 1996.

Prelims

In opening round play, Toledo, Ohio, struck first against Knoxville when former U.S. Eagle Rich Schurfeld slashed in from his fullback position to score a converted try.

The Possums rallied with tries by Frank Bennett and Jack Geibig, coupled with two penalty kicks and a conversion from fullback Kevin Blalock to pull away for an 18-7 win.

In its second match, Knoxville broke away from a 6-6 tie with Columbia, S.C., to run out to a 30-6 win. Doug Powell tallied a pair of tries and Blalock finished with half of the Possums’ points on a try, two penalties and a couple of conversions.

Greenville punished Chattanooga and then handled Findlay, Ohio, in a rematch of the 1995 Dogwood Tourney final to reach Sunday’s championship contest.

Final

Knoxville pressured early and were rewarded when flyhalf Marty Bradley nailed a penalty kick to put the Possums up 3-0. Greenville scrumhalf Butch Setzer followed with a penalty of his own to knot the scores at 3-3.

The Possums had a terrific opportunity to score a try when wing Pat Dorwin tossed a lineout to himself, dummied with trailing flanker Oscar Doster to slow the defense, then passed long to mid-field but a knock-on stymied the sure score.

Bradley then added a penalty but off the restart Geibig was whistled for shepherding and Setzer’s penalty made it 6-6 at the half.

Both teams threatened in the second stanza, but numerous Knoxville penalties nullified territorial gains.

Bradley and Setzer, whose angled conversion gave Greenville a 15-14 win over Findlay in the 1995 Dogwood Tourney, traded penalty kicks as it was 9-9 with just a minute left in the match.
A poor Greenville cross-kick went to Knoxville wing Mike Weldon, who set up a maul. The ball was spun to Bradley, whose clearing kick bounced backward off the face of retreating hooker Ryan “Rooster” Miller.

Roberts, Greenville’s captain, was behind the play but alertly knew there was no offside law to be broken and beat the cover to touch down the carom for the winning try. Setzer added the conversion and the Griffins repeated as Dogwood champions.

Greenville Knoxville
J. Roberts 1 Huskey (C)
Beamann 2 Miller
Speaks 3 Sandman
Atkinson 4 Cerne
Sullivan 5 Booth
Van Evera 6 Daugherty
Phillips 7 Doster 7
D. Roberts (C) 8 Powell
Setzer 9 Broyles
Gerezol 10 Bradley
Bratys 11 Weldon
Howland 12 Niekerk
Clardy 13 Bennett
Moore 14 Dorwin
Cobb 15 Blalock

Ref: Rich Boone, C-2, Mid-South

Knoxville downs UT in Dogwood championship
April 18, 1994

The Possums beat up some future teammates as Knoxville handled the University of Tennessee 26-8 in the championship of the fifth annual Dogwood Tournament.

The event was held April 16 and 17, 1994 at John Tarleton Park.

In pool play, the Possums stopped Greenville, S.C., 12-5 and Johnson City 31-10. UT was upset in overtime 10-7 by Chattanooga before rebounding to defeat Findlay, Ohio, 25-0 to advance to the championship on Sunday.

Final

Seven minutes into the match, Knoxville center Tom Wilson slotted a 35-meter penalty to give the Possums a 3-0 lead. UT hooker Jason Kallivakos answered with a 30-meter shot to make it 3-3.

With 17 minutes gone, Wilson hit a second penalty (6-3), and shortly thereafter was instrumental in the game’s opening try.

As Knoxville pressured the Tennessee tryline, Wilson drew two defenders and opened up a spot that flyhalf Pat Dorwin dived through, the try giving Knoxville an 11-3 halftime lead.

The Possums continued the pressure in the second stanza and it paid off when No. 8 Brian Neikerk scooped up a loose ball and fed center Steve Cunningham on the burst for the try, 16-3.
Moments later, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Neikerk collected a poor clearing kick and rambled in for the try. Wilson’s conversion made it 23-3.

The next 20 minutes were a scoreless stalemate until UT wing Chris Dulin called for a weakside feed off a scrum and went in for a try. With eight minutes remaining, Wilson closed out the scoring with a penalty and the match ended 26-8 in Knoxville’s favor.

Knoxvillle UT
Sandman (C) 1 Pledger
Miller 2 Kallivakos
Salansky 3 Huskey (C)
Christopher 4 French
Roads 5 Lawson
Klaehn 6 Jones
Powell 7 Dixon
Niekerk 8 Brown
Muniz 9 Brant
Dorwin 10 Gower
Bennett 11 Sweeten
Cunningham 12 Olson
Wilson 13 Carter
Altoonian 14 Dulin
Blalock 15 Clardy

Ref: Tim Wright

Notes

The versatile Niekerk would lineup at eightman, inside center and lock during his career at Dogwood tournaments. Steve Cunningham was also comfortable at a number of positions – hooker, flanker, scrumhalf, center and wing.

Blalock was named 1994 Dogwood MVP – thanks to his strong defense at flyhalf when he and Dorwin would switch positions when the Possums defended. Dorwin was primarily a wing and fullback, but also saw Dogwood time at scrumhalf and flyhalf.

UT fullback Don Clardy would later play for Knoxville and Greenville in Dogwood tournaments.
Years later, John Tarleton Park became home to the currrent high school league, spearheaded by longtime Knoxville flyhalf Marty Bradley, who was out of town for the 1994 Dogwood tourney.

KNOXVILLE ROLLS TO CAPE FEAR TITLE

THINGS DIDN'T START OUT RIGHT FOR THE POSSUMS ON THE MORNING OF THE 1995 CAPE FEAR 7s.

KICKING OFF ON SOME FARAWAY PITCH AT AN UNGODLY EARLY SATURDAY HOUR DIDN'T HELP. NEITHER DID PLAYING WITH SIX PLAYERS AS A COUPLE COULDN'T FIND THE PITCH AND PAT DORWIN RESTED HIS TIGHT HAMSTRINGS.

DAYTON SLUGGED OUT A 5-0 WIN - BUT THINGS GOT BETTER LATER AND THE KARS (KNOXVILLE AREA RUGBY SELECTS) FINISHED AT 2-1.

THAT PUT THEM AS THE 8TH - AND FINAL SEED - IN THE CLUB DIVISION.

"BRIAN NIEKERK LOBBIED HARD AT THE PARTY TO GET US OUT OF THAT BRACKET," DORWIN SAID. "BUT THE ORGANIZERS IGNORED HIS FRAYED LOGIC AND WE WERE SET TO PLAY THE TOP SEED IN EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY SUNDAY MORNING."

AN EARLY POSSUM TRY GOT ECU'S ATTENTION AND KNOXVILLE STARTED TO FIRE WITH THE SAME LINEUP THEY WOULD USE THE REST OF THE DAY:

1-BRIAN NIEKERK
2-STEVE CUNNINGHAM
3-STEVE ROADS
4-PAT DORWIN
5-ANDY CLEARY
6-TOM WILSON
7-FRANK BENNETT

"THE THREE GAMES SUNDAY WERE SOME OF THE BEST 7s I EVER SAW US PLAY," SAID DORWIN. "WE KEPT POSSESSION AND WE WERE PATIENT, AND WHEN SCORING CHANCES CAME, WE RARELY DIDN'T TOUCH THE BALL DOWN."

TOM WILSON'S BOOT WAS A BIG REASON KNOXVILLE WOULD END UP WINNING FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES.

"TOM WAS 16-OF-18 IN CONVERTING OUR TRIES," DORWIN SAID. "HE WAS REALLY ZONED IN ON HIS DROP-KICKING."

FLYHALF ANDY CLEARY (SIX TRIES) AND SCRUMHALF DORWIN (FIVE SCORES) LED THE OFFENSE FOR THE WEEKEND, WITH WILSON (CENTER) AND BENNETT (WING) PLAYING WELL OUTSIDE THEM.

KNOXVILLLE DESTROYED NEMESIS LOUSIVLLE IN THE SEMI-FINALS, THEN HELD ON TO DEFEAT THE PHILADELPHIA MAVERICKS 14-10 AT THE "STADIUM" IN FRONT OF A LARGE CROWD.

"THE WIN AGAINST LOUISVILLE WAS SWEET," DORWIN SAID. "THEY HAD THE BEST CLUB WE REGULARLY PLAYED IN TOURNAMENTS AND THE GAMES WERE USUALLY OUR TOUGHEST ENCOUNTERS. THEY SPENT THE WEEK AT THE BEACH, THEN CAME OVER AND BEAT US IN THE FINALS OF THE TENNESSEE 7s THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND."

JULY 1995

LOUISVILLE HIT THE TENNESSEE 7s ON ITS RETURN LEG AND MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH JUST SEVEN PLAYERS.

THE OPPONENT: KNOXVILLE, WHICH HAD PUT MORE THAN 40 POINTS ON THE BOARD THE WEEK BEFORE IN THE CLUB DIVISION SEMI-FINALS AT CAPE FEAR, AIDED BY TWO TRIES APIECE FROM PAT DORWIN AND FRANK BENNETT.

THIS TIME IT WAS MOSTLY LOUSIVILLE BEHIND EXPERIENCED FLYHALF ANDREW STEERE AND HIS BROTHER, SCRUMHALF TEVIS STEERE. WITH DORWIN COMING ON AS A SUB, HE SPARKED KNOXVILLE TO A PAIR OF TRIES TO CLOSE THE GAP, PASSING FOR ONE AND SCORING THE OTHER.

"I SLID INTO THE TRYZONE AND PRETENDED I WAS TOUCHING THE BALL DOWN, THEN GOT UP TO CENTER THE BALL," DORWIN SAID. "BUT I HAD MY BACK TO THE REF AND HE DIDN'T SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND WRONGLY AWARDED THE TRY WHERE I FIRST SLID IN. THAT KILLED WHAT MOMENTUM WE HAD BUILT UP."

JULY 1996

THE KARS MADE IT TO THEIR SECOND STRAIGHT CAPE FEAR OPEN DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, BET FELL 26-5 TO TO MIDWEST POWER METRO (MINNEAPOLIS). METRO WAS LED BY THOR BOLSTAD, A MIDWEST RFU 7s AND 15s PLAYER.

Z

Z

PAUL ZAWAL

A FRONT-ROW GRINDER, PAUL ZAWAL FIT RIGHT IN WITH THE POSSUM CREW IN THE MID-80s, MORE INTERESTED IN PARTYING, BUT STILL HAVING FUN WHEN ON THE PITCH.

THE GRUFF-VOICED NORTHERNER HUNG AROUND FOR A FEW SEASONS AND HASN'T BEEN SEEN SINCE.

FULL NAME: PAUL ARTHUR ZAWAL
RUGBY NICKNAME: PIRATE
POSSUM CAREER: 1987-1988
POSSUM NUMBER: 60
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 221
POSITIONS PLAYED: FRONT ROW
OFFICES HELD: SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
OTHER CLUBS: DETROIT TRADESMEN
RESIDES: UNKNOWN
CUPATION: PIRATE

Y

Y

DESTRY YOUNG

AN ATHLETIC AND QUIET BUT ENTHUSIASTIC WING, DESTRY YOUNG PLAYED A SEASON OR SO AND SHOWED SOME PROMISE BUT DRIFTED AWAY FROM THE GAME - AND LIFE - LATER COMMITTING SUICIDE.

POSSUM CAREER: 1990
POSSUM NUMBER: 143
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 175
POSITIONS: WING

W

W

MIKE WARD

MIKE WARD WAS A CAPABLE HOOKER FOR A COUPLE OF STOPS IN KNOXVILLE. HE ALSO PLAYED IN CHATTANOOGA.

POSSUM CAREER: 1989-1991; 1996

POSSUM NUMBER: 87
HEIGHT: 5-9
WEIGHT: 180
POSITIONS PLAYED: HOOKER
OTHER CLUBS: CHATTANOOGA

HOWARD WATSON

NOT THE BIGGEST OR FASTEST OF WINGS, HOWARD WATSON PLAYED IN HIS SHARE OF A SIDE MATCHES FOR EARLY POSSUM TEAMS.

ALSO HAD THE RATHER BIG JOB OF MENTORING TIM CHAMBERS.

POSSUM CAREER: 1980-1988
POSSUM NUMBER: 22
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 165
POSITIONS PLAYED: WING
OCCUPATION: LAWYER

JIM WATSON

A TOP-NOTCH PROP FOR THE EARLY- AND MID-1980s POSSUMS.

POSSUM CAREER: 1983-1988

POSSUM NUMBER: 43

MIKE WELDON

SELECTED TO ALL-TIME POSSUM TEAM AS B SIDE SCRUMHALF

GUTSY, GRITTY MIKE WELDON FOUND A SIDE SPOTS AT BOTH WING AND SCRUMHALF OVER HIS POSSUM YEARS.

"MIKE WAS AN EXCELLENT OPEN FIELD TACKLER," SAID SCOTT ADCOX. "WHAT HE LACKED IN SIZE HE MADE UP FOR IN DRIVE (DOUBLE ENTENDRE INTENDED)."

WELDON ALSO COACHED SEVERAL HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS.


FULL NAME: MICHAEL WELDON
RUGBY NICKNAME: MICKEY/MIKEY
POSSUM CAREER: 1993-2010
POSSUM NUMBER: 143; STARTED SOMETIME IN COLLEGE (DON'T TELL BUTCH), CIRCA 1995-2010
HEIGHT: 5-7
WEIGHT: 180
POSITIONS PLAYED: BACK, EXCEPT FOR INSIDE CENTER
PERSONAL HONORS: MOST RETIRED COMEBACKS

MEMORABLE GAMES/SEASONS: SCORED A TRY IN A WIN OVER NASHVILLE, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER MOST SEASONS.

PERSONAL QOUTATIONS: "I'M RETIRING ... THIS IS MY LAST GAME."

OTHER CLUBS: UT, CHATTANOOGA, MEMPHIS
BIRTHDATE: 7-20-74
BIRTHPLACE: ATLANTA

FAMILY: WIFE, JENNY; SON, GRAY

RESIDES: KNOXVILLE

OCCUPATION: ENGLISH TEACHER/WRESTLING COACH/RUGBY COACH

GREG WENDT

AN EXCELLENT ATHLETE IN GOOD SHAPE, GREG WENDT WAS AN A SIDE CENTER FOR MOST OF HIS CAREER AS AN EARLY POSSUM.

POSSUM CAREER: 1982-1987
POSSUM NUMBER: 40
HEIGHT: 6-3
WEIGHT: 190
POSITIONS PLAYED: CENTER

BRENT WILLIE

FOUNDING POSSUM.

POSSUM NUMBER: 9

TOM WILSON

SELECTED TO ALL-TIME POSSUM TEAM AS A SIDE FULLBACK

TRAINING NON-TRADITIONALLY (MEANING HE TRAINED OUTSIDE OF PRACTICE) AND PLAYING WITH A DIFFERENT STYLE (HE USED HIS IMAGINATION WHEN ON THE PITCH) TOM WILSON MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A FAVORITE OF A FEW OF THE OLDER OR RETIRED POSSUMS, BUT HE INJECTED NEEDED PACE AND ATHLETICISM INTO A STAID POSSUM SQUAD.

"IT WAS SIMPLE, REALLY," SAID PAT DORWIN "IF YOU WERE'NT EXPECTING A PASS FROM TOM, YOU GOT ONE, NO MATTER THE ANGLE OR THE WAY HE PASSED IT."

WILSON, A COLLEGIATE ALL-AMERICAN AT FULLBACK UNDER BUTCH ROBERTSON AT UT, ALSO FOUND A HOME AT OUTSIDE CENTER FOR THE POSSUMS AND WAS A DEADLY DROP-KICKER FOR SOME STRONG KARS 7s TEAMS.

"TOM HAD A HELLUVA A 1995 RUN AT CAPE FEAR," SAID DORWIN. "AFTER WE WERE SHUT OUT IN OUR FIRST MATCH, HE CONVERTED 16-OF-18 TRIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE MATCHES."

THE POSSUMS, SEEDED EIGHTH IN THE TOP FLIGHT OF THE CLUB DIVISION, STOPPED TOP-SEED ECU TO START SUNDAY, THEN DRUBBED NEMESIS LOUISVILLE IN THE SEMI-FINALS BEFORE EDGING THE PHILADELEPHIA MAVERICKS 14-10 IN THE FINAL.

WILSON AND MIKE GARMAN WERE ALSO MIDWEST RFU SELECT SIDE 7s PLAYERS.


FULL NAME: THOMAS JEFFERSON WILSON
RUGBY NICKNAME:
POSSUM CAREER: 1989-1997
POSSUM NUMBER: 71
HEIGHT: 6-2
WEIGHT: 205
POSITIONS PLAYED: FULLBACK/CENTER
TEAM/PERSONAL HONORS: ALL-AMERICAN AT UT
MEMORABLE GAMES/SEASONS: 1995 DOGWOOD ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
OTHER CLUBS: UT, CHATTANOOGA, COLLEGIATE ALL-AMERICANS, MEMPHIS OLD NO. 7, MIDWEST RFU SELECTS
BIRTHDATE: 1963
OCCUPATION: PERPETUAL STUDENT

KEN WOLFE

THE MORE VOCAL OF THE TWO WOLFE BROTHERS, KEN PLAYED A FEW YEARS WITH KNOXVILLE ALONG HIS RUGBY JOURNEY.


POSSUM CAREER: 1984-1985; 1992
POSSUM NUMBER: 47
HEIGHT: 5-8
WEIGHT: 175
POSITIONS PLAYED: HOOKER
OCCUPATION: DRIFTER

REX WOLFE

DROPPING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH, WELL AT LEAST SEVIER COUNTY, RUGBY NOMAD REX WOLFE WAS LAST KNOWN TO BE HEADING FOR AUSTRALIA SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

DID A DINGO EAT OUR REXY?

"POSSIBLY," SAID LONG-TIME FRIEND PAT DORWIN. "LAST I HEARD FROM HIM WAS ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO. HE USUALLY WOULD AT LEAST STOP BY ONE HOLIDAY A YEAR. RICH HOLLAND, HIS FELLOW STAR ON SOME STELLAR SEVIER COUNTY HIGH BASEBALL TEAMS, HASN'T HEARD FROM HIM EITHER.

"IT IS KIND OF WEIRD AS HIS PARENTS SOLD THEIR HOUSE AND ACREAGE, SO WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO REX," DORWIN SAID.

IN EARLY 2010, DORWIN LOCATED HIS FRIEND, TEACHING AND PLAYING RUGBY IN THAILAND.

ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES HE PLAYED, WOLFE WAS THROWN INTO THE FIRE IN INDIANAPOLIS AT THE MIDWEST RFU SELECT SIDE CHAMPIONSHIPS.

"NOT ONLY WAS THE MID-SOUTH WEAK OVERALL," DORWIN SAID, "BUT REX IS OUT THERE PLAYING FLANKER AFTER SEEING ACTION AT WING FOR JUST A FEW GAMES. HE WAS A GOOD ATHLETE AND HELD HIS OWN."

WOLFE HAS PLAYED FOR NUMEROUS RUGBY CLUBS, MUCH LIKE HIS OLDER BROTHER, KEN.

"REX WAS FULL OF FUNNY STORIES, THAT GOT LOUDER IF HE WAS WITH RICH AND/OR JIM TARWATER (POSSUM NO. LLL)," DORWIN SAID. "NOBODY WAS SPARED THEIR WRATH. I HAVE MOVED WELL AWAY FROM THEM AT TIMES IN PUBLIC PLACES."

DORWIN HAD LAST TRACKED WOLFE DOWN TO PLAYING MORE THAN A YEAR AGO WITH THE BANGKOK SOUTHERNERS IN THAILAND WITH FORMER UT AND POSSUM RUGGER BOB BALL, WHO HAS SINCE LEFT THAILAND.

FULL NAME: RONALD REX WOLFE
RUGBY NICKNAME: SEXY REXY
POSSUM CAREER: 1989-1992; 1997
POSSUM NUMBER: 86
HEIGHT: 5-5
WEIGHT: 187
POSITIONS PLAYED: CENTER/FLANKER/WING
PERSONAL QOUTATIONS: TOO MANY TO LIST
OTHER CLUBS: NUMEROUS
FAMILY: WIFE AND DAUGHTER
OCCUPATION: NOMAD, TEACHER

RESIDES: THAILAND