On June 4th, the Raleigh Venom traveled to Fort Meyers, FL, to participate in the USA Division II Rugby National Championship. The weather alternated between rain and intense sun all weekend.

The Venom faced Albany in their first match at 10:45 Saturday morning, defeating their opponents, 21-0. At 4:45 Saturday afternoon, the Venom went up against an imposing team, the Milwaukee Scylla. The Venom battled the Scylla and came out on top, 29-8. This victory advanced the Venom to the championship match against the two-year defending champions, Detroit RFC.

When the Venom arrived Sunday morning, the rain was coming down. By kick- off time, the sun had come out to make the championship match the absolute muggiest match of the weekend. Despite the opposition's formidable reputation (no team had scored against Detroit all season), the Venom were undaunted.

Detroit scored three points from a penalty kick early on, and Raleigh returned the favor with the same, evening the score. Detroit kicked another penalty and took the score to 3-6. The Venom rallied and scored the match's only try. The match was very intense for the entire 80 minutes. Play vollied between each team's 22, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats without respite. Both teams came perilously close to scoring, only to have the ball knocked on or the near- scorer to be catapulted out of bounds before she touched the ball down.

Family and friends, along with Raleigh's VRU rivals, Blue Ridge, cheered against the Detroit fans, keeping the Venom going in the unforgiving humidity. The Blue Ridge women had the stands reverberating with "Ollie, Ollie, Ollie! We love Raleigh!" In the last ten minutes of the match, the cheering section was so clamorous that the referee asked them to silence themselves so the scrum could hear his "Engage!" Upon the final whistle, most of the Venom collapsed on the pitch in joy (and exhaustion), having won their first national championship upon entry, after only three years of the team's existence.

The Venom would like to thank our coaches, Mike Lee (forwards) and Steve Brush (backs). They demanded the very best we had to give, helped us to overcome our obstacles and inspired us to ALWAYS play with intensity, empowering us to win the 2005 Women's Division II National Championship.

Roster:

 Meeghan Kelly
 Sunny O'Connor
 Dawn Maffucci
 Jackie Cotter
 Vernetta Alston
 Emily Glenn
 Haylee Slaughter
 Whitney Kahn
 Amanda Cox
 Calley Gerber
 Daniele Canney
 Caroline Brickhouse
 Mary Parker- Lastowski
 Jamie Jones
 Caroline Duckworth
 AJ Steffen
 Erin Krupa
 Tracie Sauers
 Lauren Buslinger
 Heather Ferrell

For more information on this game or the Venom, please contact:

Daniele Canney
Raleigh Rugby Club PR
raleighvenom@yahoo.com
www.raleighrugby.com