By Head Coach Frank Viancourt

Great win this weekend boys! This week we are on the road in Columbus, OH for another 11:30am Kickoff to bet the heat. While we offically do not have a D4 match we are working with the Castaways to put togteher a friendly. Please text coach if you are unavailable this weekends by Tuesday! 502-991-2457

Schedule this week:

Tuesday: practice @ Seneca park 6:30pm

Thursday: practice @ Hayes Kennedy 6:30pm 

Saturday: Match LRFC D3 @ Columbus Castaways 11:30am. expect the carpool to leave by 6:30am from Seneca Park

Match Report by George Davies 

Master and Commander 

The brave boys of Louisville ventured into the Kentucky hinterland to take on a Lexington side of unknown utility. Had Lexington pressed enough soldiers of fortune to introduce themselves as yet another challenger for what is already shaping up to be a competitive league this year? By my estimation, at least four teams have a viable chance of taking the top spot and no doubt representing this most-competitive portion of the Midwest deep into the playoffs once again.

The Louisville team rocked up to Wilmore Kentucky at least 30 deep and immediately launched their structured warm-up routine. Certainly, an intimidating sight for a home team with 19 players, half of which were still ‘getting ready’. The pitch, or more accurately, the field, also represented a certain amount of disorganization from the home team, having been mowed maybe two weeks ago and at a jaunty angle to the field of play markings which caught several players out during the match. Of course, kick-off was also 30 minutes late, ostensibly at the ref’s discretion, but really to give more time for late local arrivals.

Regardless of all these distractions, for Louisville the real question was: could this new leadership combination of Frank Viancourt (Head Coach) and Antonio Coriano (Captain) cement their bone fides and start their season off with success in their inaugural competitive game?

The shipping forecast at kick off was sunny skies with no clouds, 77 degrees and warming, with a slight diagonal breeze that stiffened throughout the match. Similarly, Louisville showed early promise, beginning the game with structured phases working their way down the field. This series of downs ended with a nice pooch kick from fly half Antonio Coriano that trapped Lexington close to the line.

Early season penalties then allowed a loss of territory, but a Cameron Bernard kick forced a Lexington lineout just outside the 22. An errant tip of the top was pounced upon by Tyler Lowwhit, who battered his way close to the line and very smartly pushed the ball from the floor to the MadDog (Ryan Whitaker) who opened Louisville’s account for the Fall. Rory Young converted the extras. 7-0.

During the next period of back and forth prior to the new-fangled water break (is this a thing?), new-comer George Perry and the MadDog (Ryan Whitaker) both had separate 50 meter breaks almost resulting in tries except for some courageous last-gasp Lexington recovery work. Nevertheless, off the back of a ruck, Cameron Bernard introduced himself to the opposition with a sharp pick, dummy and go. Rory Young again performed the duties. 14-0.

The second quarter of the match was a test of patience for both coaches. From Louisville’s perspective an old proclivity to second-guess the referee creeped into behavior causing decisions that undid most forward momentum.

That did it for the first stanza, expect for an individual bit of brilliance from the impressive Lexington fly-half, bringing the scoreline to 14-7. The Good News: Dylan Ford managed to inflate his flat tire. The triple-A was not needed. Bad news: the mileage consumed by this joke was exhausting.

Can you define half-time impact subs? How about this… Cameron Michael Donlon kicked off, Sp Vermaak clean caught the ball and charged to about 5 meters out. Two red plays led to Justin Dunn diving over the line for an immediate score. Brilliant stuff, Louisville had clicked up a gear. 21-7.

However, Lexington responded in kind. Forcing Louisville deep off the next kick-off, an errant exit kick to center field allowed Lexington to attack an unstructured chase and resulted in what should be a preventable, but today was an inevitable score. Note: first time ever in D3, Rory Young charged down a conversion kick. 21-12.

It was said by some that during practice this week and in the first half of this game, the Louisville team was about 5% away from really starting to click. Well, the next series showed what Louisville can do when they really start to gel. Off the kick-off the boys regained the ball and executed their structures. Simple stuff, phase play, controlled possession brought the boys towards the try line with advantage. Even running backward as for a distance by Jared 'Hot-Rod' Chastin. 

Using this platform, Cameron Bernard demonstrated outrageous athletic prowess. I swear this guy won both the State high jump and long jump in one go scoring his second of the day: from the back of another ruck, he hurdled at least three confused Lexington players and almost launched himself out of the back of try zone. Outstanding. Stud. Try of the Season contender already.

Missed the conversion though. 26-12

Just before the third quarter ended, in-game introduction of new back-line plays resulted in a turnover and some incisive counter attacking from now two foreign Lexingtoners forced a score. 26-17. Water break, and the scoreline felt insecure.

What happened in the final 20 however puffed the chest of every Louisville supporter. Tim Minor must have added something to the oranges or something, but the team ‘just flowed’ during the final climax. As one coach said, sometimes to close the deal the Missionary position is best. 

Instead of trying to Kama Sutra every play, the team worked their way downfield through controlled possession. This brought beneficial calls from the ref, and once in the red zone, old-school red play bought the next try for Jonathan David Smith. 31-17.

Despite Gabriel Macarubbo earning a penalty by talking to the ref immediately after a team warning, Louisville countered following another 50 meter carry, this time by Justin Dunn. Smart offloads though a mixture of forwards and back resulted in Chase Kelty getting his Zulu try. Definitely one for the ladies. 36-17

Despite some backline errors in the 2nd half, flow was relentless and not to be outdone, Sp Vermaak clocked up his 50 meter run. (How many different 50-meter runs now?) Great support against a tiring defense allowed an offload through Tyler Lowwhit for Gabriel Macarubbo to score. 43-17. Redemption I guess.

One final set-piece allowed the Louisville backline to really start purring. A pass from Cameron Michael Donlon to Antonio Coriano and then back inside to Chase Kelty on a Hollywood line created the final 50 meter break of the day. Offloads galore led to Chris Reithmeier pipping the posts for the final time. 50-17.

So, a rousing final quarter put the icing on the performance to secure the Commenwealth Cup for Louisville again. Repeated in 2026, that will be a decade of one-sided results. As for the original question… this leadership team demonsted the appropriate levels of calm, control, patience and feedback to create the platform for success. Much more competitive games are coming, and soon, but the report from this match is a forecast of strong seamanship. A well piloted performance… more please!

**Man of the Match: ** Tyler Lowwhit

Important information will be posted in this thread. This will include gameday roster, carpool information, location and meetup times, match reports, socials, etc. I (coach Frank) will try to post 3 times a week on need to know information. Monday will be match report and weekly schedule. Friday will be gameday roster and travel information. 

IMPORTANT: You must CIPP asap if you want to play Saturday. Link is below and on this website. 

https://xplorer.rugby/louisville-rugby?fbclid=IwY2xjawMUIihleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE0ckdWTFJ2S0RFRlVWUVJ1AR51O2BmTlv6JPJHX2DPoZTCa66kd4VC0_myAQpKF70ugidDU2ZAj3CZ1e1Ybg_aem_XDd0mL78PbxcnYA6dEv1eg