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BRECKENRIDGE — Vail Rugby Football Club veteran Greg Tarpey has a concern heading into Saturday’s match in Breckenridge — that his team might take the Gentlemen of the Blue Goose lightly.
If any Vail players are indeed looking past their Summit County opponents, it’s probably because the Goose hasn’t beaten them since 1996.
“I expect Breckenridge to be stronger than what we’ve seen the last couple years,” said Tarpey, who joined Vail in 1995. “We had some battles with them my first few years on the team, but lately, there’s been more gimmie games.”
Vail defeated Breck 38-16 then 43-18 last season en route to winning the Mountain League.
The Goose, backed by some solid recruiting, hopes to embed a chink in Vail’s armor.
“We have around 12 players from the Highlanders and Harlequins in Denver,” Goose coach Peter Shafroth said. “They add a lot of stability.”
Shafroth believes that if Breck (1-1) plays like the way it did in last Saturday’s 31-24 comeback victory over Glenwood at home, it has a good chance to knock off Vail Saturday at Kingdom Park. Vail (0-1) was upset by Steamboat in its opener.
“They tend to have more experienced backs than us,” said Shafroth, the club’s fourth-year coach. “So we need to put more pressure on them, take away open space and shut down their running game. ... Glenwood had one speedy back that did a lot of damage against us early in the game, but then we really tightened up on him in the second half.”
Vail, which is still missing a handful of its key players because they are injured, ineligible or out of town, according to player/coach Steve MacKinnon, is coming off a 22-12 loss.
“Steamboat beat us for the first time in 20 years and we’re looking to bounce back,” MacKinnon said. “We expect nothing less than a victory on Saturday.”
Determined as MacKinnon is, he seems to have plenty of respect for the Goose.
“Breck always gives us a good run up in Breck,” he said. “It won’t be easy — we’re expecting a war.”
When asked which win over a powerhouse would be sweeter, Vail or Aspen, Shafroth chuckled then paused.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “For the team, it’s probably Aspen. Our games against Vail have been a lot closer than the ones against Aspen and we don’t find Vail as arrogant. ... But, we would really like to beat them.”
<i>Adam Boffey can be contacted at (970) 668-4634, or at aboffey@summitdaily.com.</i>
If any Vail players are indeed looking past their Summit County opponents, it’s probably because the Goose hasn’t beaten them since 1996.
“I expect Breckenridge to be stronger than what we’ve seen the last couple years,” said Tarpey, who joined Vail in 1995. “We had some battles with them my first few years on the team, but lately, there’s been more gimmie games.”
Vail defeated Breck 38-16 then 43-18 last season en route to winning the Mountain League.
The Goose, backed by some solid recruiting, hopes to embed a chink in Vail’s armor.
“We have around 12 players from the Highlanders and Harlequins in Denver,” Goose coach Peter Shafroth said. “They add a lot of stability.”
Shafroth believes that if Breck (1-1) plays like the way it did in last Saturday’s 31-24 comeback victory over Glenwood at home, it has a good chance to knock off Vail Saturday at Kingdom Park. Vail (0-1) was upset by Steamboat in its opener.
“They tend to have more experienced backs than us,” said Shafroth, the club’s fourth-year coach. “So we need to put more pressure on them, take away open space and shut down their running game. ... Glenwood had one speedy back that did a lot of damage against us early in the game, but then we really tightened up on him in the second half.”
Vail, which is still missing a handful of its key players because they are injured, ineligible or out of town, according to player/coach Steve MacKinnon, is coming off a 22-12 loss.
“Steamboat beat us for the first time in 20 years and we’re looking to bounce back,” MacKinnon said. “We expect nothing less than a victory on Saturday.”
Determined as MacKinnon is, he seems to have plenty of respect for the Goose.
“Breck always gives us a good run up in Breck,” he said. “It won’t be easy — we’re expecting a war.”
When asked which win over a powerhouse would be sweeter, Vail or Aspen, Shafroth chuckled then paused.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “For the team, it’s probably Aspen. Our games against Vail have been a lot closer than the ones against Aspen and we don’t find Vail as arrogant. ... But, we would really like to beat them.”
<i>Adam Boffey can be contacted at (970) 668-4634, or at aboffey@summitdaily.com.</i>
