Three games to go (for most teams), and plenty still to play
for in Florida D2 and D3 rugby. In D2, only five of the eight teams still have a shot at the
playoffs, as Miami, Naples and Tampa are all but eliminated, barring a miracle.
Boca, despite its first loss of the season last week in Orlando, remains in
first place with 30 points, with Fort Lauderdale only three points behind. The
two teams will play each other on March 21 in what should be a doozy. Behind
those two, it's Jacksonville and Orlando tied at 24 points, and Miami Tridents
a further five points back. The Tridents have won their last three games to
vault into playoff contention, and play league bottom-dwellers twice in their
final three contests. It's going to be a great race to the finish, with one of
those five teams getting their hearts broken. Meanwhile, in D3, three teams have distanced themselves from
the others, as Palm Beach, Gainesville and Daytona have a nine-point cushion
over the next team, Brevard, with Sarasota and the Pelicans still in the mix.
Time for me to try and bounce back from a rough, rainy column last week. Division II Jacksonville (5-2, 24 pts) at Boca Raton (6-1, 30 pts): A
very very interesting matchup to start things off here, as Jax make their THIRD
trip of the season to South Florida and second in as many weeks. Not sure how
that's fair, but hey, I don't make the schedule. Anyway, Jax lost 30-15 to the
surging Tridents last week and play them again, along with a road to trip to
Orlando, to close out the season. They probably can't afford to go worse than
2-1 in those games if they want to keep the Tridents at bay for the fourth
playoff spot. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, were handed their first loss of the
season last weekend at Orlando, and then had to play the Argentinian touring
side Asociacion Alumni on Sunday. How much did that 48-hour period take out of
them? I think the fact they're at home will help balance things out a little,
but the Bucs will surely be sore heading into Saturday. I will take the home
team, but only just. Boca Raton 24, Jacksonville 20 Orlando (5-2, 24 pts) at Miami (1-5, 8 pts): Orlando
is 0-2 on the road against teams in the top five this season, having lost
heavily at the Tridents and narrowly in Jacksonville. However, they have also
beaten the top two sides in Boca and Lauderdale. This trip worries me a little
because they're coming off a big win over Boca, and thanks to the schedule
maker, play Miami again in a couple of weeks. Miami's season is pretty much
over unless Tampa can somehow knock off the Tridents across the state on
Saturday, but they have been competitive in the majority of their losses. For
some reason I smell an upset in this contest. Miami 20, Orlando 17 Miami Tridents (4-3, 19 pts) at Tampa Krewe (0-7, 1 pt): The
Tridents have come from an 0-2 start to win four of their last five games and
put themselves in prime position to pick up a postseason berth thanks to the
fact they play winless Krewe twice in their final three games. Yes, the other
game is a daunting trip north to Jacksonville, but the 305 crew could prove
their poor road history is a thing of the past with a win in this one. It won't
be easy, as Tampa have nothing to lose at this point and will looking to play
spoiler, and there will be the temptation to look ahead to that massive contest
in a couple of weeks. I like the Tridents to continue their momentum. Tridents
30, Tampa Krewe 19 Fort Lauderdale (5-2, 27 pts) at Naples (1-5, 5 pts):
Fort Lauderdale 50, Naples 7 Division II Tallahassee (1-3, 6 pts) at Indian River (0-5, 0 pts): Could
this be the week Indian River finally wins an FRU game? Nope. The Conquistadors
need a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive and will get it without much
bother. Tallahassee 42, Indian River 5 Tampa Krewe (0-5, 0 pts) at Brevard (3-2, 15 pts): Brevard
easily holds on to their playoff spot in a rout. Brevard 49, Tampa 5 Bay Area Pelicans (2-2, 11 pts) at Daytona (4-1-1, 24
pts): A third straight snoozer this week. The Coconuts will be angry after
losing to Gainesville last week, and the Pelicans' fraudulent two-game win
streak will come to an end in heavy fashion. Daytona 52, Pelicans 10 Palm Beach (5-0, 25 pts) at Sarasota (1-2-1, 11 pts): Ooh,
finally something worth writing more than a couple of sentences about. Before
the season, one might have expected these two teams to be battling for home
field advantage in this game. However, the Surge have been more like the Purge
this season, with just one win to their name so far. Another loss here and it
could be lights out for them, although they should win their three remaining
games easily against Tampa, Pelicans and Tallahassee. Palm Beach have looked
unstoppable so far in 2015, but have only a one-point edge over Gainesville and
Brevard. They do have a game in hand, however, and a victory here would be a
major step on the way to a No. 1 seed. Have to like the Panthers with the
momentum. Palm Beach 30, Sarasota 24 Last Week: 3-3 This Season: 34-14-1 (69.4%) All Time: 135-48-1 (73.4%)
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