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Friday, March 29, 2024

“Fear” wins conference, on to regional championship

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For the first time since 2003, Cape Fear Rugby Club won the Carolinas Rugby Union championship game, and now the team is two wins away from competing in the division III national championship.

Cape Fear Rugby Club, known by its fans simply as Fear, collected a gritty but convincing 41-24 win over the Charlotte Barbarians April 18 at FlyTrap Downs on 21st Street near Chestnut in Wilmington. Fear pulled out to an early lead, but about midway through the match Charlotte began a determined comeback.

Feeding off of the energy of the rowdy home crowd, Fear dug in and scored a try, worth a crucial five points, bringing the score to 34 to 24 with about 15 minutes remaining.

“The fan base is growing,” team captain Jason Gruner said after the game. “That makes a huge difference to hear everyone on the sidelines cheering for us.”

The two teams continued to battle, each hard tackle intensified by the slippery, muddy field. Then, with just minutes to go, the ball came loose in the middle of the field and was grabbed by speedy Fear player Nick “Sunshine” Fowler.

Before the opponents could form any kind of defensive shape, Fowler was gone, sprinting to the end line to put the game out of Charlotte’s reach.

Gruner said the team will focus now on one postseason game at a time, starting with the Southern Conference Championships in Augusta, Ga., May 15 and 16. That game will determine the top team in the south region — North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

Whichever team comes out on top that weekend plays for the East Coast Championship in Charlotte, N.C., Gruner said. The winner of that game goes to Glendale, Colo., June 13 and 14 for the division III USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club National Championship Finals.

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