Written By – Jo Buchanan
The Mens Performance Squad headed to Cheltenham to compete in the elite bracket at Flagapalooza, taking place from August 22nd to the 23rd. This was the first tournament the Performance Squad competed in since their 8th place finish at the Copenhagen Bowl in May, so the focus was very much to improve on the performances from Copenhagen and execution on both sides of the ball. This tournament also saw a debutant on each of the ball, with Zac McDowell (offense) and Conor O’Dwyer (defense) taking to the field for the first time with the Performance Squad.
Day 1 was always going to be tough, as the only team scheduled to play 4 games in one day. The squad settled their nerves early and executed well to control game 1 against the Dutch Mambas, winning 40 – 27. Game 2 would prove to be the toughest game of the day, coming up against a G2G team stacked with talent including former USA team athletes, ultimately resulting in defeat (27-36). The squad showed great resilience to bounce back with two comfortable wins to finish a long day, 39-14 vs Sweden and 41-30 vs Only Flags.
Following results from the remaining pool games on the morning of day 2, the ‘Hounds secured 2nd place in the pool stage and a semi final game against the Dutch Mambas. This proved to be a much closer affair than the first game between the two sides, with the Mambas finishing as 33-34 winners in a nail bitter that came down to the last play. Unfortunately Only Flags could not field a team for the 3rd place playoff, therefore meaning the Irish Wolfhounds finished 3rd overall.
Head Coach Jo Buchanan – “We are disappointed not to come away with the championship, however there were a lot of positives to take away from the tournament, including our responses to adversity and individual performances throughout the weekend. We have plenty of tape to analyse and make corrections from, and will be working hard to continue to develop as individuals and as a programme.”
Photo Credit – @throughbelleslenss
