Queen City Rams (43) vs. Ft. Collins Flamingos (37)
RAMS vs Flamingos Match Report 9.27.2025
Viewpoint Park Wellington, CO
By Charlie Haupt
It was a gorgeous crisp fall day in the Rockies as the Queen City Rams ventured on a road trip
to Ft. Collins (Wellington) to take on Division opponent Ft. Collins Flamingos. Warm sunny
turned out to be a great day for Rugby. The venue was Viewpoint Park in Wellington CO just
north of Ft. Collins. The grass field was firm, fast, and regulation, ideal for a game of footie.

Rams vs. Flamingos:
The team decked out in their white, orange, and black full kit were led out by Captain Steve
O’Malley. The captain won the toss; therefore, receiving defending the south in-goal.

The first half belong to the Rams as they came out hard charging. The opening kickoff went
long, which No. 8 Aiden Wilson took on the full and charged well up the field. The Flamingos
were penalized for a ruck infraction that was put to touch. The pursuing lineout saw the Rams
go into attack mode. A good line break by Center Derek French put the Rams on the front foot
deep into Flamingos territory. Once again Ft. Collins was penalized, which No. 8 Aiden Wilson
quickly tapped and barreled his way to paydirt. The conversion was missed but the Men in
White were on the board at the 2-minute mark, 5 - 0.

A mishandling error by the Rams allowed the Flamingos to go on attack. They were able to
knot the score at 5 – 5 at the 7-minute mark of the match.

From the pursuing kick-off, the Flamingos mounted an attack; however, the Rams were able to
hold up the ball carrier in the maul. The following scrum was lost by the Rams; but, from the
following attack which was thwarted by the Rams by driving the Flamingos off the ruck. The
Flamingos were penalized for side joining and the kick was placed deep into Flamingos 22-
meter. The lineout was deemed not straight as was the Flamingo lineout, a scrum followed.
No. 8 Aiden Wilson picked from the base and drove towards the line being stopped short.
However, the Flamingos were once again penalized for offsides. Hooker Jack Carmone quick-
tapped and the rest of the forwards drove him over the line for the Rams second try on the day.
The conversion was once again missed; but the Rams upped their lead to 10 – 5 at the 14 th
minute of the match.

A Ft. Collins line-out was deemed to be not straight. From the pursuing scrum, Scrumhalf Kris
Coleman fed Flyhalf Ben Schlieper who distributed to Center Derek French. Derek found the
gap in the Flamingos defense to race to pay dirt for the try. Flyhalf Ben added the extras, and
the Rams extended their lead to 17 – 5 at the 20-minute mark.

Once again, a Flamingo line-out was deemed not straight. The following scrum put the Rams
into a great attack position. Great line movement saw Center Fred Caesar make a clean break
who fed a supporting Fullback DJ Randolph who took it to the house. Flyhalf Schlieper added
the extras from a wide angle, and the Rams lead grew to 24 – 5 at the 30 th minute mark of the
match.

A great line break by the Rams backs put the Men in White on the front foot. The forwards were
able to put several phases together to maintain position of the ball. The Flamingos were
penalized and the ball put into touch. The Rams forwards set up a nice driving maul, and the
Flamingos were once again penalized for collapsing the maul. The penalty resulted in a yellow
card to Ft. Collins. The forwards put the play onto their backs. Penalty tap resulted in several
phases of good possession leading to an Avalanche for which No. 8 Aiden Wilson powered his
way on the line for his second try on the day. Flyhalf Schlieper converted from a tough angle to
raise the score to 31 – 5 at the 38 th minute. This remain giving the Rams a halftime score of 31
– 5.

Ft. Collins came out of halftime rejuvenated. Unfortunately, they were able to go on with several
attacks with kick overs which were not cleanly handled by the Rams back three. Rams were
penalized for offside which the Flamingos converted at the 42 nd mark to bring the score to 31 –
8. The Flamingos continue to cut into the Rams lead with unconverted tries at 44-minute, 50 th
minute, 53 rd minute, and a converted try at the 61 st minute of the match which brought the
scoreline to 31 – 30.

At this point, Queen City regained their composure and were finally able to go back on attack. A
deep kick was placed by Flyhalf Schlieper. Defensive pressure resulted in a knock-on by the
Flamingos. No. 8 Wilson picked from the base of scrum, putting City on the front foot. The
Rams forwards went into attack mode putting together several clean phases to put them within
striking distance of the goal line. An Avalanche movement saw replacement Flanker Jake

Hunter power his way over for the try at the 70 th minute of the match. Flyhalf Schlieper added
the extras and the Men in White extended their lead to 38 – 30.

From the pursuing kick off, the kick went deep fielded by Anthony Rice who had moved from
Flanker to Fullback. Anthony broke containment and raced 85 meters for the final Ram’s try on
the day at the 72 nd minute mark of the match. The conversion was missed and the scoreline
was 43 – 30.

However, the Flamingos were able to put one final score together. The Rams were penalized
and were lured to sleep. The Flamingo quick-tapped and kicked to race in for one final score.
The conversion was good to bring the score to 43 – 37 with one minute left in the match. The
Rams were able to pin the Flamingos deep into their own territory resulting in a knock-on and
the final whistle.

Coach Sylver Romero pointed out after the match that not fielding kicks cleanly and giving away
50/50 passes were major flaws that will need to be addressed before next week’s match against
Colorado Spring. Overall, a great day of Rugby for the Queen City Rams. The forwards hunted
as a pack and backs ran hard. They showed resiliency by stemming the tide when needed for
the victory. A league win putting the Rams at 2 – 1 in league play.

Teams:
Queen City (43): Kevin Rutherford, Jack Carmone, Ross (Turtle) Nolan, Logan Kerby, Heath Wolfe,
Anthony Rice, Steve O’Malley (C), Aiden Wilson, Kris Coleman, Ben Schlieper, Conrad Thompson,
Derek French, Fred Caesar, Ben Anderson, Daryl Randolph (DJ)
Interchange: Mason Mosbarger (76), Mason Manross, Luke Porter (40), Jake Hunter (56), Vinny
Juarez (53), Matt Stevenson (45), Brian Klaif (56), Spencer (51)
Scorers:
Tries: Wilson (2), Carmone (14), French (20), Randolph (30), Wilson (38), Hunter (70), Rice (72)
Goals: Schlieper (4)
Scoring sequence: 5 – 0, 5 – 5, 10 – 5, 17 – 5, 24 – 5, 31 – 5, 31 – 8, 31– 13, 31 – 18, 31 – 23, 31 – 30,
38 – 30, 43 – 30, 43 – 37
Man-of-the-Match: Flanker Steve O’Malley
No. 8 Aiden Wilson was a workhorse around the field and gained recognition.