Monday, May 29, 2006

PELICAN HELP WANTED

HAIL, PELICUS!

VOLUNTEER SOUGHT: TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR FOR VISITING CHURCHILL CUP OFFICIALS

Ed Todd is asking the Pelican Society for help with getting the Churchill Cup officials picked up at SFO over the next four days.

We need people to meet incoming flights at SFO and take these folks to the tournament hotel, the Santa Clara Marriott. PLEASE LET ED TODD KNOW IF YOU CAN MEET ANY OF THESE OFFICIALS OR IF YOU COULD HELP COORDINATE THE WHOLE THING.

(Here at the Senate we are well into our summer schedule, which means working to make up for all those days off during the rugby season. As of this writing we are into an eight-day stretch of twelve-hour days. We couldn’t meet anyone who arrived before midnight.)

The referees for the three matches will be Phil Smith, our exchange partner from Victoria, Andrew Small of England and Peter Allen of Scotland. Colin Hawke from New Zealand, Iain Goodall of Scotland, and Robert Horner of the RFU will also be in town.

Monday:
Colin Hawke, SFO @ 4:40 PM

Tuesday:
Andrew Small, SFO @ 1:50 PM

Wednesday:
Iain Goodall, SFO @ 1:05 PM
Peter Allen, SFO @ 4:35 PM

Thursday:
Robert Horner, SFO @ 1:35 PM

(Phil Smith’s information has not been divulged to us here at the Senate. The fact checker has not been anywhere near our files recently, so he can’t have eaten it.)


REFEREE NEEDED PRONTO

A ref is needed for Elsie Allen’s alumni game at noon on Memorial Day.

Dixon Smith will be one of your touch judges and Alan Petty has invited the officials to the barbecue afterwards.

Want this one?


WHO’S COMING TO THE BANQUET?

Please respond if you plan to attend the annual society banquet at Paolo’s Restaurant in San Jose on Friday, June 9th.

We need to know how many to expect. Will you be bringing anyone along?

If you are going to be attending the conference, please do not assume that you will be included in the totals unless you respond.

Thank you.


WEDNESDAY NIGHT TOUCH AT ROCCA FIELD

San Francisco Golden Gate are hosting regular touch every Wednesday evening at Treasure Island on their main pitch. Shaun Paga has passed along an invite, saying that any referee who would like to play or ref would be very much welcomed! The clubrooms will be open afterwards for beverages and viewings of rugby games on the big screen.

They will be hosting a proper touch tournament on July 15th, so mark your calendars.


LAS VEGAS MIDNIGHT SEVENS SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Only one taker for the Midnight Sevens so far. You are missing out on one of the great and unique experiences in American rugby if you miss this one!

SoCal will pay your airfare and get you a hotel for the Saturday night.

You could attend our banquet on Friday night and fly to Vegas Saturday morning. Remember that the Sevens doesn’t start until 4 or 5 PM.

Let us know if you would like to attend!


CONFERENCE AND BANQUET REMINDER

The annual end-of-season banquet for our referee society will be Friday, June 9, at 7 PM. Plan now to attend, whether you will be able to attend the two-day conference or not.

We’ll be enjoying dinner and companionship at one of the South Bay’s finest restaurants:

Paolo’s Restaurant
333 W. San Carlos St.
San Jose
http://www.paolosrestaurant.com/

The annual, attractive and much-coveted Pelican Awards will be presented. Don’t miss out!

‘Rugby Through the Looking Glass’, our two-day international conference for referees, will be well-worth your time and travel. David Williamson has arranged for a top-notch group of speakers for Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9.

http://www.pelicanrefs.com/registrationform.htm

Plan to attend the conference and stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown San Jose. Call Robyn Clever at 800-675-3202 to make your arrangements.

robyn@theclevertraveler.com


RUGBY GAMES NEVER STOP

This is the weekend of the third biennial Mark Bingham Cup. After having been hosted in Golden Gate Park and London, it is now in New York City.

Lois Bukowski refereed both of the previous iterations and is keeping her streak intact, having traveled to Gotham last week for the event.

We anticipate featuring a report from Lois here next week.

Friday:
SAN FRANCISCO FOG A 13 – Washington Renegades 6
FOG A 27 – Seattle Quake 0
FOG B 19 – Muddy York 0
CARDIFF LIONS 21 – Fog B 12

Saturday
FOG A 8 – King’s Cross Steelers 0
WORLD BARBARIANS 17 – Fog B 3

Cup Quarterfinals:
FOG A 12 – Los Angeles Rebellion 0

Their webmaster must be having too much fun because the ‘continuously updated’ ‘real-time’ scores stop at noon Saturday. (This is being written at five PM EDT on Sunday, when the tournament is already over.)

The results may be updated by the time you are reading this:

http://result.binghamcup.com/


Other games:

Wednesday
Alameda Barnacles – Berkeley Referee: Bruce Bernstein
No report received.

Saturday
SACRAMENTO VALLEY UNDER 19 ALL STARS 76 - Bay Conference U19 All Stars 17
Referee: Jim Crenshaw

Monday
Elsie Allen – Alumni Referee: YOUR NAME HERE


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
referee_improvement_team

The Referee Improvement Team, perched above one of the lovely pitches at Newport, Rhode Island.

Oldest to youngest:

Bryan Porter, Don Morrison, Ed Sorensen, Jeremy Turner, Bruce Carter


HAIL, PELICUS!


For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

AD MAIOREM RUGBEIA GLORIAM

HAIL, PELICUS!

We've borrowed and rewritten the motto of the Jesuits, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (for the Greater Glory of God), for this week's missive, as we are sure you will understand.


CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS

That would be the Sacramento Valley High School Conference.

Jesuit, the best team in Sacto, won their third national championship this weekend at Dartmouth. Vacaville, who finished second in that league, won the tier B championship at the same venue.

This is similar to 2004, when Jesuit won the title and Elsie Allen won tier B.

Congratulations to the players, parents and coaches of these successful teams.


LOCAL AREA UNION OF CHAMPIONS

For those who are counting, there have been six national championships awarded so far this season. NorCal teams have won five of them.

One team that will not, alas, add itself to that honor roll is San Francisco Golden Gate. They lost the super league quarterfinal to Old Blue of New York in Manhattan Saturday night, a game refereed by Tom Coburn.


WHO WANTS TO REF THE MIDNIGHT SEVENS?

LuAnn Campbell has asked us to put out a call for referees for Las Vegas 7s
on June 10th (the weekend after our conference).

You could attend our banquet on Friday night and fly to Vegas Saturday morning. Remember that the Sevens doesn’t start until 4 or 5 PM.

SoCal will pay your airfare and get you a hotel for Saturday night – those few hours you’ll be needing a room.

Let us know if you would like to attend!


CONFERENCE AND BANQUET REMINDER

The annual end-of-season banquet for our referee society will be Friday, June 9, at 7 PM. Plan now to attend, whether you will be able to attend the two-day conference or not.

We’ll be enjoying dinner and companionship at one of the South Bay’s finest restaurants:

Paolo’s Restaurant
333 W. San Carlos St.
www.paolosrestaurant.com

The annual, attractive and much-coveted Pelican Awards will be presented. Don’t miss out!

‘Rugby Through the Looking Glass’, our two-day international conference for referees, will be well-worth your time and travel. David Williamson has arranged for a top-notch group of speakers for Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9.

www.pelicanrefs.com/registrationform.htm

Plan to attend the conference and stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown San Jose. Call Robyn Clever at 800-675-3202 to make your arrangements.

robyn@theclevertraveler.com


RUGBY GAMES NEVER STOP

Wednesday
Golden Gate 19 – ALLIED IRISH BANK 54 Referee: David Williamson

How would you like your company to send you on a rugby tour? Allied Irish Bank does that for its employees, who are located in various branches across Ireland. The tourists, who regularly play for senior men's clubs, get time off from work, and financial support.

On Wednesday evening, SFGG opened its field and clubhouse to the tourists. AIB was keen to play, kitting out 27 players. This was their fourth game of the tour, having previously played the Calgary Irish, the Vancouver Rowing Club, and a team from Microsoft in Seattle. Due to some communication glitches, SFGG didn't know until 2 pm the day of that the game was on. With some remarkably quick networking, SFGG was able to assemble a combined team of its U-23 squad and Div 1 team for a 6:30 pm match.

The teams played without a score for 18 minutes. AIB missed two penalty kicks before SFGG opened the scoring with a converted try. AIB quickly responded with a try at 21 minutes, followed by a converted try at 22 minutes on a long breakaway. AIB continued its scoring by picking off a pass in SFGG's back-line at 29 minutes, and sending its center across the line after a scrum inside SFGG's 22. Both these tries were converted for a 26-7 half-time lead.

In the second half, SFGG had a man sent off, and AIB exploited its opportunities by scoring four converted tries. SFGG's captain did an excellent job keeping his team focused on the game, and the team responded by scoring two late well-earned tries, converting one of them.

The teams gathered arm-in-arm under the goal-posts for a tour-ending photo, and repaired to the clubhouse for some sustenance and shelter from the chilly summer fog.

Friday
Golden Gate U23, 0 – CRAWSHAYS WELSH 101 Referee: Pete Smith

After driving up scenic Highway 101 from San Luis Obispo, where they played Cal Poly, this group of Welsh select-side players completed their tour by putting 101 points up.

These guys really should have played top-notch colleges or clubs. Seems fairly pointless what they did.

Saturday, May 20th
NORCAL U17 SELECT TOURNAMENT
Pioneer Park, Davis
NorCal U-17 Select Tournament
Referees: Jim Roberts, JC van Staden, Ray Schwartz
With Rod Chance rotating as TJ and Jim Crenshaw observing
Report by Ray Schwartz

On this same day, over 3,000 away at Dartmouth, the Sacramento Valley HS Rugby Conference sides of Vacaville and Jesuit were busy winning the Tier II and Tier I HS Nationals, while back home, the SVHSRC was setting a very different, but equally positive precedent.

In the recent past, our 4 NorCal HS conferences have fielded Select Sides at the U-19 level, while in addition, Sacramento Valley has been holding a simple Frosh/Soph All-Star game. Last year, Cougars assistant and Frosh/Soph coach Michael Taylor, a retired surgeon and former wing forward for Wasps (in the early ‘70s), asked, “Why not a NorCal wide tournament? And why not make it a true U-17 tournament with the same age requirements as the iRB?" And so Michael set about contacting each Conference, encouraging them to field a team, and then planning to host the event.

And this was an event! Mike Purcell of the Davis Blue Devils secured the park, and lined the field. I was able to bring stands, benches, trainer’s tables and electronic scoreboard over from UC Davis Club Sports. Steve Giacomini served all day as trainer. Jerry Ahlin and others brought transportable shade tents.

A nice little 12-page brochure was produced (with all team rosters), as were t-shirts for all participants. Ludy’s BBQ of Woodland put on a great ribs and chicken feed. Josh Fitzgerald of Jesuit, and Extreme Soccer & Rugby, donated jerseys to the Sac Valley side and served as coach, etc., etc. And former Eagle player/captain/coach Steve Gray would present awards at the day’s end.

To our knowledge, and despite extensive research and inquiry to many authorities, it seems there has never been an Under-17 Tournament anywhere in America. Our NorCal community can be proud to pioneering in this way. As Michael Taylor wrote in the Tourney’s program, “So we step into the unknown, the untrodden path of Rugby development in the USA…!”

A total of (6) 30-minute games would be played, with the three refs taking turns, and each side playing each other once. Sacramento Valley dominated play, but the Bay Conference and Redwood Empire fought a great battle for 2nd place, and even Skyhawk, who apparently had a number of kids attend training, only to drop out on match day, had some fine players and playmaking of their own.

Steve Gray, plus the two TJs for each match, watched carefully and nominated MVP forwards and backs from all 6 games, and in the end, All-Tournament forward award went to Caleb Short of Cordova Lancers. Caleb is a huge and powerful #8 who plays with great spirit. The backs award went to Zach Lisson of Mother Lode, a gutsy and dexterous fullback who gave it a go, time and again.

I would like to note Nigel Carter as coach of the Bay Conference was a perfect gentleman, a thoughtful coach and a quite leader. We appreciated his presence. His players Sean McHugh and Danny Barrett of SFGG, and Josh Prickett of Antioch, to name a few, played very good rugby. Barrett and Prickett provided the best pair of locks in the tournament, Barrett scoring a number of tries, and Prickett hitting the rucks with perfect form and intensity.

David Meeson, Bruce Kelm and Afa Wongking lead a powerful bunch from Redwood Empire, who unfortunately had to play their best forward, Josh Berto of Elsie Allen, at flyhalf. We saw great dynamic play from this group, but a few too many little mistakes were made along the way.

Dean White and Mike Annab lead the Skyhawk kids. I was impressed with the play of flyhalf Scott Cody of Valley Christian, who scored a tremendous individual try.

Sacramento, lead by Taylor, Fitzgerald, Gino Jackson and Matt Metzler, had a deep squad who had practiced for weeks together, and it showed. Freshman scrumhalf Gabe Franzoia lead a group of 6 players from Christian Brothers (the program most represented), and played brilliantly. His father Tom, proudly filmed all matches, with the record to be sent off to U-19 National Coach/Selector Salty Thompson. CB’s Mark Spottiswood also played very well at #8, while Rod's son Max Chance played very well at lock.

It might be noted that as good as Sacramento played, only three young players from Jesuit and none from Vacaville were on this squad, presumably because the best U-17 players in these programs were busy back East. There were no Islanders on this squad. No Peninsula Green or EPA kids on Skyhawk’s side, no Sonoma Valley Dragons on Redwood Empire, and several sides were not represented on the Bay Conference squad. So we missed the chance to see many good kids I am afraid.

For those who did show up, the reward was a great day, and a great crowd. The show of potential and the development of skills were exciting for all. We cannot encourage the growth of the youth component of our game enough, and especially Elite development at younger ages. Congratulations are due to Michael Taylor, and all who participated! But especially the kids!


HAYWARD OLD BOYS 39 – Silverhawks 29 Referee: Joe Saccomanno
The old gents had a great game. They played two twenty minute halfs and the score at that point was 24 to 22 in favor of Hayward.

They proceeded to play another 30 minutes and the final score was 39 to 29 with Hayward winning.

Santa Clara 10 – ALUMNI 36 Referee: Pete Smith
Report by Larry Freitas:
In a game that Pete Smith adjudicated, on a semi-cloudy but warm day, SCUT-Bronco Alumni trounced Santa Clara by 36 to 10.

The forward pack of the Alums was manned by mostly recent graduates who seemed to be playing at the top of their game. The back division was older, wiser, and though slightly slower of foot than the opposition, knew when to make the breaks, dummies and passes that brought tries. SCU and Mission Club standouts from the past like Rich Kelly and Scott Logsden had a great time handling the ball. Terry Ryan, class of '77, played most of the match at scrum half. Ross Malinowski, class of '79, and former PAXO and Pelican, played most of the game at prop, and scored a try.

Apologies to those I don't name that played for SCU in the past, club rugby later, and continue to show up for this event every year, and make donations to the club. Nice to see those who aren't playing anymore, but show up for the Father Coz Cup Match anyway, like Paul Derania and Karl Winkleman, and Doherty.

I Myself, Larry Freitas, class of '76 and the oldest man on the pitch, got in about thirty minutes on the right wing in the first half. How much longer can guys in their fifties play against kids? Playing rugby is fun, that's all there is to it.

With the Alumni scoring three tries before half time, and with only a few minutes to play, Santa Clara scored when one of their second row forwards, the biggest man on the pitch, broke through from a scrum down near the Alum's 22 to touch down. The second half started with the students getting ball possession and scoring again in a short amount of time. The rest of the match saw the Alumni take back control, score a few more tries, and cruise to a win.

Conspicuous by his absence: John Coppinger (class of '77), and I must spare a thought for the late Bobby Barich, class of "77, long time Mission Club player, and one who could be counted on to play in this match, or stand on the sidelines and watch. If he could have recovered from his illness, he wanted to take up the whistle. R.I.P.


Santa Clara – ALUMNAE Referee: Larry Freitas
In a women's Alumni-Varsity seven-a-side match, with four ten-minute periods, the Alumni scored thirteen tries to the Varsity's three. I have a suggestion: since UCSC, SCU, and SJSU have had trouble getting enough alumni women together to have matches with fifteen apiece, how about all three schools having an alumni get together next spring at one of the campuses for a game or games. I told this to Betsy, SCU class of '03 and current Golden Gate Women's player.

PS: SCU current players and rugby alumni are looking forward to the Churchill Cup games at Buck Shaw Stadium in a few weeks. Perhaps Rudy Scholz's (class of '17) Gold Medals should be presented to the crowd.


BRETZ IN THE CAYMANS

Paul Bretz checked two big boxes at once a couple of weeks ago: first Test match and first Rugby World Cup qualifier:

www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1013209

The photo on the link shows Paul in action.


NEWPORT TOURNAMENT REPORT BY BRUCE CARTER

I traveled to lovely and historic Newport, Rhode Island, this past weekend to ply my referee video-coaching trade. The occasion was the annual New England club tournament and I was a guest of that Society.

The NERRS makes the most of this end-of-season event, bringing in the top tier of evaluators and coaches to work with their referees.

Bryan Porter, Jim Russell, Jeremy Turner and Ed Sorensen regularly join Don Morrison, Peter Watson and John Hayes to work with the New England refs. Spouses or spouse-equivalents are invited and the group stays at one of the best B&Bs in America, the Francis Malbone House.

I was invited to add my video-coaching dimension to the mix.

The pitches at historic Fort Adams overlook about a billion dollars worth of sailboats, and there aren’t that many of them. It’s that kind of neighborhood.

Many, many old friends from over the years were there. One encounter bears repeating:

Dinner Saturday was adjacent to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. We were entertained by the promenade of entrants across a grass tennis court to the local high school prom before dinner.

Afterwards, I was speaking to Chris Davis, a wonderful fellow B1, an attorney in Burlington, Vermont. As so often happens in rugby, we’d met many times all over the country but never close to either of our homes.

Chris said, “I want you to meet my wife.”

I was pleased to shake the hand of the lovely Theri Davis who said to her husband, “I know Bruce. We met at the Atlanta referee conference.”

Chris quickly looked at both of us in turn with concern. “How is it that you remember meeting him for five minutes six years ago?”

To which she said, “He’s Pelicus!”


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
Cozy_Corner
Here’s a cozy corner in the best-decorated referee changing room in the land.


HAIL, PELICUS!


For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Monday, May 15, 2006

BELLS AND WHISTLES

HAIL, PELICUS!

BEST NEWS FIRST

Joe Leisek has been promoted to B3 by the Pacific Coast referee society, on the strength of several performances the season immediately past!

Joe will be getting married next month, so this is shaping up as a red-letter year for him.


CONFERENCE AND BANQUET REMINDER

The annual end-of-season banquet for our referee society will be Friday, June 9, at 7 PM. Plan now to attend, whether you will be able to attend the two-day conference or not.

We’ll be enjoying dinner and companionship at one of the South Bay’s finest restaurants:

Paolo’s Restaurant
333 W. San Carlos St.
http://www.paolosrestaurant.com/

The annual, attractive and much-coveted Pelican Awards will be presented. Don’t miss out!

‘Rugby Through the Looking Glass’, our two-day international conference for referees, will be well-worth your time and travel. David Williamson has arranged for a top-notch group of speakers for Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9.

http://www.pelicanrefs.com/registrationform.htm

Plan to attend the conference and stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown San Jose. Call Robyn Clever at 800-675-3202 to make your arrangements.

robyn@theclevertraveler.com


CHURCHILL CUP VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

USA Rugby is seeking volunteers on their website. These are game-day opportunities to get in free, help out, and rub shoulders with some other rugby folk.
Click here: USA Rugby

Folks are also needed to help out with some distinguished visitors: drivers are needed to take Iain Goodall (Scotland Referee Manager) and Robert Horner (past president of the RFU and friend of Murray Felstead) around - apart from airport and match days.

USA Rugby Referee Manager Ed Todd had this to say about our hosting abilities:

“The Northern California Refs are absolutely great, and have a long history and reputation for hosting anyone who knows which end of the whistle to blow into.”

Let’s not let him down. Contact Ed if you’d like to help make these visitors’ visits better.

etodd@usarugby.org


NORCAL RUGBY CALENDAR FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS

Thursday, May 18:
SF/Golden Gate U-23 versus Crawshay’s Welsh

Saturday, May 20:
U-17 tournament at Jesuit (exact status unknown)

Two rugby games at the Livermore Scottish Games

Paul Bretz will be refereeing the OMBAC – NYAC super league quarterfinal

Memorial Day weekend:
Nothing of which we are aware in NorCal

Lois Bukowski will be refereeing the third (and her third) Mark Bingham Cup in New York City

Saturday, June 3:
National championship weekend for men’s D1, 2, and 3 in San Diego.

USA versus Ireland A at the Churchill Cup in Santa Clara

Wednesday, June 7:
USA versus NZ Maori at the Churchill Cup

Thursday and Friday, June 8 – 9:
Pelicanrefs.con, ‘Rugby Through the Looking Glass’ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Jose

Friday, June 9:
An old boys memorial tournament on the campus of Santa Clara University

Friday, June 9:
Annual NCRRS banquet at Paolo’s in San Jose, 7 PM

Saturday, June 10:
USA Super League Final at the Churchill Cup in Santa Clara

Ireland A versus NZ Maori at the same venue

Saturday, June 17:
Three rugby games at the Campbell Scottish Games

Saturday, June 24:
Palo Alto Tonik Summer Sevens Series begins


2006 RUGBY LAW BOOKS

Jim Crenshaw is holding a supply of the current IRB lawbooks. All current members of the society are entitled to one free of charge. Additional books may be purchased for five dollars.

At a minimum, a good Pelicanref should have a lawbook in the kit bag, in the car, next to the bed and by the throne.

Let Jim know if you need the free one and/or if you’d like to buy some more!

crenshaw@cal.net


PACIFIC COAST HIGH SCHOOL INVITATIONAL

The second annual PC HS tournament was held at Steuber Family Rugby Stadium at Stanford this past weekend.

Success has many fathers but this tournament appears to be the brainchild of Dan Hickey. Mike Sagehorn, Frank Merrill, Ray Schwartz and Steve DiSalvo were also observed doing a lot of work to make things happen by this reporter.

Pacific Coast referee chairman Mark Ormsby and PNW referee chairman John Chapman attended and did a fine job coordinating the officials. They refereed, along with Andrew Ormsby of Utah and Sean O’Connell of PNW.

Pelicanrefs also helping out were: Paul Bretz, Lois Bukowski, Bruce Carter, Jim Crenshaw, Tony Latu, Rachel Lawton, Aruna Ranaweera, Sandy Robertson, Pete Smith and David Williamson.

This writer was present on Saturday but not on Sunday and has not received any reports on the various finals.

‘Feature’ Match:

Jesuit B 0 – CRAWSHAYS WELSH 102 Referee: Bruce Carter
Touch Judges: Mark Ormsby, John Chapman

A team representing the best age-grade players of Welsh extraction throughout Britain assembled for the occasion of playing a local high school B side.

They had beaten sweet sixteen team Univ. of New Mexico 58 – 32 Wednesday night in Albuquerque and probably should have been playing Cal.

Three old men, two with flags and one with a whistle, tried their best but couldn’t keep up. The Welsh speedsters ran with abandon, shed tacklers with aplomb, passed with creativity and scored tries with the regularity of a time bomb ticking down to zero.

The Jesuit players asked for no quarter and played through to the final whistle.

Sunday:

ISLANDERS 20 – Lamorinda 19 Referee: Paul Bretz
According to the ref, this was the game of the day on Sunday, a real barn-burner.

Golden Gate U-23 – CRAWSHAYS WELSH Referee: John Chapman
No report received. We’ll go out on a limb and guess that the visitors won this one.

A final:

LIVE OAK – East Palo Alto Referee: Pete Smith
No report received except that Live Oak won.

B final:

PENINSULA GREEN 52 – Fullerton Youth 0 Referee: Paul Bretz

C final:

CHUCKAWNUT BAY 32 – South Bay Exiles 5 Referee: Jim Crenshaw

A Grizzly Shield competition was held in conjunction with the HS tournament for women’s U-23. NorCal, Pacific NW and Utah competed on Saturday for Grizzly selection and training that was held on Sunday.

Tournament Scenes

Paul Bretz:

“I might also add that Crenshaw was late for his game; Players started the game without him. He also forgot his whistle and had to borrow Pete's”

Jim Crenshaw:

“I would like to thank Pete for graciously loaning me his whistle. I might add that the players were having a brilliant game before I showed up.”

Bruce Carter:

After refereeing the runaway train that was the Welsh touring side, I ran touch for four matches in a row.

Sometimes the games and the players begin to merge in memory after a day like this.

But not always.

There was a wing for the Southern California Lady Lions youth team who played on the side where I was running touch. She was keen and responded with alacrity to the comments of her coach. She was also quite petite, yet completely unafraid of tackling or carrying the ball into the tackle against much larger opponents. The coach called her ‘Mac’.

After one of her runs I said to a supporter of her team, “How about that eager player?”

He said, “She’s ten.”

“No,” I said, “the winger. Not wearing a number.”

He said, “She’s ten – ten years old.”


NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN RAINY NEW ENGLAND

Best of luck to Jesuit in Tier A and Vacaville in Tier B at the nationals at Dartmouth this weekend!


BOYS’ NORCAL TIER TWO HIGH SCHOOL FINAL

Wednesday, May 10:
BURBANK 19 – Rio 3 Referee: Sam Reagle
Touch Judges: Jim Crenshaw, Rod Chance
Fourth Official: Ray Thompson

On a hot dry sunny Wednesday afternoon in south Sacramento, 2 proud teams battled on a pitch that was not ready for prime time. It was short, maybe 80 meters, maybe not. It had a light post in one goal and a tree in the other. The goal posts leaned downhill costing Rio 3 points when a penalty kick sailed inside the bottom of the right post, but not inside the top.

The Islanders struck first with a converted try at the 9 minute mark with Rio Americano answering back 4 minutes later with a penalty kick from about 20 meters out. Another converted try by the Islanders at 29 minutes made it 14-3 at the half. In the second half, there were plenty of strong runs and hard tackles, but little to show for it score wise. One reason may have been that the Islanders are getting better at killing penalties. They had 4 players in the bin for repeated infringements (offside). Three were in the second half with a 2 minute period of 2 at once. They still managed a short-handed try at 49 minutes to complete the scoring 19-3.

The Islanders have a good combination of size and speed and would alternate crashing big men with strong running by the backs. Rio showed excellent ball handling with crisp passes to split seams in the defense for good gains, but never managed to beat the last man.

Players of the game for Rio were Cody Dodge and Sean Gallinger. Players of the game for the Islanders were Tim Tautuiaki and Vili Kula. It was noted that all four finalists in this years playoffs were from the Sacramento Valley conference. Well Done!


NATIONAL MEN’S CLUB PLAYOFFS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Division Three:
Mission Rugby Club defeated OMBAC’s third side on Saturday 53 – 20, and then beat the Toledo Celtics 13 – 11 on a late drop-goal by Joe Domine.

Mission will play for the national championship against the Boston Irish Wolfhounds third side on June 4 in San Diego.

Four different NorCal teams have done every well in the D3 championship since it was created:

2000 Stanislaus 2nd
2001 Chico tied for 5th
2002 Chico 1st
2003 Reno 1st
2004 Reno 2nd
2005 Stanislaus tied for 3rd
2006 Mission – will be 1st or 2nd

Division One:
Title track leads through California
All five of the Competitive Region One (old Pacific Coast) teams won their first-round games on Saturday and advanced to the quarter-finals on Sunday.

Hayward had their way with Woodlands, 31 – 10, and then with Atlanta Renegades 41 – 13.

Olympic Club defeated Chicago Griffins 26 – 24 but then lost to Santa Monica 12 – 20 on Sunday.

This brings to mind something Olympic Club coach Ray Lehner said to this writer during the season: “I’ve been telling the guys we just need to stay in this until we can get out of California.”

After a tough NorCal season, they had two Pacific Coast playoffs games in NorCal and then two CR1 games against two SoCal teams.

They finally got their ‘non-California’ game as a twelfth seed against fifth-seeded Chicago Griffins, which they won – but then ran into another California team, reigning D1 champions Santa Monica.

Even had they beaten the champs, they would have been facing another SoCal team, Las Vegas, in the semis and this possibly Hayward in the final!

Division Two:
NorCal is not represented in this bracket. Red Mountain (Arizona and Pacific Coast) made it to the final four. The other Pacific Coast entrant, Provo, lost both of their games.

Santa Barbara of SoCal also advanced to the final four.

Titles in all three divisions will be decided in San Diego on June 3 – 4. This is, unfortunately for California rugby fans, the same day as the USA’s Churchill Cup opener with Ireland A.


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO

pc_hs_invit_crew

A partial viewing of the referees and tournament organizers on hand for Saturday’s festivities at Stanford:

Standing: Pete Smith, Ray Schwartz, Rachel Lawton, Jim Crenshaw, Tony Latu, Mark Ormsby, Andrew Ormsby
Seated: Bruce Carter, John Chapman, Dan Hickey, Sean O’Connell, Mike Sagehorn
Sitting: Jim Murray


HAIL, PELICUS!


For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

PELICANS SPAN NORTH AMERICA

HAIL, PELICUS!

THREE NORCAL CHAMPIONS:
COLLEGE FINALS AT STANFORD

Division Two Women:
UC SANTA CRUZ 22 – Plymouth State 10

Division One Women
STANFORD 45 – Navy 12
STANFORD 15 – Penn State 12

Division One Men:
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 30 – Utah 11
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 29 – Brigham Young Univ. 26

We know that the touch judges included Pete Smith and Jim Crenshaw. We believe that John Pohlman and possibly others were involved but have not received any reports from anyone in NorCal about this event.

Scott Wood ran the scoreboard.


FEEDBACK FROM THE HEAD REFEREE

Kevin McCaslin, who got to do a close Cal – BYU final, sends along some thanks:

“Pete Smith did a fantastic job [coordinating touch judges], I am sure as you expected. All the referees from NorCal were fantastic and worked hard on both days. The efforts even ramped up for the championship matches. Great society and crew - thank you again for being such good hosts to the referees over the past several years for the premier event in the USA.”


THIS COMING WEEKEND AT STANFORD

This Saturday and Sunday will be the second annual Pacific Coast High School Invitational at Stanford. There will be several featured matches and a barbecue in the grove late Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday there will be three Grizzly Shield matches for Under-23 women.

On both Saturday and Sunday, Crawshay’s Welsh will be playing at noon: on Saturday their Bs will play Jesuit’s developmental squad; on Sunday their As will play Golden Gate U-23.

Crawshays is something of the Welsh Barbarians. They are playing in Albuquerque this Wednesday and in San Luis Obispo next week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawshays_RFC

These games will be refereed by Pacific Coast B panel referees from NorCal, PNW and Utah, but plenty of touch judges are needed and will be greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you can be there either or both days.


BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS

TIER ONE

Semifinal:
VACAVILLE 10 – Elsie Allen 5 Referee: Jim Crenshaw

Final:
JESUIT 36 – Vacaville 15 Referee: Tony Latu
Touch Judges: Dave Miller, JC van Staden

Both teams already have reservations for the National at Dartmouth’s new pitch on the East Coast. The winner will play at Tier 1, loser at Tier 2. I think that the Top 4 teams in NorCal should all be at the Tier 1 competition. Anyway, Vacaville was the under-dog, but Jesuit didn't take that for granted.

Jesuit first dotted down at the sixth minute and they didn't look back. They won the game 36-15. Thanks to the T/J: Dr. Miller and JC.

TIER TWO

Saturday, May 6, Semi-final:
RIO RUGBY 41 – Sonoma 0 Referee: Kat Todd-Schwartz
At Rio Americano (Sacramento)

This was a fairly fast Tier II play-off game. I had hoped for a close game, and made sure we were all in agreement on what would occur if we had a tie game at full time. However, such contingency plans were not needed as this was a one sided game at the end of the day. Sonoma was early and organized before the game, but were outplayed by the Rio backs. Two yellow cards were issued to Sonoma players for dangerous tackles. The second player reportedly commented that he thought he should be given a warning first (e.g. one 'free' take-the-other-player's-head-off tackle). Rio played well, but Sonoma should be commended for a strong season overall.

TIER TWO FINAL, NOT SURE WHEN:

Burbank – Rio Referee: ?

Once we know the time and place we’ll get a good Pelican on it!


OTHER RUGBY GAMES

Saturday, May 5
Rocca Field, SFGG Grounds, Treasure Island
San Francisco-Golden Gate 36 – Swords RFC 36Referee: Joe Leisek
Touch Judges: Mike Gadoua, Paul Berman

A great rugby Saturday started with my arrival at the SFGG grounds on a sunny, cool day. The first place I went was the referee's room. What a great room it has turned out to be! A very warm, inviting feel: newly-painted, a sofa and two chairs, framed photos and jerseys, and a framed photo of someone who looks like Bjorn Stumer issuing a yellow card to a Humboldt State player. Bjorn is project manager for the renovation of this room, and he deserves our gratitude for his work. The photo is a fine tribute to his efforts.

I walked outside and joined SFGG player Brendan Dobel who was watching Mike Gadoua referee the curtain-raiser, SFGG U23 v. USF. Well, Brendan might've been watching the players, but I watched Mike. He looked great and showed flashes of his sevens speed.

Soon a few cabs and shuttle vans drove up and deposited an Irish rugby club. Four or five of them were even dressed as leprechauns. I was soon told by a club representative, however, that these were the Englishmen on tour with the Swords club, and that their garb was punishment for being English and for freeloading off the Irish.

Swords is the capital of the county of Fingal and is near Dublin. I did a bit of research on Saturday evening (Googlin' on a Saturday night!) and found an interesting story about the club's history:

http://www.swordsrfc.com/clubinfo-history.htm

The match was great fun. With Mike and Paul on the touchlines, I felt very comfortable. Both teams wanted to run, and they did. Swords featured more tactical kicking by the experienced and skilled flyhalf. They also managed a rolling maul that was astonishingly effective. The first half ended up deadlocked at 17, both teams scoring three tries with one conversion.

(So I suppose I refereed two draws.)

The second half started to look like the game would go SFGG's way, but the tourists simply re-charged their mauling engine and came back to very nearly win the match. A penalty kick awarded to Swords in the last minute, about 25 metres out and about 15 metres from the left post, faded just to the left.

This was a very competitive match between two sides that played hard.

The after-match social featured a great atmosphere (with a few English leprechauns), as the tourists looked forward to a few more days in San Francisco before heading back to Ireland.

Saturday, May 6
SILVERHAWKS 71 – Fog B 0 Referee: Chris Fisher

The only thing to really standout in this game was a move I've never seen before. A Fog player jumped six feet in the air and did a flying karate kick over a Silverhawk player. He barely hit the player in the face. I blew my whistle not knowing what to call. Is there a law against six feet high karate kicks or not? In the end, I called a penalty for dangerous play and awarded a scrum on the advice of the Silverhawk captain, Kenny Bousfield, who said, "A penalty is a little excessive since the player didn't know what he was doing." And since everyone was cracking up with laughter I awarded the scrum.

The question begs: have other refs been confronted with a situation where they didn't know what to call? What happens if a dog runs onto the field and grabs the ball and runs off with if?

Tuesday, May 2
Arnold Field, Sonoma
SONOMA HS 10 – Santa Rosa HS 7 Referee: Bo Rodman
Touch Judges: Joe Leisek, Larry West, Calvin Rodman

The annual Rugby Under the Lights fundraising match between Sonoma and Santa Rosa high school boys teams was a great event, as it is every year. Congratulations to Kevin Brown, his coaches, players, and volunteers, for staging another success. The game itself was entertaining, as Kevin's boys came back to edge the visitors in a very tight, exciting defensive contest.

Tuesday, May 2, at Cougar Rugby Complex, Carmichael
Freshman/sophomore playoff semi-final:
COUGARS 39 –Rio 15 Referee: Ray Schwartz
Touch Judges: Michael Taylor, Rob McVicar

A tale of two halves, as CRC scored first but was matched by Rio Rugby. The half ended 17-15. Cougars ran away with the second half as Rio stopped tackling just as the Cougars stepped up their pace. The Frosh/Soph competition in Sacramento is a key factor in explaining the depth and stability of these many clubs.

Wednesday, May 3, Cougar Rugby Complex
Varsity friendly
COUGARS 41 – Christian Brothers 21 Referee: Ray Schwartz

Tapped for games two days in a row by Cougar head coach Joe Cavallaro, how could I say no?! Similar story, with a tales of two halves. CRC scored first, tallying 2 tries, but Brothers Rugby, featuring a number of Cordova Lancers, come back to draw the game to 10-7 at the half.

Scoring opened up in the second half, lead by the Cougars senior wing Tyler Harrison, who showed extraordinary strength and balance to go with his blistering pace. I was relieved to find out Tyler would be attending UC Davis this coming fall! The Cougars pulled away as Christian Brothers seemed to stop tackling, though CB's sophomore flanker Polo had a blistering and bruising long run for a try, and flyhalf Joe Malm outraced all others on his own gutsy chip ahead.

Only after the match was I told the reason for the friendly was a tune up for the upcoming Pacific Coast Invitational High School Tournament, this coming weekend at Stanford. Cougars are looking good, but Brothers Rugby announced that they simply couldn't muster the numbers to make the Mother's Day weekend trip worthwhile.

Friday evening, Jesuit High, Sacramento
JV Final
JESUIT 10 – Golden Eagles 5 Referee: Ray Schwartz

I arrived to see a huge crowd gathered and fixated on JC van Staden as he was calling the F/S Final between Cougars RC v Jesuit. I kitted up, strapped on my knee brace, and trotted down the Jesuit sideline to check on the next group of gladiators readying for battle. Jesuit looked calm and organized, led by Fred Khasigian and Greg Joseph. The Golden Eagles, led by Tom Chute and David Bentley were being led passionately thru the paces by Mr. Bentley.

I met the captains at the center stripe just before kickoff, Jesuit's Alex a sharp looking #8, and the Golden Eagles' A.J. a scruffy little hooker. It seemed like two very different sides indeed. I wondered inwardly how the Golden Eagles could ever hope to contain the Jesuit juggernaut. But Jesuit would self-destruct a bit as they were called repeatedly for hands in the ruck, twice in a row early on, before they finally executed a perfect poach just before a ruck could form.

I appreciated that they were trying to gain possession, and did so legally several times, but too often they were seen fighting for the ball while physically on the ground. Leading 5-0, and just before halftime, I had seen enough and felt the need to yellow card the Jesuit 12, as he was prone, diving over a tackled player, and slapping at the ball, just two meters away from a possible try. He couldn't understand why he had to sit, the concept of 'repeated team infringements' being lost on this rugby neophyte. But his captain understood, and rightfully was frustrated that his teammates would not listen to him or me.

Jesuit scored again early in the second half as the Golden Eagles could not capitalize on the man advantage, but they would soon pounce on a rare Jesuit mistake, a ball tossed backwards to no one was then fly-hacked by the Golden Eagles 14 who won the footrace to dot the ball down less than a foot from in touch in goal.

The rest of the game was played at a furious pace and with great passion, but without further scoring. After the match it was made clear to me that the Golden Eagles have a full Varsity side that will heading to Stanford. And, of course, Jesuit had a big game to play versus Vacaville the very next day.

SVHSRC Frosh/soph Final on May 4, 2006
COUGARS 26 – Jesuit 24 Referee: JC van Staden

I picked up the level off urgency from both teams before the match started, where both team was ready to take the field 20 minutes before the scheduled time. Cougars were starting with all out from the kick-off, but Jesuit put a damper on their assault with good tackling and a great interception try just 7 minutes in the 1st half. Cougars were rattled, and Jesuit step up to the plate with another try about 15 minutes later, which put them in the lead by 12 points. There was no kicking for position from either team at a penalty. Cougars did not let go, which resulted in a Mexican stand off. Tries were flying in from both teams, tackles where roofless. Key players where sub by injury, just to be replaced with better once. It was rugby the way it should be!

With 2 minutes to go Jesuit was in the lead with 3 points, and Cougars were attacking like there was no tomorrow. Two times Cougars run it to the in goal, just to be called back for a forward pass and a penalty for hands in the ruck. Still they kept beautiful composure and hanged in there. With the clock on the end and quick reaction by Cougar’s captain, a quick tap ended in an unconverted try, sealing the game for themselves @ 26-24.

These kids understand rugby. To have U/17 rugby like this will be the first for the USA. If we can build a rugby culture in the USA the way Jesuit and the Cougars are doing it, we will be ready to take on the rest of the world in no time. Good luck coaches, players and managers. You guy’s are doing a great job.

05/07/06
Davis 0 – Alameda 8 Referee: Kat Todd-Schwartz

The Lady Devils hosted the Alameda team on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Davis. Alameda scored one try in the first half and ended the game with a successful penalty kick. It seemed the players were not overly motivated until the last 10 minutes of the game when both teams played aggressive rugby with multiple occurrences of stolen ball. However, it was a little late for Davis, and, although they had decent scoring opportunities, they did not recover.


PELICANS IN ALL DIRECTIONS

HIS FIRST TEST MATCHES: PAUL AND MARY BRETZ IN THE CAYMANS

Thursday April 30th: We arrived at Cayman airport Thursday evening and were met by Jeremy Channon a local referee who proceeded to drive us to our vehicle that was donated by one of Alasdair Robertson’s partners. Alasdair is a talented referee who has represented the NAWIRA (North America - West Indies Rugby Association) referees at the LA sevens tournament. Jeremy then proceeded to drop us off at our condo, a two-bedroom condo, the Corals Sands, overlooking the ocean on the west side of the island. There are 8 referees in the Caymans and all of them are either lawyers or accountants.

Friday: after enjoying the afternoon sun I coached Ian Beresford, a local referee who refereed the Cayman A Vs Canada under 21 A match. In addition to refereeing the Cayman vs. Bermuda and Cayman vs. Canada under 21 matches, the IRB asked that USA appoint a referee coach to help develop the referee society. In all I coached 3 referees, ran a field session, and ran a class session on tackle, ruck, and touch judge protocol.

The Caymans take their rugby seriously and are an active group on the Island. Two years ago the fields and clubhouse were completely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. In order to get life back to a sense of normalcy the government asked all clubs to expedite the rebuilding of fields and facilities for all sporting activities. All of the rugby teams and referees joined in to rebuild the club-house and fields. Players and referees spent more than a month picking broken glass, furniture, housing materials, and everything in between from the field. They also rebuilt the roof and interior of the clubhouse. They were having games six months before the soccer or cricket clubs were up and running. The players are ex-pats from rugby playing countries around the world. Welsh, Scotts, Brits, French, Aussies, Kiwis all play for Cayman’s national side.

Saturday: USA referees, care of Ed Todd, purchased a series of training aids designed to help train referees on running lines and recognizing the tackle and ruck phases of play. These aids were used to help develop the Caymans Saturday morning. The field exercise lasted about two hours. We shared the field with the Canada team and about 50 kids who were playing under-6 rugby.

Sunday: Mary and I had brunch at the Ritz, knowing full well that I would only eat once for the day. There is no better way to commemorate a first international match then to spend the morning poolside eating fantastically prepared food with your wife. After the brunch Mary and I toured the island until it was time for the first match for the week, Cayman Vs Bermuda. Cayman demonstrated superior skill in ball handling at the tackle and were able to control the rucks with aggressive rucking. Cayman also had an explosive backline, which they used with proficiency easily beating Bermuda 37-17.

Monday: Mary and I spent the morning diving. The Cayman Islands offer some of the best diving in the world. The water is clear and warm, a nice contrast to diving in the cold murky waters of Monterey Bay. Monday afternoon was spent sight seeing-seeing and shopping.

Tuesday was a rugby day and I coached Alasdair as he refereed Bermuda against Canada Under 21. Canada is using this trip as a vehicle for selection to the U 21 team that will be visiting Ireland this coming summer. Canada’s Under 21 flyhalf is also the starting fullback for Cal. After the game players, fans, and referees watched the video of the match in the clubhouse.

Wednesday evening the referee society met in one of the law offices to discuss current issues related to tackle and rucks. Earlier in the day I went diving with Paul Deker, a rugby supporter who owns his own dive boat. If you ever get a chance to visit the Island look him up (94-SCUBA). I would also suggest you use a small dive operation as you will get more diving, a better experience, and individualized attention. Unfortunately Mary could not join me on this dive, as she had to return home. Had we known what the accommodations were we would have brought the kids. However I was only given 2 weeks notice to attend this ten day long event and thought there may be too much confusion to bring two small kids.

Thursday afternoon I coached Jeremy Channon, an English referee in only his third year of refereeing. Jeremy was very impressive and has a great deal of potential. Jeremy refereed a combined Cayman/Bermuda side against the Canada under 21 reserves. Canada easily won the match.

Saturday’s match between Cayman and Canada was the most eagerly anticipated match of the week. Word quickly got around the island that this was going to be a good match and I ran into lots of people on the island who mentioned that they were going to attend it. The grandstands were packed prior to the match and the sidelines held the overflow. It was also the hottest day of the week and both teams felt that the heat would take its toll. Cayman’s strength was their pack while Canada felt their backs were superior. In the end youth and fitness prevailed over experience. In the 70th minute of play, with the score 20-10 in favor of Canada, Cal’s starting fullback and under 21 flyhalf kicked the ball into space from the base of the ruck. Canada’s wing chased the ball down in goal and grounded the ball to make the score 25-10 and after the conversion 27-10. That kick sealed the fate of the game, as the score remained unchanged.

Saturday night was spent socializing in one of the many night spots. The Canadian coaching staff finally let the boys loose to enjoy the culture. NAWIRA and the IRB have set up a development program for referees to visit the US. Earlier this year I met up with a referee from Bermuda who was working in Southern California. In Late April I met up with another referee from Trinidad. The ground work has been laid for one of the referees from Cayman to stay in Northern California hopefully early next year if all the details can be worked out.

[Editor’s Note: This program unfortunately only came to the attention of the NCRRS board of directors too late in the season to effect our participation in it for 2006. Be assured that the Pelican Society will be adopting a NAWIRA referee next season. Tom Jones, the regional IRB representative, knows that we are fully aboard.]


MATT EASON TO THE POTOMAC SOCIETY

What a full weekend. I flew to Baltimore on Friday on exchange as a referee evaluator/coach. I arrived late Friday evening and spent what was left of the night with my host Pelicus Migratus, Skip Vaughn, and his new bride Barb. We reminisced about the good ole’ days, and turned in for the night.

The Chamber of Commerce apparently knew I was coming, as with the weather all weekend was spectacular. On Saturday, I was treated to a post post-season local friendly between two Division 2 and 3 clubs outside of Annapolis. After the match, Skip and Barb gave me a complete tour of Annapolis, and a blue-crab lunch. Later that evening, May 6, we went to a friend of Skip’s house for a Cinco de Mayo party.

Sunday was a hard core rugby day. I gave 5 coaching sessions, and 1 formal evaluation at the Rites of Spring Tournament. Perfectly hosted event by both the tournament, and the referee in charge. Caught the red-eye home last night, and now have a large pile of paperwork to type up. Overall a great exchange, and hopefully we can continue to take advantage of it.

I wish I could be more eloquent in my report, but I think I’m still asleep.


BJORN STUMER AND BO RODMAN TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

"Flocking Northwards"

I approached my very first exchange, up to the Pacific Northwest Under 19th Championship, with a degree of trepidation. Would all the arrangements fall into place? Will my left calf fail me again? Will I provide good service to the players and honor for our society? I packed all of these worries in my old kitbag along with plenty optimism and no rain gear & met up with Bo Rodman for our northern adventure.

All arrangements went quite well, thanks to the hard work of new exchange officer Kat Todd Schwartz. The Oakland airport proved an excellent alternative to SFO & Alaska Airlines provided good & efficient service.

Lynn Howard, the Northwest Society's Development Officer picked us up at the airport and, after a fine meal of roasted meats & imported beer, deposited us at the comfortable & convenient Holiday Inn Express in Lacey, a suburb of Washington's state capital Olympia.

After a few beers at a nearby pub, and much trivia on the laws of the game initiated by Bo, we retired for the night and were picked up the following morning by local rugby figure and Kiwi expat Mark Sullivan (Solly).

Solly provided us with transportation & proved to be a stout companion on my Saturday night outing while Bo attended a Seattle baseball match with old pals. Solly also ran touch for us on a number of matches, and his knowledge of the game helped us make the "team of three' concept a veritable success thereby affording the best possible officiating for the young players.

Saturday was a full day of rugby, under a canopy of grey clouds, at the beautiful Rainier Vista Park in Lacey. There we met up with a few more referees who would honor the day, as well as with Union Allocator Craig Parish (Wags) whom Bo & I presented with a California musical bottle opener – it was a delight to see the joy in his eyes as the Cal's fighting song issued from the small yet smart device!

A quick run through the checklists & the rules of the day & the tournament was on! I did the first match that saw local contenders, and ultimate winners, Budd Bay see off Kent, from Kent Valley just north of Lacey, with a final score of 12 - 3. Budd Bay along with Chuckanut from Bellingham (just south of the Canadian border) were two high school sides that may be compared with our illustrious ones, and both impressed with their skill and organization.

I cannot say much about my following match, as my records of it were destroyed in the copious rain that saluted us the following morning. Both Bo & I stood shivering in the incessant cold rain, while the local crowd displayed items of wet wear never seen in California.

I got the final of Washington's Division 2 High Schools & Bo expertly handled the Girls’ final. Mine was a very even match in which Seattle saw off a determined Valley side by 5-0. A step in touch right before the touchline's flag, expertly identified by Wags at touch, prevented Valley from tying after a great run parallel to the line of touch.

Bo had the penultimate match after which we quickly repaired to the airport for our return home.

Did I mention the rain? Just to give you an idea, I had my kit bag under a tent and in it, surrounded by much stuff, the hard case of my sunglasses (obviously unused that week-end). When I opened it this morning on my way to work I found the small cloth I use to clean up the glasses totally soaked!! Never again will I complain about a rainy day in the Bay Area!! Sunny however was the disposition of our gracious hosts, as well as the good nature of the crowd of supporters, proud parents, and old rugger-heads. Official evaluations could not be given to us, as these were high school matches, but much useful advice was given as the local rugby & referee community embraced quickly & warmly.

Bo and I were proud to represent our society which, by the way, ably prepared us to officiate at a level that brought us instant respect. As with all foreign rugby experiences, after a matter of minutes we were at home among family. Having played for many years I expected this, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned that will help my game. It was a wonderful exchange, good sport was had, fun was guaranteed. A great thank you goes out to local officials who made this possible, and to the Northwest society which provided us with excellent matches, fan tasting hospitality, and good fellowship."


BRUCE CARTER TO FORT BENNING

A national appointment took me to The Home of the Infantry, Fort Benning, in lovely Columbus, Georgia, for the military club championships this past weekend.

My fondest rugby memories as a player, which means my fondest rugby memories of all, have to do with military rugby. And none shines brighter amidst my aging neurons than the effortless recollection of every minute of all four of our games on May 4-5, 1985, when Monterey Military won the USARFU National Military Championship in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

To win it all and fall down delirious was something I’d never thought I’d do. It exceeded my expectations as a player, whereas my expectations as a referee were significantly higher than where my talent and my opportunities allowed me to go. So yes, those are the fondest days I shall ever have following the bouncing oval ball.

It was then with grateful pleasure that I received the assignment to work this championship event twenty-one years on.

Something about us rugby types – our schedules fill up quickly. A day off becomes busier than a hectic day at the office. The last minute is a generous allotment compared to our notion of packing for a trip.

I was scheduled to work twelve hours in Los Banos last Thursday, ostensibly getting off at 8 PM. Of course I scheduled a red-eye from SFO leaving at 11 PM.

A look at a map will inform that this is an optimistic assessment. A look at the patient who came through my waiting room door at precisely one minute until eight PM, holding her eye and clearly in agony, suggested that this was an impossible dream.

Heaven be praised! It was merely potting soil under the upper lid. Ultraviolet exam revealed a mild chemical conjunctivitis with no damage to the sclera. Some lavage, application of drops and a patch and Bob’s your uncle!

The red-eye allowed me to have lunch in downtown Atlanta with my father and three of four siblings before heading over to Columbus. My father and fourth sib had been in Pelicanland only one week previously, including a two-day trip to Yosemite, so the home fires were burning brightly.

In Columbus, Ray Davis had done his usual superb job of organizing an event. The commanding general attended Friday night’s social, Major General Walter Wojdakowski, who looks like and is indeed a former lock at rugby football.

With the reduction in US forces by more than fifty percent since the end of the Cold War and the increase in operations tempo since the advent of its successor global conflict, the military club championships have dwindled from almost fifty entrants in the eighties to eight now.

But the spirit and the spunk, the competition and the camaraderie, the on-field zeal and the off-field zaniness are all just as I remembered, and I was right at home.

The final was a very good game between a freshman/sophomore team from West Point and a team of mostly Air Force graduates, which the former Zoomies pulled out at the end.

There were of course old acquaintances to renew and new referees to coach, as well as plenty of barbecue to eat.

One note on Life Outside our Costal Enclaves:

A coffee run was made Sunday morning. Three refs and four various large coffees were involved. Cap Pelletier, who lives in San Diego, was in the lead at the checkout line.

The woman said, “That’ll be $3.96, sugar.”

Cap has been around enough not to say, “We don’t need any sugar, thanks”, but not enough not to say, “I’m paying for four coffees.”

And she said, “Is $3.96 too much for four coffees where you come from?”


CHRIS FISHER

“I'm going to be the commentator at the Churchill Cup at Santa Clara. I was selected because I can speak some Maori, referee games and I used to write the scripts for FOX Sports World rugby program.”


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO

HAIL, PELICUS!

THREE NORCAL CHAMPIONS:
COLLEGE FINALS AT STANFORD

Division Two Women:
UC SANTA CRUZ 22 – Plymouth State 10

Division One Women
STANFORD 45 – Navy 12
STANFORD 15 – Penn State 12

Division One Men:
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 30 – Utah 11
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 29 – Brigham Young Univ. 26

We know that the touch judges included Pete Smith and Jim Crenshaw. We believe that John Pohlman and possibly others were involved but have not received any reports from anyone in NorCal about this event.

Scott Wood ran the scoreboard.


FEEDBACK FROM THE HEAD REFEREE

Kevin McCaslin, who got to do a close Cal – BYU final, sends along some thanks:

“Pete Smith did a fantastic job [coordinating touch judges], I am sure as you expected. All the referees from NorCal were fantastic and worked hard on both days. The efforts even ramped up for the championship matches. Great society and crew - thank you again for being such good hosts to the referees over the past several years for the premier event in the USA.”


THIS COMING WEEKEND AT STANFORD

This Saturday and Sunday will be the second annual Pacific Coast High School Invitational at Stanford. There will be several featured matches and a barbecue in the grove late Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday there will be three Grizzly Shield matches for Under-23 women.

On both Saturday and Sunday, Crawshay’s Welsh will be playing at noon: on Saturday their Bs will play Jesuit’s developmental squad; on Sunday their As will play Golden Gate U-23.

Crawshays is something of the Welsh Barbarians. They are playing in Albuquerque this Wednesday and in San Luis Obispo next week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawshays_RFC

These games will be refereed by Pacific Coast B panel referees from NorCal, PNW and Utah, but plenty of touch judges are needed and will be greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you can be there either or both days.


BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS

TIER ONE

Semifinal:
VACAVILLE 10 – Elsie Allen 5 Referee: Jim Crenshaw

Final:
JESUIT 36 – Vacaville 15 Referee: Tony Latu
Touch Judges: Dave Miller, JC van Staden

Both teams already have reservations for the National at Dartmouth’s new pitch on the East Coast. The winner will play at Tier 1, loser at Tier 2. I think that the Top 4 teams in NorCal should all be at the Tier 1 competition. Anyway, Vacaville was the under-dog, but Jesuit didn't take that for granted.

Jesuit first dotted down at the sixth minute and they didn't look back. They won the game 36-15. Thanks to the T/J: Dr. Miller and JC.

TIER TWO

Saturday, May 6, Semi-final:
RIO RUGBY 41 – Sonoma 0 Referee: Kat Todd-Schwartz
At Rio Americano (Sacramento)

This was a fairly fast Tier II play-off game. I had hoped for a close game, and made sure we were all in agreement on what would occur if we had a tie game at full time. However, such contingency plans were not needed as this was a one sided game at the end of the day. Sonoma was early and organized before the game, but were outplayed by the Rio backs. Two yellow cards were issued to Sonoma players for dangerous tackles. The second player reportedly commented that he thought he should be given a warning first (e.g. one 'free' take-the-other-player's-head-off tackle). Rio played well, but Sonoma should be commended for a strong season overall.

TIER TWO FINAL, NOT SURE WHEN:

Burbank – Rio Referee: ?

Once we know the time and place we’ll get a good Pelican on it!


OTHER RUGBY GAMES

Saturday, May 5
Rocca Field, SFGG Grounds, Treasure Island
San Francisco-Golden Gate 36 – Swords RFC 36Referee: Joe Leisek
Touch Judges: Mike Gadoua, Paul Berman

A great rugby Saturday started with my arrival at the SFGG grounds on a sunny, cool day. The first place I went was the referee's room. What a great room it has turned out to be! A very warm, inviting feel: newly-painted, a sofa and two chairs, framed photos and jerseys, and a framed photo of someone who looks like Bjorn Stumer issuing a yellow card to a Humboldt State player. Bjorn is project manager for the renovation of this room, and he deserves our gratitude for his work. The photo is a fine tribute to his efforts.

I walked outside and joined SFGG player Brendan Dobel who was watching Mike Gadoua referee the curtain-raiser, SFGG U23 v. USF. Well, Brendan might've been watching the players, but I watched Mike. He looked great and showed flashes of his sevens speed.

Soon a few cabs and shuttle vans drove up and deposited an Irish rugby club. Four or five of them were even dressed as leprechauns. I was soon told by a club representative, however, that these were the Englishmen on tour with the Swords club, and that their garb was punishment for being English and for freeloading off the Irish.

Swords is the capital of the county of Fingal and is near Dublin. I did a bit of research on Saturday evening (Googlin' on a Saturday night!) and found an interesting story about the club's history:

http://www.swordsrfc.com/clubinfo-history.htm

The match was great fun. With Mike and Paul on the touchlines, I felt very comfortable. Both teams wanted to run, and they did. Swords featured more tactical kicking by the experienced and skilled flyhalf. They also managed a rolling maul that was astonishingly effective. The first half ended up deadlocked at 17, both teams scoring three tries with one conversion.

(So I suppose I refereed two draws.)

The second half started to look like the game would go SFGG's way, but the tourists simply re-charged their mauling engine and came back to very nearly win the match. A penalty kick awarded to Swords in the last minute, about 25 metres out and about 15 metres from the left post, faded just to the left.

This was a very competitive match between two sides that played hard.

The after-match social featured a great atmosphere (with a few English leprechauns), as the tourists looked forward to a few more days in San Francisco before heading back to Ireland.

Saturday, May 6
SILVERHAWKS 71 – Fog B 0 Referee: Chris Fisher

The only thing to really standout in this game was a move I've never seen before. A Fog player jumped six feet in the air and did a flying karate kick over a Silverhawk player. He barely hit the player in the face. I blew my whistle not knowing what to call. Is there a law against six feet high karate kicks or not? In the end, I called a penalty for dangerous play and awarded a scrum on the advice of the Silverhawk captain, Kenny Bousfield, who said, "A penalty is a little excessive since the player didn't know what he was doing." And since everyone was cracking up with laughter I awarded the scrum.

The question begs: have other refs been confronted with a situation where they didn't know what to call? What happens if a dog runs onto the field and grabs the ball and runs off with if?

Tuesday, May 2
Arnold Field, Sonoma
SONOMA HS 10 – Santa Rosa HS 7 Referee: Bo Rodman
Touch Judges: Joe Leisek, Larry West, Calvin Rodman

The annual Rugby Under the Lights fundraising match between Sonoma and Santa Rosa high school boys teams was a great event, as it is every year. Congratulations to Kevin Brown, his coaches, players, and volunteers, for staging another success. The game itself was entertaining, as Kevin's boys came back to edge the visitors in a very tight, exciting defensive contest.

Tuesday, May 2, at Cougar Rugby Complex, Carmichael
Freshman/sophomore playoff semi-final:
COUGARS 39 –Rio 15 Referee: Ray Schwartz
Touch Judges: Michael Taylor, Rob McVicar

A tale of two halves, as CRC scored first but was matched by Rio Rugby. The half ended 17-15. Cougars ran away with the second half as Rio stopped tackling just as the Cougars stepped up their pace. The Frosh/Soph competition in Sacramento is a key factor in explaining the depth and stability of these many clubs.

Wednesday, May 3, Cougar Rugby Complex
Varsity friendly
COUGARS 41 – Christian Brothers 21 Referee: Ray Schwartz

Tapped for games two days in a row by Cougar head coach Joe Cavallaro, how could I say no?! Similar story, with a tales of two halves. CRC scored first, tallying 2 tries, but Brothers Rugby, featuring a number of Cordova Lancers, come back to draw the game to 10-7 at the half.

Scoring opened up in the second half, lead by the Cougars senior wing Tyler Harrison, who showed extraordinary strength and balance to go with his blistering pace. I was relieved to find out Tyler would be attending UC Davis this coming fall! The Cougars pulled away as Christian Brothers seemed to stop tackling, though CB's sophomore flanker Polo had a blistering and bruising long run for a try, and flyhalf Joe Malm outraced all others on his own gutsy chip ahead.

Only after the match was I told the reason for the friendly was a tune up for the upcoming Pacific Coast Invitational High School Tournament, this coming weekend at Stanford. Cougars are looking good, but Brothers Rugby announced that they simply couldn't muster the numbers to make the Mother's Day weekend trip worthwhile.

Friday evening, Jesuit High, Sacramento
JV Final
JESUIT 10 – Golden Eagles 5 Referee: Ray Schwartz

I arrived to see a huge crowd gathered and fixated on JC van Staden as he was calling the F/S Final between Cougars RC v Jesuit. I kitted up, strapped on my knee brace, and trotted down the Jesuit sideline to check on the next group of gladiators readying for battle. Jesuit looked calm and organized, led by Fred Khasigian and Greg Joseph. The Golden Eagles, led by Tom Chute and David Bentley were being led passionately thru the paces by Mr. Bentley.

I met the captains at the center stripe just before kickoff, Jesuit's Alex a sharp looking #8, and the Golden Eagles' A.J. a scruffy little hooker. It seemed like two very different sides indeed. I wondered inwardly how the Golden Eagles could ever hope to contain the Jesuit juggernaut. But Jesuit would self-destruct a bit as they were called repeatedly for hands in the ruck, twice in a row early on, before they finally executed a perfect poach just before a ruck could form.

I appreciated that they were trying to gain possession, and did so legally several times, but too often they were seen fighting for the ball while physically on the ground. Leading 5-0, and just before halftime, I had seen enough and felt the need to yellow card the Jesuit 12, as he was prone, diving over a tackled player, and slapping at the ball, just two meters away from a possible try. He couldn't understand why he had to sit, the concept of 'repeated team infringements' being lost on this rugby neophyte. But his captain understood, and rightfully was frustrated that his teammates would not listen to him or me.

Jesuit scored again early in the second half as the Golden Eagles could not capitalize on the man advantage, but they would soon pounce on a rare Jesuit mistake, a ball tossed backwards to no one was then fly-hacked by the Golden Eagles 14 who won the footrace to dot the ball down less than a foot from in touch in goal.

The rest of the game was played at a furious pace and with great passion, but without further scoring. After the match it was made clear to me that the Golden Eagles have a full Varsity side that will heading to Stanford. And, of course, Jesuit had a big game to play versus Vacaville the very next day.

SVHSRC Frosh/soph Final on May 4, 2006
COUGARS 26 – Jesuit 24 Referee: JC van Staden

I picked up the level off urgency from both teams before the match started, where both team was ready to take the field 20 minutes before the scheduled time. Cougars were starting with all out from the kick-off, but Jesuit put a damper on their assault with good tackling and a great interception try just 7 minutes in the 1st half. Cougars were rattled, and Jesuit step up to the plate with another try about 15 minutes later, which put them in the lead by 12 points. There was no kicking for position from either team at a penalty. Cougars did not let go, which resulted in a Mexican stand off. Tries were flying in from both teams, tackles where roofless. Key players where sub by injury, just to be replaced with better once. It was rugby the way it should be!

With 2 minutes to go Jesuit was in the lead with 3 points, and Cougars were attacking like there was no tomorrow. Two times Cougars run it to the in goal, just to be called back for a forward pass and a penalty for hands in the ruck. Still they kept beautiful composure and hanged in there. With the clock on the end and quick reaction by Cougar’s captain, a quick tap ended in an unconverted try, sealing the game for themselves @ 26-24.

These kids understand rugby. To have U/17 rugby like this will be the first for the USA. If we can build a rugby culture in the USA the way Jesuit and the Cougars are doing it, we will be ready to take on the rest of the world in no time. Good luck coaches, players and managers. You guy’s are doing a great job.

05/07/06
Davis 0 – Alameda 8 Referee: Kat Todd-Schwartz

The Lady Devils hosted the Alameda team on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Davis. Alameda scored one try in the first half and ended the game with a successful penalty kick. It seemed the players were not overly motivated until the last 10 minutes of the game when both teams played aggressive rugby with multiple occurrences of stolen ball. However, it was a little late for Davis, and, although they had decent scoring opportunities, they did not recover.


PELICANS IN ALL DIRECTIONS

HIS FIRST TEST MATCHES: PAUL AND MARY BRETZ IN THE CAYMANS

Thursday April 30th: We arrived at Cayman airport Thursday evening and were met by Jeremy Channon a local referee who proceeded to drive us to our vehicle that was donated by one of Alasdair Robertson’s partners. Alasdair is a talented referee who has represented the NAWIRA (North America - West Indies Rugby Association) referees at the LA sevens tournament. Jeremy then proceeded to drop us off at our condo, a two-bedroom condo, the Corals Sands, overlooking the ocean on the west side of the island. There are 8 referees in the Caymans and all of them are either lawyers or accountants.

Friday: after enjoying the afternoon sun I coached Ian Beresford, a local referee who refereed the Cayman A Vs Canada under 21 A match. In addition to refereeing the Cayman vs. Bermuda and Cayman vs. Canada under 21 matches, the IRB asked that USA appoint a referee coach to help develop the referee society. In all I coached 3 referees, ran a field session, and ran a class session on tackle, ruck, and touch judge protocol.

The Caymans take their rugby seriously and are an active group on the Island. Two years ago the fields and clubhouse were completely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. In order to get life back to a sense of normalcy the government asked all clubs to expedite the rebuilding of fields and facilities for all sporting activities. All of the rugby teams and referees joined in to rebuild the club-house and fields. Players and referees spent more than a month picking broken glass, furniture, housing materials, and everything in between from the field. They also rebuilt the roof and interior of the clubhouse. They were having games six months before the soccer or cricket clubs were up and running. The players are ex-pats from rugby playing countries around the world. Welsh, Scotts, Brits, French, Aussies, Kiwis all play for Cayman’s national side.

Saturday: USA referees, care of Ed Todd, purchased a series of training aids designed to help train referees on running lines and recognizing the tackle and ruck phases of play. These aids were used to help develop the Caymans Saturday morning. The field exercise lasted about two hours. We shared the field with the Canada team and about 50 kids who were playing under-6 rugby.

Sunday: Mary and I had brunch at the Ritz, knowing full well that I would only eat once for the day. There is no better way to commemorate a first international match then to spend the morning poolside eating fantastically prepared food with your wife. After the brunch Mary and I toured the island until it was time for the first match for the week, Cayman Vs Bermuda. Cayman demonstrated superior skill in ball handling at the tackle and were able to control the rucks with aggressive rucking. Cayman also had an explosive backline, which they used with proficiency easily beating Bermuda 37-17.

Monday: Mary and I spent the morning diving. The Cayman Islands offer some of the best diving in the world. The water is clear and warm, a nice contrast to diving in the cold murky waters of Monterey Bay. Monday afternoon was spent sight seeing-seeing and shopping.

Tuesday was a rugby day and I coached Alasdair as he refereed Bermuda against Canada Under 21. Canada is using this trip as a vehicle for selection to the U 21 team that will be visiting Ireland this coming summer. Canada’s Under 21 flyhalf is also the starting fullback for Cal. After the game players, fans, and referees watched the video of the match in the clubhouse.

Wednesday evening the referee society met in one of the law offices to discuss current issues related to tackle and rucks. Earlier in the day I went diving with Paul Deker, a rugby supporter who owns his own dive boat. If you ever get a chance to visit the Island look him up (94-SCUBA). I would also suggest you use a small dive operation as you will get more diving, a better experience, and individualized attention. Unfortunately Mary could not join me on this dive, as she had to return home. Had we known what the accommodations were we would have brought the kids. However I was only given 2 weeks notice to attend this ten day long event and thought there may be too much confusion to bring two small kids.

Thursday afternoon I coached Jeremy Channon, an English referee in only his third year of refereeing. Jeremy was very impressive and has a great deal of potential. Jeremy refereed a combined Cayman/Bermuda side against the Canada under 21 reserves. Canada easily won the match.

Saturday’s match between Cayman and Canada was the most eagerly anticipated match of the week. Word quickly got around the island that this was going to be a good match and I ran into lots of people on the island who mentioned that they were going to attend it. The grandstands were packed prior to the match and the sidelines held the overflow. It was also the hottest day of the week and both teams felt that the heat would take its toll. Cayman’s strength was their pack while Canada felt their backs were superior. In the end youth and fitness prevailed over experience. In the 70th minute of play, with the score 20-10 in favor of Canada, Cal’s starting fullback and under 21 flyhalf kicked the ball into space from the base of the ruck. Canada’s wing chased the ball down in goal and grounded the ball to make the score 25-10 and after the conversion 27-10. That kick sealed the fate of the game, as the score remained unchanged.

Saturday night was spent socializing in one of the many night spots. The Canadian coaching staff finally let the boys loose to enjoy the culture. NAWIRA and the IRB have set up a development program for referees to visit the US. Earlier this year I met up with a referee from Bermuda who was working in Southern California. In Late April I met up with another referee from Trinidad. The ground work has been laid for one of the referees from Cayman to stay in Northern California hopefully early next year if all the details can be worked out.

[Editor’s Note: This program unfortunately only came to the attention of the NCRRS board of directors too late in the season to effect our participation in it for 2006. Be assured that the Pelican Society will be adopting a NAWIRA referee next season. Tom Jones, the regional IRB representative, knows that we are fully aboard.]


MATT EASON TO THE POTOMAC SOCIETY

What a full weekend. I flew to Baltimore on Friday on exchange as a referee evaluator/coach. I arrived late Friday evening and spent what was left of the night with my host Pelicus Migratus, Skip Vaughn, and his new bride Barb. We reminisced about the good ole’ days, and turned in for the night.

The Chamber of Commerce apparently knew I was coming, as with the weather all weekend was spectacular. On Saturday, I was treated to a post post-season local friendly between two Division 2 and 3 clubs outside of Annapolis. After the match, Skip and Barb gave me a complete tour of Annapolis, and a blue-crab lunch. Later that evening, May 6, we went to a friend of Skip’s house for a Cinco de Mayo party.

Sunday was a hard core rugby day. I gave 5 coaching sessions, and 1 formal evaluation at the Rites of Spring Tournament. Perfectly hosted event by both the tournament, and the referee in charge. Caught the red-eye home last night, and now have a large pile of paperwork to type up. Overall a great exchange, and hopefully we can continue to take advantage of it.

I wish I could be more eloquent in my report, but I think I’m still asleep.


BJORN STUMER AND BO RODMAN TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

"Flocking Northwards"

I approached my very first exchange, up to the Pacific Northwest Under 19th Championship, with a degree of trepidation. Would all the arrangements fall into place? Will my left calf fail me again? Will I provide good service to the players and honor for our society? I packed all of these worries in my old kitbag along with plenty optimism and no rain gear & met up with Bo Rodman for our northern adventure.

All arrangements went quite well, thanks to the hard work of new exchange officer Kat Todd Schwartz. The Oakland airport proved an excellent alternative to SFO & Alaska Airlines provided good & efficient service.

Lynn Howard, the Northwest Society's Development Officer picked us up at the airport and, after a fine meal of roasted meats & imported beer, deposited us at the comfortable & convenient Holiday Inn Express in Lacey, a suburb of Washington's state capital Olympia.

After a few beers at a nearby pub, and much trivia on the laws of the game initiated by Bo, we retired for the night and were picked up the following morning by local rugby figure and Kiwi expat Mark Sullivan (Solly).

Solly provided us with transportation & proved to be a stout companion on my Saturday night outing while Bo attended a Seattle baseball match with old pals. Solly also ran touch for us on a number of matches, and his knowledge of the game helped us make the "team of three' concept a veritable success thereby affording the best possible officiating for the young players.

Saturday was a full day of rugby, under a canopy of grey clouds, at the beautiful Rainier Vista Park in Lacey. There we met up with a few more referees who would honor the day, as well as with Union Allocator Craig Parish (Wags) whom Bo & I presented with a California musical bottle opener – it was a delight to see the joy in his eyes as the Cal's fighting song issued from the small yet smart device!

A quick run through the checklists & the rules of the day & the tournament was on! I did the first match that saw local contenders, and ultimate winners, Budd Bay see off Kent, from Kent Valley just north of Lacey, with a final score of 12 - 3. Budd Bay along with Chuckanut from Bellingham (just south of the Canadian border) were two high school sides that may be compared with our illustrious ones, and both impressed with their skill and organization.

I cannot say much about my following match, as my records of it were destroyed in the copious rain that saluted us the following morning. Both Bo & I stood shivering in the incessant cold rain, while the local crowd displayed items of wet wear never seen in California.

I got the final of Washington's Division 2 High Schools & Bo expertly handled the Girls’ final. Mine was a very even match in which Seattle saw off a determined Valley side by 5-0. A step in touch right before the touchline's flag, expertly identified by Wags at touch, prevented Valley from tying after a great run parallel to the line of touch.

Bo had the penultimate match after which we quickly repaired to the airport for our return home.

Did I mention the rain? Just to give you an idea, I had my kit bag under a tent and in it, surrounded by much stuff, the hard case of my sunglasses (obviously unused that week-end). When I opened it this morning on my way to work I found the small cloth I use to clean up the glasses totally soaked!! Never again will I complain about a rainy day in the Bay Area!! Sunny however was the disposition of our gracious hosts, as well as the good nature of the crowd of supporters, proud parents, and old rugger-heads. Official evaluations could not be given to us, as these were high school matches, but much useful advice was given as the local rugby & referee community embraced quickly & warmly.

Bo and I were proud to represent our society which, by the way, ably prepared us to officiate at a level that brought us instant respect. As with all foreign rugby experiences, after a matter of minutes we were at home among family. Having played for many years I expected this, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned that will help my game. It was a wonderful exchange, good sport was had, fun was guaranteed. A great thank you goes out to local officials who made this possible, and to the Northwest society which provided us with excellent matches, fan tasting hospitality, and good fellowship."


BRUCE CARTER TO FORT BENNING

A national appointment took me to The Home of the Infantry, Fort Benning, in lovely Columbus, Georgia, for the military club championships this past weekend.

My fondest rugby memories as a player, which means my fondest rugby memories of all, have to do with military rugby. And none shines brighter amidst my aging neurons than the effortless recollection of every minute of all four of our games on May 4-5, 1985, when Monterey Military won the USARFU National Military Championship in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

To win it all and fall down delirious was something I’d never thought I’d do. It exceeded my expectations as a player, whereas my expectations as a referee were significantly higher than where my talent and my opportunities allowed me to go. So yes, those are the fondest days I shall ever have following the bouncing oval ball.

It was then with grateful pleasure that I received the assignment to work this championship event twenty-one years on.

Something about us rugby types – our schedules fill up quickly. A day off becomes busier than a hectic day at the office. The last minute is a generous allotment compared to our notion of packing for a trip.

I was scheduled to work twelve hours in Los Banos last Thursday, ostensibly getting off at 8 PM. Of course I scheduled a red-eye from SFO leaving at 11 PM.

A look at a map will inform that this is an optimistic assessment. A look at the patient who came through my waiting room door at precisely one minute until eight PM, holding her eye and clearly in agony, suggested that this was an impossible dream.

Heaven be praised! It was merely potting soil under the upper lid. Ultraviolet exam revealed a mild chemical conjunctivitis with no damage to the sclera. Some lavage, application of drops and a patch and Bob’s your uncle!

The red-eye allowed me to have lunch in downtown Atlanta with my father and three of four siblings before heading over to Columbus. My father and fourth sib had been in Pelicanland only one week previously, including a two-day trip to Yosemite, so the home fires were burning brightly.

In Columbus, Ray Davis had done his usual superb job of organizing an event. The commanding general attended Friday night’s social, Major General Walter Wojdakowski, who looks like and is indeed a former lock at rugby football.

With the reduction in US forces by more than fifty percent since the end of the Cold War and the increase in operations tempo since the advent of its successor global conflict, the military club championships have dwindled from almost fifty entrants in the eighties to eight now.

But the spirit and the spunk, the competition and the camaraderie, the on-field zeal and the off-field zaniness are all just as I remembered, and I was right at home.

The final was a very good game between a freshman/sophomore team from West Point and a team of mostly Air Force graduates, which the former Zoomies pulled out at the end.

There were of course old acquaintances to renew and new referees to coach, as well as plenty of barbecue to eat.

One note on Life Outside our Costal Enclaves:

A coffee run was made Sunday morning. Three refs and four various large coffees were involved. Cap Pelletier, who lives in San Diego, was in the lead at the checkout line.

The woman said, “That’ll be $3.96, sugar.”

Cap has been around enough not to say, “We don’t need any sugar, thanks”, but not enough not to say, “I’m paying for four coffees.”

And she said, “Is $3.96 too much for four coffees where you come from?”


CHRIS FISHER

“I'm going to be the commentator at the Churchill Cup at Santa Clara. I was selected because I can speak some Maori, referee games and I used to write the scripts for FOX Sports World rugby program.”


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO

Gilding_the_Lily
Joe Leisek, Mike Gadoua and Paul Berman further decorate the Referee Changing Room at the SF/Golden Gate clubhouse with their number ones!


HAIL, PELICUS!


For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Monday, May 01, 2006

THE CHURCH OF THE OVAL BALL


HAIL, PELICUS!

REMARKS BY A VERY PROUD SOCIETY PRESIDENT

Pete Smith, Tony Latu and Jim Crenshaw have all had above-grade games in the last two weeks.

Unfortunately for them, it is unlikely that any of them will have another game to referee at a high-enough level to earn another above-grade report and formally merit promotion until quite a few months go by.

The season is too short.

Some Pelicans will recall that, twice in the last six years, the society president remarked at the beginning of the season that our referee society was not strong enough at the top end to adequately cover all of the fantastic games that we have at the upper levels.

This is no longer true.

We now have a coterie of national-level referees who lack only wider recognition, and a flock of ascending referees who are going to challenge for those higher-level games in the next couple of seasons.

Hard work by referees in a vacuum leads only to improvement. Hard work by referees in a society and a territory blessed with equally hard-working coaches, assessors and evaluators leads to promotion!

The NCRRS Board of Directors, recognizing that the worm has fully turned, that NorCal and Pacific Coast games alone do not provide enough opportunities for our deserving referees, has authorized a substantial increase in the number of exchanges at all levels.

We are embarking on a new era in Pelicanland, an era where the sky is being raised to allow more birds to fly higher. There will be promotion chances throughout the year for those who are willing to maintain game fitness and travel the whole calendar around.

We are especially going to focus on fifteens exchanges to the East Coast and Canada in the summer and autumn, as well as more Sevens exchanges for the sheer exhilaration of that sport!

Any referee who is improving and wants a chance to prove it on a bigger stage can expect an exchange every year.

Make your desires known! The days are coming when we will go from strength to strength. The flock will prove that the past has merely been prologue.


REFS NEEDED MAY 5-6

Touch judges are needed Friday for the four college D1 semifinals this Friday at Stanford.

Ed Todd assures us that NorCal touch judges will be used for three of the four finals on Saturday. With this in mind, we could use some more volunteers.

Bear in mind, however, that we also have at least six games elsewhere that need refs, four high school games, a men’s club friendly, and a touring side.

PLEASE LET US KNOW SOONEST IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO REFEREE ON SATURDAY OR IF YOU CAN RUN TOUCH AT STANFORD. We need to get the names of the TJs to the national office.


WHY WE REF, PART TEN MILLION

While you’re still waiting for springtime to arrive in NorCal in earnest, Paul Bretz is spending ten days in the Caribbean.

Saturday past he refereed the home Caymans versus Barbados in a World Cup qualifier. (We have not yet managed to find the results of this match on the Internet.)

Saturday next Paul will referee the Caymans against Canada’s U21 side.

These are IRB appointments, and well earned!


ROCCA FIELD REVEALED

San Francisco Golden Gate’s lovely but formerly anonymous pitch on Treasure Island now has a name to match the legends it is sure to engender: Rocca Field.

We have congratulated the team on its many accomplishments over the years. We now celebrate its wisdom in the bestowal of this particular honor.


THANKS TO THE THANKFUL, HAPPILY PASSED ALONG

Bruce,

I just to personally thank you and everybody at NCRRS for their wonderful job this weekend in Berkeley. I know I speak for Jason, Bob and Tim when I say we greatly appreciate the support on and off the pitch and what a joy it is to come to an event such as this. Please extend our thanks to:

Bruce Carter, Jim Crenshaw, David Williamson and Scott Wood on Friday (and the special tour of the hills above Berkeley and dinner at the Pyramid Alehouse)

Jim Crenshaw (he couldn't stay away, kind of like watching a car accident), Pete Smith, Deb Hart, John Coppinger, Chris Parkhouse, Scott Wood, and Rob Hendrickson on Saturday.

Scott Wood, David Williamson, Kat Todd-Schwartz and Rob Hendrickson (especially the timely ride to my Airport Shuttle - Thanks Rob!) on Sunday.

I know you had quite a few obligations to fulfill this last weekend, but your Society still managed time to support us. My hat's off to everybody who made a contribution and you all did.

And please thank Dixon Smith and Bryan Porter for their company and wisdom this weekend.

See you on a pitch somewhere,
Patrick McNally


Hello Dr. Bruce Carter,

On behalf of the Host Committee of the National College Championship Playoffs Pools A and B at the University of California, I would like to thank you and the other Pelican referees for an outstanding job in staffing the matches.

It shows once again how fortunate we are in the NCRFU to have the Pelican Referee's Society officiating our matches, as always, at such a high level of competency and organization.

We look forward to the next opportunity.

Sincerely,
Jerry Figone, Host
National College Championship Playoffs - Pools A and B
University of California


TOUCH JUDGE CHECKLIST

Our old friend Steve Womersley of the East Midlands has put together a checklist for touch judges. It has been forwarded to us and endorsed for your reading by Tom Jones and Ed Todd.

It is specifically designed to help move your mindset from refereeing to running touch.

If you have not received a copy of it and would like one, please respond.


USA PLAYOFFS: D1, COMPETITIVE REGION ONE RESULTS

Huntington Beach 28 – SAN MATEO 34
LAS VEGAS 21 – Olympic Club 17
HAGGIS 44 – Back Bay 22

HAYWARD 19 – Santa Monica 15 Referee: Tony Latu
Touch Judges: Jim Crenshaw, Bruce Carter
Fourth Official: Giles Wilson

When you have these two good refs running touch for you, you are blessed. But when you have two 'B' Panel refs watch your back...priceless.

The reigning D-1 champ traveled to NorCal in style to try to maintain their run for another one, back to back titles. But Hayward was in the way, as they searched for a National berth. The game was moved to 7:30 (1930) kick off. And SM drew first blood. They controled the games but mistakes allowed Hayward to hang around. SM on several occasions tried to put the game away, but knocks on helped Hayward.

At the final whistle Hayward prevailed 19-15. I am sure that one of these teams will be at the Final.

Final Order of Finish, Competitive Region One
Top Five Advance to sweet sixteen May 13-14
(standings take into consideration bonus points)

2 - 0:
Las Vegas
Hayward

1 - 1:
Haggis
Olympic Club
Santa Monica
San Mateo

0 - 2:
Huntington Beach
Back Bay


GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL SEASON GETS UNDERWAY

ALAMEDA RIPTIDE 34 – Fairfield Panthers 5
It is remarkably the front end of the high school girls’ season. To their infinite credit, the night before the junior prom 17 valiant Panthers and supporters slugged their way through Friday afternoon traffic for their second match.

Alas, the more experienced Alameda ladies figured it out about 20 minutes in and prevailed.


BURBANK AMAZONS 15 – Davis High School 12 Referee: Kat Todd-Schwartz
In Sacramento (Nielson Park)

The Amazons pulled out a win by scoring in the last play of the game. Davis had dominated early on, scoring two tries within the first 10 minutes of the game. They were shut out thereafter. This was the first game for the Amazons this year, but both teams were pretty inexperienced. When the Davis thrower was hesitant to throw the ball into a lineout, I advised "Let's have it, Davis." misunderstanding, she then promptly tossed me the ball. Not exactly what I had in mind but it did afford me time to caution her on her throw!


BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS

TIER ONE

Quarterfinal at St. Mary’s, Wednesday, 6 PM:

LAMORINDA 49 – Montgomery 21 Referee: Chris Parkhouse

Montgomery in only their third year of formation put up an impressive fight against a strong Lamorinda side who will now move on to face Jesuit on Saturday. Lamorinda had a strong first 35 mins spending most of the half in Montgomery territory and running in six tries with a single conversion to lead 32 - 0 at the half. The pick of the tries was a driving maul from ten yards out from a line out set piece.

The second half began in the same vein as the first with Lamorinda running in their first try of the half with only two minutes gone. Lamorinda began to ring the changes and Montgomery sprang to life. They continued to battle, never dropped their heads and were rewarded when their number 7 dove in between the posts. Two more tries in quick succession, including a second from the number 7, saw the score move to 39 - 21 with ten minutes still remaining in the game. More than enough time for Montgomery to come back. However, great work again from the forwards of Lamorinda was rewarded with another try. The pick of the tries came from the very last play of the game. With time out due with the next dead ball, Lamorinda won possession at a scrum within their own half and then proceeded with swift hands and a neat scissor move, to run down the field, number 14 eventually kicking ahead past two defenders to score 10 m in from touch.

I'm sure in years to come if Montgomery continues to show this type of progress, that they will begin to emerge as a force at this level.

Semifinal:

JESUIT 43 – Lamorinda 8 Referee: Pete Smith

Quarterfinal:

ELSIE ALLEN 22 – Hayward 14 Referee: Joe Leisek
Touch Judges: Bo Rodman, Matt Eschoo

Another hard-hitting, intense battle at the Lobodome. Heavy tackling, persistent multi-phase play, very intense atmosphere. Four tries for the hosts, two for the visitors. A close game throughout, with Elsie ahead 10-7 at halftime. Lots of excellent athletes on the field, with Elsie proving more technically proficient and disciplined. A spirited, very physical contest.

Semifinal to be played Tuesday evening at 6 PM:

Vacaville – Elsie Allen Referee: Jim Crenshaw
TOUCH JUDGES NEEDED


FINAL, SATURDAY MAY 6:

Home team depends on who wins Tuesday

Jesuit – Elsie Allen or Vacaville Referee: Tony Latu
TOUCH JUDGES NEEDED


TIER TWO ACTION SIZZLES

In exciting post-season quarterfinal action, Peninsula Green forfeited to Burbank. This was matched in intensity by a fine forfeit victory, Santa Rosa succumbing to Golden Gate without taking the pitch.

Not satisfied to end the season with a forfeit victory, Golden Gate then forfeited to Burbank in the half-final, putting an end to their string of walkovers.

Burbank thus finds themselves having negotiated the first two rounds of the playoffs perfectly, without so much as a single knock-on to mar their record.

Meanwhile, Rio Rugby, having physically gotten into automobiles and driven to Aptos to play and win a game of rugby football in person, actually sweating and running around and risking getting dirty, that sort of thing, will play the winner of:

Friday, April 28:

Sonoma– Antioch Referee: Bo Rodman
No report received.

Wednesday, May 3, Semi-final:

Rio Rugby – Sonoma/Antioch Referee: ?


TIER TWO FINAL, SATURDAY MAY 6:

Burbank – Rio/Sonoma/Antioch Referee: ?


OTHER RUGBY GAMES

Sac State Women 5 – SAC STATE ALUM 15 Ref: Todd-Schwartz
The alumnae pulled out a win over their younger sisters (and all remained 'right' in the tradition of all such games). Alumnae were assisted in this effort by one or two Aggie Alum and a handful of Amazons. The lack of goal posts resulted in a brief discombobulated moment by the ref early in the first half, but a swift recovery was had with appropriate orientation for the rest of the game. The last 10 minutes of the game were particularly spirited and well contested by both teams.

SOBs 9 v NOBs 4 Referee: Ray Schwartz
Danny Nunn Park, Sacramento

On the artful strength of my handling the SFGG v Hayward/Clowns last weekend, I was lucky enough to draw a local... a mere ten miles east on Florin Road. Sunny and warm as the Nevada Old Boys were gathering to test the Sacramento Old Boys. One interesting note on a personal level, this would be the first time I reffed Brick, though Sam Reagle reffed me many a time years ago at Ruggerfests past...

Fred Forrester, NOBs venerate captain, pulled out his lawbook from '34-'35, and pleased to be reassured that not much has changed in the book over time. The NOBs lacked full strength and fielded two U-21 players, including Meesha, a lovely Lady Wolfpacker.... I found Brick rather humorous early on. He seemed to be offering a running commentary to his side, while he and they struggled to interpret my calls.

Most players appreciated my spoken desire to help all play good and clean rugby, some even believed it, but one NOB rugger, Guy Walsh, collected penalties with relish! As sunny as it was, it was absolutely blinding as all engaged legally in a ruck and then Guy's bright orange-haired, and heavily freckled arm would reach down and slap the ball!

Periods of 15 minutes each, with a few minutes extra, lead to 50 minutes of a fun run, and 9 tries to 4, with no kicks at goal. At one point, Sacramento's Captain Chris Bartholomew was breaking away at midfield for yet another try, and with no need for support. But Brick and I smiled to each other as we went for the sprint to the tryline anyway, as we both needed to work on our fitness! Meesha scored last, from a well earned run on the outside. Time for speeches and beverage.

Sac Old Boy John Brennan, though not present, awarded a ridiculously good deal to us at one of his Round Table Pizzas, just around the corner, and so all stayed until they couldn't eat or drink one more bit. Knee was a little better still, though still in the bionic brace. All was good.


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO

virginofthescrum

In Larriviere, in the southwest of France, the pilgrim will find the chapel of Notre Dame du Rugby.

Long time HP readers will recall we’ve run one of the stained glass windows from this church before. That one showed a lineout.

In this view, the baby Jesus offers a rugby ball to Mother Mary while in the foreground a scrum ensues.


HAIL, PELICUS!


For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris