Tuesday, October 31, 2006

FUN IN THE LATE OCTOBER SUN

HAIL, PELICUS!


TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

The subscriber list for Hail, Pelicus! has grown to the point where the Yahoo server deems it to be spam. Last week’s edition was not distributed to those addresses.

If you missed it, of course it is posted on Pelicanrefs.com.

We have cleaved the list in twain and will be sending out two ‘copies’ in the future to avoid this bottleneck.


TOURNAMENT WEEKEND OCTOBER 28

SLUGFEST

The California Tourist Board must have set up a perfect day to entice us all to wish to stay here forever.

Driving into Santa Cruz from the south on Highway One, the more-or-less straight part of the road from Aptos on in aligned perfectly with October 28th’s sunrise: old Sol was squarely framed in the rearview mirror, balanced on the horizon, at 7:30 AM.

It was a harbinger of the day to come: a full, blazing sun unobscured by atmospheric phenomena.

The setting of the athletic fields the University of California in Santa Cruz is dramatic and beautiful even under adverse weather. On a day like this, with the entire dreamy curve of the Monterey Bay beckoning the eye along its arc, the Game They Play in Heaven might have been visiting its home pitch.

A familiar experience lived through the eyes of another, one who is seeing it for the first time, is an experience made fresh anew. So it was that Santa Clara Coach Chris Kron approached wearing an even bigger smile than usual, saying, “I’ve never been up here! This is fantastic!”

Pre-season men’s college rugby was graced with temperatures in the high eighties this day. Everyone enjoyed it, knowing that the sharp line between California’s summer and winter can be drawn sharply indeed, and probably will soon be inscribed upon our days.

Scott Carson organized things so that Scott Wood and John Pohlman could start the trains running on time.

No knock-out games were played beyond the quarter-finals, as the coaches had seen what they were looking for and everyone had already played at least three matches.

The semi-finals would have included both Chico State sides, UC Davis and Santa Clara.

Beau McSwain, just off a yellow-card weekend at the Harlotfest, suited up and scored a try for the Chico State seconds.

Cal Poly looked good in the early going but had to share players to fill two sides. This cost them in the quarters.

One other note of caution: the teams listed as seconds (“II”) in some cases were the better of that school’s two sides.

UC SANTA CRUZ (Black) 21 – Cal Poly II 7 Referee: John Pohlman

CHICO STATE II 12 – Santa Clara 3 Referee: Scott Wood

CAL POLY I 45 – UC Davis II 5 Referee: Bruce Carter

UC SANTA CRUZ (Black) 13 – Chico I 7 Referee: Scott Wood

CHICO STATE II 17 – UC Davis I 3 Referee: John Pohlman

SANTA CLARA 10 – Cal Poly II 5 Referee: Giles Wilson

CAL POLY I 17 – UC Santa Cruz (Gold) 12 Referee: Bruce Carter

CHICO STATE II 21 – UC Davis 14 Referee: Ray Schwartz

SANTA CLARA 7 – UC Davis II 5 Referee: Scott Wood

CHICO STATE I 17 – UC Santa Cruz (Black) 14 Referee: John Pohlman

UC DAVIS I 41 – UC Santa Cruz (Gold) 0 Referee: Ray Schwartz

CHICO STATE II 12 – Cal Poly I 5 Referee: Giles Wilson

UC SANTA CRUZ (Black) 12 – UC Davis 7 Referee: John Pohlman

UC SANTA CRUZ COMBINED 24 – Santa Clara 5 Referee: Bruce Carter


The women’s Slugfest will be this coming Saturday. Let us know if you’d like to help out!


ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE RUGBY SUN

We always smile and feel and little closer to our mistress Rugby when she shows us more of her infinite variety. As the Bard wrote, it is that which age cannot wither nor custom stale.

So Saturday, at the Slugfest, the ball went into touch. The Cal Poly Captain picked it up along the line of touch.

Realizing that all of his opponents in the vicinity were backs, and all of them were heading for their lineout positions, and seeing his hooker running up to the line of touch, the Captain made quick eye contact with the referee and raised his eyebrows.

In response, the ref nodded his head.

The ball was thrown in straight, traveled more than five meters, and was caught by the onrushing hooker. No opponent took the slightest notice.

The referee, in the interest of fairness and as he always does in these situations, announced to the players that the game was afoot: “Play on!”

The hooker, even more oblivious than his opponents, ran directly into touch and prepared to throw the ball in at a formed lineout.

A lineout was indeed formed, but he had to give the ball to his opposite number to throw in as he had taken it into touch himself.


STANFORD TENS
Report by David Williamson

Have you ever seen a rugby tournament start (on time) before 8 AM? How about 48 matches all starting on time?

Saturday was a fabulous day on Stanford's stellar facilities--from the cool 45 degree 7 am team check-in, through the warm 75+ degree mid-day, to the 5:15 pm close. Stanford provided beautifully maintained fields, touch judges, air horns to start and close each match, food, drink, and great organization. There were 12 women's teams, and 6 men's teams: Two women's teams from Cal, three women's and one men's team from Stanford, two men's and one women's team from San Jose, one women's team each from Humboldt, Chico State, Arizona State, Santa Clara, and SF Fog, plus one men's team each from Oregon, East Palo Alto, and Olympic Club. The men's final between EPA and the Olympic Club was declared a draw by Tournament Director Jonathan Griffin. The SF Fog prevailed over Cal in the women's final.

We were fortunate to have a diverse set of referees and referee coaches to share the wealth. Bjorn ("Early Bird") Stumer arrived in the dark at 6:30 am, and left at 3:30 pm after completing 9 matches with coaching by Kat Todd-Schwartz, Paul Bretz, and Dave Williamson. Joe ("Iron Man") Androvich reffed the first game and the women's final, completing an amazing 11 matches with frequent coaching from Dixon Smith and Dave Williamson. Lois Bukowski enjoyed reffing in the morning, completing 5 matches with coaching from Kat. Dave Buckey arrived early and watched a few matches before jumping in to ref 7 matches, and learned a lot, with intensive coaching from Dixon ("The Master") Smith, and Kat. Aruna Ranaweera got some good pre-season conditioning, completing 9 matches including the men's final, with coaching from Paul Bretz, Dixon, and Dave Williamson. Isaac ("Player-Turned-Ref") Caselis participated from mid-day to late, completing 5 matches with intensive coaching from Kat. Paul ("Double-Duty") Bretz arrived to coach (watching Aruna and Bjorn), but made himself available to ref two matches so we didn't have to call in stretchers for the others. Ray Schwartz arrived after the Slugfest tournament with relatively fresh legs and helped close the tournament. Kat gets the Parker Pen award for coaching Dave Buckey with Dixon, plus Isaac, Lois, and Bjorn on her own.

Many thanks to all for your active participation and peer coaching.


JOHN POHLMAN’S BIG WEEKEND

Six games, two days, must be pre-season rugby by the Bay.

My rugby weekend started with an 8:30 match in Santa Cruz for the Men's Slugfest. UCSC opened against Cal. Poly. The hosts had split their teams equally. Cal. Poly had two sides entered and I think this was the second side.
First half finished with Santa Cruz 14 Cal. Poly 7. The second half had the Slugs scoring another long try and finishing UCSC 21-Cal. Poly 7.

My second game was one of the highlights of the weekend. Chico 1 verses University of Davis 1. Davis had left a few first siders at home but this proved to be a fast and fun match. Chico scored first with a penalty. They then followed with a try by their strong #8 Casey at the 15 minute mark. Davis followed with a penalty kick, making it Chico 10 Davis 3.

The second half saw Davis with most of the ball and lots of scoring opportunities stifled by some strong Chico defense. The final score was Chico 17- Davis 3.

Game three was Chico versus UCSC. By this time the sides seemed to be blending together. I actually thought I saw Beau, (long time Men's, Old Boy Chico standout), out there playing scrum half. Final Chico 17 UCSC 14.

My last game of the day was a mostly rookie match of UCSC against Davis. This was the third time I had Casey as the Slug captain. I am thinking of putting him on my Christmas card list. We played unopposed scrums. This was a great spirited game. When time expired the fans and players screamed "CAN'T WE PLAY MORE". I am just a servant of rugby, so of course: play-on.

The Banana Slugs scored a few minutes later to win 12 to 7. And yes, that broke a tie.

Sunday was another beautiful rugby day, with Stanford men playing Oregon at 10:00 and Stanford Woman hosting ASU at noon.

Joe Leisek called the first game and I ran touch for him. OK it was my fifth game and I only ran touch, I'm still counting it. It was eighty minutes, after all, with lots of running in behind the posts.

STANFORD women 69 – Arizona State 0 Referee: John Pohlman
Touch Judge: Joe Leisek

The last game of the weekend was Stanford woman reigning D-1 champ hosting ASU. Joe Leisek ran touch, plus one of the very qualified Stanford coaches. Thanks to both of you.

ASU had started last season 15-1 before injuries hurt the playoff hopes. They had good numbers and looked forward to the game. ASU had put in two teams in the Stanford 10's the day before.

Well If you think it might take Stanford a few games to reach last years form...How does 69-0 sound?

Stanford's flyhalf Jossy is not only a slashing runner but a very good field general. Joe Leisek said at half time "Stanford not only takes advantage of the other teams mistakes but they turn their own mistakes into tries". On numerous occasions ASU's defensive pressure would cause a Stanford bad pass only to find a support player to pick up and start another opportunity.

The Stanford backs had great hands, looked to be in shape and in midseason form. I think the backs scored ten of the eleven tries.

ASU never gave up and challenged the Stanford defense for the last ten minutes.
Final Stanford 69-ASU 0.

Where's the hot tub?


Sunday, October 29
Steuber Rugby Stadium, Stanford
STANFORD 39 – Oregon 20 Referee: Joe Leisek
Touch Judge: John Pohlman

Stanford Sports Sunday! In addition to the men's and women's rugby teams in action, the immediate vicinity also featured a pre-season women's softball game, a women's field hockey contest, and a women's soccer match.

The Stanford rugby men are much improved. Shortly after I arrived, Director of Coaching Jonathan Griffin was coaching the backs on the south side of the pitch while Bill Le Clerc had the forwards working against the scrum machine just on the other side; a very professional approach that is paying dividends on the field.

Stanford has some very athletic, fast players who are learning a system and have really improved the team's performance. They played with intensity and ran whenever they had the opportunity to do so. They are also very disciplined, which helped them Sunday.

This was essentially the first pre-season match for both teams. The visiting Ducks started off in more organized fashion, retaining possession better and driving into Stanford territory for prolonged periods. They opened the scoring with a penalty goal about seven minutes in. Stanford's big, powerful number eight did his best Jonah Lomu impression to thunder through the defense and score the game's first try at about 14 minutes. This young man was playing his first game of rugby!

At that stage of the game Oregon had more possession and more opportunities. But things shifted slowly. Stanford scored another try, as did Oregon, leaving the score 15-14 in favor of the visitors as the half approached. But a penalty awarded to Stanford near halftime was converted to pull the home team ahead by two. A very tight half: lots of running and passing, all at pace.

The second half was all Stanford. Maybe it was conditioning, I'm not sure, but they pulled away in convincing fashion and I could feel their confidence building. Stanford scored three tries (the first coming only four minutes in), two of which were converted, and a penalty goal. The visitors broke through to score a try at full-time.

A crisp match with good rapport on the field and a great effort by the players. Special thanks to John Pohlman for his very effective and helpful TJ work.


MONTEREY BAY ROUND-ROBIN

Monterey hosted a small tournament Saturday with Aptos, the Fog, and Alatini Saulala’s “Under 23” all stars. These were reportedly players from a variety of teams.

Chris Parkhouse was left to do all of these games on his own because of a very disappointing lack of volunteers to referee this pre-season.

The post-tourney pig roast in Prunedale at Brewmaster Ramsay Borthwick’s home (with Borthwick’s Best Bitter on tap) was a great way to kick off Halloween celebrations for all.

Report by Chris Parkhouse:

Had a real workout this past weekend. Not really practical to provide summaries of all the games but here are the scores:

Monterey 5 – Aptos 5 (20 min each way)

SF FOG 21 – Aptos 12 (20 min each way)

MIXED Aptos / Monterey 20 – Fog 0 (15 min each way)

ALATINI’S ALL STARS 17 – Mixed Aptos / Monterey 5 (15 min each way)

ALATINI’S ALL STARS 21 – Mixed Aptos / Monterey 0 (20 min game)



UPCOMING REFEREE AND TJ COURSES

Level One Referee Course: November 4, San Francisco; Dixon Smith

Level Two Referee Course: November 11/12, San Francisco; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: November 18, Sacramento; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: December 2, San Francisco; Mike Malone

Please let the instructor know if you are interested in any of these. Late registrants and even walk-ins can generally be accommodated.


THIS WEEK’S PHOTO
Pelican at Dog Lake

A mid-week, late October trip to Tuolumne Meadow in Yosemite National Park found no-one else on the gorgeous trails on and around Lembert Dome.

Well – almost no-one: there was a Pelican resting in a tree next to picturesque Dog Lake!


HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

RUGBY IS AS RUGBY DOES

HAIL, PELICUS!


TOURNAMENT WEEKEND OCTOBER 28

There will be three tournaments this Saturday: the Stanford Tens, the UC Santa Cruz Slugfest, and a four-team event in Monterey. We could use at least one more referee at each of them.

Please check your calendar and let us know if you’d like to help out. If you are a newer ref, the Stanford Tens is the one you should attend: Referee Development Officer David Williamson will be there, along with three other referee coaches, to help you into the mainstream of refereeing the finest rugby in the United States, the NCRFU.


UPCOMING BUSY WEEKENDS

There will be one tournament at UC Santa Cruz on November 4, and three games at Stanford on Sunday, November 5.

On November 18 there are three good games in San Luis Obispo that we need to cover.

Please let us know if you would like some pre-season rugby.


SON OF HARLOTFEST

Remember pumpkin corner flags? Not one but two Elviras at an on-pitch wedding? Bright orange referee jerseys with black stripes? The fabulous Pelican O’Lantern?

As befits a tournament always steeped in overtones of Halloween, the Harlotfest returned from the grave this year.

After its demise was announced to a stunned world a couple of months ago, apparently for fiduciary reasons, Nick French of the Shocker RFC took up the banner of mix-and-match rugby, hoisted the corpse from the ground, dusted it off and stuck a pair of boots on its feet.

The referees for the festivities were Bjorn Stumer and Joshua Giddens, both of whom have written about the day for us:


Report by Bjorn Stumer:

The delight I felt being at this year's Harlotfest was tinged by a bit of sadness at witnessing the apparent demise of this fabulous event. Having played at the first few Harlotfests, and having refereed a few more, I can attest at the wonderful nature and spirit of this tournament. Alas, not as many folks showed up, but the spirit was there in large amounts. Folks traveled from far and wide to attend - Angus, of Clowns and Fresno fame, returned all the way from England, along with a couple of spirited women from the newly formed San Francisco State University side, just to mention a few.

This felt like being at the beginning of this fabulous venue, when tentative attendance was rewarded with great rugby and the fabulous hospitality of the Modesto crowd. On the day the rugby was much better than I would have expected; a motley crew of ruggers from all over came together, and the magic happened: fun, fast, free flowing rugby regardless of the fact that some had never been seen before, or that others had never held the rugby ball before. Notably the two courageous women who showed up, one who never played before - both of them were included in matches, were made welcome, and actually played far better than your correspondent had expected.

A gorgeous sunny day on tap, as well as a few kegs, and barbeque for all. The games were competitive, the atmosphere rugby laden, and the whole experience a delight. Old faces were notable such as Scott McDonald the originator of the event, John Christ an old Modesto stalwart as well as a number of Clowns, some Chico players, and many more stragglers - just what the Harlotfest is all about.

As a rugby community we really should rally behind this wonderful event and make sure that it does not go the way of so many wonderful rugby events of the past.


Report by Joshua Giddens:

Thanks for the opportunity to get some experience at Harlotfest. I worked with Bjorn Stumer, as the other ref broke down on the way to the tournament. Bjorn and I split halves on two games, so I got some experience and feedback on Line Judge and Referee. After Bjorn left, I refereed one more match, which was won 38-0 by the Harlots against the non-Harlots. Bjorn gave me some great advice about positioning on line-outs, how to blow my whistle in different ways for different calls, and clarified a couple of questions about the laws that I had.

Overall, it went well and although I made some errors in not allowing the advantage to be played on a couple of occasions, I think I did all right. As a middle school teacher, I am used to dealing with groups of people and was not threatened or hurt by dissent; nor did I allow "chirping." I am looking forward to the training on the 4th of November and improving more.


MORE RUGBY GAMES


ALL BLUES 41– Beantown 8 Referee: Lois Bukowski
Touch Judge: Deb Hart
Referee Coach: Dixon Smith

Saturday morning rugby day arrived with great anticipation. One of the top 5 women's teams in the country had made the trip out to face the perennial champions in preparation for the Woman's Sweet Sixteens next weekend. The weather proved to be our typical balmy, beautiful October Indian Summer. While blustery in the East Bay, Treasure Island was simply spectacular; still and warm...perfect rugby weather.

I arrived at the pitch, greeted friend and former teammate, Kathy Flores, then made my way to Beantown's side where Jan Rutkowski steers the ship. Always fun to see a former opponent on the touchline guiding the team. While both of these teams have not faced off much in recent years; there is tremendous history on both sides. Berkeley had to go through host Beantown in the semifinals of their first National Championship in Amherst in 1994. The 2 sides met in the ‘96 final with Beantown the victor and then most recently the All Blues beat them in 1999 and 2001. Beantown had been a dominant side in the 90s, winning several Championships, but recently has seen a lot of turnover of the old guard. They are climbing back and are plenty stocked with fit, young, athletes, just lacking big game experience, thus the trip west to face the best test in the land. The All Blues have reloaded, as usual, also young and fit, but sporting 6 World Cup Eagles in their first 15 and plenty more capped and U-23 Eagles. The rich have gotten richer.

The first half was closer than expected. Both teams were sloppy at the tackle, however, after a few quick penalties, they sorted it out and decided to abide. Surprisingly, there was much mauling on both sides. Typically Berkeley plays a wide open game, starting with quick rucks, and Beantown more of the 10-man rugby. Not to say that Berkeley shut it down and played tight, but they did take advantage of a rolling maul close in for their first score and used the maul quite successfully to set up a good platform for their impressive backline. Their next try came off a long run with several different All Blues involved before Ashley English touched down. Converted, the score was 12-0. It looked like that half would end that way, then longtime Beantown back Bev Armstrong broke a long run, however, she was in pursuit by Laura Cabrera, who caught her about 10 meters from goal and quickly turned ball over back to the blues. Beantown would not end the half quietly though; they were rewarded for their persistence, hammering away inside the 22 for several minutes and finally touched down in a maul at halftime.

Second half started interesting as Beantown capitalized on an All Blues miscue to slot the 3 pointer and put the score at a tantalizingly close 12-8. That would be it, perhaps it was just the fire they needed to get the Big Blue scoring machine in gear. They ran off 5 tries in the second frame, several beautiful runs by Courtney Warner, a Cabrera load off a scrum and a few more to close it out. Beantown labored to keep it close, but in the end, succumbed.

The All Blues have to look like the favorite for their 10th straight (yes, 10 straight) National Championship. This fall will be the first time in recent history the women will hold their championship in November.


Cal women 12 – BEANTOWN seconds 32 Referee: Sandy Robertson
Beantown brought a large contingent west; enough to play a 2nd match on a beautiful afternoon on Treasure Island.

They put over 5 tries against a mix of Cal and All-Blue Women. Beantown put on a lot of pressure in the scrums, used the maul to great effect and mixed in some good attacks with ball in hand. The Cal/All Blue crew made Beantown work for their win generating 2 good tries of their own.

All should have been able to retire to the post-match socializing at the SFGG clubhouse reasonably content.


Hayward women 0 – SAN FRANCISCO FOG 44 Referee: Isaac Caselis
S.F. came out with a quick start to the game, scoring from the first kick off. Experience was the major scoring factor for the day. S.F. Fog controlled the ball well thru their forwards. Unleashing well ball handling skills from their backs to score 6 trys in the first half.

Hayward due to lack of experience was unable to retain the ball for any length of time to create any type of offense for the team.

Half time score was Fog 37 - Hayward 0.

S.F. Fog in the final half was generous enough to lend key players: a scrum half and a few backs. The vocal scrum half led the Hayward pack to move forward and recycle the ball well. Key runs by prop Asenaca & Sammy K. helped to move the pack forward. But inexperience caused the backs to sputter. But Hayward's notorious defense stiffened and only allowed 1 try in the second half.

Final score was S.F. Fog 44 and Hayward 0.

Try scorers:

Dana (2)
Linda (1)
Anna (1)
Bridget (1)
Chelsea (1)
Jen (1)

Great sportsmanship and camaraderie between these two teams...made it fun for both players and for me as a referee


Reno Zephyrs 7 – SACRAMENTO LIONS 57 Referee: Don Pattalock
There is a reason 7's games are played in two 7 minute periods............and it’s so the referee can rest! But when they play fifteens as if it were 7’s, it’s a real workout.

The first ever meeting of the Zephyrs and the Lions took place in Reno under a clear sky and almost perfect rugby weather; 64 degrees with a slight breeze. The Zephyrs are rebuilding and have some new players meshing well with some of the old stalwarts of Reno rugby. This would be their first match of the new season. The Lions arrived in numbers and size; the Lion pack easily out weighed the Zephyr pack by 400 lbs.

That being said, the game was played as wide open as any 7's match.

Both sides possessed players with speed, steps and wide passing; however, the Lions just had more; of everything. With Toshi Paloma and his younger brother on the side, several Fijian flyers as well as many Sacramento 7's veterans, the track meet ended with the Lions scoring 57 points and the Zephyrs scoring 7. The referee was convinced that every passage of play encompassed approximately 200 meters of running, kicking, counter attacking, more kicking and more counter attacking.

Look for more good things from both of these sides.


San Jose State 15 – UNIV. OF SAN FRANCISCO 25 Referee: John Pohlman
(No goal posts!)

San Jose State invited USF to a preseason tune-up. The game was played at a park in San Jose. The official San Jose State field could not be used due the game not being pre-registered with the University.

USF came down with 14 players. Dean, the San Jose coach and Alex, USF student, player and coach decided on 10's.

Well they say preseason games are to work out the bugs and improve each game. All 21 on the field have lots to work on next week. The game was played in good spirits. Lots of good scoring and some nice phases.

The San Jose State guys have good numbers and look to be on the right road with Dean as new head coach.

The USF team has some skilled players and would love to have an official coach.

The referee has lots to work on, also.


UC DAVIS 49 – Sacramento State 20 Referee: Ray Schwartz
Touch Judges: Rod Chance, Paul Smith
Preseason scrimmage
Preston Youth Correctional Facility, Ione

Sunny and warm in the Foothills. The Preston Facility, located 40 miles southeast of Sacramento in Amador County, houses approx 450 male wards on a campus-like setting. The grounds are vast, and feature a historic castle on a hill, with a full-sized pitch on what was once a lake, down below.

After allowing 30 minutes for check-in (IDs required) both sides changed at the gym and strolled out into brilliant sunshine, and across the soft pitch. Lots of loose soil had been placed "to fill in holes." For those who played, it was agreed this was like running uphill for the first 20 minutes, no matter what direction one was headed. But it made for a soft and safe surface.

Rick Flynn, a former San Jose State rugger, and presently assistant at UCD (for the last 10 years), also helps run the tough Mental Health ward here. He set this match up last year for the first time, and coaxed Sac Bee feature writer Marcos Breton to produce a nice piece that graced the cover of that Sports Page. This 2nd Annual match proved to be well played, and an interesting event.

About 100+ of the wards came out to watch, and all enjoyed, though most had no idea what they were watching. At the end of what was obviously a pasting, one yelled out to me, "Hey, who won?!" About a third of the wards had visitors on the day, and so were unavailable, but another third didn't care to attend. But the staff of the facility loved it. It seemed to be a vacation of sorts for them, and we enjoyed their company greatly. One of Rick's co-workers was former rugger for Pomona in the 80s, and we will see him out again this season.

Anyway... I had assisted the Aggie staff at a two day camp, just two weekends before, and had enjoyed reffing an intersquad scrimmage at Sac St. just on Thursday, so I enjoyed a familiarity and inside knowledge of these two sides. Sac St. fielded a true A Side to start, including Collegiate Grizzly Nick Cavallero starting at scrum half, and Captain Nick Klein at hooker. The Hornets actually came out strong, taking a 20-13 lead into the half. Four 20-minute periods were played.

The Aggies' coach Steve Gray had specifically told his club the Fall preseason would be dedicated to squad building. The club finished ranked 9th nationally last season, and appears to be blessed with even greater depth today. They fielded a mixed A Side in both halves. Collegiate Grizzly prop Ben Reynolds and Captain Scott Mallory lead the pack, but it wasn't until the second half when Adam Collins came into play flyhalf, that the Aggies attack truly opened up. And Sac State, fielding a lot of Frosh/Soph, with high school rugby experience, but a long way to go, just could not match this blistering pace.

Adam was returning from some tough injuries last year, but appears to be back on the track he took in helping lead Jesuit High's high powered backline a few years ago. He had a huge hand in the first three (of 5 unanswered) tries in the 2nd half, and surely was Man of the Match. He also slotted some tough conversions.

Both clubs have dedicated staffs and good numbers, and with a little luck and lots of hard work, should greatly enjoy the season ahead.

As a ref working my first preseason match, I was just pleased that my legs didn't fall off! I feel I've successfully taken the first steps on a path of what I hope will be continual improvement this season. I am working daily on my fitness, and I am vocalizing more, which is better, but must do so more often, and even more effectively. Paul Smith was very helpful afterwards in discussing my need to not focus on the tackle/ruck, but to remain sighted to the offside line when managing the breakdown: To stand facing North-South, and scan! I've got a lot of work to do, but am excited for the year ahead.

All participants enjoyed a feast of BBQ chicken, but then had to be on our ways. UC Davis returned to campus to play an afternoon match (with more rookies seeing action in that one) vs. Santa Rosa JC.

Paul and Rod, my TJs, were former teammates of Rick Flynn at San Jose State back in the good old days. We enjoyed a long chat about the facility, and especially about its historic place as the first youth prison on the entire West Coast.

Preston has housed such characters as Merle Haggard and Karl Malden, but Rick reports that the gangs are so much more violent today, and the kids who get to Preston are so much more "hardened"... He regularly hears, "Why should I look into getting a regular job when I get out, when I was making three thousand a day selling crack?"

It’s a tough world and it appears to be getting rougher. But at least the wards who attended the match got to see young men, acting fearlessly, and yet with discipline (there was one yellow card for professional foul), having fun, and well on their way to making something very special of their lives. But the disconnect seemed vast.

Rod coaxed Paul and me up to Plymouth for some of Amador County's best wine tasting, and I must say, it made for a great afternoon. Far more relaxed than Napa, very scenic, and the wines are good and getting better all the time!


SAN JOSE STATE women 6 tries – St. Mary's 0 Referee: Pete Smith
6 tries top none SJSU Women over St. Mary’s. It was 3 twenty minute periods with no posts. Both teams played hard, but SJSU’s backline was too much and was the difference.

I had to eject the SJSU coach 2 minutes into the scrimmage for excessive abuse. He added a sweatshirt and hoped I wouldn’t notice and I had to stop the game again to get the guy out of the enclosure. I hope it helps the next ref that has to deal with that guy.


NEVADA 22 – Chico State 17 Referee: Jim Crenshaw
Reno scored twice in the first half and held Chico scoreless.
Chico scored 3 times in the second half, but UNR scored last to win.


UC Davis 2 – Santa Rosa JC Referee: Joe Androvich
No report received.


A CHANCE-Y KNEE

Rod Chance forwarded an MRI report for the perusal of the medical experts here at the Hail, Pelicus! editorial offices.

The unfortunate joint being magnetically interrogated was a knee.

The report told a sad tale. The only part that made us smile was the medicalese version of what led to this state of affairs, what it was that constituted the injury. Under History it read, "Repetitive trauma".


UPCOMING REFEREE AND TJ COURSES

Level One Referee Course: November 4, San Francisco; Dixon Smith

Level Two Referee Course: November 11/12, San Francisco; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: November 18, Sacramento; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: December 2, San Francisco; Mike Malone

Please let the instructor know soonest if you are interested in any of these.


2007 LAW BOOKS

The Society has placed an order for 2007 rugby law books, which will be provided free of charge to all dues-paying members. Copies, or additional copies, will be available for six dollars.

The IRB has requested our order be submitted through USA Rugby by the end of October. They anticipate shipping in early January. When the books arrive, the membership will be notified.


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
Old Friends

From last month’s exchange to the East Midlands, a picture from the end-of-tour banquet:

Teresa Schwartz, Sam Reagle, Bob Tustin and Dave Miller share the memories.



HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

HAIL, PELICUS!

LEAD WITH THE GOOD NEWS

While bad news mounts with wings of eagles, good news often travels by snail.

Bryan Porter, NorCal and Pacific Coast evaluator, was appointed as a national evaluator this past July.

Our referee society, its members, and the rugby players of Northern California continue to benefit from the dedication and accomplishment of worthies such as Bryan.

Congratulations to our dear friend.


UPCOMING REFEREE AND TJ COURSES

Level One Referee Course: November 4, San Francisco; Dixon Smith

Level Two Referee Course: November 11/12, San Francisco; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: November 18, Sacramento; Bruce Carter

Touch Judging Levels 1-2-3: December 2, San Francisco; Mike Malone

Please let the instructor know soonest if you are interested in any of these.


PRE-SEASON REFEREE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 14

Our annual pre-season conference was held at the SF/Golden Gate RFC clubhouse this past weekend. More than thirty Pelicans attended!

The program was arranged by RDO David Williamson, who could not attend due to a prior commitment. We would like to remind those who attended to write to David with comments both pro and con about the various aspects of the training:

calrugbyref@sbcglobal.net

Special thanks are due to Joe Leisek, who did the legwork for the site, the food and the speakers. We would also like to thank the speakers and the coaches panel (pictured below).

We also greatly appreciate the professional facilities and the support of the SFGG rugby club.

The primary topic of the day was the Tackle.

Bruce Carter reviewed the Law, grade-specific criteria for refereeing the tackle, and the pertinent provisions of the IRB Aide Memoire for referees.

Joe Androvich and Paul Berman discussed their approach to refereeing tackles.

Dixon Smith encouraged peer coaching, the rising tide that lifts all boats in a referee society.

Paul Bretz gave a video presentation and a participatory session on the approach to the tackle in terms of mental checklists, materiality and positioning.

Joe Leisek moderated a coaches panel on what we can do to promote better rugby at various levels of the game. Mike Purcell (Davis) and Mike Caravelli (Golden Gate) addressed the high school game; Ellen Owens (Cal) spoke about the women’s game and along with Jonathan Griffin (Stanford), collegiate rugby; Harry Batten (Diablo Gaels) presented the men’s game.

We were especially pleased to have some new referees: Joe Androvich and Steve Jarmek, who began whistling midway through last season, and Jackie Finck who is brand-new.

Favorable birds have been sighted, which bode well for the new season.


FIJI DAY USA 2006 SEVENS

Fijian Independence Day was October 10. This is a date that Sevens referees have marked on their calendars, because it portends the advent of the highest-quality Sevens tournament that graces the NorCal season.

We do not mean to slight any of the other excellent tournaments that we are fortunate enough to officiate, but this event consistently features a very high level of competition indeed.

To illustrate, the Las Vegas team that won the Tonik money tournament July 8 and finished second in the Air Pacific Marist event August 5 lost in the quarter-finals this weekend.

The Diablo Gaels took home the $3000 first prize.

Magnolia Park in Rohnert Park was the setting for this year’s movable feast. Hundreds of people were present for patriotic events and a variety of sports.

But the rugby held center stage!

On Friday Mike Gadoua, Bruce Carter and Tony ____, a Fijian referee, were privileged to referee fourteen excellent matches. The level and spirit of play were top-flight.

Saturday’s knock-out rounds found Bruce off at the society meeting, wondering who scheduled this thing for such a date!! Mike took the lead and had most of the fun, assisted by Tony and Isaac Caselis.


Report by Mike Gadoua:

Cup Quarter Finals

HAWAII (BYU students) 26 – Kadavu (Peninsula) 0
DIABLO GAELS 21 –Sacramento Lions 12
DUIBANA BLUES 20 – Las Vegas Blackjacks 0
HAYWARD GRIFFINS 21 – Barbarians (North Bay area) 10

Semi-Finals

DIABLO GAELS 21 – Hawaii 5
DUIBANA BLUES 12 – Hayward Griffins 5

Cup Final: ($3,000/$1,000 prizes)

DIABLO GAELS 5 – Duibana Blues 0

Of the four pools competing in the two-day event, anyone of the top eight could have taken the Cup with only a slight change in circumstance, play, wind, etc.
Each team possessed the caliber to compete in the tourney. The favorites going into the tourney: Blackjack and Griffins (last year’s champs), were knocked out by their opponents taking advantage of brief lapses in judgment.

In the Cup Final both teams displayed excellent defense. Every counter-attack save one was thwarted. In seconds, the players on both teams could transition from attacking on the opponent’s 5-meter line to playing organized defense on their own 5-meter line. Despite the persistent offense, this game was defense dominated. Diablo held on to their 5 point lead for the last 16 minutes of playing time.

Septenae


FIJIAN OLD BOYS MATCH

Report by Isaac Caselis:
I ref'd an old boys game for the first time in Petaluma at the Fiji Day tournament. The game was well played by both sides.....both sides were fit enough to play the 20 minute halves. Again, the touch judges were a problem because they were more interested in watching the game then being a touch judge.

Overall the tournament was well run. Mike Gadoua saved the day by taking lead in the more difficult games. All games were fast paced.


MORE GAMES OCTOBER 14

SoCal Exchange to UC Davis Games

SoCal sent up two referees on exchange for this past weekend. DeLyn Barclay flew into Sacramento and was hosted by Jim Crenshaw. William Caulfield flew up Friday and stayed with John Pohlman that night. Both refs then met in Davis for the pre-season games and evaluation by Matt Eason and rookie assessor Kat Todd-Schwartz.

Matt Eason handled the 11:00 a.m. match which was an intra-squad between Davis B and C side players when USF failed to show up. One of the Davis players was able to reach a friend on the USF team about 10 minutes before game start time; that player reportedly advised that their coach had quit and there were not enough players to travel on Saturday. Of course, it would have been 'nice' for someone to communicate that to Davis. However, the intra-squad was three 20 minute periods, enabling the newer players to still obtain decent game experience.

UC DAVIS 22 – Humboldt State 17 Referee: DeLyn Barclay (SoCal)
Referee coaches: Matt Eason, Kat Todd-Schwartz

DeLyn handled the A side UC Davis v. Humboldt match. Davis won 22-17. Davis dominated the first half, scoring all 22 points. However, Humboldt turned the table in the second half, shutting Davis out altogether. Obviously, such turnover was not quite enough to win the game.

The last four minutes were a nail biter, with Davis holding on. It wasn’t that Davis played poorly against a Division II team; it was that Humboldt played like a Division II team determined to win the national championship.


UC DAVIS seconds 17 – UC Santa Cruz 0 Referee: William Caulfield (SoCal)
Referee coaches: Matt Eason, Kat Todd-Schwartz

Bill handled the B side UC Davis match versus UC Santa Cruz. Davis prevailed again although this was an evenly matched game throughout. Santa Cruz looked much improved from earlier in the year and have a stronger back line.

All parties then retired briefly to a local fraternity house for refreshments (typical college fare: hamburger patties on bread slices). The referees then proceeded on to more grown-up fare at the Riverside Clubhouse in Sacramento. William Caulfield retired for the evening at the Todd-Schwartzes before proceeding on to San Francisco for various Sunday activities.



Fog – Mendocino
Fog seconds – San Diego

Mendocino is a new team in the third division this year. The San Diego team is also new. The Fog were kind and resourceful enough to referee these games themselves so that our referees could attend the society conference and AGM.


SAN DIEGO SEVENS: REFS NEEDED

The IRB Sevens series will be returning to Southern California in February, being played in San Diego at PETCO Park on February 10/11.

On the Thursday and Friday immediately before, February 8/9, a high-level club sevens tournament will be held in conjunction with the IRB gala. SoCal has requested referees to help out with this event.

If you would be interested, please let us know. You will need to plan the time off work, of course. They are looking for good referee support for what should be a well-played event.


MORE REFEREES NEEDED THIS WEEKEND

The Harlotfest will be played October 21 in Modesto. Four referees should be able to cover it. We have two at present, and one maybe. If you would like to work this unique event, please let us know. Motel rooms will be available Friday and/or Saturday if you wish.

There are eight games elsewhere in addition to this tournament. We need help!


UPCOMING BUSY WEEKENDS

There will be three tournaments on October 28, lots of opportunities for running around and having fun. We need more help!

There will be one tournament at UC Santa Cruz on November 4, and three games at Stanford on Sunday, November 5.

On November 18 there are three good games in San Luis Obispo that we need to cover.

Please let us know if you would like some pre-season rugby.


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
Coaches Panel

The Coaches Panel was a highlight at the autumnal flocking of the Pelicanrefs.

Left to Right: Mike Caravelli, Harry Batten, Jonathan Griffin, Ellen Owens, Joe Leisek, Mike Purcell


HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

WORLD CUP BOUND

HAIL, PELICUS!

PRE-SEASON REFEREE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 14

The annual pre-season NCRRS conference will be Saturday, October 14, at the Golden Gate clubhouse on Treasure Island, from 9:30 to 3:00.

The program will derive from the IRB’s Aide Memoire for elite referees and the promotion criteria for referees published by USA Rugby. The program will comprise a comprehensive course for referee improvement, beginning with this meeting and continuing through our monthly society meetings, December – April.

There will be classroom work, field work, a panel with some NorCal rugby coaches, and also our society AGM.

Please make every effort to attend.


USA RUGBY COACHING CLINIC

Rugby coaches should be aware that all certifications under the existing three levels of coaching competency will expire in 2008. Re-certification will be necessary between now and then in order to remain current.

Will new courses will be offered Saturday, November 4th and Sunday November 5th at the SF/Golden Gate Rugby Club on Treasure Island.

The USA Rugby Coaching Development Program will offer two sessions, Introducing Rugby and Developing Rugby Skills. The conference will be held from 9 AM until 5 PM on Saturday and 9AM to 4 PM on Sunday. Lunch is provided both days and a happy hour social will take place after the first session Saturday night. This is the ONLY coaching clinic of its kind in Northern California this year. New and experienced coaches a like should make every effort to attend these sessions.

Please visit https://usarugby.learn.com/
to sign up for the Coaching Clinic. Save $100 by registering now!!


MORE RUGBY ROUND THE CORNER

After our conference on October 14th, there will be games enough for interested referees every weekend until Thanksgiving. And then it really picks up.

Please let us know which weekends you’d like games, every Saturday from now through December 16. The season doesn’t start this year until January. We’d like to be able to assign at least a few weeks out.

Only six people have responded with availability. They can’t do all the games…


ALL BLUES ON TO THE NATIONALS

The Berkeley All Blues defeated Oregon Rugby Sports Union Saturday, 46 – 10, to take the #1 seed in the sweet sixteen.

The nine-time defending champions will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, the weekend of October 28-29.

The final four will be played two weeks later at Walt Disney World.


SACRAMENTO AMAZONS 12 – San Francisco Fog 5 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
Pretty fall day in Sacto and a good early effort by both sides. A crisp first half (in which all the points were scored) followed by some uneven play. But all is well that ends well.


UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA ALUMNI WEEKEND

Nevada 0 – ALUMNAE 50+ Referee: Russ Wilkening
Reporter: Sam Reagle

I was a bit concerned about the weather as I crossed the Sierras on the way to Reno. The visibility was about 3 car lengths as I drove through a bank of fog which brought back memories of my last trip here in March with Gary Malpas of the East Midlands. That day's games were played in white-out conditions, today’s fog burned off as I descended into Reno revealing a clear sunny day.

Though I was slotted to referee both the 11am Women’s game and the 1pm Men’s game, Russ called asking if he could do the first game so he could play in the second. Hopefully, he will provide a report because, as touch judge, I only remember that the Alumni won handily.

NEVADA 34 – Alumni 22 Referee: Sam Reagle

Before the game, I was surprised that most Alumni were expecting the Collegiates to win stating "They always do". Elsewhere, it has been my experience that it is the Alumni who tend to win these games given their experience and larger pool of players. On this day however, the prophecy was true, but not without a battle from the veterans.

This was a good hard fought game between two teams that both played good multi-phase rugby. They played 4 20-minute periods. The collegiates scored first 2 minutes into the game, then answered back with a try after each Alumni try. For most of the first 60 minutes, it was a one-try game with the Collegiates clinging to very slim leads. 3 minutes into the final period, the Alumni tied it up at 22 all, but 4 minutes later the Collegiates took the lead for good with a converted try and another at full time. The absence of penalty kicks is a tribute to the spirit in which this game was played. After this game, the Alumni played another 20-minute period against the UNR underclassmen where they shined 19 -0.

(Editor’s Notes:

(On this same day, Todd Clever was tearing up the field and the opposition for the Eagles at Stanford. His brother Chris was there to watch. We daresay that these two former stalwarts of the Wolfpack would have made a difference on the day in Reno.

(We are also reminded of the Stanford alumni game which we refereed in 1991, the only time we have had the privilege of calling this fixture.

(It was tied 36 – all at what should have been full time. Then-coach Franck Boivert came onto the pitch to say, “Do you know who pays for this program?”

(Recall that tries were four points in those days. Suffice it to say that enough ‘extra time’ was played for Dennis Shanagher to score a converted try and the alumni to win 42 – 36.

(And guess who presently is the Chairman of the Stanford Rugby Foundation?)


FRIDAY: FIJI DAY SEVENS

The Fiji Day Sevens will be played in Rohnert Park on Friday, October 13 and the next day.

Please respond if you can join Mike Gadoua and Bruce Carter this Friday to ref some SEVENS.

http://www.fijidayusa2006.com/Sports.html


PELICAN HOSPITALITY

David Williamson took the lead in entertaining the officials who were in Pelicanland for the USA – Uruguay match this past week.

On Tuesday October 3, David took RFU referee Rob Debney and English touch judge Martin Fox to the Monterey Peninsula for a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where they met briefly with Bruce Carter. The group continued down to Carmel for a walk on the beach.

Pete and Leah Smith hosted dinner Tuesday evening at their lovely home in San Jose. Pete grilled New York steaks, filet mignon, and asparagus. This was accompanied by a rice dish and bottled beer.

On Wednesday, David picked up Debney and Fox at their Santa Clara hotel and drove them to San Francisco for a tour of the Ferry Building, Pier 39, and Fisherman's Wharf. They took the cable car up Hyde Street and walked down Lombard Street. The group then met Welsh touch judge Leighton Hodges and his wife Sam at the Argonaut Hotel and loaded up their luggage. David drove them across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Vista Point for photographs, and up to the Marin Headlands for the view through the bridge to SF. The next stop was Dixon Smith's house in Novato. Dixon agreed to conduct a Wine Country tour. After a discussion of alternatives, the group decided to proceed to Sonoma County to combine a bit of California history with wine tasting. They visited the Viansa and Sebastiani wineries, plus the Sonoma Mission. On the walk around the square, they continued wine tasting in a corner shop featuring boutique wines. On their return to Novato, they picked up Dixon's wife Christine. Dixon then hosted a dinner for everyone at Moylands, a brew pub in Novato. David returned the officials to their hotel.

On Thursday evening, Pete Smith donated his Sharks tickets and obtained two more tickets to host the officials to the season opening match. The match was one of the tour highlights. The group continued their revelry into the early morning hours.

On Friday evening, David hosted a meal at an Italian restaurant in Sunnyvale for the officials, (including Leighton's wife), Scott Wood, Paul Bretz, Pete Smith, and Pete's wife Leah.

On Saturday, Paul Bretz and David met the officials (including the Scottish Performance Evaluator Dougie Kerr) at their hotel for a meeting and transport to Stanford. After the match, Paul hosted the group to a drink at the Old Pro before heading to the post-match dinner at a Palo Alto restaurant. David returned Kerr to the hotel around 10:30 pm. Paul and the rest of the group remained at the restaurant.

On Sunday, the tourists returned home.


NOTES FROM THE WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

It was a perfect day for spectators on Saturday – nothing but blue and mid-seventies with no wind. The players might have gotten a little warm…

The major goal was accomplished: the US won and secured a spot in Pool A in next September’s RWC in France. But the game wasn’t much to write about.

Well, let’s qualify that: Paul Emerick and Vaha Esikia (formerly San Mateo) each scored two tries to light things up, and Todd Clever (formerly Nevada) was a monster on the day.

But Uruguay created so many stoppages by lying down – literally – at scrum time with ‘injuries’ to numbers 1, 3 and 8 that it might as well have been gridiron. The game began at 2 PM and finished at four minutes to four.

As so often happens, their opponents got into a similar mindset. The Eagles did their share of wandering up to lineouts and certainly did not ever look to be trying to force the pace.

In the midst of yet another invasion of the pitch by the multitude in colored vests, one wag observed that this might be the first game in history where they ran out of water.

But, looking ahead – the Eagles will have pool matches on September 8, 12, 26 and 30. They will be in Lens (up near Belgium), Montpelier (near the Med!), St. Etienne (about two hours’ north, up near Lyon) and then Montpelier again.

For those who can’t take the month off, a week in the wonderful South of France could incorporate the matches against Samoa and South Africa.


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
Porter, Agius, Woodberry

A beautiful day at Stanford and the World Cup Qualifier were the twin draws Saturday. Here are three long-time stalwarts of the Northern California rugby scene, friends for many years: Bryan Porter, Tanc Agius and Robert Woodberry.


HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

REVVING FOR ACTION

HAIL, PELICUS!

COME TO STANFORD SATURDAY

The men’s Eagles will be able to qualify for the 2007 RWC with your support this Saturday. Admission is free for this 2 PM match against Uruguay.

Let’s rock the joint!

Oh – we also need someone to ref a game in Sacramento and one in Reno. Interested? Let us know.


PRE-SEASON REFEREE CONFERENCE OCTOBER 14

The annual pre-season NCRRS conference will be Saturday, October 14, at the Golden Gate clubhouse on Treasure Island, from 9:30 to 3:00.

The program will derive from the IRB’s Aide Memoire for elite referees and the promotion criteria for referees published by USA Rugby. The program will comprise a comprehensive course for referee improvement, beginning with this meeting and continuing through our monthly society meetings, December – April.

There will be classroom work, field work, a panel with some NorCal rugby coaches, and also our society AGM.

Please make every effort to attend.


MORE RUGBY ROUND THE CORNER

After our conference on October 14th, there will be games enough for interested referees every weekend until Thanksgiving. And then it really picks up.

Please let us know which weekends you’d like games, every Saturday from now through December 16. The season doesn’t start this year until January. We’d like to be able to assign at least a few weeks out.


WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT AT TREASURE ISLAND

Three of the four women’s teams in NorCal gathered for a round-robin Saturday. Hayward did not participate.

Clement weather and a big friendly crowd made for a great day in the middle of the Bay.

ALL BLUES 87 – Fog 0 Referee: Joe Leisek
Touch Judges: Lois Bukowski/Bjorn Stumer, Bruce Carter
The first game of the NorCal Round Robin kicked off at noon, and at 12:02 p.m. the All Blues scored the first of 12 tries they would produce in 60 minutes of rugby. The reigning national club champions were efficient and skilled, retaining possession through multiple phases and creating opportunities out of opponents' mistakes. Speed and skill are the hallmarks of their game. Their lineup featured several Eagles, some of whom were playing in the World Cup just a couple of weeks before. Jen Crouse and Ashley English were standouts, and scrumhalf Rose Whitmore made me think of Sid Going, one of my favorite players from a long time ago, with her dive passes and take-charge presence. Sacramento is to be recognized for playing hard for 60 minutes despite being generally overmatched.


ALL BLUES 45 – Amazons 0 Referee: Lois Bukowski
Touch Judges: Bjorn Stumer/Bruce Carter, Joe Leisek


AMAZONS 26 – Fog 0 Referee: Bjorn Stumer
Touch Judges: Joe Leisek, Bruce Carter
A scrappy but fun affair that saw two fairly evenly matched sides battling it out after both faced perennial powerhouse Berkeley. The Amazons, sporting quite a few islanders, had both size and speed over the FOG ladies but had to fight hard to achieve their 26-0 win. The first half was quite scrappy with a lot of players off their feet and off side, things settled on the second half though but Sac remained firmly in control. A fine match over all with the sole dark point being a yellow card for braid pulling.


Fog men 22 – MARAUDERS 34 Referee: Bruce Carter
Touch Judges: Joe Leisek, Bjorn Stumer
The Marauders’ stated mission is to keep social rugby alive. To this end, they are not members of the NCRFU and don’t play in any leagues. They are the sole remaining team from the autumn pub league of several seasons ago, and are notionally based around a bar in Campbell.

They aren’t averse to drawing players from hither and yon, and presented a fairly strong side Saturday, with some powerful runners accounting for most of the difference in the game.

The social aspect of their motto might could use a little work – one Marauder earned a yellow card for a dangerous tackle and another a red card for a stomp to the head. This last was despite the referee grabbing the brute by the arm and saying, “Don’t do it!” when he spotted the upraised boot.

Proactive, preventative, hands-on refereeing usually works, but not in this case: down came the boot and out came the card.

But let’s direct our focus elsewhere: the Fog won the second half 21 – 17, having organized themselves in defense and figured out that straight ahead was the best way to the try line.

A good spirit prevailed despite the loose cannon.

The Marauders were captained by a chiropractor and the Fog by a resident podiatrist, all whistled by an allopathic physician. And nobody got hurt, not even the stompee!


CHICO ALUMNI WEEKEND
Report by Sam Reagle

For the 14th consecutive year, Alumni Weekend unfolded before us. There were 3 games scheduled to be played under a perfect sky in Chico, all against the energetic underclasspersons of Chico State. An old Old Boy game, a Womens game and a young Old Boy game. Unfortunately, after a night of renewing friendships from years past over a pint or 2, the Alumni numbers waned to the point where everyone who could play both games, did play both games.

Chico State 7 – CS ALUMNI 31 Referee: Sam Reagle
The youngsters struck first blood scoring a converted try 9 minutes into the game and clung to a 7-5 halftime lead. However, halftime seemed to sober up the elders who gave up on smashmouth rugby in the forwards in favor of their superior speed and teamwork in the backline to score 5 unanswered tries.

Chico State Women 19 – CS ALUMNAE 27 Ref: Reagle
The Alumni women came to play showing no signs of the previous night’s revelry. The teachers scored the first 3 tries on the students before the Wildcats scored their first. However, the game was on as both teams traded tries with the students scoring again at fulltime with good support. This contest ended after 50 minutes. The outcome may have been different had they played a full game.

Dan Lacko ref'd the second men’s game. I don't know the score.


FIJI DAY SEVENS

The Fiji Day Sevens will be played in Rohnert Park on Friday, October 13 and the next day.

We will try to provide referees for the Friday but expect our refs to be on Treasure Island on the Saturday. Please let us know if you want to work this delightful and entertaining event on the 13th.

http://www.fijidayusa2006.com/Sports.html


THIS WEEK'S PHOTO
Tina and Friends

Multi-try scoring World Cup hero Tina Nesberg damaged her knee – in a friendly. Thankfully, it was after the quadrennial games but unfortunately it will keep her out of the club nationals, to which Paul Bretz has been announced as the head referee.

Her she is at Treasure Island, enjoying a sunny day of rugger surrounded by simpatico and sympathy.

Note Bruce Carter in his smart new East Midlands kit. Coincidentally a pastel version of our own NorCal colors? We think not.

Bjorn Stumer, Lois Bukowski and Joe Leisek are all smiles while Wade seems to be looking for a nap that he missed somewhere.

This picture was taken by Eileen, a very kind lady with the rugby bug who is frequently seen at events involving teams with Berkeley pedigrees.


HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris