Friday, May 27, 2011

12 AND 2 AGAINST THE BEST OF THE REST

HAIL, PELICUS!

PROMOTION

Bruce Ricard has earned promotion to L2, in part due to a fine performance on his recent exchange to New England.

REFEREES NEEDED

The need for good referees to support great NorCal rugby doesn’t end. Please respond if you can help at any or all of these:

Saturday and Sunday, May 28-29: All-Star competition for U15, U17 and U19 featuring teams from the four NCRYA conferences and Oregon. All games will be played at Sheeran Field. We need two or three more refs/ARs for Saturday and three or four more for Sunday.

Friday and Saturday, June 3-4: Loaves and Fishes Sevens at Morton Field in Vallejo. So far we’ve got one ref (yours truly) for Friday. We could use at least three each day.

On Saturday, June 4, there will be three short games of fifteens in Colusa. One or two refs would be fine for this runaround.

Saturday, June 18: Two events:
Women’s Sevens in Santa Rosa at For Pete’s Sake, played on two pitches
FogFest: Harlot-style fifteen-a-side expecting six men’s teams and four women’s.

DOMINANCE

Northern California teams went 14 – 4 in knock-out championship games this past weekend, two of the losses coming against fellow NCRFU teams. That's 12 - 2 against the Best of the Rest.

Three teams brought home national championship trophies and two more remain in the hunt.

Super league: SF/GOLDEN GATE 20 – Life 15 Referee: Chris Henshall

College Premier Division: CALIFORNIA 21 – Brigham Young 14
Referee: Gareth Morgan
ARs: Paul Bretz, Aruna Ranaweera

Boys High School:
JESUIT defeated Penn High School 47 – 0 and then in the semifinals took care of Gonzaga 45 – 7.
Boy's High School National Championship
JESUIT 50 – Xavier 27 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: Eric Norgate (Utah), Ivan LePendue (Utah)
#4 Official: Leah Berard (Minnesota)

Girls High School: Sacramento AMAZONS opened by subduing Sebastian River 32 – 5.
In the semi they put the Kent Crusaders to the sword, 12 – 10.

However, in the final Fallbrook of SoCal got revenge for last year’s championship defeat, winning 60 – 0.

The following games were played in Chula Vista. The winners move on to the final fours in Glendale June 4-5.

D1: OLYMPIC CLUB 33 – Dallas 5
SACRAMENTO LIONS 34 – Austin 21
O CLUB 25 – Sac Lions 15

DII: FRESNO 40 – Pasadena 10
SANTA ROSA 28 – Fort Worth 5
FRESNO 11 – Santa Rosa 8

DIII: SOUTH VALLEY 14 – Ventura 13
South Valley 11 – SOUTH BAY RHINOS 40

FREE DINNER GOES BEGGING:
ONLY SIXTEEN FOR THE ANNUAL SOCIETY BANQUET SO FAR

Make your plans now to attend the 2011 NCRRS Banquet and Awards Ceremony at Scott’s Seafood in Walnut Creek on Saturday, June 25th. Drinks at six, dinner at seven.

Those who are eligible for free kit (5 or more club/college games by assignment in the past season) are also eligible for free dinner. Drinks are on your own and guests are fifty dollars.

RSVP to Bjorn Stumer: bstumer@comcast.net

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO
Cup of Accomplishment
Pelicus Propus Celtus (Brian Gildea, former NCRRS stalwart) appears to have stolen the Heineken Cup and gotten clean away with it!

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Friday, May 20, 2011

A TIME TO SOAR

HAIL, PELICUS!

PROMOTION

Bruce Ricard has earned promotion to L2, in part due to a fine performance on his recent exchange to New England.

FRINGE BENEFITS

There are a lot of experiences that rugby referees enjoy which probably are rarely, if ever, appreciated by our colleagues in other sports.

For example: does a local basketball ref ever find Michael Jordan in one of his games?

Tom Zanarini went out to do a game involving a touring side against Baracus last Wednesday evening. A substitution is made and now he’s refereeing the most capped forward in rugby history, a man who played on four teams that won the Grand Slam and one that took home the Webb Ellis Cup, a member of the International Rugby Hall of Fame and also a fellow who has the distinction of having scored as many tries against his country as for it.

The rest of the story is below!

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

We wish the best to the eight Northern California teams still playing for USA Rugby national championships.

These four will be decided this weekend:

Super league: SFGG – Life
College Premier Division: California – BYU
Boys High School: Jesuit in the final eight
Girls High School: Sacramento Amazons in the final eight

These men’s clubs are playing this weekend to qualify for the finals, which will be June 4-5:

D1: Olympic Club and Sacramento Lions
DII: Fresno and Santa Rosa
DIII: South Valley

ANNUAL SOCIETY BANQUET

Make your plans now to attend the 2011 NCRRS Banquet and Awards Ceremony at Scott’s Seafood in Walnut Creek on Saturday, June 25th. Drinks at six, dinner at seven.

Those who are eligible for free kit (5 or more club/college games by assignment in the past season) are also eligible for free dinner. Drinks are on your own and guests are fifty dollars.

RSVP to Bjorn Stumer: bstumer@comcast.net

SUPER LEAGUE SEMIFINAL

SF/GOLDEN GATE 53 – Old Puget Sound Beach 22 Referee: Paul Bretz
ARs: Phil Akroyd, Chris Tucker
#4s: Scott Wood, Bruce Carter
Scoreboard Operator: Preston Gordon

May 13
Men's Collegiate D1 National Semi-Final
UC SANTA BARBARA 30 – Bowling Green State University 3
Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: John Coppinger, John Pohlman

May 14
Men's Collegiate D1 National Final
DAVENPORT UNIVERSITY 38 – UC Santa Barbara 19
Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: Marc Nelson (USA/Colorado), Scott Florence (Florida)

COLLEGE PREMIER SEMIFINALS

Cal defeated Utah while BYU beat Arkansas State, setting up a Cal – BYU final for the sixth year in a row.

If you don’t have whatever obscure network is necessary to watch it, find a sports bar. This should be a great game.

PACIFIC COAST HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP

JESUIT 79 – Dixon 17
Jesuit also beat Fallbrook 47 – 8 to win the California State Championship

Wednesday night Rugby:

BA Baracus 10 – CHINGFORD (London) 22 Referee: Tom Zanarini
AR's: Bjorn Stumer, Steph Bruce
#4: Preston Gordon
Touring sides are the lifeblood of rugby. It really demonstrates why we play and referee rugby and not some other sport. 30 men fly from London to San Francisco, bang heads for (in this case) 60 minutes and then become lifelong friends after, if they can remember each other's names after the keg floats on the melted ice.

Chingford, based in Northeast London, was on an end-of-season tour after finishing mid table in their league London North 1, I believe (Level 6). First stop was SF, second stop, Las Vegas.

Arriving at the field was its own comedy of errors. Chingford emailed BA Baracus's match secretary confirming the pitch address, only to interpret his 'email signature' with corresponding work address as the field. Half an hour before the 6:30 kickoff we discover the bus is in San Mateo and is hightailing it back to the City.

Chingford literally rolls of the bus in full kit, do a few hamstring stretches and off we go. As one would expect, Chingford was not fully prepared with their game plan, or hands. Knock-ons and scrums ruled the first half. Baracus scored a delight of a try after kicking forward and two Chingford backs both going for the ball take each other out. The winger retrieves the bouncing ball and dots down center post. This concludes the first half with Baracus up 10-0.

Chingford finally warmed up ready for the second half. They sorted out their arrangements and attacked with fury. I should add that both clubs were match fit and ready to go full steam for as long as it took.

A little into the second half, Chingford subs out a prop. The new guy looks like he's played a few games, puts on the old jersey then manages to singlehandedly demolish Baracus' scrum. This happened at every succeeding scrummage. Chingford had a great rolling maul in the corner and Bjorn was in perfect position to rule a try. He then finds a moment to tell me the subbed prop is none other than Jason Leonard. Ah, domination confirmed.

As the sun set, the clocked ticked zero. Baracus had a keg of America's finest (Pabst). Hopefully they treated them to better beer at the after party.

Moral of the story is...never pass up a touring side match. You may have the honor of telling Jason Leonard to get his bind on the jersey.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO
Propping up the Refs
Apologies for the low-resolution telephone cam, but it’s all that was available to capture the moment: Bjorn Stumer, Preston Gordon, Stephanie Bruce, Jason Leonard and Tom Zanarini.

Propping up the Refs in the same folder as Hail Pelicus on the jump drive.

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

WHET YOUR APPETITIES

HAIL, PELICUS!

ANNUAL SOCIETY BANQUET

The 2011 NCRRS Banquet and Awards Ceremony will be held at Scott’s Seafood in Walnut Creek on Saturday, June 25th. Drinks at six, dinner at seven, and they start turning the chairs over at eleven.

Those who are eligible for free kit (5 or more club/college games by assignment in the past season) are also eligible for free dinner. Drinks are on your own and guests are fifty dollars.

RSVP to Bjorn Stumer: stumer@comcast.net

CAN ANYONE REFEREE IN REDDING THIS WEEKEND?

There will be several teams playing a number of 20-minute halves. It’s nice up there this time of year. Let us know if you can help out. At present they don’t have any referees.

NORCAL SEVENS CALENDAR

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Mark your calendars and make your plans!

June 3-4 Santa Rosa Fijian Sevens (Friday-Saturday)
June 25 Palo Alto Sevens
July 2 Marist Sevens (somewhere in the Bay Area)
July 9 Palo Alto Sevens
July 16 Dunsmuir Sevens
July 23 Palo Alto Sevens
July 30 Nevada Sevens in Reno
August 6-7 USA Rugby Club Championships at Sheeran Field (Sat-Sun)
October 7-8 Fiji Day Sevens (Fri-Sat)

CR1 GAMES

OLYMPIC CLUB 26 – Los Angeles 12 Referee: George O’Neil
ARs: John Coppinger, Bruce Carter
#4: Bjorn Stumer

Old Mission Beach AC 15 – SACRAMENTO LIONS 30

PROVO 30 – Santa Monica 23

BELMONT SHORE 60 – Northside Tigers 7

These four winners advance to the round of sixteen in Chula Vista May 21-22.

PACIFIC COAST MEN’S D2 CLUB PLAYOFFS

SFGG 50 – Tempe 21 Referee: Mark Woods (Pacific Northwest)
ARs: Bret Reordan (Portland), Sasha Goodwin (Portland)
#4: Bjorn Stumer
Scoreboard Operator: Preston Gordon

FRESNO 32 – Eastside Tsunami 0 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
ARs: Bret Reordan (Portland), Sasha Goodwin (Portland)

SANTA ROSA 34 – Red Mountain 12
ARs: Lois Bukowski, Mike King

PORTLAND 20 – Oregon Rugby Sports Union 12
ARs: Lois Bukowski, Mike King

May 8
Pacific Coast Men's D2 3rd-Place Final
San Francisco Golden Gate 12 – SANTA ROSA 20
Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
ARs: Bret Reordan (Portland), Tasi Toala (Utah)
#4/5 Officials: Bjorn Stumer, Eric Rauscher

On a very windy but sunny 55F day at Sheeran Field on Treasure Island, NorCal #2 seed Santa Rosa battled NorCal #3 seed SFGG for the 3rd and final Pacific Coast playoff spot in the National Round of 16. Wind affected the play of both teams, but Santa Rosa played intelligently with the wind at their backs to lead 10-5 at half.

In the second half, Santa Rosa established structure through their forwards to nullify SFGG's wind advantage and scored twice to lead 20-5. SFGG made several athletic breaks, but missed numerous scoring opportunities due to handling errors and isolated ball-carriers. SFGG edged within 20-12 with 10 minutes remaining, but in the end, Santa Rosa played more controlled team rugby to win the match, 3 tries to 2. Much thanks to Bret and Tasi for their help as AR's and Bjorn and Eric as #4/5 officials. Also, thanks to Dave Williamson and Helen Markus for hosting BBQ dinner for the large group of Pacific Coast match officials on Saturday night.

Fresno, Santa Rosa and Portland all advance to the round of sixteen in Chula Vista May 21-22.

PACIFIC COAST MEN’S D3 CLUB PLAYOFFS
Report by Phil Akroyd

Saturday: Bud Bay 15 – 46 SOUTH VALLEY 46
I’d been checking the weather forecast all week for the Tucson area. Highs of 97 degrees and clear skies, so I was a little concerned about the heat and running two games on a potentially rock-hard field. When I arrived at the venue, I was pleasantly surprised as the field was firm, yet had moisture with a good breeze blowing each day. It was well lined and full-sized. I learned that a number of local rugby teams club together and pay the city to maintain it and it seem to be effective.

Bud Bay drove the 1,600 miles down from Olympia, WA, while South Valley drove from Morgan Hill for the second game of the day in the D3 Pac Coast playoff (the first being Camelback of Phoenix against Tucson Magpies – the Magpies won comfortably). Although South Valley is a Nor Cal team, I had not seen them in action. They were quite impressive.

South Valley dominated scrums, rucks, tackled hard and had a 10 that looked as though he had played at a much higher level in years gone by. They had a good blend of youth and experience and a significant weight advantage over Bud Bay. In contrast, Bud Bay had a problem with getting the ball in straight at lineouts, looked indecisive at the half-back positions and made many unforced errors. They gave away two interception tries, kicked badly and mis-handled.

South Valley were the kings of the set piece. They scored most of their points from scrums and fast tap-down lineout ball. They scored four tries by half time to one PK goal from Bud Bay (3 – 29 half-time score). It continued in the second half, although Bud Bay did pull back two tries, courtesy of poor penalty discipline in the final ten minutes from the NorCal boys. The result set up Sunday’s championship game at noon.


Sunday Championship Game: TUCSON MAGPIES 19 – South Valley 17

Not knowing too much about either team, it was difficult to infer any direction in which the Championship game would go. Given the performance on Saturday, South Valley looked good, but most people who watched the Magpies on Saturday were talking up the home side.

The Magpies went up after three minutes from a PK, then ten minutes later, scored a wonderful breakaway try down the right wing to score about halfway between the posts and corner flag. Not an easy kick, given the swirling wind, but it was made and the visitors were not happy. They didn’t seem as slick as the previous day and it wasn’t from lack of effort. Things just weren’t going their way. Things got worse six minutes later when South Valley conceded another penalty in the red zone that was also kicked successfully. South Valley were showing signs of self-destruction with a lack of discipline at the tackle ruck – off feet- and a lack of discipline in relation to cheap stuff off the ball.

South Valley responded with a try before half time which began a period where the momentum began to swing back to Valley. The Magpies lost their Captain and number 8 seconds before the break in a freakish injury. He was carrying the ball at speed and a Valley player did a tap-tackle around the 8’s knee. He dropped as though he had been shot in what could well have been a knee ligament type of injury.

Valley came out and scored another try fifteen minutes after half-time and the Magpies another PK, but at 16 -10 with just under fifteen minutes to play it was still up for grabs and obligingly the tinder box ignited as both teams realized that they needed to go out and win it.

The Magpies got over a period of being a man down (cynical play in the red zone) and South Valley were coming toward the end of a period of being a man down (high tackle during a promising attacking move). During more attacking play by Tucson, a Valley player was in the ruck and slapped the ball out of the Tucson 9’s hand, resulting in another period in the bin. As the card was being administered, I heard a significant amount of verbal abuse coming from the Valley touchline on the far side of the field. It continued and escalated and built to one of the players being restrained by his teammates while he pulled a flag out of the ground and marched toward the field of play. It was actually quite comical to watch, but then I realized that the waling banshee was the guy who had 30 seconds left on his yellow card… So he never came back on the field.

So with Valley down to 13 and Tucson in an attacking position, it looked like a good opportunity for them to extend their 16 – 10 lead. Not so, as Valley recovered possession and moved almost the entire length of the field to score in the left corner. Wow. Did not see that coming and neither did Tucson. Valley were one point down with the conversion yet to come from the kicker who had only made about two conversion in the entire weekend. So guess what, he made it from the sideline to put them up 16-17 with six left to play.

Solid play continued and Tucson continued to attack in the opposition half for several minutes. Tucson drove the ball forward and a Valley sub failed to roll after making a good tackle, creating another perfect PK opportunity in a kickable, but not easy position. The kick was good and Tucson regained the lead 19-17.

After the restart, a few phases came to nothing from the NorCal boys and the Arizonans put the ball out at the first opportunity to take an extremely hard fought win. The closeness of this game was something to behold and was played on just about the right side of feisty. Valley were obviously disappointed in the loss, but realized themselves that they self-destructed a little with indiscipline but Tucson battled far above their weight. Well played to both teams who now go on to Sweet 16s in Chula Vista in 2 weeks, with Tucson taking the higher seeding. And guess what I’m doing in 2 weeks? Reffing D3 Sweet 16s in Chula Vista. If it’s half as good as that game, it’ll be a good weekend.

PACIFIC COAST GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFF

AMAZONS 50 – Lowland 0 Referee: Stephanie Bruce
Sacramento Amazons defeated Lowland Girls 50-0. The field was atrocious, albeit because the grass had not been mowed, prompting jokes that balls might be lost in the field of play. This did however soften the impact of tackles it was like landing on a soft pillow.

The Amazons had way too much size for the Lowland girls to absorb. Both teams showed a lot of heart, but Lowland couldn't retain possession or absorb repeated tough runs by the Amazons. Good luck to the Sac girls at nationals.

COLLEGE PREMIER QUARTERFINALS

CALIFORNIA 43 – Life 10 Referee: Tim Luscombe
ARs: Tom Zanarini, John Pohlman
Cal will play Utah in the semis, next Saturday in Glendale, Colo.

ARKANSAS STATE 30 – St. Mary’s 17
Arkansas State will play BYU in the semis.

PACIFIC COAST HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP

JESUIT 79 – Dixon 17

PLAY RUGBY USA COMES TO PELICANLAND

What: Play Rugby USA- California San Francisco, VIP Benefit & Silent Auction
When: Thursday, June 9th, 6 – 8 PM
Where: Pacific Union Club, 1000 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Why: To support the development of Play Rugby USA programming for at-risk youth in the Bay Area

Play Rugby USA is introducing its unique youth development programs to the Bay Area this year. Please join us as together we look to create future opportunities for Bay Area youth through delivering our mission of "developing youth through rugby".
http://prusasfbenefit.charityhappenings.org/

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO
Big Crowd
Hail, hail, the gang’s (mostly) all here, at the SFGG clubhouse May 7:
Left to right:
Standing: Bruce Bernstein, John Coppinger, Bernie Brown (Pacific Northwest), Brett Reordan (PNW), Peter Simpson (USA), Tasi Toala (Utah), Dixon Smith, Preston Gordon, Ed Parkin (Arizona), Bjorn Stumer, John Pohlman, Matt Eason
Sitting: Mark Woods (PNW), Tim Luscombe (USA), Aruna Ranaweera, Sasha Goodwin (PNW), Eric Rauscher
Kneeling: Bruce Carter
Outside or at the bar: Ray and Kat were there, George O’Neil, maybe a few more we’ve forgotten...

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

INFAMY AND IRON WILL

HAIL, PELICUS!

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

From Hail, Pelicus for the week of September 11, 2001:

INFAMY AND IRON WILL

It was the bloodiest day on American soil since Antietam.

We lack the words properly to mourn and commemorate the missing and the dead or sufficiently to celebrate the heroism to be found in the skies of Pennsylvania or on the streets of Gotham, undoubtedly the greatest city in the world.

Our small family is even smaller now.

Spare a moment for the family, friends, loved ones and teammates of Mark Bingham. Mark played his rugby in high school, at Cal, with the Olympic Club and the San Francisco Fog.

Mark was aboard United flight 93, the one that was thwarted on its imposed mission of evil.

Those who knew him are convinced that he would have been with the other Bay Area heroes who made known that they were going to rush the cockpit.

Faced with terror beyond anything this nation had ever imagined, informed by the loved ones they telephoned that aircraft were being used as weapons of mass destruction, the doomed passengers of that fated flight VOTED to act.

No starker example of the strength of the system that our Founding Fathers invented on this orb two hundred and twenty-five years ago may be imagined. It may be contrasted with the methods of madness that led to these horrors.

The New York City rugby community is missing six members, including rescue and office workers.

No rugby folks that we know of are missing in the Pentagon.

We appreciate our friends and the sacrifice of strangers. Thank you. Rest in grace, rest in glory, rest in peace.

HOSTS NEEDED THIS WEEKEND

If you’ve been on exchange you’ve been dependant on the kindness of strangers. If you’d like to go on exchange you could earn valuable Exchange Points this weekend.

We’ll have a total of seven visiting referees, ARs and evaluators who need a place to hang their boots this weekend. All will be working at Treasure Island.

We could also use a few more refs – well, ARs really – so you could host, be someone’s ride, and get a run-around for some playoff games all at the same time.

Let us know.

UPCOMING AVAILABILITY NEEDED

Saturday MAY 14:
Three-way friendly in Redding. Get a jump on the summer fun!

PLAYOFF LAYOUT

Girls High School
April 30, NCYRA semi-finals, in Morgan Hill:
MOTHERLODE – Alameda Referee: Don Reardon
AMAZONS 42 – Bishop O’Dowd 7 Referee: Bruce Carter

Final: AMAZONS – Motherlode Referee: Drew Sagar (Vancouver, BC)

The Amazons are scheduled to host the Utah #1 finisher this Saturday in a Pacific Coast playoff game.

Boys Single-School
April 30, NCYRA final in Morgan Hill:
DIXON 31 – De La Salle 22 Referee: Bruce Carter

Dixon and Jesuit advance to the Pacific Coast playoffs in Sacramento this Friday and Saturday.

Boys U-19
April 29, NCYRA semi-finals in Morgan Hill:

GOLDEN GATE 38 – Hayward 15 Referee: Tom Zanarini
ARs: Preston Gordon, Stephanie Bruce
A beautiful Friday night on Treasure Island. A hard hitting well played semi-final. SFGG had the pace and skill to keep the win out of Hayward's reach. Many thanks to Preston & Stephanie for their assistance. Excellent job, as always.

JESUIT 20 – San Mateo 12 Referee: Andrew Lin (SoCal)
ARs: John Pohlman, Mark Richards (SoCal)

Final:
JESUIT – Golden Gate Referee: Sione Tanoa (Fiji)
We believe that Golden Gate will advance to the U19 track of the playoffs.

Men D2 College
April 30-May 1, Final four, in Pittsburgh, PA:
Sierra College lost to U. of Wisconsin, Whitewater, 20 – 29, in the national semifinal.

Women D1 College
April 29-May 1, Round of sixteen:
STANFORD 40 – Dartmouth 15
VIRGINIA 37 – UC Davis 17

Stanford lost to Penn State in the final.

Men D1 College
April 30-May 1, Round of sixteen, at UC Santa Barbara:
Stanford beat Northern Colorado, 33 – 12 in the regional semifinal, and then lost to UC Santa Barbara in the final.

Men D1 Club
April 30, Pacific Coast playoff game, in Reno:
EAST PALO ALTO BULLDOGS – Northside Tigers Referee: Jim Crenshaw
ARs: Lee Salgado, Phil Ulibarri
No report received.

Bulldogs will play next week in a CR1 game against a SoCal team.

ST. MARY’S – U. of California, Los Angeles Referee: Phil Akroyd
ARs: Tom Zanarini, Scott Wood
#4: Ron Decausemaker

Seconds: St. Mary’s – UCLA Referee: Tom Zanarini
UCLA informed St. Mary's Friday night at 9:00 pm that the B side will not travel. I found out when I arrived at the pitch. I wasn't too heartbroken since I had a great match the night before and was still AR'ing for Phil Akroyd in the A match.

PACIFIC COAST HIGH SCHOOL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Report by Eric Rauscher:

Rather that describe each game I did individually, suffice it to say that this end-of-the-season Tournament displayed marked improvement over the games that I did at the KOT at the beginning of the season. The skill level has improved remarkably. Hats off to the coaches who take complete novices and put together competitive teams in just a few short months. The highlight for me was running AR for one of the girls’ championship playoffs.

These games were played on a field right next to a synth turf field with a chain link fence in between. There was a girls’ soccer game being played at the same time and the team beach was right next to the field the rugby game was on. I looked over and saw all of the girls sitting on the bench watching the rugby game rather than watching their teammates play a game of soccer!

Looking forward to seeing NorCal High School rugby only get better and better.

CDP GAME IN ELLENSBURG

CENTRAL WASHINGTON U 36 – San Diego State 27 Referee: Chris Tucker
AR: Dave Pelton, Bob Sproull (both Pacific NW)
Glorious day of rugby in Ellensburg, WA, as two well drilled, up for it teams went the full 80 with gusto and sportsmanship.

SDSU was out of the gate early, breaking through for a try after only 3 minutes and adding a penalty shortly thereafter. The game settled down after that, and the score just before the half was 22-7 in favour of the visitors.

CWU were pressing hard inside the 22, and the ball carrier chipped the fullback, who promptly took out the kicker, late and dangerously. He got the worst of it, however, injuring himself in the process. With him prostrate on the ground, the CWU captain called for a scrum, and with enough room for safety, we played on. Protests came that the game should be stopped to treat the fallen, but why do we need a fullback in a scrum? Feed, heel, pick, spin, score. 14-22 at the half.

2nd half opened brightly, with the home side scoring just before 1 minute was up. In total they managed 4 tries to the Aztec's 1, as the wind at their backs gave them a boost. Both sides could have scored more, with only last minute execution letting them down.
Final whistle went and several players went to ground, such was the furious pace of the last 10 minutes. Both sides left it all on the field, and your correspondent felt humbled to have had the best seat in the house. Thanks to David and Bob for their sterling work on the touchlines.

Back in the clubhouse, we got to chat to the umpires of the baseball game taking place on the next field over. First pitch was at the same time as our kickoff, and THEY WERE BACK IN THE CLUBHOUSE before we got there. When was the last time you went to a 9-inning baseball game that took 1hr 40 mins???? Apparently they have them on a watch, both between innings and between pitches. Exceed the watch, it's a ball. And if the coach complains? Well now that's arguing balls and strikes, and you get the thumb, no questions asked. Surprisingly, no-one argues, because no-one is ever late. Funny what a credible threat with no right of appeal will do...

MATCH REPORTS

SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATE 95 – Dallas Harlequins 7
Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: John Coppinger, Cary Bertolone
Referee Performance Reviewer: Kat Todd-Schwartz
Referee Coach: Mike Geach (USA/Texas)

75F and sunny at Sheeran Field at Treasure Island for the final weekend of the RSL regular season. SFGG is unbeaten and has already clinched the #1 seed for the RSL West semi-finals; Dallas is winless. The many spectators in the bleachers witnessed a track meet as SFGG scored early and often to lead 45-7 at half and dominate the match, 15 tries to 1. The margin would have been larger had SFGG not made numerous unforced handling errors while running up the field. Thanks to John and Cary for their assistance during the match and Kat and Mike for their feedback afterwards.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO
We Remember
Your writer celebrates on the weekend that Infamy met the Iron Will of our nation in a far corner of the world, almost ten years later.

(Photo courtesy of David Barpal. Touch flag courtesy of Ray Schwartz Outfitters.)

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris