OPPORTUNITIES TO REFEREE SATURDAY, JUNE 4
Ref needed: Colusa. Fifteen-a-side.
Experience the famous Colusa referee hospitality with three 30-minute games to work up a thirst. That’s barely more than a regular-season outing. Lots of ruggers would be happy to see you, including the newest NorCal team from Siskiyou County.
Refs needed: Vallejo. Sevens.
The Loaves and Fishes Sevens will be played on Morton Field on Mare Island, starting at 8:30. We have three refs and could use one or two more.
BIG WEEKEND
Best of luck to the Olympic Club and Fresno as they play for national championships this weekend in Glendale, Colo. These might be webcast.
We also wish well to California in the College Rugby Championship (sevens) near Philadelphia, which you can watch on plain-vanilla NBC, Versus, and Universal.
The Eagles will be playing in the Churchill Cup, with a game at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton against the homeboys.
THREE-DAY RUGBY WEEKEND
Well, almost: a high-school all-star tournament was played at Sheeran Field Saturday and Sunday, with a Monday game being canceled late.
Players representing the four NCRYA conferences and Oregon at the U15, U17 and U19 levels had a lot of fun showing their stuff in front of coaches and scouts, including Paul Barford with the USA age-grade programs.
Saturday’s conditions were most decidedly unseasonal: a late-May overcast and rain blocked even the view of the recently-topped-off tower for the new suspension portion of the Bay Bridge. Sea, sky and horizon all looked the same and Treasure Island might as well have been in the middle of the North Sea for the scenery on view.
But rugby wills have a way, and nine games were played.
Referees were Bruce Carter, Pete Smith, Jen Tetler, Sione Tanoa and Tom Zanarini. With invaluable help from Mark Godfrey and Ray Schwartz, we were able to cover every game with a team of three even though huddling under an umbrella seemed a better idea.
Sunday’s better weather attracted a smaller flock for seven games: John Coppinger, Mark Godfrey, John Pohlman, Bruce Ricard and Pete Smith.
Oregon was very strong, as were the Bay and Sacramento Valley conferences. We don’t have a compilation of the scores to be able to tell who ‘won’, in part because the rain turned Saturday’s list into palimpsest.
Under-17:
BAY CONFERENCE 18 – Sac Valley 17 Referee: Bruce Carter
The contrast between January high-school rugby and May all-star stuff is amazing, even after you’ve experienced it year after year.
The first half the Sac boys controlled the ball, playing phase rugby and scoring 17 points at the leeward end of the pitch.
The second half the Bay did the same except that they scored 18 points downwind.
Of particular note was a Bay player whose name your reporter should have gotten: two of his clearing kicks each went 70+ meters, thence into touch, and Bay scored on both of those trips down the pitch.
ANNUAL SOCIETY BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY
This year’s banquet will be held on the evening of the first iteration of the Palo Alto Summer Sevens. Unless you live along the Palo Alto-Walnut Creek corridor, why not get a room in Walnut Creek in which to clean up and later recover?
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
Scott Wood, Tom Zanarini, Phil Akroyd and David Williamson meet at Lafayette’s Round-Up after the St. Mary’s – UCLA game April 30.
HAIL, PELICUS!
For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris
