NAUGHT SAVE RUGBY

HAIL, PELICUS!

SFGG SL 30 – San Mateo 12 Referee: Paul Bretz

OLYMPIC CLUB 41 – Sacramento Capitals 3 Referee: Scott Wood
Assistant Referee: Chris Tucker, TJ: Dougie (Olympic Club)
Evaluator: David Williamson
Location: Gilman Field, Berkeley

Olympic Club hosted the Sacramento Capitals on a sunny, mid-60 degree day in Berkeley. OC dominated the scoreboard and the run of play on the fast, full-sized, artificial turf field. Sacramento played hard but couldn't match OC's speed in the back line.

The match featured a significant amount of open play, with frequent opportunities for the teams to exploit advantages. OC won nearly all of its lineouts, plus two of Sac's. Likewise, OC won most of its scrums, and two of Sac's.

OC opened the scoring with a penalty goal at 5 minutes, a converted try on a penalty advantage at 10 minutes, and a converted try from a 5-meter scrum at 15 minutes. Sacramento scored a penalty goal at 17 minutes. OC closed the first half scoring with an unconverted try at 32 minutes, for a 22-3 lead. The second half scoring was all OC: a converted try at 50 minutes, an unconverted try at 54 minutes, and a converted try at 79 minutes.

The match was played in good spirits despite a number of foul play penalties in the second half.

Note to referees and teams playing at Gilman Field, the goal line is painted blue and located a meter behind a very bold white soccer goal line.

If questions arose regarding the NCRFU Match Protocols, somebody used a copy as a flag on a corner post.

Thanks to Dave Williamson for taking time to assess my refereeing and to Chris Tucker for his assistance.

OLYMPIC CLUB B More – Sacramento Capitals B Less
First Half Referee: Scott Wood
Second Half Referee: Steve Seifert (Sacramento Capitals)
Second Half Official Timekeeper: Chris Tucker

Sacramento kicked off and my right calf went "bing" followed shortly by my left calf going "bong". Keeping my pace in second gear, I maintained fair proximity to play and was near tries (yes, well inside the 22). At halftime, I took Steve Seifert up on his offer and he took up the whistle. Capitals offered a fair defense in the first half but started to miss tackles in the second. At least both second sides were able to get in a match.

RENO 30 – Hayward 15 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: Bruce Anderson, Russ Wilkening

As I drove into Reno through snow-capped, mountainous forests, I anticipated chilly temperatures, but was pleasantly surprised by an unseasonably warm and sunny 60F day at Mira Loma Park. A large crowd was on-hand to watch the mostly Polynesian encounter between perennial contenders Hayward and the upstarts from Reno. Forwards from both teams bulldozed into their opponents with gusto, but Reno seemed more organized in the backs, running onto the ball with pace and width. Reno scored first to lead 7-0 before Hayward edged ahead 7-8, but Reno scored again to lead 12-8 at half. The match opened up nicely in the second half as backs on both teams showed their attacking flair, but it was the home team that showed more finish, leading 25-8, which included an exhilarating try that had at least 10 phases of quickly recycled ball. Hayward struck back through their tight forwards to pull within 25-15, but Reno iced the match with another quick strike through their backs out wide. Reno won 4 tries to 2, but missed opportunities to score even more (through their talented backs). Both teams should be commended for their sense of fair play: this was a fun match to referee. Much thanks to the assistant referees for their excellent help and also thanks to the home team for hosting a nice after-match reception in downtown Reno.

Seconds: RENO 41 – Hayward 24 Referee: Bruce Anderson
After watching the 1st side game, which was a very physical game, I expected nothing different in the 2nd team. The game reduced to 25 minutes each way as a number of 1st side players played again and the after party seemed more appealing. 1st half was an evenly contested game with Hayward leading 19 - 17. With Hayward running out of gas and offering much assistance to the referee, they lost the plot and Reno ran away with it in the end to end the game 41 - 24 winners. 7 tries to the Reno Zephyrs and 4 to Hayward.

I would just like to commend Aruna Ranaweera on his performance of the 1st side game. I ran touch for him and it was a pleasure to watch him control that game with confidence, allowing advantage and for taking control at the right times. He allowed rugby to win the day. He constantly communicated with his touch judges to show the players they were being watched from all sides. Watching him ref took me back to my rugby days in South Africa where good referees were not noticed on the field. A job well done and I look forward to running touch for him again, ANYTIME!

EAST PALO ALTO 29 – Fresno 14 Referee: Preston Gordon
Evaluator: Mike Malone
This was a very good and pretty fast game. There were several knock-ons and other technical errors over these 80 minutes, but for the most part, it was good counter-attacking, hard hitting, and very fairly contested rugby. Everybody seemed to enjoy the match - I certainly did. The weather was great, and the pitch had a bit more grass on it than I remember last spring. Beware the sprinkler holes though!

We got going right at 1300, and throughout the first half each side attempted to put their stamp on the game. The lead changed a couple of times, and we ended up at 12-14 to the visitors at the break. With a brace of tries to each side, EPA's missed conversion was the only difference.

In the second half EPA was able to apply a lot more pressure in the scrums, stealing a couple of feeds against the head while disrupting much of Fresno's ball. EPA seemed to get stronger as they finished the match, whereas their opponents seemed to fade a bit - the second half scoreline would appear to support this: EPA got 3 tries, converting one, against nothing for Fresno.

Thanks to both sides for maintaining discipline and also for using their ears during the match! Everybody understood very quickly that "ruck" meant no hands on the ball, and as a result, the tempo of the game was kept pretty high.

Seconds: EAST PALO ALTO 22 – Fresno 0 Referee: Preston Gordon

Arroyo Grande 3 – BARACUS 19 Referee: Andy Doukas
Always confirm your referee and check the web-site for scheduling changes would be the lesson here. A no-show by the assigned referee left a humble, not so practiced substitute working hard to officiate a Rugby match the best he can. I hope the positives outweighed the missed calls for an enjoyable day of competitive rugby.

The game started out on a competitive note with both sides working through several phases of play. Arroyo Grande picked up 3 with a nice 30 meter kick from a penalty. Baracus moved on to dominance in their forwards and set play. They scored two converted trys in the first half and 1 more in the second. It was good to see new young players from both teams with great attitudes and aggressive play.

Many thanks to the captains Rishi (Baracus), Ryan (AG) and the players from both sides for their respect to the position of referee even though at times might not have been warranted.

Seconds: ARROYO GRANDE 22 – Baracus 20 Ref: Doukas
Baracus came with some depth and 2nd side players eager to get a match in. Arroyo Grande had to muster up and play with many of the same players from the 1st game. It was a good spirited match and showed the friendly relationship between these two clubs. Baracus’ forwards set an initial dominance and the trys came fast. There was some good spin moves by a Baracus back and they put up 4 unconverted trys for the day. Arroyo Grande kept fighting and even increased their level of play as the game progressed. Another nice penalty kick by AG, but this time 40 meters by the same 1st side kicker. AG put up 3 trys, 2 converted and gives a lesson on how important conversions are. Even though fatigued and a bit beat up from the first match, I enjoyed refereeing players that have love of game and sport!

SFGG 5 – SEAHAWKS 41 Referee: Pete Smith

Seconds: SFGG 53 – Seahawks 5 Ref: Smith

Santa Rosa 26 – DIABLO GAELS 31 Referee: Tom Zanarini
Evaluator: Dixon Smith

Seconds: Santa Rosa 10 – DIABLO GAELS 19 Referee: Craig Lusiani
A game of two halves.

The first half had Santa Rosa maintaining an excellent effort against a larger pack, capturing ball and spitting it out with good backline play and ball movement resulting in two tries (unconverted).

First-half score: Rosa10 - Gaels 0.

In the second half, the Gaels brought in a couple of substitutes which increased their size and weight in badge in the pack. The result was immediate and convincing with the Gaels capturing ball from set pieces with and against their head. Sometimes driving a much smaller, but valiant, Santa Rosa pack backward as creating problems for the Rosa backline.

With ball, the Gaels were able to provide their very speedy wings with clean access and long runs resulting in three tries, to convert it.

Stanislaus 19 – MISSION 28 Referee: James Hinkin
With the rain staying away what felt like an early spring day rather than a midwinter day saw me heading out to Turlock for the Mission v Harlots match. Both teams were there and warming up when I arrived at 12:20 due to a poor detouring decision that cost me a half hour. I handed out the match card and changed into my gear, checked boots and had a talk and the game was ready to get underway... except I had forgotten to hand out touch judge flags. Oh well.

So when everything was finally in place we started the match. The Harlots provided early pressure and Mission was unable to effectively clear their line and Stanislaus was rewarded with a try after 10 minutes. After the restart, Mission regrouped and started showing signs of dominance as the first period matured. After steady pressure a well spotted overlap saw their speedy winger outrun everyone to score under the posts. A successful conversion gave Mission a lead they would never relinquish. A second converted try before half time saw the scoreline at 14-5 at the break.

The second half was much of the same for Mission as they continued winning the territory battle. A converted third try after 50 minutes came from a severe defensive lapse as the Harlots completely ignored the weak side of a scrum. Mission were unstoppable as they ran back the restart kick and seemed to be ready to run away with the match, but the Harlots started their comeback. The game was getting more and more chippy and when the Mission #8 was binned the Harlots took advantage and scored two converted tries. With the sides restored to 15 men each it was a tense 5 minutes to finish the game out, but Mission were able to keep the Harlots at bay and prevail. Final Score Mission 28 - Harlots 19

HUMBOLDT 43 – Vacaville 13 Referee: Jim Crenshaw
I drove up to Humboldt Friday evening, stopped in Garberville and spent the night with some old friends. We drove up the Arcata the next morning just in time to watch UC Santa Cruz defeat Humboldt State.

Vacaville showed up with 13 players, so we played 13 on 15 for about 2 thirds of the match. Humboldt Old Growth were content to keep it in tight for the first 10 minutes of the match and not exploit the shortage of Vacaville defenders. When Humboldt did spin it out, it resulted in a long try scored between the posts. The rest of the half was pretty much the same, with Vacaville kicking a penalty goal and then Humboldt getting it out and scoring a couple of converted trys. The teams traded penalty kicks, but Humboldt finished the scoring with a try in the corner.
Halftime score Humboldt 29 Vacaville 6

The second half pace slowed down a bit, as Humboldt replaced some of their starters and repeated infringement yellow cards helped keep it closer. Humboldt scored 2 converted trys, but Vacaville managed one of their own, while playing 13 against 13.
Final score Humboldt 43 Vacaville 13.

Mendocino 0 – APTOS 68 Referee: Rich Anderson
Aptos, which had problems fielding a full side before this past weekend, traveled to Ukiah with a full side and subs to boot.

Mendocino was saved from starting the match with 14 players with the arrival of their hooker minutes before kickoff.

Mendocino's offence was simple: Run powerfully at the defense and hope to break through. Unfortunately for Mendocino, Aptos was organized and committed in defense and able to attack using many options that Mendocino could not contain. As the result, the Beach Dogs from Aptos shut out the Mendocino Steam Donkeys 68-0. At the half, the score was 22-0. Aptos made a number of subs at half time, including a big fast winger rumored to have last played at Oregon State who scored 3 quick tries. Mendocino lost their scrum half and captain to a rib injury early in the second half and were reduced to 14 players, which contributed to the 46 points they gave up during the second period.

A beautiful day in the Ukiah Valley.

Petaluma 7 – VALLEJO 52 Referee: Bjorn Stumer
Touch Judges: Marc Mahoney and Vaea Anitoni
A fairly one-sided match, as Vallejo had most of the youth and speed. Petaluma was able to contain the Barbarians with vigorous forward play on the first half, but were not able to keep up pace in the second. There is much promise in the mainly islanders and youthful Vallejo side, which was able to fill all of their subs while Petaluma, with few reserves and one injury, saw its number depleted even further when their No. 7 was red-carded for berating the referee. While the first half seemed a contest, 7 to 21, the second half belonged to Vallejo's young and fast runners. To their credit, Petaluma never quit the battle, quite the feat for a side sporting players that have graced our local pitches for almost 20 years. Final score Petaluma 7 (7) - Vallejo 52 (21).

Shasta 13 – MARIN 29 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
The Apocalypse is upon us-in dead winter it was blue skies and high 70s in Redding.
[Editor’s Note: Tell our friends in England about it, where they had a FOOT of snow in usually-temperate London.]
Both sides had good numbers (kudos to Marin for travelling well) and were ready to play.

Shasta had a taste better pack and spent much of the first half about 10 meters out from Marin's goal line, but simply could not close the deal. And its kicker had a bad day. But Marin's peppy fast backline had a good day; it was 19-8 at half.

Some D3 chippiness in the second half, fixed by several cards. All enjoyed the post game function.

CALIFORNIA 105 – Chico State 3 Referee: Joe Leisek
Assistant Referee: Roberto Santiago Touch Judge: Derek Sagehorn
Witter Rugby Field, University of California

A beautiful afternoon at Witter Field. A large crowd was on hand, with the home fans joined by plenty of Chico State supporters. Former Cal standout Mike McDonald was in attendance, as was a relative of the Witter family. As many other referees have noted, there is something very special about the history and culture of our sport in this setting. (If your adrenalin isn't already coursing during the national anthem, you probably don't have any.)

Cal put on a display of clinical precision from the opening whistle. Winning phase after phase in rapid succession, moving the ball into the midfield and crashing, winning more phases, spinning it wide, all at pace; it was breathtaking stuff. And the Cal players communicated with each other very effectively throughout the match. Chico played tough but could not begin to contain the Cal attack. The visitors did have one short period of play near Cal's goal but could not punch through the Bears' defense. Lots to admire about Chico, including their decisions to run the ball whenever possible, even deep in their own half. Cal is working the flat pass with precision and recycling the ball with speed. They also dominated in the scrums, especially in the second half. The hosts scored 17 tries; nine in the first half and eight in the second.

A few observations: Cal winger Ryan Taylor isn't the biggest player on the field, but he runs like a cannonball into contact and usually requires the efforts of three or four defenders to bring him down. Flyhalf Keegan Engelbrecht directs the offense with confidence and precision, runs well with ball in hand, offloads efficiently, and is a very good tackler. Locks Paul Jesseman and Eric Fry are powerful in the scrums and demons around the field. Chico lock Ted Watje leads by example through his excellent work rate.

Both captains worked really well with their teams and with me. The discipline and composure on the field from both teams was outstanding. Thanks to Roberto for his excellent work as assistant referee and to Derek for his help as well. And as always, Cal's Jerry Figone took very good care of the referees.

Seconds: CALIFORNIA 88 – Chico State 0 Referee: Roberto Santiago
Referee Coach: Joe Leisek
What a beautiful day for my first time on the pitch at Witter Rugby Field. The game was played well and disciplined aside from a couple rookie infringements by players new to the game. Cal dominated form start to finish in the scrums and on the scoreboard but Chico was strong in the rucks. Chico also had the most exciting single play of the game when one of the centers chipped over the Cal back line and the Chico winger caught the ball on the full and ran about 80 meters leaving spinning Cal defenders in his wake. The play did not end in a score but was a crowd pleaser none the less.

Cheers to Cal for their hospitality. Jeers to Chico's supporters (quite possibly including some members of their A-Side) during the second side match for constantly berating Cal's kicker during his conversion attempts. That's not in the spirit of the game folks. You should expect better of yourselves.

Thanks to Joe Leisek for staying and coaching me up after his match.

SACRAMENTO STATE 31 – UC Davis 22 Referee: Phil Akroyd
Referee Coach: Matt Eason
Weather: Sunny, very warm.

It was great to see both teams present, ready and on the field 50 minutes before kick-off. The weather was great, if not a little too warm and both teams attracted substantial crowds.

It appeared that Sac State would dominate with a simple strategy of pounding the ball down the field with the forwards and then shipping it out to the backs in the final few meters, to get the tries. Sac outscored Davis by 4 tries to 1 in the first half, but the real story of the game was the competition on the floor. Sac State persisted in the pick-and-drive game around the rucks, almost frustratingly so as they have very fast backs who were clearly bigger than Davis. With so many tackles, there was a lot of competition on the floor, which led to a lot of penalties resulting from not releasing the tackler, not releasing the ball, not rolling away and off-feet, etc. Although I knew both teams were aware of what I wanted – fast ball – they seemed incapable of delivering it, resulting in 3 yellow cards for persistent team offences.

The second half saw Davis fight back as Sac gave away too many penalties, but in the final quarter, Sac took hold of the game and made sure of their win, which they clearly deserved.

Seconds: SACRAMENTO STATE 56 – UC Davis 0 Referee: Scott McConnell

ST. MARY’S 66 – Stanford 20 Referee: John Pohlman
Assistant Referees: Bruce Bernstein, Ron DeCausemaker
Assessor: Bryan Porter
The rugby month of January came to a close for me at St. Mary's. It was a beautiful day. Temperature in the high 60's. I arrived around 11:45 to see Paul Bretz refereeing De La Salle versus Christian Brothers high school game.

My game was due to start at 1:00PM. #3 St. Mary's, 8-0-1, was hosting #24 Stanford, 6-2.

I had the opportunity to do 5 top 25 teams in D-1 Collegiate rugby in the last four weeks. I never had to drive more than an hour from my house. If you want to get close to great rugby join the Pelicans.

Stanford maintained early possession and were rewarded with a penalty kick 3:00 minutes into the first half. St. Mary's winger Matt Hensley scored the first of three backs scores at 7 minutes. Followed by trys by centers O'Meara and Morton's. Stanford scored trys at 19 minutes and 21 by flanker Hall and winger Luscombe. Luscombe's try was off a quick tap penalty for feeding the scrum.

The scrummages proved to by one of Stanford's weakness throughout the day. The St. Mary's front row dominated the engagement which led to some fairly unstable scrums. When Stanford captain and #10 John Clark had steady quick ball the Stanford backs looked promising.

But this was a day of St. Mary's gaining most the possession and finishing tries with sharp change of pace and direction by their super quick backline.

Second half score St. Mary's 28 Stanford 15.

The second half was all St. Mary's. The Gaels scored six try's to one by Stanford.

Well after seeing 37 trys by the winning teams in January and what will probably be the #1, 2 and 3 teams in division 1 collegiate rugby, I would have to give Cal the edge. Cal's depth and conditioning separate from a very fast BYU and St. Mary's teams. Should make for some exciting rugby.

Special thanks to Bruce and Ron who helped me numerous times. Ron calling a knock forward to negate a St. Mary's try. Also Bryan Porter for his great feedback after the game.

Seconds: ST. MARY’S 68 – Stanford 17 Referee: Bruce Bernstein
Assistant Referee: John Pohlman
This started out as a competitive match until Stanford's flanker/captain scored & came out of game in middle of first half. Rest of match dominated by St. Mary's scrum controlling set pieces & punctuated by St. Mary's winger's 100 meter try down their sideline in the midst of the track meet.

MARITIME ACADEMY 78 – San Jose State 5 Referee: Eric Rauscher
It was my first time up to Cal Maritimes' field. Both in-goals are oddly shaped due to trees on the west side and a hill on the east side. But the field does have a real electronic scoreboard! The skies were blue, the field was firm and the play was fast. Cal Maritime dominated the scrums throughout the game. I gather that SJSU was hurting for front-row players and it showed. SJSU got very little ball, but played with good spirits all the way through to score a try in the closing minuet of the game. I was very impressed with Cal Maritimes' #11, Kirk Muellar, who was not only fast, but has that way of avoiding tackles that seems un-earthly.

Seconds: MARITIME ACADEMY 34 – San Jose State 7 Ref: Rauscher
The second game was played by fresh legs on Cal Maritime’s side, but most of SJSU's players went a second round. It was only two 30 min periods, and SJSU did much better. The scrums were more even and they gave it their all, but couldn't match Cal Maritime.

I must say that if I were to choose man of the Match(s) it would be SJSU #4 in the first game and #8 in the second, Nolau Verga. This is his first year playing. I think he will become a major player. He always seemed to be at the breakdowns, ran strong, and scored the try for SJSU in the second game. Keep an eye out for him.

Thanks to Kat for the coaching!

Humboldt State 14 – UC SANTA CRUZ 18 Referee: Sam Davis

SANTA ROSA JC 39 – U. of San Francisco 17 Referee: Mike King
The match started on time on a bright, sunny day at For Pete’s Sake Field in Santa Rosa. The hosts opened the scoring with a drive and break by #4, after controlling territory for most of the first 10-15 minutes. They followed with another try on a long run by the flyhalf, before USF came storming back to score. SRJC closed out the first stanza with another try. First half 17-5.

USF struck first in the second half with continued strong running by its backs. Both sides held their own in the scrum, but SRJC took control of the USF lineout at times. Tackling was crisp and possession see-sawed for awhile. There were new players on both sides who had worked hard with their coaches to master to basics of the game. The match was fairly even in the second stanza with the teams trading tries again, until SRJC closed out with 2 tries near the end of the contest.

Santa Clara seconds 19 – SIERRA JC 54 Referee: Sam Reagle
Weather: Perfect

I got a call Friday afternoon saying that the game had been moved from Loomis to Santa Clara. That meant my commute changed from 5 miles to 145 miles. My car needed gas, but the Goldwing had a full tank. With the temperature expected to be in the 60's, I put on a warmup suit and headed for Silicon Valley. Time flies on the bike and I arrived in time to watch most of Dave Pope's game.

It was then that I learned Santa Clara was resting their entire A-side for their game against Cal on Sunday. My expectations dropped a little, but this was probably a better game to referee than the track meet I predicted. Sierra scored 7 tries on the day, 3 in the first half and 4 in the second. They also made all but one conversion. Santa Clara had one unconverted try in the first half and 2 converted tries in the second. There were no penalty kicks at goal attempted.

Although there were several knock-ons and a few errant passes, there were very few penalties. Sierra has a good nucleus of players who recycled the ball well and a couple of backs who won the day against the Broncos. The B's were well organized, but missed tackles allowed Sierra to create overlaps.

UC Davis women 0 – CHICO STATE 24 Referee: Rob Hendrickson
Touch Judge: Donal Walsh
Chico women continued their crazy travel schedule traveling down to Davis for an 11:00 start under clear skies, on a firm pitch and with 75 degree temperatures. Both sides seem to be in a rebuilding mode, fielding a fair number of relatively young players at a number of key positions. Chico scored 3 tries in the first half by swinging the ball out wide to push down the field, and then pick and go to punch it in. The second half had cleaner and quicker ball at the breakdown, but Chico was the only one to be able to capitalize on it for a try.

Seconds: UC Davis women 10 – CHICO STATE 12 Referee: Donal Walsh

Humboldt State women 6 – CALIFORNIA 39 Referee: Sam Davis

Seconds: HUMBOLDT STATE 12 – Cal 0 Ref: Davis

Santa Clara women 0 – UC SANTA CRUZ 55 Referee: Dave Pope
UC Santa Cruz had too much speed in the backs for the Santa Clara Women, and were a bit better recycling the ball. Santa Cruz scored consistently throughout the game. Santa Clara played hard all game and managed to get the ball over the line in a maul, but dropped the ball less than 6 inches from the ground. Santa Cruz won the scrum and cleared their line.

Nevada women – St. Mary's CANCELED

STANFORD women 50 – Texas A&M 0 Referee: Tony Redmond
A lovely day for rugby on Stanford's good pitch laid the foundations for an open and interesting game. I've refereed Stanford women a number of times and they have always proven to be a well-drilled team who perform the basics well (a tribute to their coaching staff) and have a set of players who get the ball wide to some speedsters in their back three. This game was different because I saw counter-rucking for the first time in a women's game in the US! Texas were a more limited team than Stanford both in the number of players available and skills but that didn't stop them imposing a physical presence at rucks and mauls that forced Stanford into penalties, converted several turn-overs, and provided the Stanford scrum-half with a quality of ball that she really wished she hadn't got to deal with. Sure, Stanford scored two goals in the first half, but it took them 20 minutes to break down the A&M resistance and the second goal came much later in the half. Texas A&M kept working hard in the second half but the sheer physical effort couldn't be maintained and waned as the half progressed. Stanford took advantage to win better ball and create a platform to move the ball wide to create opportunities across the back-line where a hat-trick of tries was notched up by Stanford #11. Further evidence of the ebbing physical challenge came when Stanford #1 broke through and experienced a dream situation for a prop - open field with 20m to the goal line and just a few tired backs ahead. She scored! The final tally of 50-0 (the scoreboard was wrong at 52-0) was probably hard on the Texans but there's no doubt that the better team won through skill, experience, and persistence in the face of physical competition.

NEW PITCH DEDICATION: THE FABULOUS LOBODOME

Elsie Allen 12 – SF/GOLDEN GATE 15 Referee: Mike King
This pre-season match pitted 2 of the top high school programs in the Bay Area, who both have good organization, excellent coaching and dedicated athletes. Not surprisingly, it was a Battle Royale at the LoboDome following a brief opening presentation celebrating the benefits the Rugby program has brought to the Southwest Santa Rosa community.

The visitors had a well-schooled and large pack with versatile and talented backs. They did not seem to fully anticipate the ferocity that the smaller Lobos displayed at the tackle or in the loose. Elsie Allen seemed to control territory for much of the first half, with its continued pressure in the second and third phase. The Lobos scored a try in the corner on a nice run and pass sequence in the corner. Only stout defense by the Golden Gate lads, kept the home team out a few more times in the half. Not to be outdone, however, on one of its sorties into the home end, SFGG broke through the line to dot down to even it up at half. 5-5.

Switching ends did not seem to have much effect on Elsie’s pressure until a break from a ruck by the Golden Gate # 8 covered most of the field. This score seemed to change the game’s dynamics some. SFGG continued its solid defense and counter-attacked effectively on Lobo kicks. Eventually, they dotted down again on a nice pass and run into the corner, again making it hard for their kicker to convert despite an excellent effort. After some delay due to the departure of an injured player, both sides picked up with the same intensity they had before. The match closed with a penalty try being awarded to Elsie Allen after repeated failure to retreat by the visitors following an offside call. It was correctly pointed out to the referee that he should have allowed more opportunity to defense to retreat after they were not back 10 on the initial penalty.

It was a pleasure to participate in this match involving talented players, giving no quarter and asking none, while at the same time playing within the basic structure of the Laws. These young men all have a promising future and acquitted themselves well.

Sunday
CALIFORNIA 67 – Santa Clara 10 Referee: Rich Anderson
Assistant Referees: Rob Hendrickson, John Coppinger
As I was making the 15 minute drive from my house to Berkeley's Pitch last Sunday, I was counting my blessings. I was able to referee the top college program in the country on a beautiful pitch. The weather was in the 70's, drought be damned. And I had two friends (John Coppinger/Rob Hendrickson) volunteer to give up some of their pre-Super Bowl afternoon to run touch.

My final blessing was a surprisingly entertaining non-league match. Santa Clara was able to match Cal's intensity for much of the first half, score a few trys, and keep the half time score down to 22-10. Cal came out a bit more focused in the 2nd half, scored early, and never let up. A few late Cal trys tilted the score a bit, but overall, it was a well contested match.

A few cold drinks with my Assistant Referees on the patio of a local establishment completed the experience. It was a good day.

AT STANFORD'S PITCH:
Chico State women 15 – TEXAS A&M 19 Referee: Bruce Carter

This was one of those one-way games you hear about. Although, it was not one-way in terms of team or color, but rather all of the points were scored going northwest, at the same end of the pitch.

The key statistic by which this game can be understood was the dew point.

Look at it this way: in 160 minutes of rugby on their NorCal tour, the Aggies scored three tries. These all came in the last eight of those minutes. The tour was like one of those long, run-on sentences that scholarly German lends itself to, where all the verbs pile up at the end.

We kicked off at 9 AM, 45 degrees under clear skies. Despite the high barometric pressure, clear skies allow the surface of the Earth to cool overnight by radiation. With the humidity up and the temperature down the grass was wet with condensation.

The first half was scrum practice; nobody could find the handle. Chico State did better in these conditions, relying more on a close-in game of pick and punch.

Chico State controlled possession and territory for those forty minutes. Although they scored two tries and one penalty goal, several other kickable penalties went for touch and did not lead to points.

Such was the slickness factor of the dew that at halftime the ref tried to pick up the ball to put it back at midfield and committed an unpressured knock-on.

The morning’s photon storm, however, soon had the grass warmer than the air above and then it was only a matter of minutes before all was dry. This occurred midway through the second half. And by then Chico State had pretty much emptied their bench, which meant in this non-league friendly that it was basically their second side.

A&M’s backs’ play suddenly made sense with the ball in hand. Their centers and fullback scored tries with 8, 6 and 3 minutes remaining, two conversions making the difference in the final scoreline.

HIGH SCHOOL GAMES

Berkeley Rhinos 5 – ALAMEDA 12 Ref: Lost in Editing! [Sorry!]
Tom Bates Fields, Berkeley
Game was played on the all-weather turf at the brand-new fields at the base of Gilman St. in Berkeley (next to the race track). The weather was perfect and the birds on the wires were chirping up a storm. The pre-season game consisted of three 25 min periods with free subs at dead balls. Alameda had the smaller squad numbers-wise, but seemed to have an edge experience-wise. The first period was a 0/0 tie after 25 min of even play. The second half saw Berkeley send in a new group with less experience and the score and the end of the second was 5/12. One of the Alameda players made a beautiful interception and run in for a try towards the end of this period. The third period saw Berkeley and Alameda ending up scoreless again. It may have been Alameda tiring or Berkeley sending its more experienced players back in. Anyway, both teams got a good run and enjoyed a great morning of rugby.

BROTHERS 40 – De La Salle 5 Referee: Paul Bretz

Frosh/JV: BROTHERS 15 – De La Salle 0 Ref: Bretz

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Another photo courtesy of David Barpal.
www.dcbphotos.com

Phil Akroyd shows how to referee the tackle in the Causeway Classic, the Sac State – UC Davis match. Notice that he’s closer to the action than the first supporting player: perfect.

But Phil: white socks?

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

LATE FLIGHT

HAIL, PELICUS!

THREE NEW C3s

The Promotion Committee of the NCRRS is happy to announce that the flock has a trio of newly-minted C3 referees: Rich Boyer, Craig Lusiani and Scott McConnell.

Congratulations, gentlemen. Onward and upward!

FORTY GAMES FOR TWENTY-NINE REFEREES

That’s the situation at present for February 21. We need more refs!

If you have not sent in your February availability, please do so – that’s half a dozen of our members. If you previously indicated that you could not run on the 21st, please have another look at the calendar.

PREAMBLE

Sent in by Phil Akroyd:

Rugby team loses record scoreline

Midlands club Alcester thought they had earned a place in rugby union's record books when they recorded a 194-3 win over Coventry Saracens last weekend. But the scoreline - a record winning margin for an English league game - has been wiped from the records after a ruling from local officials. Coventry Saracens were handicapped by having only eight players, and formed scrums with just three men. However, rules insist scrums have a minimum of five players per side.

Despite the 191-point margin of victory, Alcester would have had some way to go to beat the world record for a game of union. This stands at 350-0 and came in 1984 when tries were worth only four points rather than five, with French club Lavardac beating their third division opponents Vergt 350-0 with 66 tries. To be fair to Vergt, the match was actually a very Gallic form of protest with the players making no effort to defend in order to register their unhappiness at the suspension of several players. The result of the Midlands Six West (SE) match will still stand with Alcester keeping the two league points following the ruling by the Midlands League Organising Committee (MLOC).

"We have to say well done to Coventry Saracens for turning up and giving it a go," said MLOC chairman Paul Kaminski. "Had they put five players into the scrums instead of three they would have satisfied the laws of the game.

"But they require a minimum of five forwards in scrums at all times and so we have decided to declare the score null and void and award the two points to Alcester.

"We believe this is the fairest solution for all clubs in this league."

Friday
MARITIME ACADEMY 38 – Sierra College 19 Referee: Rich Boyer
Referee Coach: David Williamson

Saturday

Sacramento Lions 7 – OLYMPIC CLUB 20 Referee: Paul Bretz
Assistant Referee: Chris Tucker
Sac Lions hosted O club on a rain-drenched pitch. Chris Tucker provided excellent support as the assistant referee. Despite the field conditions the game was played in good spirits and all seemed to have a good time. O club came out of the gates on fire and scored 3 tries in the first half. Sac's only score came from a counter attack that resulted from a poorly completed clearing kick that left one defender trying to tackle 6 Sac Lions. At half time the score was 17-7. Only one additional penalty kick occurred in the second half as both teams struggled to maintain possession in the wet conditions. O Club's strong set piece resulted in 4 tight-heads and at least half a dozen stolen balls at the line-out.

Seconds: Sacramento Lions – Olympic Club
We’re not sure if this was played.

Hayward 7 – SAN MATEO 11 Referee: Tony Redmond
Arrangements for this game didn't start well because I turned up at the wrong high school in Hayward. A couple of phone calls sorted out that problem and I eventually arrived at the right place about 30 minutes before the scheduled 1PM start. Mark this confusion down to a newcomer still finding his way around the rugby locations in the Bay Area.

Things didn't go any better after reaching the right location. A high school game was being played on a muddy pitch that was bereft of line markings. After that game finished, an examination of the pitch revealed that it could not host any serious level of rugby with the markings that it had - plus there were no flags and the crowd was firmly camped on the touch line. Negotiations then ensued to get the pitch remarked, to find flags, and to put ropes up as per regulations. Vivienne from the rugby union did a great job to work with the Hayward club to doing the right thing but all came to a grinding halt when the fact emerged that the permit for the ground specifically excluded any game played when conditions were wet and muddy, which they absolutely were.

Further negotiations brought us to the point where the game was moved to a nearby football pitch. This had no markings, flags, etc. but it did have the benefit of stands and fences. The Hayward club begin to mark out the ground to a point where we had basic markings (dead ball, goal, 22, half) but little else. No flags were to be found and the football posts were pressed into service. All in all, not a great way to host a game between two division 1 clubs and certainly well outside the boundaries of the arrangements envisaged by regulations.

In any case, we eventually kicked off at 2:05PM and San Mateo quickly took advantage of some basic errors by Hayward to first kick a penalty and then score an unconverted try from a 5m line-out. Play was very typical of an early season game with much honest endeavor coming to grief in a succession of knock-ons and forward passes. Hayward eventually got into the game by scoring a converted try early in the second half and San Mateo responded with another penalty to close out the scoring and leave the final result at 7-11. The pace slowed in the last 20 minutes as players tired and substitutes came on.

Seconds: HAYWARD 5 – San Mateo 0 Referee: Mike King
This match was a very abbreviated due to a late start for the 1st side contest and the need to free the pitch for another match. The intensity level was incredibly high and the play incredibly spirited. Well played!

Baracus 0 – EAST PALO ALTO 51 Referee: Chris Labozzetta
As the score indicates, EPA flat out crushed Baracus on this opening weekend for both sides. EPA played a very disciplined and aggressive game, which was very impressive to witness, especially this early in the season. Baracus simply was outmatched on the day. The defining moment was with 2 minutes to go in the first half, Baracus had an offensive scrum on EPA’s 30 meter line. EPA smashed the scrum, won the ball, and ran virtually untouched 70 meters for a try to end the half. I would have to think EPA are going to be very tough to beat in Div 2 this year.

Seconds: Baracus 0 – EPA 36 Ref: Labozzetta
Pretty much a carbon copy of the first game, at a slightly slower pace.

FRESNO 91 – Arroyo Grande 0 Referee: Phil Ulibarri
Fresno scored 15 unanswered tries with eight conversions in a convincing demonstration before about 100 home-town fans. Final 91 – 0.

Seconds: FRESNO 26 – Arroyo Grande 0 Ref: Ulibarri
Arroyo Grande reluctantly/gallantly agreed to an abbreviated second 20-minute refrain with uncontested scrums which ended 26 – nil.
Thanks to Isaac and Bo my touch judges on the day.

Seahawks 19 – SANTA ROSA 26 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Assistant Referees: Rich Anderson, Mike King
Referee Coach: David Williamson
Location: Sunset HS, Hayward

I was originally scheduled to referee the 2nd XV match between Hayward and San Mateo, but due to some somewhat comical problems finding a marked and available field in Hayward, the 2nd XV match was originally called off. Rich Anderson was scheduled to referee the San Jose vs Santa Rosa match (which itself had been hastily re-scheduled due to field unavailability), but he graciously invited me to referee his match. The Hayward 2nd XV match ended up being played at the last minute for 20 minutes (refereed by Mike King), which meant that the San Jose vs Santa Rosa match had to wait until 4:15 pm to kickoff. Since evening visibility was sure to be an issue, the captains agreed before the match to play at least one half and whatever else was possible, at which point the final score would be accepted as an official league result. After the uncertainty of finding a field to play on, players and officials were glad to get going under cold, dark, damp conditions. I, for one, was excited to have a full crew of NCRRS support: Rich Anderson and Mike King running touch, David Williamson in the stands (with audio), and Tony Redmond (who refereed the Hayward vs San Mateo 1st XV match) as an observer.

The match ended up being quite entertaining and well-matched: the contest for possession was fierce and both teams looked to spin the ball wide where they often found swarming support. San Jose scored first to lead 0-7, but Santa Rosa scored two tries to lead 12-7 at half. San Jose showed superior physicality in the forwards, but Santa Rosa looked more potent in the backs. With darkness looming, San Jose scored twice and seemed to have the match in the bag at 12-19, but they attempted an adventurous skip pass that was intercepted and resulted in a Santa Rosa try which tied the match 19-19 at the 58th minute. I informed the players that I would play 2 more minutes, after which Santa Rosa proceeded to score one last try that sealed the match, 26-19, 4 tries to 3. It was a shame to play only 60 minutes of rugby, but I had to end the match due to poor light. The return match will be good!

Much thanks to Rich and Mike for their help as assistant referees, David for his coaching, and Tony for his advice.

Seconds: Seahawks – Santa Rosa Referee: NOT PLAYED

DIABLO GAELS 34 – SF/Golden Gate 15 Referee: Joe Leisek
Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill

The season-opener for both clubs, and a very spirited, competitive match. The first 15 minutes seemed to be all SFGG, as they seemed much better organized and far better disciplined. In fact, at that point I was convinced it was going to be a long afternoon for the Gaels. But the hosts soon started to play with a much better focus and resolve; they concentrated better and I could feel the momentum shift. Although the visitors scored first, the Gaels rebounded with several tries in the first half, including a beauty from a lineout and some efficient passing that sent their outside center scampering about 45 meters for a try. SFGG mounted a comeback in the second half, but the Gaels pulled away for the win. Both teams featured several young players in their starting XVs (the average age of the entire Diablo club roster is 24). Good to speak with coaches Harry Batten and Mike Caravelli after the match. (It was my third Batten-related assignment of the young season, having twice refereed his son Kyle with St. Mary's College.) A quality rugby day in a great setting, with a precisely-lined field and fine hospitality.

Seconds: Diablo Gaels 24 – SFGG 34 Referee: Dave Heath
Referee Coach: Joe Leisek
This was a good competitive game. In the first half SFGG had the lion's share of possession and territory, but still turned around 17-10 down thanks to two opportunistic tries by the Diablo right and left wings and a well worked goal to two unconverted tries.

Diablo scored another good goal early in the second half to stretch their lead, but then it became a battle for them as SFGG reasserted their possession game and started to pull the game back. Strong forward drives, good off-loading in the tackle and some good vision to put players into space saw SFGG score four unanswered tries (two converted) to finish 34-24 ahead.

Thoroughly enjoyed this game, and all credit to both sets of players for their commitment and skill. Thanks also to Joe for staying on after his game to provide some feedback.

Mission – Humboldt RAIN OUT

Vacaville 21 – BERKELEY 27 Referee: Sam Reagle
I brought HiTops in case the rain earlier this week turned this game into a mudfest, but such was not the case. The pitch was damp, but in good shape with the weather behaving wonderfully with cloudy skies and no rain all day.

Berkeley struck early with an unconverted try just 3 minutes into the game and another unconverted try midway thru the first half. Both teams did a good job of poaching the ball at tackles where the support was late in arriving. The first half was very fluid, but turnovers and knock-ons killed many attacks. Vacaville scored a converted try 35 minutes in for a halftime score of 10-7.

Like the first half, Berkeley controlled the early goings of the second half with unconverted tries at the 7 and 23 minute marks and a converted try at the 30 minute mark to go up 27-7. Berkeley was controlling the scrums and appeared to be cruising even before too many Not-Releasing penalties on Vacaville sent a man to the bin for the duration. However, the game got interesting when the remaining 14 Vacaville players scored their second converted try with a couple of minutes remaining to draw within 6 of winning this game. It was not to be, but they did get a bonus point.

Interesting side-bar: One of the early Berkeley conversions looked to be good, but was called wide by their touch judge. I chose not to overrule since it was THEIR touch judge. It seemed insignificant at the time, but in the end, affected the bonus point.

Seconds: VACAVILLE 17 – Berkeley 12 Ref: Reagle
Good clean game of mostly the A-side players playing again with a handful of newbies.

The Good Heffer hosted the party. Nice place, stop in if you are in Vacaville.

FOG 27 – Stanislaus 5 Referee: Roberto Santiago
Referee Coach: Dixon Smith
Overcast, chilly, and perfect for rugby as the rain held off on Treasure Island on Saturday. Both teams came out playing well defensively but Fog made it 5-0 with a nifty chip kick from the 12 to the 14 at the 9:47 mark. Fog scored again in the first half for a 10-0 lead. After the Fog converted a penalty Stanislaus closed the gap with try at 49:50 to make it 13-5. After that it was all SF as the home side tacked on two more converted tries, including one while a man down for a dangerous tackle, for a 27-5 final. The difference in the game once again was cohesion in the back line as the Fog's line seemed just a little more in sync taking advantage of a fine short kicking game to make ground and put a couple over the line.

CHICO 129 – Mendocino 0 Referee: Phil Akroyd
Location: Chico Middle School
Weather: Cool, cloudy and breezy (perfect!)
The outcome of this game was on the cards for many days leading up to the match. The Mendocino coach (Liam) informed me that the team was undergoing a rebuilding phase; they had lost their training facilities and several players. They would also be traveling to Chico short. Chico, on the other hand, had been having a strong pre-season and has a large squad, with big, talented and experienced players.

The first try was scored by Chico after 24 seconds. That was the pattern of the game for the remaining 79 minutes and 36 seconds.

It was 64 – 0 at half time and the only disruption to the try-fest was a gaping head wound to the Mendocino right winger with 30 minutes to go as a result of a freak tackle accident. The game finished with ten tries in the first half, eleven in the second, a total of 7 penalties awarded in the game, one free-kick and two teams of players who assured me that they all enjoyed the game and got something out of it.

Aptos – Petaluma CANCELED – TO BE RESCHEDULED

VALLEJO 40 – Shasta 8 Referee: Ray Schwartz
Referee Coach: Mike Malone
Qualified Touch Judge: Vaea Anitoni
After driving to Shasta the weekend before and yet having no game, both Shasta and I hoped for a full 80-minutes in Vallejo. Before this match, the Highlanders collectively commented on how they had never seen 10 rugby players drive so far and yet not bother to at least scrimmage, as Aptos had the week before. Hard to say, but the 25 Highlanders ready to play last week at home had now dwindled to 17 in Vallejo. I'm sure if they had played a decent match the week before, their numbers would have been higher...

Vallejo has numbers. And a field! In a stadium, with lights, and flagpole, rest rooms, man, this is legit! John Kelly never played rugby, but founded the team last year, and is blessed to have coaches Ben Whisky and Vaea Anitoni to work together on helping to change hearts and minds among the troubled youth of Vallejo. A great group with a great spirit. They lacked some discipline, some skill and some fitness...however, some of their players are fit and skillful. It made for a compelling match.

Mike Malone got me mic'ed up, and the game would be broadcast on local cable and the internet, with my voice over! Mike reported afterwards I had done a very good job of communicating, and during at least one long stretch, I did a lot of heavy breathing too!

Shasta came out blazing and scored the first points through a penalty. Vallejo would be persistently infringing at the tackle/ruck, just a fraction below earning a yellow card for repeat team infringements on the day. They collectively seemed to commit every penalty at least twice! I talked them out of what I could, and let advantage go as much as possible.

Vallejo roared back with a converted try. Play moved fast from try line to try line, but with no score. My left hamstring clamped up about 30 minutes in, ouch! Shasta missed two more attempts at goal before finally scoring an unconverted try, and take an 8-7 lead into halftime.

Shasta remained game, but the story of the second half was Vallejo raising theirs. There were some nice combinations between their centers and fullback leading to long runs. Their scrums, though a man short, dominated. Ben was really concerned about making certain to pick up the bonus point, and sure enough his 55-year old self scored the third of 6 tries in the half! The game ended with a charged down kick (in general play) caroming off the face of a Vallejo player, ricocheting forward to a teammate, who danced in for the score.

I appreciate Mike Malone's feedback and enthusiasm after the match. Even though I project confidence, in truth I am a steaming mass of self-doubt...like so many of us. Mike pointed out my strengths, confirmed I had more than I thought (!), and provided good direction toward how I might best improve my ref skills.

Had a great chat with John Kelly afterwards, as I helped him take down his Stars and Stripes. Vallejo will host the NCRFU DIII championship at their home pitch, a facility/location filled with great potential, and yet surrounded by a largely abandoned former naval base. The aftermatch function was at John's facility nearby, over the bridge in town, kind of a halfway house/youth center. The food was great, the spirits infectious! Great to be a part of NorCal rugby, and witness it growing in positive directions!

CALIFORNIA 109 – Nevada 3 Referee: James Hinkin
Assistant Referees: Eric Rauscher, Richard McGrath (Sydney)
Assessor: Bryan Porter
Coaching and Advice: Pete Smith

While the clouds were threatening the weather held off in Berkeley for the Cal v Nevada match. This was my first visit to Witter Rugby Field as an official (I have been there as a player and a fan) and the level of professionalism was apparent throughout the day. After the teams and the referees were introduced we paused for the national anthem and the game was started. Nevada started strong with some early pressure but Cal held firm and relieved it. A penalty to Cal at midfield led to a quick tap and recycling and Cal was across for a try within 5 minutes. Nevada kept the pressure on after the restart and were rewarded with a couple of scrums near the Cal line and eventually managed a drop goal. After that it was all Cal. Nevada tackled hard but couldn't get ahold of the ball and were eventually worn down as the tries came more frequently as time went on. Cal produced a workmanlike and disciplined performance with flashes of brilliance. Half time score: 46-3. Final score: 109-3.

Seconds: CALIFORNIA 125 – Nevada 0 Referee: Smith, Pete
Cal’s B side were never tested, but did have to play all 80 minutes as the UNR team were determined to finish the match regardless of the results. Considering several players, including most of the front row, had to play again in the B side match, everyone was impressed if not a little surprised that a full 80 minutes were completed. With the tally already over the century mark and about 15 minutes left to play, UNR were offered some relief, they responded “What, they don’t want to play a full game?”- I responded, “No, I am sure they are okay for all 80”- “Good, so are we!”. My hat’s off the UNR for playing the game properly. Oh, I only had 5 penalties in this one, two against Cal.

Daniel Barrett, formerly of SFGG U19 and USA U19, was his usual standout self scoring almost at will with at least 5 tries, maybe more I lost track. Having refereed Todd Clever at roughly the same stage in his career, with a few years left in high school, Daniel is the first player to remind me of Todd. If he gets serious and as fit as he needs to be to play at the highest levels, no doubt the sky is the limit for him. It is tough to push yourself when the game comes so easily at this level, but hopefully as he climbs the ladder of success, he will see the amount of work and dedication it will take to maximize his potential.

UC Davis 14 – CHICO STATE 27 Referee: Joe Androvich

Seconds: UC Davis 31 – CHICO STATE 33 Referee: Scott McConnell
The rain stayed away therefore the track was decent for some running rugby, Chico bolted out of the gate and ran in 4 converted tries to UC Davis 10 points coming by way of 1 converted try and a penalty kick. Davis got a good second wind after the half and ran in 3 unanswered converted tries to just take the lead. Chico realizing this went into top gear and ran in a try to take the lead back with only five minutes left. They held onto the ball and ran out time to win 33-31.

SACRAMENTO STATE 32 – Stanford 24 Referee: Jim Crenshaw
Assistant Referees: Matt Eason, Craig Lusiani/Sean Lyons
Thanks to Matt Eason and Craig Lusiani/Sean Lyons for running touch and Kat Todd for her input. We had a hotly contested match Saturday, with Sac State starting off fast with 2 unconverted trys in the first 20 minutes to take a 10 - 0 lead, only to have Stanford storm back with 2 trys and one conversion to make it 12 - 10 at halftime.

Sac State regained the lead with a penalty kick. Stanford scored a converted try to go up 19 - 13 at about the 20 minute mark, but Sac State scored a converted try to regain a one point advantage. With about 8 minutes remaining Sac State scored a try in the corner. The kick was short so Sac State increased their margin to 6. With only a couple of minutes left, Stanford scored under the posts to shrink Sac State’s lead to 1. The Stanford conversion was partially blocked, and couldn't quite get over the crossbar. Play resumed, but the momentum had shifted, with Sac State scoring a converted try with no time left. Great match!!
Final score Sac State 32 Stanford 24

Seconds: SAC STATE 32 – Stanford 10 Referee: Craig Lusiani
Referee Coach: Kat Todd-Schwartz
Threatening skies but no rain. Wind was a factor.

The match had good flow but, despite tenacity shown by Stanford's pack, the Hornet forwards controlled much of the set play as a result of the size advantage they enjoyed. Sac St. also had speed advantage in their back line which was telling in the final score with two long breaks for tries in the second half.

San Jose State – Santa Clara RAINED OUT

UC Santa Cruz 14 – SANTA ROSA JC 27 Referee: Rob Hendrickson
Assistant Referee: Brian Schnack

The Slugs' pitch was in great shape, and we had only a slight drizzle in the second half of this fast and intense game. Santa Rosa scored 3 first half tries and managed to hold off several UC Santa Cruz possessions which ended in knock-ons in the 5 meter area before Santa Cruz finally punched one in. The second half saw a penalty try awarded against Santa Rosa for impeding Santa Cruz's #10 from downing his well placed kick for a try, followed by two late break away tries by Santa Rosa to put the game away. Notwithstanding the hard fought nature of the game, good sportsmanship prevailed by both teams which made my job much easier and more fun). What a great outing.

Humboldt St – Diablo U23 CANCELED

USF – SFSU Referee:

UC DAVIS women 27 – Nevada 5 Referee: Jackie Finck
Russell Field
TJ: Donald Walsh

Driving down the hill to the valley that morning, I passed through snow and rain to get to Davis. It looked to be a dreary, overcast day. But as soon as I passed through Sacramento and into Davis, the clouds had cleared, the sun was shining, the pitch was soft, the air was crisp; ingredients for a fantastic rugby recipe.

Both teams had spirited energy, but Reno compromised discipline at the offside lines -entering the gate from the side, loitering along rucks- which caused a few pricey penalties. It wasn't until the second half when Reno began to heed my voice to prevent material offences, in which case they scored a try. Both captains demonstrated excellent team management on the field. Continuity at the rucks and mauls for both teams seems to be a slow down; I got mixed management reviews from both coaches. A big thanks to the BMOC -Donald Walsh- for helping me out as an official TJ.

STANFORD women 126 – Humboldt State 0 Referee: George O’Neil
Video Coach: Bruce Carter
From #1 to #15, the Stanford players run upfield, always with support. Tackle though HSU would, there was always someone there to take an offload until one of the burners could show her heels.

Seconds: STANFORD 51 – California 12 Referee: Bruce Carter
Cal had a lot of brand-new players.

Something occurred to me during this match, that players new to rugby from other sports, or new to team sports altogether, are not used to match officials addressing them by number during play. A lot of blank looks led me to this conclusion.

Perhaps a word to those of you coaching new ruggers: let them know that the Pelicanrefs will speak to them, by number, while the ball is in play, to help them stay on the bright side of the Law.

The other conclusion arising from this match is that Stanford’s selectors will have some decisions to make as the season rolls on – these women are good!

UC SANTA CRUZ women 26 – Chico State 5 Referee: Schnack
UCSC Women beat Chico State Women at UCSC, 26-5, on Saturday January 24th.

This was a fun match backed by seasonably appropriate cold with light rain, a few whistles, four first-half Slug tries, a few close (but not close enough) deep excursions by Chico, and finally an excellent second-half five-phase (with advantage) try by Chico.

Great follow-up and support, along with tenacious running gave the Slugs a 26-0 lead at half. Chico's game was sidetracked with infringements at the tackle and rucks, not to mention committing too many folks (intentionally or not) into the rucks.

The second half was a cleaner version of the first, with both sides taking to each other. Chico put together some good possessions, and got some reward that Saturday with a fun five+ phase combo of runtackleruckruntackleruckadvantagespinoutruntacklepoppasstackleruckrun...etc. Experiencing a series like that makes me happy to be breathing.

A quick 2nd sides match followed (thanks to both Santa Rose JC and UCSC Mens for giving them twenty). The Slugs won this, for what it's worth, unofficially 7-0 (score torn off for a grocery list now long gone, so I don't have the final).

Fun day, welcome rain, more welcome rugby for folks. Here's to more of it.

HIGH SCHOOL GAMES

SFGG 63 – Sierra 0 Referee: Preston Gordon
Referee Coach: Bryant Byrnes
This was the last match of the day (of five), and while it was fast, it was over by about 15 minutes into the game. At the half the score stood at 29-0 in favor of the home side. SFGG had many more bodies available for substitutions, and was better in the loose. Kudos to both sides for the fair contest in every aspect.

Afterwards, Bryant Byrnes and I discussed the match over beer and sausages, courtesy of SFGG. The bonus of the day goes to the weather - the pitch was a bit wet (which caused a bunch of knock-ons) but the rain held off!

SFGG frosh/soph 69 – Golden Valley frosh/soph 0 Referee: Eric Rauscher
Three 20 min periods. Coaches on the field, me coaching too. Excited kids playing for their first time. SFGG dominated, but all had a good time. SFGG's #15 (Tommy Giles sp?) was terrific in his role of kicking conversions.

LIVE OAK 7 tries – Tri-Valley & Valley Christian combined 0 Referee: Bruce Bernstein
Seconds, ten-a-side: Live Oak 0 – TRI-VALLEY 8 tries Ref: Bernstein

Seconds: SFGG 17 – Marin High 8 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
This was a late replacement match for a rained out game; many thanks to Bjorn for assigning it.

A gray and damp day on TI. Evenly matched, the teams played with spirit and skill-it was only decided in the last 10 minutes. My compliments to the players, the coaches, and SFGG for its hospitality and warm clubhouse.

PITTS 36 – Montgomery 5 Referee: Cary Bertolone
Reffed a practice game between the two high school squads on a soft "For Pete's Sake" rugby pitch in Santa Rosa. Pitt dominated play, especially in the first half when they had their varsity team in. Strong forward play with good inside back play had Montgomery on their heels most of the day, but Montgomery never gave up and had some strong forward play of their own along side a very good flyhalf. It was 24-0 at the half, but ended up 36-5 as the second half became much more even. Lots of fun!!!

MOTHER LODE – Santa Rosa Referee: John Tomasin
The second game was reffed by Dr. John Tomasin and it was between Santa Rosa High School Rugby Club and the Mother Lode H.S. team from Sac. It kicked off at 1:00 and was dominated by Mother Lode as Santa Rosa is in a rebuilding year, having lost 15 Seniors to graduation and a couple others to Scholarship requirements (no rugby because of College). They played valiantly and Doc kept the game in complete control and all had a good time. I don't know the score, but it was a big win for the Mother Lode and a great day for high school rugby.

NEW WEBSITE: www.rugbyUNITED.com

Chris Clever, who learned his rugby in the NCRFU, launching a career that has taken him to Blackheath, Olympic Club and now OMBAC, checks in with his latest labor of love:

“I wanted to tell you about and send a link your way of a little endeavor that a few rugby friends and myself have embarked upon. We have launched a website that incorporates International and Domestic rugby news and an online social network that brings together rugby players, teams and fans through set groups and blogs. We also have great photo uploading capabilities.

“Please take a look, navigate around and build a profile, start a group. Go nuts! Don't forget to spread the word to anyone that may be interested.”

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Preston Gordon forwards this shot that his brother took in Baja California Sur.

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

INAUGURATE RUGBY

HAIL, PELICUS!

AVAILABILITY FOR FEBRUARY REQUESTED

Please let us know which of the Saturdays in February you can referee, and whether you can do a road trip:

Y/N If Yes, Travel? Y/N
Feb 7
Feb 14
Feb 21
Feb 28

TWO OF NORCAL’S OWN TO BE HONORED

USRFF to Honor Doc Hudson and Pat Vincent at Annual Dinner

The U.S. Rugby Foundation will be honoring two of the early contributors to rugby in the United States, Miles "Doc" Hudson and Pat Vincent, at its Annual Dinner on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at the Hotel Solamar in downtown San Diego.

Doc Hudson took over the reigns of the rugby program at the University of California at Berkeley in 1938. He remained at the helm of that prestigious program for the next 37 years compiling an impressive win/loss record of 339-84-23. Several of his Cal teams were considered by many to be some of the best that Cal ever fielded, including those in the 1950s that played the likes of the New Zealand All Blacks, Australian Wallabies and a combined Oxford-Cambridge side.

Pat Vincent was the captain of the New Zealand All Blacks in 1956. He coached the Saint Mary's rugby teams from 1968 until his unfortunate passing in 1983. The foundation that Pat set during his time in charge is credited for the successes that Saint Mary's has enjoyed since then.

"The Rugby Foundation looks forward to honoring these two gentlemen who put so much of themselves into seeing that rugby took hold in the U.S.," said USRFF Chairman, Bob Watkins. "It's important that true rugby men like Doc and Pat are recognized for their efforts. It should be a wonderful evening and I hope that we see many of those players that were influenced by Doc and Pat."

In 2007, the USRFF honored Dennis Storer, the first ever U.S. Eagles coach while last year, Keith Seaber, a long serving USA Rugby administrator, was honored.

In addition, USA 7s coach, Al Caravelli, will take a few moments out of his busy weekend to stop by and provide his insight of Day One of the USA 7s.

If you would like to take part in the USRFF's Annual Dinner, tickets are still available. Tickets are $125. A cash bar will be open from 7:30-8:00 pm with dinner starting at 8:00 pm.

Reserve your spot at the USRFF Annual Dinner:
Click here

RUGBY PLAYED HERE

Thursday, January 15
UC Davis 13 – BYU 60 Referee: John Pohlman
Assistant Referees: Phil Akroyd, Ray Schwartz
Referee Coach: Jim Crenshaw
Assistant Referee Coach: Chris Tucker

When I travel around the US referring and talking with other referees from around the country, most referees are pretty jealous that I get to referee in Northern California. The Pelicans run one of the best crews in the country and have some great contests each week. That may be the reason some unions believe we are a bit elitist.

Well when I looked are my January 2009 schedule, all I can say is "show me another Union where a C-1 referee can call the top three Division 1 Rugby teams in the county".

Last Saturday Cal, Thursday BYU and January 31 St. Mary's. All I can say is "Sweet".

This Thursday #12 UC Davis hosted #3 BYU. The game started at 6:00pm with temperatures in the 60's at a well-marked and well-lit Hutchinson Field.

When I arrived around 5:00 both teams were warming up.

I was expecting a strong game from both teams. Davis coming off a 54 to 7 win over Chico. This was BYU's first game of the year.

Well, the speed of the game caught me by surprise. I think it surprised Davis throughout the game. The BYU forwards looked to have at least a ten pound weight advantage per player. Unfortunately for Davis, BYU also seemed to have a step or two in speed.

Five minutes in Davis fullback Harrison slotted a penalty. The penalty was for BYU losing their feet at the tackle/ ruck. I gave two yellow cards for repeating this offence.

BYU got their first try when #13 Lasik scored. Three minutes later BYU score another. Harrison slotted another penalty 15 minutes in. BYU scored three more trys in the first half. Davis answered with an intercept try of their own.

First half score BYU 31 Davis 13.

The second half started with BYU's captain #8 St. Pierre scoring. At 14 minutes St. Pierre was binned for repeat infringements. He 'thanked' me later; it was his first time in the bin. It did not slow down BYU. They scored three more tries while he was in the bin. BYU made some substitutions and finished the scoring with one more try.

For a final score of BYU 60 Davis 13.

BYU is very talented. Very fast. They started seven foreign born players ranging from South Africa, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji. BYU's stand out players included captain St. Pierre, USA. Hooker and Kiwi Lawrence. Lawrence totally controlled the scrums. He could drop, pop and drive. All legal to control the scrums. Thanks for your continued safety. #9 Davies, South Africa also stood out.

Davis lost most lineouts and had very few unpressured possessions.

Like I said super fast game. Loads of special scores. Good discipline from both sides. Thanks for my assistant referees and great coaching.

Saturday:
Elsie Allen 10-a-side 10
Referees: Tom Zanarini, Mike King, Chris Labozzetta
Report by Tom Zanarini:

5 teams competed in the pre-season Elsie Allen 10's tournament to gear up for the season: Lobos (2 teams), Montgomery, Santa Rosa and Windsor. The new field at Elsie Allen has been mentioned before and it is very nice. The field turf is great to run on and the extra rugby markings are a nice touch. Regulation goal posts are placed on the in-goal line as well. Thanks to Alan Petty for hosting and thanks to all the coaches who participated in the event.

The format was 15 minute matches with no halftime, uncontested scrums and lineouts and no scores were recorded. 3 referees rotated 2-on, 4-off. Lots of rugby rookies took part in the competition and the teams played with great enthusiasm. It seems most Pelicans don't get to run around much with the U-19's but after this weekend I would highly recommend it. They were a great bunch of kids and I'll be happy to referee a regular season match. I don't want to get all Whitney Houston, but the more support we give our time and support to the younger rugby players, the better the rugby will get in college and club levels.

Stanford 7 – BYU 64 Referee: Paul Bretz
Assistant Referees: Eric Rauscher, James Hinkin
Videographer: Bruce Carter

STANFORD INVITATIONAL

Referees: Paul Bretz, Bruce Carter, Preston Gordon, Scott Griffin, Rob Hendrickson, James Hinkin, Mike King, Joe Leisek, Richard McGrath (visiting from Sydney), Dave Pope, Eric Rauscher, Sandy Robertson, Robertson Santiago

There was frost on the ground each morning after your writer arrived from his 85-mile drive, and mid-to-upper seventies by the afternoons. It was two Rugby Days.

The Stanford Invitational features women’s D1 college teams from all across the West and California playing on three pitches over three days. New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon and Oregon State joined eight teams from the Golden State to play 39 games.

A brand-new referee got his first two runs, Scott Griffin who used to play for the Olympic Club. Scott said he ran into Ray Schwartz somewhere and mentioned the word ‘referee’, hence his arrival. Thanks, Ray!

Richard McGrath, visiting San Francisco on business, also capable handled a couple of matches. Richard will be running touch for the Cal – Nevada game this weekend, and will go home assuming that that Steuber Rugby Stadium and Witter Field are typical of US rugby facilities.

Stanford won the tournament but not without setbacks. They lost their first game to Oregon, 5 – 10, but won out from there.

New Mexico arrived on the heels of a dominant autumn season in the west and won every game by large margins until the semi-final:

Semi-final: STANFORD 21 – U. New Mexico 15 Referee: Bruce Carter
Assistant Referee: Preston Gordon

Coach Shannon Robinson has his Lobos playing with precision. They played Jonathan Griffin’s defending national champions to within four minutes of the third-place game.

Both teams had strong running games and knew how to counter-ruck. Equally strong: they scored three trys each, New Mexico’s coming on an intercept by their #12 to put the visitors ahead 15-14 with four minutes remaining.

Stanford however scored again with #11 eleven notching her second try, one down each touchline. The difference was Stanford’s kicking, #10 not missing a one.

Stanford went on to defeat Chico State in the final.

Eric Rauscher’s games:
I ended up reffing three games over the weekend.

UC SANTA BARBARA 31 – Humboldt 5
The first half of this game was quite enjoyable. The tackles were clean and the rucks were short and penalty-free making for a flowing game. Humboldt only had two subs to put in while USCB had thirty new legs due to unlimited subs and a large team pool. This shows in the score, but Humboldt played all the way through and scored their try in the 36th minute.

STANFORD 14 – UC Los Angeles 0
I was honored to ref this game. Unlike the first game, UCLA put in 15 subs, but the Stanford side was just too strong and talented. UCLA did hold them to just two converted tries so that was quite respectable.

CALIFORNIA 7 – Colorado 0
This was the game between the teams with the least number of wins. [Editor’s Note: Nay. This was the seventh-place game, in a tournament with thirteen entrants. Could have just as easily been called the Bowl Final.]

I must say that it was admirable that both teams stayed to play this game when they just as easily folded tent and gone home. The teams were evenly matched and played up and down and back and forth across the pitch, but the total points scored was only 7. Once again, I thought it a good game bravely played by both sides.

Roberto Santiago’s games:
Sun. 1/18 Stanford Invitational Day 2

OREGON 10 – Oregon State 5
Another great weather day down a Stanford's rugby fields. Oregon played Oregon State in one of the early games. It was a fairly pedestrian match with both sides using solid technique to compensate for a lack of speed and power. Oregon Seemed to have slightly better athletes and slightly more cohesion than their rivals from Corvallis. In the end Oregon was able to make one more break. It's a nice contrast reffing two well coached disciplined sides after the chattiness of the clubs I've had the past two weeks.

STANFORD 40 – UC Santa Barbara 0
Wow. So I guess Stanford's pretty good. They certainly had more speed than any of the other clubs I saw that day. Stanford also has better on-field chemistry than any team I've reffed in a good long time. UCSB had some athletes, but you could tell that they hadn't been playing together for too long. At times Stanford made this one look like a Globetrotters game. For their part UCSB never hung their heads and never showed any less fire from the first horn to the last. Both teams had the lowest most technically efficient scrums I've can remember seeing as a ref.

Thanks to all involved in the tournament for a fine morning of rugby. It was just the way to work out the soreness from a previous day of Rugby. I don't what I'm supposed to do Monday though.

Rob Hendrickson’s games:

UCLA 20 – Humboldt 0
UCLA kept the pressure on Humboldt for most of the game, although possession and territory were pretty evenly divided. The ref should have awarded Humboldt a penalty try late in the game when the ball was kicked forward by Humboldt and into UCLA's in-goal and the UCLA center instinctively played the Humboldt player instead of diving to ground the ball for a 22 meter drop out.

UCLA 26 – UC Davis 0
UCLA managed to hold enough back in reserve from its earlier game to outplay UC Davis and go on to score 4 tries. Davis has some real talent but may be in the the process of rebuilding in this early season play.

SFGG SL 60 – Sacramento Lions 20 Referee: Joe Androvich

RENO 43 – Olympic Club 37 Referee: Don Pattalock
AR's: Phil Ulibarri, Adam Mick
Fortunate Fan: Sam Reagle

Reno's first match in D1 following a 2 division promotion was an all out exciting match against the Olympic Club in Reno on a gorgeous day. A total of 11 tries were scored in the match.

Not sure if OC took the debutants lightly, but the first 20 minutes it was all Reno. 2 of Reno's trys came off of a charge down and a miscue between OC #8 and 9. OC then decided to play some rugby and countered with a try of their own and 3 penalties. Half time score: Reno 22 OC 16.

The second half started off in the same fashion that the first half ended; physical rugby. Reno's captain was binned for a dangerous tackle and OC quickly took charge and scored 2 trys in the right hand corner. When it looked like Reno was out of gas, they found some life and scored from a forward dominated drive up the touch line. Then, with the score 29-30 in OC's favor, Reno's 12 sidestepped a tackle and scored.

The back-breaker for the OC came with 4 minutes to play and a kick by Reno turned around the OC wing and bounced within inches of the touch line; with 2 Reno defenders bearing down and the 14 other OC players shouting "man on" the OC wing somehow failed to tap the ball into touch, a Reno defender toed the ball ahead, gathered and scored under the posts. With 1 minute left, OC mounted a steady attack and scored a consolation try at full time. OC dominated the set pieces, but Reno's size superiority dominated the contact. Reno at full steam with ball in hand will be a scary proposition for everyone.

Seconds: Reno 5 – OLYMPIC CLUB 54 Referee: Sam Reagle
TJs: Russ Wilkening, Linda Manning

On yet another beautiful day in Reno, a hundred or so spectators and I had pitch-side seats for an absolutely phenomenal A-side game refereed by The Donny where the outcome was in doubt right up to the final whistle.

The second-side game was well-played also, but not so dramatic. The first 20 minutes were pretty even, but after that, OC took over the game with 4 converted first half tries and 3 long-range penalty kicks to go into the half up 37-0. In the second half, when OC scored their second try to go up 49-0 with about 15 minutes to go, the score was no longer most important. It was apparent to this observer that OC wanted a shutout and Reno didn't want to be shut out. Starting in their own end with about 7 minutes to go, Reno moved the ball first to the right, then back inside where a missed tackle sent a forward storming up the left side with several OC players in pursuit. They caught him about 5 meters out but were unable to keep him from reaching over the goal line to ground the ball. OC scored at full time to end the game.

Side Note: Brad Bachelder, the young B-side scrumhalf for OC scored a hat-trick. On his first try off a scrum in his half, #8 picked up, passed to Brad who outran the Reno defenders to score between the posts. On another, the ball laid in-goal and he was first to it. Well done!

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS 22 – Hayward 20 Referee: Jim Crenshaw
Assistant Referee: Chris Tucker

Seconds: Sacramento Capitals – Hayward
Not played?

SEAHAWKS 44 – SF Golden Gate D2, 28 Referee: Preston Gordon

Seconds: Seahawks 15 – SFGG D2, 17 Ref: Gordon

Berkeley 18 – MISSION 50 Referee: Brian Schnack
Referee Coach: David Williamson

For Berkeley, this game started last year after what they felt was a game lost by some bad calls toward the end. 10 months later, in 2009, I pulled up to the pitch at 1130 to see Berkeley hitting the sled and running back-line drills. They were up for this. Mission showed up at a steady drip thereafter, and was ready for 1 pm kickoff.

Berkeley applied pressure early and took advantage of Mission playing the ball off their feet and not through their hands. After an early Berkeley penalty conversion followed by a Mission try, Berkeley parried with a solid long kick to space which took a good hop, into Berkeley hands for a last sprint and a try. 10-5, Berkeley.

The rest of the game rolled to Mission, with the latest round of big, fast youth keeping the ball in their hands, pounding and passing for scores. Berkeley kept fighting, but couldn't get consistent, sustained phases.

Berkeley got in another good try, and was putting in some good hits, but Mission won a fast, physical game.

HUMBOLDT 12 – Fog 7 Referee: Bjorn Stumer
With the most beautiful day I ever seen up North, a good natured crowd on the sidelines, and a Manila Park pitch in Arcata for once free of mud, a good day of Rugby was guaranteed. Following the cancellation of their match the previous week, this was the first match of the season for the Humboldt Old Growth (Hogs) and a bit of rust appeared here and there against an ever improving San Francisco FOG side. The first half was a very even affair with a numbers of penalties given for various infractions. The only difference being that Humboldt put six points on the board, while the FOG missed the posts. At the whistle the score was HOG 6 - FOG 0.

The FOG came back fighting in the second half scoring a fine converted runaway try from a set piece. However Humboldt would not be denied on the day and scored a converted try of their own. The match was often fought within the 22 of each side, a testimony to the close nature of this match, the determination of the players, and the strength of both defenses. A great match played within the spirit of the game followed by the legendary Humboldt hospitality. Final score Humboldt 12 (6) - FOG 7 (0).

STANISLAUS 26 – Mendocino 0 Referee: Scott Wood
Mendo thought they would travel down with 13 to play on Saturday. Unfortunately they only showed up with ten players. The Steam Donkeys proposed playing short until the Harlots scored four tries (apparently to fulfill an additional bonus point) then borrow players to put the teams at even strength. Stanislaus did not have a problem with that so why should I. It took the hosts 20 minutes to score four tries. Short-handed they may be, but Mendocino defended well while the Harlots' backline had problems passing or holding on to the ball.

Official Score: 26-0

Scorecard reset as Stanislaus loaned players to Mendocino so both teams were playing 14 on 14. Lots of fun and frivolity. No hard feelings. No bitter resentment. Just Rugby. Halftime score: Stanislaus 39 Mendocino 0

The second half featured more scoring by Stanislaus but Mendocino never gave up. They defended as well as could be expected. Final score: 82-0.

Play of the game: Normally I do not mention conversion attempts but one particular attempt merited such. The kicking duties rotated among several players throughout the match. Harlots scored a try in the corner and Nick French elected to attempt the conversion. Taking the ball back to the 22, he sized up the distance and angle and proceeded to nail a beautiful kick inside the upright. Of memorable note is not only that Nick is a prop's prop, his conversion was made off a drop kick. Well done!

Petaluma 17 – CHICO 47 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
Yet another lovely Saturday in Sonoma. Sixteen Leghorns showed up to mix it up with considerably more of the visiting Chico men.

It had the makings of a 80 -0 rout. Chico scored within the first two minutes, twice more shortly thereafter, and knocked one on in goal. But the locals get a converted try and a penalty and buck up a bit.

At half it is 26-10. Petaluma comes out and gets seven-and now it’s a nine point game. It stays close for 20 minutes-and then the deluge. Good spirit and a fun game.

SHASTA by forfeit over Aptos Referee: Ray Schwartz
This is a crying shame – the ref drove up on assurances the road team would make the trip and the home team geared up and prepped the pitch.

We don’t want to paint with too broad a brush: we are told that ten Aptos folks made the trek. But no game eventuated and a ref was wasted who could have been gainfully employed elsewhere.

Marin 17 – VALLEJO 27 Referee: Roberto Santiago
Referee Coach: Mike Malone
The weather shone beautiful and bright over the Marin City recreational pasture on Saturday as Marin hosted Vallejo in DIII action. Vallejo took control early on with a try off a Marin miscue. Vallejo added a converted try a few minutes later for a 12-0 lead. Marin came back to cut the deficit with two penalty kicks. Vallejo came back with another try at the end of the half which saw the score at Marin 6-Vallejo 17.

Marin hit two more penalties in the second half and looked like they might be on their way to a win. One minute and thirty seconds after Marin cut the lead to 12-17 Vallejo stormed back with a converted try to give themselves 12-24 advantage. Both teams began subbing players in the second half and it showed in the play.

Vallejo's subs seemed nearly as inclined towards punching and shoulder barging ball carriers as they were towards tackling. The result was one yellow card though upon reflection and discussion with other refs there should have been more cards given.

Vallejo tacked on some insurance when after their first penalty for foul play, while a minute was being given for a Marin player who'd had his wind knocked out, the Marin side couldn't find a way to stop riding the ref. Despite his best attempts to warn them, though he appealed to the captain (who did his best), the ref was left with no choice but to turn the penalty around. Vallejo converted the penalty for a 12-27 lead. Marin scored a try late in a goal line sequence.

UC DAVIS 48 – Nevada-Reno 7 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera
Under sunny skies, UC Davis was the more disciplined and cohesive team. Davis also dominated the scrums and skillfully off-loaded the ball in contact to lead 24-0 at half. Both teams struggled with handling errors, but Davis maintained decent structure. Against the run of play, UNR intercepted to score a consolation try at full-time. Davis won easily, 7 tries to 1, but they seemed disappointed with their performance.

Seconds: UC Davis – Nevada NOT PLAYED

Chico State 17 – ST. MARY’S 84 Referee: Rich Anderson
St. Mary's attacked hard and early, scoring several long tries in the first half, finally running up the halftime score to 63-0. The combination of Chico's continued hard play, and some St. Mary's second half substitutions, produced a more equal second half. Thanks for Rod Chance for putting down his camera and George O'Neil for TJing on a beautiful afternoon.

Seconds: Chico State 12 – ST. MARY’S 73 Referee: George O’Neil
The day was set for a mid-winter match in Chico with the temperature in the high 60's. The Gaels of St Mary's came out with a fast and skilled attack leading to six first half tries. Chico State was well spirited but could not keep up with the all around speed of the St. Mary's team, leading to a half time score of 40 to 0. In the second half Chico scored two tries put together from cohesive multiple phase play. The Gaels added five more tires with a final score of 73-12.

MARITIME ACADEMY 70 – UC Santa Cruz 5 Referee: Rob Hendrickson
The Keelhaulers hosted the Slugs to a spirited match under clear skies and on a firm pitch. The score was 29 - 0 at halftime, although the play for the most part was much closer than the score would indicate. While the Slugs pressed the Keelhaulers several times deep in their own territory, the Keelhaulers definitely dominated in all phases of play, including in particular their support even on breakaways. Their kick and chase had the Slugs on their heels for a good portion of the play, and they were constantly alert for turnover ball opportunities. The Keelhaulers will be a team to watch this year.

Seconds: MARITIME ACADEMY 44 – UC Santa Cruz 0 Ref: Hendrickson
Following the A side, the B sides played 30 minute halves, with a very close first half (Cal Maritime 5, UCSC 0), followed by a defense that simply got too winded in the second half, leading to a 44 - 0 final.

SANTA CLARA 44 – Diablo Gaels U23, 32 Referee: John Coppinger
Diablo Gaels U23 were dangerous when they spread the ball wide and had their big backs attack the smaller SCU back-line; however, Santa Clara dominated set play and rucks to provide good attacking platforms for the forwards and backs alike. The Santa Clara backs, while smaller than the DG backs, were just as fast as their opponents and were able to exploit overlaps to account for a number of scores.

At the half, the score was 31-19 in favor of Santa Clara. Although each side scored 13 points in the second period, the second-half score line flatters Diablo Gaels as Santa Clara missed a number of penalty kicks in the second half. The penalty count was very much in favor of SCU as DG struggled with staying on-sides and discipline.

After the match, the Santa Clara B met College Park in a scrimmage. Chris Kron refereed the match.

SIERRA JC 79 – U of Pacific 0 Referee: Scott McConnell
Referee Coach: Kat Todd-Schwartz
Sierra were well prepared and had good numbers, UOP showed with only 8 players so Sierra loaned them all there subs which allowed both teams the full compliment. Both teams were well spirited and wanted to play good clean rugby. Sierra obviously had a better grasp of the game and quickly started running in points, where UOP struggled to hold possession and turned the ball over at the break down often. Sierra took advantage of UOP’s lack of fitness and posted 36 unanswered points in the first half and 43 in the second 40 making it a 79-0 game. On two occasions near the end of the game UOP came close but knocked on close to the line. Sierra's kicker put over 7 from 12 conversions. Overall a great day and as always rugby was the winner on the day.

St. Mary's women – SF FOG Referee: Mike Gadoua
The Fog won handily but we do not have the exact score.

CENTRAL COAST ROAD TRIP!

Report by Tony Redmond:
Thanks for the chance to go to SLO. The weather was wonderful over the weekend and we enjoyed ourselves in Morro Bay. In any case, here's how the matches went:

Friday night:
CAL POLY 35 – UC Santa Barbara 5
The game was a Friday nighttime fixture played on a pitch at Cal Poly's campus in San Luis Obispo that was not good underfoot in parts. Like most college games, both teams gave their all and the first 10-15 minutes were played at high pace. The tempo settled down after that and Cal Poly steadily took control based on a very solid platform established by their pack. Their front five were extremely solid and dominated scrummages and their back row were active and very quick around the field. The score was 21-0 at half time as Cal Poly scored three good tries, all of which were converted by their full-back, who bisected the posts each time despite kicking off the ground without a tee (in the old fashioned way). Cal Poly scored another two goals in the second half separated by a consolidation try for UCSB. This try was scored close to the posts but we experienced the unusual sight of the attempted conversion being charged down fairly by two Cal Poly players, much to the chagrin of the kicker.

Saturday:
San Luis Obispo RFC 5 – PASADENA 30
Action moved on Saturday to the Damon Garcia Sports Ground in San Luis Obispo for the first league match of the season between the local club and Pasadena. The weather was beautiful (over 80 degrees) and the ground was very good underfoot. However, the groundsman had clearly gotten some wires crossed when they had put the posts in the ground as they were placed in the dead ball line! Both teams agreed that we could go ahead with traffic markers placed in the appropriate positions in the goal line and the proviso that kicks would be advanced 5m to allow for the extra distance to the posts. The first half was pretty typical of an opening fixture with many knock-ons. Pasadena was the more organized team and led by 0-16 at the break (2 tries, 2 PG). The second half was much the same standard and although SLO scored, their opponents crossed twice for converted tries. Two yellow cards were given in the second half: the first in the 52nd minute to SLO #8 for persistent infringements on the deck (both teams conceded many penalties for failing to stay on their feet with SLO #8 being a major offender). The second yellow card was for dissent in the 77th minute when SLO #22 just would not keep his opinions to himself. It's unusual to have to resort to dealing with dissent so strongly, but when players don't respond to first a penalty for a comment and then keep on talking after the original penalty is moved 10m, there is really little more that you can do but to put the player in the bin to reflect on life, love, the universe, and the sins of rugby referees.

Paul Phillips did a very nice job of looking after me as a representative of the Southern California Referees.

Thanks all for the experience to add to my rugby memories.

COUGAR RUGBY JAMBOREE

Cougars Jamboree Saturday 17th January

Perfect day, high 60’s with a field packed with players and spectators, and of course 3 NEW refs, and 2 semi new.

With coaches like Joe Cavallaro and Terry Gascoigne next to the field, made it no walk in the park for first time refs, but they triumphed. With Phil Akroyd kicking the day off with back to back games, Danny Kaufmann took over and after a shaky start, he reacted very well to some bleacher advice and stepped up a level to an almost perfect start. Even Mr. Cavallaro thought it was “pretty decent”.

Mark Godfrey, “the old man” took over, and despite a few “speed” limitations, and freshmen players, handled himself respectfully in his first ever game as ref. Then the youngster Bally Gutierrez opened himself up for some good old fashioned commentary from the side line, but nothing he could not handle. Rich Boyer finished up the day that looked like a pretty good success, both scrimmage and referee initiation.

Thanks to both coaches and players that helped us build our pelican flock.

Commentating out of the bleachers – JC Van Staden

ERRATA AND CONFESSIONAL

Sam Reagle shocks us all with this admission of gross incompetence:

“I forgot to mention this to you at the society meeting last week. On the 10th, I watched John Fox anchored the Chico BoatRace team and win by 3, yet wrote it wrong in Hail Pelicus. Shasta was game, but grossly outdrunk. How do I right this wrong?”

Sam is hereby required to re-certify at the next Level One BoatRace Officiating Course.

THE WEEK’S TIME-WASTER

If you click on the ball it will change color. Nothing to it:

http://thedogpaddler.com/RandomUploads/Ball/ball.htm

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Dave Pope controls the Chico State – UCSB game at the Stanford Invitational.

Photo is courtesy of David Barpal. Have a look at his website: one of your recent games might be there!

www.dcbphotos.com

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris