This past weekend was huge for rugby in the United States. As the third season of the Major League Rugby kicked off on Saturday, the next generation of talent played in 67 club matches across the country.
PACIFIC NORTH
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The revamped Pacific Rugby Premiership kicked off its 2020 campaign on Saturday. In NorCal, a new look Life West team with a host of young players took on an experienced Glendale Merlins side. Glendale travelled with several Colorado Raptors MLR players who didn’t make the starting 23 against the Houston Sabrecats. The match was a wild affair where Life West battled a man down for most of the test and was able to pull out the 35-26 victory.
After leading 15-7 behind tries from former US Eagle Langilangi Haupeakui and Sione Finefeuiaki and a penalty from Mike McCarthy, Life West’s scrumhalf Travis Benson was red carded for a tip tackle 25 minutes into the game. Glendale took advantage immediately with a score from Sean Yacoubian, but the Gladiators maintained their composure. Life West kept attacking and put in a pair of shorthanded tries from Finefeuiaki and McCarthy. The Merlins kept pace with their opponent after Nic Johnson corralled a grubber from Alex Walsh, but found themselves in a 30-19 hole at the half.
Unlike the action-packed first half, the second brought stellar defense that included multiple goal-line stands by Life West. Glendale finally broke through in the 70th minute when Yacoubian found daylight on a quick tap under the posts. Walsh’s conversion cut the lead to four points with little time remaining.
The Gladiators responded with a full-field attack to shut the door on any comeback. Finefeuiaki’s 40-meter dash set up Life West’ final try as Dan Pusack dotted the ball down in the corner. The defense stood tall in the final six minutes for the 35-26 win. “Ultimately, [the key to the game] was our will to work hard for each other on defense under adversity,” Life West head coach Adriaan Ferris said. “The men showed a lot of character out there.”
With DII taking the weekend off, the four games in DIII took the spotlight. In the Yellow division, B.A. Baracus extended its season-opening winning streak to three games with an 80-19 bludgeoning of the Jesters. Four players scored two tries each in the rout. In other games, the Marin Reds forfeited to San Joaquin-Stanislaus, the Chico Mighty Oaks did the chopping versus Colusa County 31-12, and the San Jose Seahawks edged Berkeley 26-22.
WOMEN'S
After dropping its league opener 27-20 to Berkeley, Sacramento has responded with back-to-back wins in DII NorCal. On Saturday, the Amazons traveled to San Francisco Golden Gate (SFGG) and put in a dominating 88-10 performance.
The Amazons look very different from the team that won nationals but those shifts are starting to connect and bring that hard-carrying offload game back to life. Sacramento spent a lot of time on attack and that eventually wore out SFGG, which struggled in its tackle completion and success in the scrums. Sacramento also worked different combinations during the game, experimenting with some of the newer players like Talica Vodo, who moved from No. 8 to inside center and paired nicely with former San Jose teammate Miriama Marawa at outside. Meg Slattery, ORSU transfer Makena McCluskey and Sabrina Perez drew high praise from captain Leka Green.
“These players are new so we’re still trying to test where they can shine at,” Sacramento flyhalf Green said. “That’s my mindset as a leader: Test players at different positions. I’ve been playing for so many years, and you know we’re not always going to have the full lineup, someone may get injured. So I like to have a versatile squad if I can.”
Vodo, Marawa, McCluskey, Slattery, Natalie Romero, Liz Danielson, Roxanne Lembke, Francilia Lee-Lo and Caroline Sequeira scored tries, while Sequeira and Danielson added conversions.
In other NorCal news, San Jose forfeited to Life West. This upcoming weekend is a league-wide bye.
BC PREMIER (CAN)
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The Seattle Saracens opened up the British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) Premier season with a 28-10 win against Westshore. The Saracens joined the league in 2014 and Saturday marked the team’s first win against the perennial title contenders.
“We’ve played against Westshore in the final, and have good games and bad games against them,” Seattle co-captain Kristine Sommer reflected on the teams’ history. “I’m not sure if it’s a mental thing, or because we knew they were a really good team, or our game just wasn’t there yet, but we’ve always come up short.”
Seattle had lower numbers in the fall, and there was some uncertainty about how the spring would play out, but trainings and commitment are more robust now. The Saracens came out hard and got a nice boost from Kelsi Stockert, who celebrated her return with two tries on the day, and matched the power of fellow wing Jennine Detiveaux. Leah Ingold had a good day at 10, and the team will miss the Central Washington graduate when she leaves for the Air Force in a month. The forwards had a tough day in muddy conditions, and Sommer praised the resiliency in the pack.
“This was the first game in a while where we dominated the scrum. We walked over a couple of them and it surprised us. I don’t know if were expecting that,” Sommer said. “Jenny Johnson really showed up. She made some key tackles and picked off the base to score a try. Francine [Bray], one of our taller locks, played super well and had some great offloads. People often underestimate how low she gets in the tackle.”
It was a round performance that set a nice tone for the season, and Seattle is hoping that 2020 is the year that a U.S. team wins the BC Premier league.
PACIFIC SOUTH
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In the SoCal half of the PRP, OMBAC hosted Belmont Shore at Little Q Field in San Diego, Ca. The defenses brought the wood in the DI match and the game was heavy on the hits and low on the scoring. OMBAC drew first blood about ten minutes into the test with a try from Joe Keane and Lole Veimau scored another to hold a 14-0 lead at the break. The hosts added a third try from Ty Nelson early in the second half before Belmont’s offense woke up late in the period. With the momentum, Belmont scored twice in the final ten minutes to reduce the magic number to five points. Time ran out on the comeback and OMBAC earned its first PRP win of the new year, 19-14. OMBAC is on the road on Saturday at Glendale while Belmont hosts Life West.
“Our defense stepped up and we really focused on the set piece,” OMBAC head coach Tai Tuisamoa stated. “Belmont can score from anywhere and take pride in their set piece. I knew at halftime that 14 points were not enough to stop Belmont. Our defense was really the deciding factor to change the outcome of the game. Credit to the boys for stepping up when they needed to.”
The third weekend of DII began with the two division leaders earning solid wins and ended with a pair of squads evening their records. The high score of the division went to the Tempe Old Devils whose prolific offense scored 72 points against Pasadena. Prop John Dillon scored three of his team’s 12 tries and Tempe now is tied at top of Group B with Belmont Shore. Over in Group A, the Oceanside Chiefs followed up its season-opening win in Vegas with a 26-20 mêlée against visiting San Monica. In search of their first victories, San Diego Old Aztecs blitzed Las Vegas 59-12 and Los Angeles won a tight match over San Fernando Valley on a late penalty from Pablo Reynoso De Mare, 17-14.
It was a busy day in DIII with nine games on the docket in Arizona and SoCal. In the contest of league leaders in the Blue Division in Arizona, the Northern Arizona Landsharks ended Red Mountain’s undefeated streak by a score of 38-22. Jason Pickens and Marcellus Kamins each scored twice in the win and NAU will take its 3-0-1 record on the road this weekend against the Old Pueblo Lions. Old Pueblo is having a rough start to its season and it didn’t improve its mark with an 85-0 goose egg against Phoenix. Eightman Utu Muamua racked up four tries in the shutout and Chris Bey pitched in another three. The last match in Arizona saw Scottsdale double up Camelback 42-17. Flyhalf Anthony Mancine was a one-man wrecking crew with three tries and six conversions.
The picture in SoCal DIII is still very fuzzy four weeks into 2020. Eagle Rock is the top club at 4-0 and is rolling hard following a 76-7 win over Fullerton. Hoping to gain ground in the division, Santa Barbara needed last-minute heroics to seal a 34-33 win against Beaumont. The Grunion was up 29-0 just before the Bluehawks went on a five-try tear to take the lead late. Jordan Pena’s game-winner at the buzzer gave Santa Barbara its third victory and second place in the division.
The North County Gurkhas dropped to third after falling to Kern County, 34-19, and Huntington takes over fourth with a 27-24 win over San Luis Obispo. Lastly, Bay Back clobbered Ventura County 43-17 to end its three-game slide to start the year.
In DIV, there is only one undefeated squad left. The South Bay Stingrays kept its streak alive at 3-0 with a 31-8 victory against San Diego, while Riverside’s Avatongo brothers combined for four tries to halt the Dead Rabbits’ unbeaten start at two games, 34-5.
WOMEN'S
Pasadena is the first to two wins in the DII Pacific South, having defeated Las Vegas in round one and then Old Pueblo 24-16 last weekend. The three teams play each other two times during the regular season, and the Royals will spend round two on the road.
“We’ve worked really hard on becoming strong in defense,” said Pasadena assistant coach Greg Smookler, who works alongside head coach Seamus Fahey and assistant coach Arturo Preciado. “OP did a really great job in the breakdown and retaining the ball, so we played most of the game on defense. But we did really well. That says a lot about the team because defense isn’t so glamorous, but everyone showed a lot of commitment to it.”
The Royals also focused on its counterattack, and that efficiency in transition has produced many of the team’s scores. Wing Sonya Livingston scored four minutes in after such an opportunity and Kristine Nakada’s conversion provided an early 7-0 lead. Lightning flyhalf Alex Rath kicked the first of three penalties, but then hooker Molly Shamieh’s try extended Pasadena’s lead to 12-3. Old Pueblo kept working its possession and just before the break added another Rath penalty and Patrocinia Duffy try for the 13-12 edge into the break.
“We talked about turning up the intensity, especially on defense. It’s the standard halftime talk,” Smookler said. “We felt that if we increased our line speed we could again pressure them into turnovers or losing yardage. We also changed our approach to the breakdown because they were winning most of the rucks, so we decided not to compete and get back out into the defensive line.”
No. 8 Celine Deneuve peeled off the back of the scrum to score and Nakada’s conversion gave Pasadena a 19-13 lead. Flyhalf Angelica Ramos added a fourth try for the bonus point, and Rath ended the game with a final penalty: 24-16 the final.
There’s a league-wide bye this week and then Pasadena travels to Las Vegas on Feb. 22. Old Pueblo won’t play another league game until March 7.
In Division III, San Fernando Valley defeated Riverside 44-12. The newcomers scored first for a 7-0 lead, and then San Fernando Valley rallied with eight-straight tries through Korinna Fite (3), Michelle Chan (2), Monique Harris, Hosna Qasmei and Kimberlin Sanchez. Fite and Gabrielle Tysa added conversions.
This weekend, Fullerton is due to travel to San Fernando Valley, while Northern Arizona is scheduled for a road trip to Riverside.
RED RIVER
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It’s a two-team race in the Red River DI as the Austin Blacks and Austin Huns compete for the top spot in the standings. The Blacks are at 4-0 with a 43-24 defeat of Dallas and the Huns are one standing point ahead at 4-1 after trouncing West Houston 40-11. The season may come down to the rematch between the clubs on March 7. Fireworks should fly as Huns seek revenge for its early February loss.
In the DII clashes between the same squads, Dallas rallied from a 14-point deficit to overcome the Blacks 31-24 and the Huns completed the sweep by besting the Lions, 53-19. In South/Central, both home teams prevailed as the Woodlands edged Houston Athletic 31-26 and San Antonio vanquished the San Marcos Greys, 51-19.
Down in DIII, the defending National Champion Austin Blacks are the hottest team in the league and only got hotter with a 112-0 shutout of Alamo City. Outside center Jackson McDonough led all scorers with four tries giving him nine on the season. The Huns kept pace in the Central with a 62-7 win over McAllen and San Antonio moved into fourth place with a 32-32 draw versus Corpus Christi. In the lone match in the North, Alliance’s 34-24 win over the OKC tribe puts it only three standing points back from first place Grand Prairie.
In DIV, Fort Worth crushed Alliance 62-5 in the North A, Denton blanked Dallas 64-0 in the North B, and West Houston forfeited to Fort Hood in the South.
WOMEN'S
Austin and San Antonio improved to 4-1 in the DII Red River, but they had very different experiences last Saturday.
LeAnne Hudson and Veronica Hill scored tries for Dallas, and Kathleen Clement’s two conversions provided a 14-0 first-half lead against Austin. The Valkyries regrouped at the break and put in a more comprehensive performance in the second half. Julia Fortkort (2), Amethyst Gamez and Kristina Koufous scored tries for Austin, while flyhalf Zoe Hunter kicked three conversions. The defense rallied for a second-half shutout and 26-14 win.
San Antonio defeated McAllen 125-0. Fullback Christine Krieger led all point-scorers with 35 on 15 conversions and a try. Halie Green (4), Toni Armstrong (3), Antea Dedic (3), Lauren Elliott, Misty Dunn, Sarie Harris, Mextli Jimenez-Colores, Aida Gutierrez, Keeley Coker and Liza Tarleton scored tries.
This weekend, Bay Area travels to McAllen and Little Rock heads to Austin.
SOUTH
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After a short fall season, the True South DII is back with a pair of matches. Chattanooga picked up where it left off in November by defeating New Orleans, 48-10. Joining them in the win column was Birmingham. Against Baton Rouge in a penalty riddled test, the Vulcans survived a red card to win 24-5.
Carolinas-Georgia DII resumed play on Saturday with Southern Pines hosting Asheville. Pines ran out to a 17-0 lead at halftime and stayed strong in the second frame for the 36-20 victory. Asheville is on the road once again this weekend as it travels to Greenville while Charlotte hosts Raleigh.
With the Florida DII North idle, Miami picked up its third win of the season by knocking off Okapi, 37-24, on the road in the South. Neither team will qualify for the championship group as the Miami Tridents (5-0) and Boca Raton (5-1) have pretty much secured the top two spots.
In Florida DIII, an angry Palm Beach team bounced back in a big way from a rare loss to Brevard last weekend by destroying last year’s runners-up Gainesville, 47-7. Meanwhile, Brevard improved to 3-0 with a comfortable 35-5 win over Jacksonville and Bay Area cracked Sarasota, 24-5.
Due to inclement weather and other factors, only two of the five games in the Georgia DIII were played. The Atlanta Renegades and the Gwinnett Lions braved the elements by playing in the snow in Dacula, Ga. The Renegades were the road warriors dispatching the Lions 57-17 while the Atlanta Old White beat Augusta 40-17 for its second “W” of the season.
WOMEN'S
Tampa Bay picked up its third win with a 57-7 score against Jacksonville (1-1-1) – of the DII Florida season and leads the league. Through 65 minutes, the Krewe put Tiffeny Wysocki, Jessie Premet, Ruth Black (2), Sam Black (2), Victoria Jarrett, Amy Rogan and Latrisha Jarrett away for tries, while Robyn Oliveri and Jesse DePaolo kicked the extras. The Sinners broke the shutout in the 76th minute.
After trading tries in the first 15 minutes, Indian River surged ahead of Fort Miami: 24-14 with 10 minutes to go in the half. Fort Miami answered through the middle of the match, and the teams remained within a point of each other, 33-32, as the final whistle approached. Virginia Perez and Morgan Brown both scored their second tries of the match during the final five minutes, affording Fort Miami the 45-32 win. Sydnee Meriwether, Brie Cokos and Hileia Freybe also added tries, and Madison Militello kicked five conversions.
This weekend, Tampa Bay will travel to Orlando, and Jacksonville heads to Fort Miami.
