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Armed Forces tournament gets underway

Round-robin matches for the Armed Forces Championship begin today in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The five-team tournament comprises 5 games in 3 days, a demanding schedule for rosters limited to 25 men. Defending champion and perennial favorites Air Force are joined by Army, Coast Guard, the Marines, and Navy.

Military rugby possesses a distinguished pedigree, with the service academies almost always among the finest collegiate teams, and such men as lock and captain Kevin Swords garnishing the Eagle ranks. But wartime deployments have much reduced the domestic playing stocks.

Less than 30 tried out for the 2006 Marines team, for example, while past years have seen 50 or more. Already a smaller force, the Marines have struggled to be competitive, last winning the title in 1988.

Not that status quo is acceptable: this past summer, Jack Clark and Tom Billups of collegiate titlists Cal were tapped to coach the side. “It’s a privilege to work with these men. Both Tom and I feel they are a cut above as individuals,” Clark said in an interview.

Pressed to rate the team’s chances, Clark said: “The Marines tell me they are used to doing more with less, so who knows?”

"PJ" Komongnan: watch this space

news analysis Patrick Komongnan may be a landmark player, and not only because of his age or race.

The Washington teenager, this week named to the USA 7s team competing in Thailand and Singapore, might herald a new wave of athletes coming into American rugby.

Komongnan, who is black, hails from Delaware State by way of a District of Columbia charter school. 7s Eagles have more typically been white, club players aged in their late 20s or early 30s, and affluent enough to take time off work.

Rugby has ever struggled to expand its reach into American society, particularly failing to access those sections that produce large numbers of college varsity and professional athletes. Komongnan’s alma mater, the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School, is a frontier outpost.

“PJ”, as he is widely known, is the most successful player to emerge from a startup XV which has taken its place among the school’s most distinguished teams. Hyde runs 12 varsity programs, and requires each of its 775 students to play three seasons of interscholastic sports in order to graduate.

The achievement of Komongnan as well as Hyde coach and athletic director Tal Bayer, earlier this year honored by the Positive Coaching Alliance (click here for Bayer’s enlightening acceptance speech), portends, at minimum, a changing demographic for American rugby.

Indeed, the success of youthful Komongnan, with nary a handful of age-grade seasons plus some club 7s and Under-19 experience under his belt, underscores the potential of recruiting collegiate varsity athletes. It is no wonder that chairman Kevin Roberts and chief executive Nigel Melville have been talking excitedly about converting football players.

Related:
        Thailand, Singapore 7s squad named
        Teenagers crack national 7s pool

 

Thailand, Singapore 7s squad named

Nine of twelve players headed to the Thailand and Singapore 7s have not played international rugby.

The newcomers include forwards Andrew McNaughton, Kevin Mongold, Marcus Respes and backs Takudzwa Ngwenya, Dallen Stanford, Andrew Osborne, and Patrick Komongnan. Also making their international 7s debuts will be prop Ron Rosser and wing Jeff Hullinger, each of whom gained 15s caps this past summer.

The veterans are Jarvis Albury, Jone Naqica, and Jason Pye. No captain has been named.

Seven players were released following a weeklong training camp in San Diego, including club and ITT 7s MVP Riaan Hamilton and Joe Killefer, both of whom have played on the World Sevens Series.

Thailand and Singapore 7s squad
Forwards: Jarvis Albury (Arkansas State), Andrew McNaughton (Olympic Club), Kevin Mongold (Scioto Valley), Marcus Respes (New York Athletic Club), Ronald Rosser (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo)

Backs: Jeff Hullinger (Brigham Young Univ.), Patrick Komongnan (Washington), Jone Naqica (Denver Barbarians), Takudzwa Ngwenya (Dallas), Andrew Osborne (Washington), Jason Pye (Univ. of Utah), Dallen Stanford (Oxy Tigers)

Related:
        Preseason 7s squad to feature international newcomers
        7s camp set for West Point; Whitcher retires

Steinlager, Northeast join up

Steinlager, the well-known New Zealand beer which sponsors the All Blacks, has tied up with the Northeast.

The agreement features promotion on the territory’s playing kit, assorted merchandise, and field signage. The partnership will be in place in time for December’s Inter-Territorial Tournament in Florida, the territory announced.

Undoubtedly welcome news for the Northeast’s representative programs, the pact also is ironic in that new USA Rugby chairman Kevin Roberts was once chief executive of Lion Nathan, the parent company of Steinlager. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the brand closely associated with American rugby.

Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

update The news comes as the Northeast continues to advertise an opening for senior men's coach.  Coached by Jaco Visser, who was reappointed in July, and managed by Dean Carson, the Northeast plans to take 44 players to the ITT, Visser said in an email. The contingent will include a development squad, a longstanding practice of the Midwest and West territories.

Separately, two-time division 1 champion Santa Monica announced a program for the accelerated training of players in its Under-16 and Under-19 teams, as well as athletes from the View Park and Amino Venice schools in greater Los Angeles. The academy program will begin with fitness training this fall.

“After last year's success with first-year players out of the Los Angeles Cougars High School team playing for the [Santa Monica] senior men's team, we're confident that several more of these talented players from our own academy will soon be feeding into our senior teams as well as rep[resentative] sides,” Dominic Riebli, the club’s U19 coach and academy director, said in a prepared statement.

The injury rate of high school boys declined slightly in 2006, according to a US Rugby Football Foundation study. Most accidents came in the tackle, the report found.

Meanwhile, Kiwi Lighting of the San Francisco Bay Area donated $1,000 to USRFF in the name of Paul Emerick, recognized as the most valuable player in the USA’s World Cup qualification campaign, and $100 for each Eagle try over the four-game series, for a total of $3,300.

Related: Study: Scholastic rugby safer than football

Teenagers crack national 7s pool

Four players – all of them teenagers – were inadvertently not identified when USA Rugby announced the 2006-07 national 7s player pool.

The standout youngsters are Max DeAchaval (Denver Barbarians), Nate Ebner (Scioto Valley), Ian Elliot (Maryland Exiles), and Thretton Palamo (Golden Gate), according to coach Al Caravelli.

Ebner, a 15s fullback, was a member of the 2006 Under-19 team to April's world championship and also was the team's high scorer in the North America-West Indies qualifiers for the 2007 tourament. Palamo’s older brother Toshi is a past 7s Eagle and also in the 2006-07 pool.

A fifth teenager, Patrick (PJ) Komongnan of Washington, has already been named to the group of 19 players now training in San Diego, and hoping to make the cut for the Singapore and Thailand tournaments.

Related: Preseason 7s squad to feature international newcomers

NYAC to honor founders

The New York Athletic Club will launch a rugby hall of fame on Friday by inducting two founding members.

Bob Cullom Sr., past president of the entire Winged Foot organization, and Bill Smith, also a founder of the Columbia College and Old Blue clubs, are the inaugural inductees, co-coach Bruce McClean said in an email. As many as 200 guests are expected at a dinner event.

Separately, the University of California last week recognized its 2006 American titlists as part of the Berkeley school’s first-ever “National Championship Week.” The program included presentation at halftime of a football game attended by 73,000 and commemoration in a hall of fame room.

The two landmarks are symbolic of growing efforts to commemorate achievements, in ways that are familiar to domestic sports culture. Earlier this year, the Southern California union staged an end-of-season dinner complete with player-of-the-year honors and a guest speaker in past New Zealand flanker Josh Kronfeld.

New York’s Xavier High School, which shares coaches management with NYAC in Mike Tolkin and McClean, last year staged a 30th anniversary dinner that drew more than 30 percent of the school’s 800 rugby alumni. Across town, archrival Old Blue has long since established a hall of fame.

NYAC was founded in 1973; Old Blue and Columbia more than a decade earlier.

Cullom and Smith “were instrumental in starting and maintaining the program … [and] building our home field. They coached [us], supported us, got us significant financing. We didn't feel it fitting to have anyone else go in with them or before them,” McClean said.

Related:
       Xavier faithful to gather
        Cal edges BYU 29-26 for college crown

Preseason 7s squad to feature international newcomers

Most of the USA 7s team headed to preseason tournaments in Thailand and Singapore will be international newcomers.

Second-year Still in his first year, coach Al Caravelli today opens a training camp today in Chula Vista, California, in preparation for Bangkok on October 28-29 and Singapore on November 4-5. Of the 19 players hoping to be named to the 12-man travel squad, 14 are uncapped.

Also new for the 2006-07 season is Caravelli's ability to assemble trialists a week before departure. Last February, by contrast, the Connecticut-based coach had to dip into his own pocket just to have staff for videotaping matches, the Board's Eagle budget cuts leaving no room for such international standards.

“I am not going to measure our success on wins and losses, but instead … by how they play to their potential. If they play to their potential the wins will come,” Caravelli said in a prepared statement.

Flyhalf Jone Naqica and forward Jarvis Albury are the most experienced of the trialists. Riaan Hamilton, MVP of the domestic 7s championships, Joe Killefer, and Jason Pye also have played internationally. Of the newcomers, prop Ron Rosser and wing Jeff Hullinger made the 15s debuts this past summer.

Among those in the 7s pool but not present at the San Diego-area assembly are 15s regulars Todd Clever, Paul Emerick, Albert Tuipulotu, all of whom are based overseas, and past 7s internationals Dom Mara, Nelo Lui, and Toshi Palamo. Left out of the pool are Mose Timoteo and Justin Stencel; 2005 captain Kevin Whitcher has retired.

In a press release announcing the pool, USA Rugby wrongly said that last year’s 1-11-1 record included the 7s team’s first win in three years. The Eagles were unbeaten in winning the North American-West Indies championship in 2004 and posted two victories at the 2005 7s World Cup, among other results.

Thailand and Singapore 7s training squad
Forwards: Jarvis Albury (Arkansas State), Riaan Hamilton (OMBAC), Joe Killefer (Old Blue), Andrew McNaughton (Olympic Club), Kevin Mongold (Scioto Valley), Scott Peterson (Chicago Lions), Marcus Respes (New York Athletic Club), Ronald Rosser (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo), Kevin Wiggins (Kansas City Blues)

Backs: Chris Frara (OMBAC), Jeff Hullinger (Brigham Young Univ.), James Gillenwater (Maryland Exiles), Justin Hundley (New York Athletic Club), Patrick Komongnan (Washington), Jone Naqica (Denver Barbarians), Takudzwa Ngwenya (Dallas), Andrew Osbourne (Washington), Jason Pye (Univ. of Utah), Dallen Stanford (Oxy Tigers)

Additional 2006-07 USA 7s pool players
Jacko Ah Hoy (Maryland Exiles), Todd Clever (North Harbour), Paul Emerick (Newport-Gwent Dragons), Vaha Esikia (Las Vegas), Tony Fratangelo (Belmont Shore), Jason Kelly (Denver Barbarians), Nelo Lui (OMBAC), Mike Malan (Old Blue), Dom Mara (New York Athletic Club), Toshi Palamo (Golden Gate), Dewon Reed (Golden Gate), Roger Tuamaholoa (Old Blue), Albert Tuipolotu (Parma)

Related:
        7s camp set for West Point; Whitcher retires
        USA 7s ticket sales reveal venue planning; a rugby field in a baseball stadium?
        USA 7s moving to San Diego
        USA Rugby to bid on 7s World Cup
        OMBAC 7s crown competes historic double

Pittsburgh teen passes away after match injury

A Pittsburgh teenager has passed away more than a week after being concussed in a match.

On September 30, Eric Pelly, an 18-year-old playing for the Pittsburgh Harlequins, was injured and subsequently admitted to a local hospital. Three days afterward, he was discharged with instructions to refrain from contact sports for three to fourth months, according to accounts by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WPXI. This past Tuesday, he collapsed and never recovered.

The autopsy has not been completed, according to Harlequins president Paul McGregor, who declined to comment further in deference to the Pelly family.

Following International Rugby Board policy, USA Rugby permits 18-year-olds to compete in senior matches. The Harlequins are regarded as a well-organized club, with an active youth program, their  own ground and clubhouse, and having hosted several national 7s championships.

Yet the tragedy may rekindle insurance worries. USA Rugby’s Club and Individual Participation Program, or CIPP, provides coverage that enables rugby teams to guarantee municipalities and other institutions that these “third parties” will not be held liable for use of their playing fields.

But CIPP does not cover injuries suffered by players. That leaves many nervous that athletes may not be able to afford their medical bills, and so will choose not to play rugby.

As one measure to improve safety and mitigate risk, Jack Clark of Cal has previously called for requiring national playoff teams to travel with certified medical personnel who are familiar with the players’ medical history. Whether the position increases the team roster or replaces a player’s slot, the benefits outweigh the costs, Mr. Clark has suggested.

Two years ago, Mr. Pelly, a multisport athlete, had been concussed while playing high school football and given up the game, according to published accounts. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Melville named USA Rugby chief executive

Nigel Melville will be the next chief executive of USA Rugby, assuming a portfolio that combines the business post with the union’s top technical job.

The former England scrumhalf and past director of rugby at Premiership clubs Wasps and Gloucester will begin when his visa is approved, the union said in a press release. The 45-year-old succeeds Doug Arnot, who departed under a cloud last summer; interim chief executive Steve Griffiths, who had been scheduled to wrap up on November 3, will continue until Mr. Melville comes on board.

The appointment is a surprise in that the Board had previously declared its intention to appoint a “president of rugby operations”, reporting to the CEO. The directors’ September minutes and a recent Sunday Times interview given by chair Kevin Roberts both clearly presented the rugby-oriented position as the more critical of the two posts.

Melville, who also has been a marketing executive for Nike and a management consultant, convinced the Board he possesses the requisite experience for both roles. His principal competition, John Kirwan, has been coach of Italy but lacks the same business pedigree.

“That I have been coaching and working in both the professional and amateur rugby business for over 10 years now has really helped me prepare for this position. In truth, I feel that everything I have done in the past has led me to this, and I am just really excited to get started,” Mr. Melville said in the union’s release.

Mr. Melville and Mr. Kirwan each attended Saturday’s USA-Uruguay match in Palo Alto, California.

The appointment makes good on the first of several priorities identified by Mr. Roberts and his colleagues. Both the chief executive and director of rugby positions have been unsettled much of the year, filled by the interim appointments of Mr. Griffiths and Alan Solomons, respectively, since the old Board’s management committee reluctantly forced Mr. Arnot to resign.

The status of interim coach Peter Thorburn will be determined by Mr. Melville, a USA Rugby representative previously said. Having taken up the post on short notice, after Tom Billups resigned in order to make clear the financial failures of Mr. Arnot and past chairmen Bob Latham and Neal Brendel, the New Zealander made a slow start but finished strongly in qualifying for the 2007 World Cup, and would like to carry on.

“They say good things come in small packages, and in Nigel’s case that is certainly true. He’s a top-notch player, England captain, successful businessman, accomplished leader, and first-class coach – with a burning passion for all things American. Nigel is the right guy at the right time to lead USA Rugby,” Mr. Roberts said in today's release.

Related:
        Roberts: top rugby man to be named
        New board adds youth to priority list
        Chair, captaincy changes are milestones

Board looks to be driving playing season changes

Future changes to the American playing season appear likely to come directly from USA Rugby’s Board, rather than staff or blue-ribbon committees.

The directors are pursuing plans to expand the North American 4 tournament and also evaluating whether to stage internationals in November, according to the minutes of the board’s September 23 meeting. In other words, chair Kevin Roberts and his colleagues will be actively shaping the expanding representative season.

Meanwhile, the board is keeping its options open regarding changes to the domestic calendar. The work of interim director of rugby Alan Solomons is to be referred to the incoming president of rugby operations, and the so-called competitions audit led by Alan Sharpley’s task force will be “consultative,” or non-binding, the minutes record.

The ideal American schedule is a thorny question. Weather forces most of the Eastern half of the country to play a “split season,” precipitating a logjam of championships and select-side competitions in May and June as well as questions of unfair advantage. More strategically, how should USA Rugby compete in the commercial marketplace? Where does it fit in the world game?

Thirty years of committee deliberation has yet to resolve the problem, but the market hasn’t really been brought to bear.

Whatever the answer, the tenor of the minutes suggests purpose and urgency. Among the directors, Mr. Roberts and Tom Wacker both have been through the transition to professionalism, the former in New Zealand and the latter as chief executive of the International Rugby Board. Dave Hodges is one of the few Americans to have played (i.e., worked) in Europe while representing the USA in the test arena.

Further input may be expected from the incoming president of rugby operations, who is being given a very broad portfolio with particular emphasis on the interconnection between grassroots and representative competitions.

Mr. Sharpley’s committee, assisted by consultant Morgan Buckley, held its first meeting this past weekend in Palo Alto, California. The Board next meets on December 9 in Boulder, Colorado.

Related:
       Youth, military, ref dues to be cut
       New board adds youth to priority list
        2006 representative season to span three months
        Single season, territory revamp in union's sights