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Embezzlement allegations in Mid-Atlantic

Allegations of embezzlement have been laid against two former officers of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union, generally considered one of America's better-run territories.

'After almost three months of investigation, the [territory's] executive committee has found evidence suggesting that the past president and past treasurer appear to have improperly utilized more than $150,000 of MARFU's funds for their own personal uses,' the territory said in a prepared statement (download).

'MARFU is pursuing all disciplinary and legal options available to recover the apparently misappropriated funds.  In addition to the legal actions, the past president and past treasurer have been removed from all rugby administrative positions within the LAUs, MARFU, and USA Rugby,' the territory said.

As is our custom in America, these individuals should be presumed innocent. Simultaneously, it is appropriate for the territory to safeguard the trust of its members. Assessing the present balance of these two imperatives is not my purpose here.

Rather, it is to suggest that as more money comes into the game, American rugby's financial standards may not be keeping pace.

The national union, which has also dealt with embezzlement, no longer publishes its budget. Well-compensated individuals do not appear on the union's tax returns, as is required by law of any individual receiving more than $50,000.

Then there is the question of what standards USARFU can expect of its member unions, such as the Mid-Atlantic. It is worrying that those implicated have served on the old board, the present congress, and the audit committee.

The Mid-Atlantic said it is 'satisfactory financial shape' and would sustain its programs without any dues increases.

7s turnover a test of US systems

Al Caravelli's revamped outfit faces the challenge of regaining momentum at the most prestigious 7s tournament, but then again a lot of teams are turning over.

Following a lackluster showing at the 7s World Cup, the Eagles immediately lost core players including Chris Wyles, Todd Clever, and Takudwza Ngwenya, who all but wrapped up their international 7s careers in order to play professional 15s.

The Hong Kong and Adelaide squad appears to favor team speed, and gives first chances to Zach Pangelinan and Zach Test. Four players are under 20, according to USA Rugby.

Youth, newcomers, and a first-time captain, prop-wing Kevin Swiryn, have prompted those observers normally inclined to let the national team off the hook because it's not 'professional' to suggest the Eagles can't sustain their seventh-place standing in the World Sevens Series.

But since heavyweights like Fiii are also making a transition, the more important question is how well does Caravelli's approach fare in the new quadrennial? How well does the US execute the things it can control for itself?

If nothing else, it is instructive that the 7s Eagles have not shied from disciplined, decisive action.

Granted that Wyles, Clever, Ngwenya are wanted by their paycheck clubs, and Valenese Malifa needed surgery. But consider that the 15s Eagles made no such break after the 2007 World Cup, and in fact the 2009 player pool has yet to be released, even as the World Cup qualifiers begin in 3 months.

In first-day action, the US fell to Scotland 19-17, while pool favorites Kenya topped the West Indies 17-10.

On defining success in college rugby

Saturday's St. Mary's-Cal match was one of the more vibrant league games I have seen in American rugby, leading to question: why don't more teams define success this way?

If you've been to an important high school contest, you know the scene: knowledgeable fans in school colors, modest but serviceable concessions, fans pressing close to be on top of the action. St. Mary's ran out behind a bagpiper embodying the school mascot, and the jet flyover (!) to conclude our national anthem added a final measure of authenticity.

Measured according to the standards of televised pro and major college sports, all that might not seem like much. But for those who stuck around for a seconds match played before a more conventional rugby crowd, the difference was night and day.

Did anybody take note of the nearby women's softball game? No, literally no one. The question is not academic. Winning teams that draw thousands of fans while supporting themselves will soon enough gain the athletic director's attention.

St. Mary's demonstrated that not only Cal can achieve varsity standards, that there is cultural transfer in Northern California influencing many teams. Should Stanford, or perhaps UC Davis or Santa Clara, learn to leverage its athletes and facilities, then NorCal's college scene would become very competitive indeed.

Related: Univ. of California 20 St. Mary's 5 (halftime: Cal 6-0)

On .com vs .net

All sorts of things come my way. One oddity: a note inquiring why the Churchill Cup is a gambling site.

Sure enough, www.churchillcup.com, the site listed in USA Rugby's press release regarding the 2009 test schedule, goes to a domain squatter that touts online wagering. The tournament site should be churchillcuprugby.net.

The problem may stem from last year's site, which was at barclayschurchillcup.com. The British bank has since backed away from its sponsorship, something that went unannounced and apparently unchecked.

Speaking of which, the claim that 2009's 10-match, May-to-November schedule is the 'busiest season' in US history doesn't hold up.

The Eagles played 11 full internationals as long ago as 1996, 10 of them from May to September. In 1998, the US played 12 tests and 1 non-cap match from April to August, which I believe to be the 'busiest'.

Two of this summer's contests will 'A' matches. Barring the unlikely prospect that both Canada and the US reach the Churchill championship, the Eagles will play Georgia on June 20 in Denver.

Belmont Shore 25 San Francisco Golden Gate 12 (halftime: SFGG 12-5)

(San Francisco) Efficient Belmont Shore scored 20 unanswered second-half points en route to a 25-12 road win over San Francisco Golden Gate, restoring the perennial western power to a share of first place after a season-opening draw.

Trailing 12-5 at intermission, the visitors stymied SFGG's sporadic but promising third-quarter forays against Rocca Field's northerlies, and drew level through Ollie Saparamadu's converted try at 62 minutes, moments after Jason Bowden's yellow card. Then, as position and possession inexorably swung the match Shore's way, flyhalf Ata Malifa slotted close-range penalties at 68 and 74 minutes.

Hard-running Belmont hooker Jimmy Patu scored in injury time to deny the hosts a bonus-point loss.

SFGG struggled from the outset, despite beginning with the wind, as Volney Rouse missed two must-have penalties. Though the flyhalf scored a marvelous solo try in the 13th minute, transforming poor service into a deft chip and recovery while racing past two defenders, he soon departed with a broken nose.

Golden Gate's backs thereafter posed little threat from set play, particularly lineouts, where the hosts regularly lost their throws. Penalties were also a problem, with the afternoon's tally including a red card after the match was decided.

Conversely, Malifa ran and passed purposefully, and his kicking from hand improved as the Sunday afternoon match wore on, dictating field position in the game's latter stages.

Prop Jacob Grubb opened the scoring in the 7th minute, important given Belmont's limited early opportunities, while just before half eighthman Jason Lamborn accounted for SFGG's second try, immediately after a longer-range penalty fell short.

Third-place SFGG (1-1) next travels to meet the 0-2 Chicago Griffins, while Belmont (1-0-1) faces archrival OMBAC (1-1).

Belmont Shore 25 San Francisco Golden Gate 12 (halftime: SFGG 12-5)

San Francisco Golden Gate
Tries: Volney Rouse, Jason Lamborn
Conversion: Volney Rouse

Belmont Shore
Tries: Jacob Grubb, Ollie Saparamadu, Jimmy Patu
Conversions: Ata Malifa (2)
Penalties: Ata Malifa (2)

Referee: Chris Draper (West and United States)
Attendance: 100 (estimated)

Univ. of California 20 St. Mary's 5 (halftime: Cal 6-0)

(Moraga, California) Saturday's St. Mary's-Cal game vividly illustrates what America would gain if 10-12 colleges caught up to the Bears, not because the hosts won a taut 20-5 contest, but because they did not.

After Chris Biller's 61st-minute solo try broke open a one-point affair, Keegan Englebrecht's sideline conversion gave the defending national champions an intimidating two-score lead. But where most collapse, the Gaels had not yet crested, and by consequence both sides enhanced their title ambitions.

Only resolute defense mixed with two St. Mary's knock-ons inside Cal's five yardline, in the 67th and 70th minutes, settled the outcome.

The match of unbeatens drew an estimated 1,500, ringing the field sometimes 3 and 4 deep, and this year's Bears are not likely to again defend their line amid such cacophony as the west end of Pat Vincent Field. For US rugby, the important phenomenon is not that St. Mary's lifted its game before a home crowd, but that mighty Cal was forced to do the same in order to win on the road.

Such games change the question from which of the Bears should become Eagles to which collegians will follow in the footsteps of the newly minted USA 7s captain, Kevin Swiryn, who is just one year removed from starring in Moraga. If the league is good enough, then the standouts are old enough.

Saturday's match, played for the Northern California title and the top playoff seed, began as do many rivalries, with little rugby in the first half. Both teams played a man short -- Cal losing hooker Biller and the Gaels prop Pat Grass -- yet Englebrecht supplied all of the scoring with penalty goals in the 7th and 14th minutes. The Bears may have pressed several advantages more adroitly; the Gaels might have kicked penalties inside their own 25 to touch, rather than trying to run out of trouble.

The half's last sequence set the tone for the second period. Deep in St. Mary's 22, Cal looked certain to score, and though the ball popped loose from a breakdown, Dustin Muhn gobbled the pill and seemed to squeeze in down the right sideline. But the wing was ruled out of bounds, St. Mary's cleared its lineout, and the west end faithful roared hopefully.

They weren't to wait long. Four minutes after the restart, Tim Mappin Maupin intercepted Cal's midfield attack not five yards from his own line and galloped all the way across midfield before offloading to Austen Mount, who evaded the cover defense long enough for promising halfback Black McGahan to catch up and finish a stunning 95-yard scoring play.

The five pointer shifted the game's sentiment, if not the balance of field of position, for Engelbrecht's kicking often sent surging St. Mary's back downfield, where they consistently opted to keep the ball in hand.

Biller's try, amending the 19th-minute sendoff, originated from such a kick. After a St. Mary's lineout, the All-American rake pilfered a ruck and raced 30 yards along the right sideline for the apparent clincher.

There was no quit in the Gaels. Featuring centers Brendan O'Meara and Mappin, they consistently beat the defense by cutting inside and also rucked intelligently, with the evident purpose of creating better backline opportunities.

But running from everywhere has its perils, and at 79 minutes St. Mary's fumbled a tap move on its own 5. Flanker Kyle Balough pounced for a converted score that served as the game's coda.

Cal 20 St. Mary's 5 (halftime: Cal 6-0)

St. Mary's
Try: Blake McGahan

Austen Mount; Alec Tappin, Tim Mappin Maupin, Brendan O'Meara, Jake Holquin; Chad Clark, Blake McGahan; Nick Wallace, Andrew Cook, Pat Grass, Kyle Batten, Kelly Harris, Brandon Veddar, Rob Carlson, Joe Brophy
Replacements not available

Cal
Tries: Chris Biller, Kyle Balough
Conversions: Keegan Englebrecht (2)
Penalties: Keegan Englebrecht (2)

James Bailes; Dustin Muhn, Colin Hawley, Blaine Scully, Ryan Taylor; Keegan Englebrecht, Andrew Mase (Conor Ring); Sean Wilhelmy, Chris Biller (Neil Barrett), James Besser (Jim Barrett), Paul Jesseman (Julian Snellgrove), Eric Fry, Scott Kidd, Tom Rooke, Derek Asbun (Kyle Balough, Jason Law)

Referee: Bryan Arciero (Alberta and Canada)
Attendance: 1,500 (estimated)

Lions to debut Chicago's Hope Field

Chicago's Lions will debut a new field and clubhouse Saturday with a match against the crosstown Griffins.

Hope Field, developed in conjunction with the Chicago Hope Academy, will instantly become a milestone for the storied Midwest club. Not only is the ground and its historic two-story building located within hailing distance of the city's famous Loop, but the 45-year-old outfit has struck an alliance with a well-regarded college prep school that has not previously featured rugby.

Leading American cities such as Chicago and New York are home to tens of thousands of recent college graduates, some who know rugby and some thinking of taking up new sports. But they are also pursuing new careers, and the logistical difficulties of training as well as the chronic lack of dedicated facilities discourages all but the most ardent.

Convenient, recognizable venues like the Near West Side's Hope Field or Rocca Field on San Francisco's Treasure Island not only provide rugby clubs with operating capacity, but also serve to legitimize the sport among the broader population. Working with local schools -- and in the process seeding a junior team -- can accelerate the dynamic.

'Partnering with a school with a noble mission makes our story that much clearer and understandable to people,' Lions president Keith Brown said in an interview.

Interestingly, the clubhouse began life in 1887 as an athletic and social club for ethnic Germans. One of 11 such facilities around Chicago, the 'Gut Heil' house is the last of its kind, and was scheduled for demolition in 2007 before local preservationists stepped in.

Also in 2007, the Lions fell just short of a first-ever 15s championship before going on to claim the 7s title, while last year Marty Wiggins' troops lost in the semifinals. The Griffins too were a 2007 playoff outfit, dropping a 20-17 semifinal contest to their Windy City rivals.

But both Chicago teams are new this year to the Super League's western conference, generally considered the more difficult of the national circuit's two eight-team groupings. In southern California last week, neither side managed a win, meaning the loser of Saturday's second-round match faces steepening odds of a playoff berth.

Inaugural Saturday kicks off with a Hope Academy scrimmage and then a ceremony to honor the 21 Lions who have been Eagles, including 1970s standouts Bill Fraumann and Gary Wilson and latter-day stars Phil Eloff and David Fee, each tied for second on the all-time try-scoring list.

Heavy costs in 2009 test schedule

The 2009 test schedule demonstrates that USA Rugby's Eagle ambitions carry opportunity costs exceeding the $1+ million cash outlay, much of them borne by the broader playing community.

In siting the Canadian World Cup qualifier, for example, the union sensibly enough responded to financial incentive. But the move undermines a major regional tournament that's older than the union itself and an important feeder event for the 7s team -- which has been far better performed than the 15s unit.

Trampling the Cape Fear 7s follows decisions to calendar tests with Ireland the same weekend as the national club championships, and Wales on the opening weekend of the Churchill Cup. Last summer, the US met a French club team during the club 7s finals.

Club-country conflicts arise in every union. The tension is all but inevitable since players and fans want to compete in or watch the best games, which generally require the same personnel.

But having declared it was rationalizing the end-of-season championships (and in so doing, quietly burying the Inter-Territorial Tournament), Boulder has now managed to step on the club finals anyway. In the past the union has been somewhat more adroit, by finalizing the schedule earlier in the year or moving test venues to complement domestic fixtures, such as the 1997 Wales international staged at Cape Fear.

Outside the domestic realm lies the clash between Wales in Chicago and the Churchill in Denver (where the club finals will have been the week before). Given USARFU's long-held desire to stage the entire tournament in America, the kindest thing that can be said about the divided focus is it's ironic.

But it is not unreasonable to imagine Boulder's full-timers could have negotiated better arrangements, or even to ask whether the matches should have been declined. Unlike the Churchill or the RWC qualifiers, the event costs of 'friendlies' are borne by USA Rugby.

Of course, players too bear costs in the form of six-plus weeks away from work, as well as the uncertainty of knowing whether they are in the still-unannounced player pool.

On the World Cup qualifier: correspondence

Busy today but thought to share parts of an email regarding the World Cup qualifier against Canada:

Several weeks ago we [Gainline and the correspondent] traded emails about the outlook for Cape Fear 7s, which was scheduled for July 4-5 in Wilmington, NC.  When we last communicated everything seemed to be going positively. That was until USA Rugby announced the Canada match in Charleston, SC, scheduled for July 4.

Cape Fear 7s has been scheduled for the first weekend in July since 1975. We must now think of the consequences of moving our tournament to the following weekend... 

USA Rugby would only have had to ask [Eagles 7s coach] Al Caravelli, a regular visitor to the tournament, [or] current USA 7s squad members who played in the tournament last year... 

This is not sour grapes ... because many Cape Fear RFC club members made the 170-mile trek to Charleston for last year's Eagles match. We plan to do so again if we are forced to move the Cape Fear 7s tournament. It is simply another example of poor planning and poor communication by USA Rugby.
 
As an aside: The USA v Canada match in Charleston seems to be scheduled for a 5 pm kickoff.  When the sun is still out? In July? In South Carolina? That is suicidal. It needs to take place at 8 pm.

Coincidentally, 15s coach Eddie O'Sullivan would know something about kickoff times in the south. In 1997, when O'Sullivan was a US assistant, the Eagles met Wales in a night game -- staged as the centerpiece of the Cape Fear 7s.

San Francisco Golden Gate 45 Denver Barbarians 10 (halftime: SFGG 20-10)

(San Francisco) Seta Palamo rang up an opening-day hat trick as San Francisco Golden Gate cruised to a 45-10 win over the Denver Barbarians before 175 Saturday at blustery Rocca Field.

Volney Rouse added 25 points from a 6th-minute intercept try and 8 of 9 goalkicking. Booting 10 during the first half, when each side scored a pair of 5 pointers, the home flyhalf's sharpshooting produced a scoreboard edge that belied Denver's positional and possessional advantages.

SFGG's striking power dominated the second period, punctuated by Palamo tries in 47th and 68th minutes. Playing into the wind, the Barbos mustered only a handful of scoring chances.

Neither team generated sustained pressure during the opening 40. Having wasted several early chances in falling behind 10-0, the Barbos got on the board through David Laidlaw's broken-field try in the 23d minute, when Kevin Erskine's yellow card left SFGG a man short.

But Rouse and Danny LaPrevotte combined on a reverse-field restart that fooled Denver and launched the ball through several hands to Palamo down the left wing. Though the count narrowed to 17-10 after Chris Moreno's close-range score, a second Rouse penalty goal just before intermission left the visitors significantly adrift as they changed ends.

Both sides were missing 7s Eagles and injured regulars, but perhaps most conspicuous by his absence was 2008 Denver flyhalf Link Wilfley, whose line kicking ability might have shortened the field. The visitors' backline was well defended, meaning the principal offensive threats lay in hard-running Pat Quinn off the back of the scrum and teenage snipster Sam Gilliam.

That was not nearly enough to counter SFGG's explosive back division. Palamo's second try, made by the inside break of brother Thretton, lifted the hosts' advantage to 30-10, and following a fourth Rouse three-pointer, his third sealed the contest.

The US confirmed it will meet Ireland in Santa Clara, California on May 31, before playing Wales in Chicago on June 6, three Churchill Cup matches in Denver, and World Cup qualifiers against Canada in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 4 and Edmonton, Alberta, on July 13. The 7-game program is one of the busier schedules since the late 1996-99, when the Eagles averaged 8 full internationals per summer.

San Francisco Golden Gate 45 Denver Barbarians 10 (halftime: SFGG 20-10)

San Francisco Golden Gate
Tries: Seta Palamo (3), Volney Rouse, Dylan Horne
Conversions: Volney Rouse (4)
Penalties: Volney Rouse (4)

Toshi Palamo; Tapui Fainalo, Thretton Palamo, Milemoto Pulu, Seta Palamo (Fine Taufatofua); Volney Rouse, Mose Timoteo (c); Jason Bowden, Saimone Lauaupaleau (Dillon Horne), Josh Vavao, Dan LaPrevotte, Kevin Erskine, Josh Merliner, Darryl Lamborn, Jason Lamborn

Denver Barbarians
Tries: David Laidlaw, Chris Moreno

Jody Kramer; Dan Murphy, Ben Haapapuro, Jake Humphrey, David Yavala; David Laidlaw (Dan Bludeau), Sam Gilliam; David Maddocks, Tim Russo (captain), Chris Moreno (Mark Trumble), Adam Drury (Tom Hewitt), Mike Mangan, Nic Johnson (Garrett Peterson), Justin Stencel, Pat Quinn

Referee: David Ardrey (West)
Attendance: 175 (estimated)