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)

Comments

[ARN snot suckers]

I can't take Gary Lame anymore on these ARN podcast.

He never has anything to say and then there's the sucking snot thing that he does which is disgusting.

Why doesn't one of the others say something to him. That was the worst show ever.

[serzhantovo]

Kurt-
Where is it confirmed that the test v. Ireland will be in Santa Clara? Any ticket info? I'm there if it's a go!
Thanks.

[Pete Murray]

Serz-

The game against Ireland will be played at Buck Shaw std. Go to usarugby.org for info.

[podcast fan]

I never noticed that. Maybe I'm used to that sound. I had a teacher who did that constantly.

Have you noticed any other sounds?
It seems echoed sometimes, ever hear a toilet flush?

They do a good job. They miss the mark sometimes, but it is tough to follow such a broad landscape. I tune in for McClane's candid rambling rants, it makes me feel good about myself.

[Dan Ransom]

Thanks for the write-up, Kurt, I'm glad you were at the game.

For anyone in the area, this is a big weekend coming up -- St. Mary's will be hosting Cal in Moraga for their only regular season game this Saturday, and SF Golden Gate will host Belmont Shore on Sunday.

Now I just have to figure out how to get the wife to let me go out to rugby both days this weekend...

[ARN Pod Castee]

I would have to say that the ARN podcast is a good vehicle for our sport, but the blokes talking tell us very little. Lowe contradicts himself, Brucey is loveable for being himself, and Ray is ordinary.

All three love rugby and there is nothing wrong with them using this vehicle to convey that point. They are a long way from being any kind of authority on the game though.

Gary is laughable. He knows nothing and had opinions that reflect this. He therefore says nothing worth hearing, is so wishywashy that my 3 year old daughter sounds like more of a rugby coach.

[Come on Eddie!]

3 thoughts

Imagine if the best players were playing in the SL.

Imagine if the next Eagles coach picked props that are taller than 5'9

Imagine if the next Eagles attack coach designed a structured system rather than relying on the flair and playmaking of average standoffs.

[Flynn Hagerty]

Full disclosure: I haven't listened to this week's podcast yet.

ARN do an admirable job under difficult circumstances. Being able to round up all the rugby news in the country isn't easy, and the hosts make fairly frequent mention of how they have to make a dozen phone calls to get the scoop. Part of any 'wishy-washy' tone is because they can't just sit down, under the Rugby Ticket on DirecTV and sit down and watch ten games.

I do wish Viers would speak up a bit more, since I think he's got some of the best insight of anybody on the show. I also wish Bruce would really let loose, since it's clear he both holds back on what he really thinks about matters on the field and off. Off the field may damage relationships he has with people in the game, so I understand that, but I'd love to see him really speak about the tactics used in games he watches.

[generic cialis]

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