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On the revival of coaching accountability

Personal responsibility may be coming back in vogue among American coaches.

After dropping a 21-14 contest for last weekend's collegiate championship, David Smyth acknowledged BYU's gameplan had fallen short. Brenden Keane, whose Charlotte Catholic team lost its semifinal match to Xavier in overtime and consolation game against Gonzaga in the final minutes, went further by saying 'I did a poor job of preparing the boys for how to close games out'.

This ethic of accountability is refreshing, particularly in an academic environment where students may carry sporting lessons to other walks of life.

At the end of last decade, as foreign pounds and experts flooded into the US, it grew fashionable to assign players sole responsibility for the outcome of matches. Captains (or 'shot callers') made poor decisions, plays were not properly executed, and the team on the field otherwise 'failed to fire'. There was no discussion of what the coach or staff could have improved.

American mentors, whether leading professional or amateur teams, very rarely speak of losses in this way. They are far more likely to sound like this quote from the New England Patriots' Bill Belichik, clipped at the time of the 2007 World Cup: 'I think we can do a better job of coaching and get those things straightened out.'

Before last weekend's finals got underway, several coaches with previous championships to their name suggested that while they hoped the team played well, winning ugly would be preferable to losing, because it would mean more to their charges.

Long since, American athletes have demonstrated they needn't be paid to compete as professionals. Coaches who put their players first accelerate this dynamic.

Malifa return for Churchill Cup

Nese Malifa's return from injury comes in time to head the USA's backline at next month's Churchill Cup.

Opening with the England Saxons on June 4, the three-game slate also includes Tonga and a 'finals round' opponent from the other half of the tournament. That may be Russia, which is America's primary World Cup target.

The competition will be the national team's final competitive assembly before World Cup rosters are due. Barring injury considerations, domestic players who were at this month's San Diego training camp and left out of the Churchill squad aren't likely to be at the world championship in New Zealand.

With near-certain starters Chris Wyles and Takudwa Ngwenya omitted, Malifa's role figures to increase beyond the normal stature accorded flyhalves. Paul Emerick, Roland Suniula, Kevin Swiryn, and Tim Usasz, each of whom played amply during last fall's tests against Portugal and Georgia, also are at hand.

Usasz and Swiryn also may be first choice, but midfield has been less certain. Neither of the Tuilevuka brothers are in the squad.

Flanker Todd Clever heads a forward unit missing Hayden Smith, who was not released by England's Premiership, 20-cap prop Matekitonga Moeakiola, and the promising Samu Manoa. Will Johnson's return could see the prop earn his first cap since 2009.

No captain has been designated, though Clever is a likely choice.

Five players -- forwards Eric Fry and Dan LaPrevotte and backs Troy Hall, Mile Pulu, and Zach Test -- are uncapped. The squad includes 15 forwards, and no university players. Eddie O'Sullivan's staff comprises 13.

United States to Churchill Cup
Forwards: Inaki Basauri (L'Aquila), Chris Biller (San Francisco Golden Gate), Todd Clever (Suntory), Pat Danahy (Life Univ.), Eric Fry (Las Vegas Blackjacks), JJ Gagiano (Univ. of Cape Town), Nic Johnson (undeclared), Will Johnson (London Irish), Dan LaPrevotte (San Francisco Golden Gate), Scott Lavalla (undeclared), Mike MacDonald (Leeds Carnegie), Shawn Pittman (London Welsh), Louis Stanfill (Mogliano), Phil Thiel (Life Univ.), John van der Giessen (Utah Warriors)

Backs: Paul Emerick (Life Univ.), Tai Enosa (Belmont Shore), Troy Hall (New York AC), Colin Hawley (Olympic Club), Valenese Malifa (Glendale Raptors), Mike Palefau (Utah Warriors), Mike Petri (New York AC), Milemoto Pulu (San Francisco Golden Gate), Junior Sifa (Nottingham), Andrew Suniula (Chicago Griffins), Roland Suiula (Boston), Kevin Swiryn (Agen), Zach Test (undeclared), Tim Usasz (Nottingham)

Jesuit, Highland claim youth titles

(Salt Lake City) Nick Boyer delivered a pair of vital tries as Jesuit raced past Xavier 50-27 for the high school championship.

Also on Saturday, Highland bested United 38-24 to farewell longtime coach Larry Gelwix with a third under-19 title, to go along with 17 schoolboy crowns won under the old format.

Both contests matched the 2010 champs against the teams they unseated, and duly the 'single school' final's lead changed hands 3 times in the first 30 minutes.

Chris Mattina opened Xavier's scoring account with a penalty goal, before Jesuit wing Ryan Shuler darted into tryzone after a bruising run from skipper Chris Fry.

The injury departure of Marauder flyhalf James Poindexter after 13 minutes marked a turning point, leading to Xavier backs Nicholas Conte and Ed Sullivan scoring inside 5 minutes of one another. The second touchdown, initiated by Sullivan's tap move and also converted by the fullback, gave the New Yorkers a 15-7 edge.

Back came Jesuit with a trio of tries showcasing the Sacramentans' trademark support play. Each of the deep three backs figured in flanker Clancy Smith's unconverted score; Patrick Barrientes was prominent in the phases leading to eightman Michael Bush's go-ahead try; and then Boyer dotted the afternoon's most elegant score.

Coming as Xavier was driving just before half, the long-range score featured skillful passing among wing Mathew Chipman, Bush, and Boyer, and transformed Xavier's hopes of reclaiming the lead into a nine-point Jesuit advantage, 24-15.

Moments into the second period, Chipman flummoxed three sideline defenders from a standing start for a sensational solo goal. By now it was evident that Xavier was struggling to contain their up-tempo rivals, particularly when yielding turnovers.

Jim Wolfer answered with a converted try in the 43d-minute -- halves being 35 -- after flanker Adam Duignan broke Jesuit's line. Again Boyer answered, this time beginning from a scrum pickup and using Chipman as a decoy.

Ahead 36-22, Jesuit copped a yellow card but Chipman again evaded Xavier's defense for a score that clinched the game. Duignan and Barrientes, whose improbable rebound from a semifinal injury proved important to Jesuit's surviving Poindexter's exit, then traded tries as time wound down.

Gonzaga downed Charlotte Catholic 17-15 for third place, after racing back from a 15-5 deficit. With the Carolinians down a man, Joe Taylor scored the game-tying try and Sam LaPaille booted a pressure conversion. The Eagles were overwhelmed 45-7 in their semifinal clash with Jesuit, while Charlotte dropped an 18-17 contest to Xavier in a penalty shootout.

In the U19 final, Highland ran in four tries after intermission as the 12-7 affair turned into a contest notable for solo playmaking and one-on-one matchups. Anthonly Lavemai nabbed a pair, and the center's contest against opposite number Kisi Unufe, who also claimed a brace, was among the most interesting battles.

At the second half's outset, Lavemai's 36th-minute try was quickly countered by a Russ Parai penalty goal and Unufe's intercept touchdown. Eightman Douglas Ferris than cruised over the line from a setpiece pickup to make the count 24-17, where it remained until 10 minutes to go.

A brokenfield scoring run by Joshua Faagalu, his second, stretched the lead to 14, until Unufe's 35-yard effort, made by Parai's simple cutout pass, brought the game back to a single score with 6 minutes to go. Lavemai's second proved the decider.

With the win, Highland presented Gelwix a retirement gift to embellish his place in American rugby history. Only Cal's Jack Clark has a national record worthy of comparison.

A father figure to players and tenacious opponent to rivals, some of whom have wondered about the team's Polynesian cast, the local businessman started coaching at Highland in 1975, a year before USARFU's formation. Many years before the school game was fashionable, Gelwix lead the union's youth committee, championing investment in participation and also nationalized competition. Dozens of his players became All-Americans and several won caps. In 2008 his successes were portrayed in the movie Forever Strong.

Jesuit 50 Xavier 27 (halftime: Jesuit 24-15)

Jesuit
Tries: Nick Boyer (2), Mathew Chipman (2), Ryan Shuler, Clancy Smith, Michael Bush, Patrick Barrientes
Conversions: Nick Boyer (5)

Frank Ramos; Mathew Chipman, Todd Cameron, Patrick Barrientes, Ryan Shuler; James Poindexter (Matthew Tiernan), Nick Boyer; Andrew Cowie, John Brown, Trevor Breault, Patrick Rockwell, Chris Fry (captain), Willem Bos (Anthony Calnero), Clancy Smith, Michael Bush

Xavier
Tries: Nicholas Conte, Ed Sullivan, Jim Wolfer, Adam Duignan
Conversions: Christopher Mattina (2)
Penalties: Christopher Mattina

Ed Sullivan; Charles Guiraud, Joseph Wolfer, Nicholas Conte, Jim Wolfer; Christopher Mattina, Andrew Brosnahan; Thomas Boule, Luna Mishoe (Martin Freda, Christian Mattera), Ricky Comis (Bryan Carley), James Kondrat, Connor Sweet (Michael Gorman), Patrick O'Grady, Adam Duignan, Joseph Corrado (captain)

Referee: Aruna Ranawera (Pacific Coast and United States)
Attendance: 750 (estimate)

Highland 38 United 24 (halftime: Highland 12-7)

Highland
Tries: Anthony Lavemai (2), Joshua Faagalu (2),  Jayce Hansen, Douglas Ferris
Conversions: Kobi Harris (4)

Jayce Hansen; Richard Vakapuna, Anthony Lavemai, Joshua Faagalu, Moses Lotulelei; Kobi Harris, Kepu Lauti; Kesni Tausinga, Kingston Liava, Logan Daniels, Kapi Pauni, Alai Motuapuaka, Josh Randel, John Kacinski, Douglas Ferris. Replacements unconfirmed

United
Tries: Kisi Unufe (2), Siona Hausia,
Conversions: Russ Parai (3)
Penalties: Russ Parai

Brandon Benavides; Zach Webber, Kisi Unufe, Mateaka Hausia, James Schultz; Russ Parai (captain), Marlin Green; Avalisi Bloomfield, D'vairo Auelua-Notoa, Wlater Murray, Brandon Wilde, Thayne Soloai, Robin Rudolph, Siona Hausia. Replacements unconfirmed

Referee: Paul Bretz (Pacific Coast and United States)
Attendance: 1,750 (estimate)

Univ. of California 21 Brigham Young Univ. 14 (halftime: Cal 13-7)

(Salt Lake City) All-American Seamus Kelly's mid-second half try proved the matchwinner in Cal's tense 21-14 victory over Brigham Young, earning the Bears a perfect season and 26th national title.

BYU's Sosaia ('Hynie') Leaaetoa rammed a tap move through the Bears' goalline defense with 11 minutes remaining, bringing the forward-oriented contest to within seven, but down the stretch the defending champs squelched every challenge. Twice in final minutes, Cal throttled attacking Cougar lineouts, and in injury time nabbed a tighthead.

Flyhalf James Bailes, whose inside dash created the space for Kelly's scoring run toward the left corner, added 11 points on 4 of 6 goalkicking.

Not often are championship matches won on the touchline. Saturday, before possibly the largest non-test crowd in modern American history, the strategy hatched by Cal's Jack Clark and Tom Billups not only induced Cougar errors at the lineout and elsewhere, but also exposed the locals' inability to shift gears. BYU struggled to control its field position and so played long periods without the ball, because often when it did get possession the imperative was to clear its end.

'[Cal's] game plan won through tonight," BYU coach David Smyth acknowledged in an interview with Salt Lake City's Deseret News.

In a much-anticipated matchup of Collegiate Premier unbeatens, the challengers started quickly, running captain and 7s Eagle Ryan Roundy and center Seki Kafe into the line; shunting Cal toward its end; and even winning a scrum against the feed. But there were no points to show for a strong first quarter's work. BYU halfback Shaun Davies left a 35-yard left sideline penalty short, and while Leaaetoa misplayed a potential 3-on-1.

Bailes also missed a three-pointer, but the chance portended change of momentum. At 23 minutes, Cal flanker Derek Asbun carried a lineout maul into the tryzone for the opening score, converted by Bailes.

Just before half, an offensive flurry broke out. First Bailes stroked a midrange shot, following a period when BYU could not escape its end. Then Cougar flyhalf Dylan Lubbe chipped ahead down his left sideline, forcing the cover defense into a rushed clearance and leading to BYU flanker Apenisa Malani's 38th minute try.

BYU did a poor job fielding the resulting kickoff, however, yielding Cal an attacking lineout that led to a second Bailes penalty. The sequence not only cost three points but also denied the Cougars halftime momentum.

The storyline changed little in the second period. It's not merely that Cal dominated possession while minimizing BYU's chances to exploit turnovers, but also that BYU couldn't force the Bears to change tactics, to play differently.

A more wide-open contest would have brought knowledgeable, vocal fans into the mix. The Cougars counter-rucked diligently, led by all-star prop Mikey Su'a; but with five, six or even seven Bear forwards on hand, the ball unfailingly came back and the partisans had little to cheer.

Bailes stroked a third penalty at 50 minutes, after the Cougars had spent a long period defending their end, to make the count 16-7.

Despite all to Cal's liking, the contest might have shifted right before the start of the fourth quarter. At last BYU edged upfield, and dangerous ballcarriers like lock Viliami Vimahi found space in the backline. But thrice the challengers spilled the ball in attack. Cal halfback Connor Ring's 60-yard bolt from a turnover ruck punctured the sequence and led to Kelly's 61st-minute touchdown.

Leaaetoa's try create a last burst of suspense. Though the Bears lead the head-to-head series 6-1, BYU-Cal more often than not produces hard matches rather different from one-sided scorelines that typified this season's College Premier Division. 'I really do believe that if [BYU] would have had those lineout balls, it would have been a different story,' Clark told the Deseret News.

In steamy Atlanta, San Francisco Golden Gate opened a 17-9 halftime lead over Life University behind tries from Samu Manoa and Folau Moleloa, en route to 20-15 Super League championship.

Flyhalf Volney Rouse, who booted the winning score in the Golden Gate's 2009 finals victory over the Running Eagles, added 10 points via 2 conversions and a pair of penalties. Life fullback Aaron McMaster accounted for all of his side's scoring with 5 penalty goals.

For Paul Keeler's troops, the win marks a third consecutive playoff triumph over Life, twice in the championship match.

Combined with Jesuit's 50-27 win over Xavier in the schoolboy final, the Cal and SFGG triumphs produced Northern California's sweep of 2011's foremost competitions: high school, College Premier, and Super League.

In London, the Eagles upset Argentina 22-21 but then dropped 3 straight games at the England 7s tournament. The Matt Hawkins-led squad wraps up the Sevens World Series season this weekend in Scotland.

Univ. of California 21 Brigham Young Univ. 14 (halftime: Cal 13-7)

California
Tries: Derek Asbun, Seamus Kelly
Conversions: James Bailes
Penalties: James Bailes (3)

Blaine Scully; Dustin Muhn, Seamus Kelly, Sean Gallinger, James McTurk; James Bailes, Connor Ring (Paul Bosco); Jeremy Deterding (Tanner Mohr), Neill Barrett, James Besser, Drew Hyjer, Derek Asbun (captain, Jason Law), Thomas Rooke, Danny Barrett

Brigham Young
Tries: Apenisa Malani, Sosaia Leaaetoa
Conversions: Shaun Davies (2)

Andrew Harrison; Joseph Nicholls, Seki Kafe, Jared Whippy, Zeke Mendenhall; Dylan Lubbe, Shaun Davies; Mikey Su'a, Ishmael Tilialo, Ray Forrester, Mark Bonham, Viliami Vimahi, Apenisa Malani, Sosaia Leaaetoa, Ryan Roundy (captain)

Referee: Gareth Morgan (South and United States)
Attendance: 9,100 (estimated)

College, senior finals outline diverging paths

Saturday's College Premier and Super League finals point to diverging paths for university and senior rugby.

The quartet of BYU-Cal and Life-San Francisco Golden Gate have not lost a single game, suggesting they are exemplars of the sport in America. Yet the college storyline is rugby's advance as a pursuit for bona fide athletes, while the senior showdown highlights teams that excel without the blue-chip ruggers that USARFU endeavors to send overseas.

One implication is that for high school and college teams, attracting and developing higher-quality players is a core activity. For clubs, team building has to surmount policies that maximize club-country tensions.

The contrast does not entirely explain why the school championship will likely draw a far bigger crowd than the senior final, but is part of the equation. Schools are accelerating toward the sporting mainstream, and one byproduct of the varsity blueprint is a ready-made fan base. Club sides, which lack such communities, also find they cannot market around star players.

Each of the each of the favorites, Cal and San Francisco Golden Gate, face road games. The Rio Tinto final, ostensibly a neutral venue but like Stanford's Steuber Field a virtual home game, this time for the Cougars, figures to showcase a pair of notable backrows as well as BYU's canny inside backs versus Cal's explosive wide men.

In eighthman Ryan Roundy, the Cougars field a 7s Eagle with 21 tries to his credit this season. Hynie Leaatoa is a notable ballcarrier and fetcher in his own right. Across the setpiece are Danny Barrett, Tom Rooke, and Derek Asbun, a trio described by coach Jack Clark as one of the best in his long tenure at Berkeley.

Like Barrett and Rooke, who were particularly explosive in the opening quarter of Cal's semifinal win over Utah, backs Blaine Sculley, Dustin Muhn, and Seamus Kelly threaten to score from most anywhere. Scully too is a 7s international, while Muhn has been an Eagle trialist. For the Cougars, halfback Shaun Davies and inside center Jared Whippy are skilled players who use the ball well, lending steerage to BYU's sometimes turbulent approach.

Interestingly, Davies and Bear flyhalf James Bailes, who led the two teams in scoring, were both born in South Africa.

In Atlanta, there will be past and present national teamers across the field. For Life, the list includes hooker Phil Thiel, lock Pat Danahy, eight Mark Aylor, and center 'Tui' Osborne. SFGG has hooker Chris Biller, eighthman Samu Manoa, and halfback Mose Timoteo plus trialists Dan LaPrevotte, Volney Rouse, and Milemoto Pulu.

But the gamebreakers are gone abroad, as Manoa will do next season. Then too, three or four World Sevens Series tournaments fall during springtime, further removing standouts such as Life center Paul Emerick at key junctures.

RSL contestants would not likely concede any shortage of skill or athleticism; indeed, they would expect to defeat college sides not merely because they are older and stronger. Still, headliners such as SFGG captain LaPrevotte or Life's Steve Petzel, who scored the matchwinner in the seesaw Boston semifinal, tend to be understated, team-first types.

More Larry Bird than LeBron James is the formula for Super League coaches looking to win year after year.

BYU and Cal have met in the last six finals, the Cougars' lone victory coming in 2009. Life and SFGG clash for the   third consecutive postseason, SFGG claiming both previous encounters, including 2009's title match and last year's home semifinal.

The college final will cap two schoolboy championships also staged at Rio Tinto. 

Related:
     On the RSL final
     Private schools, local ties headline youth championships

Private schools, local ties headline youth championships

Four years after USARFU sidestepped the thorny question of youth-championship eligibility by sanctioning both high school and under 19 titles, private institutions are dominating the 'single school' category while youth rugby's popularity in Salt Lake City has grown to rival the drawing power of America's top colleges.

Six of eight teams in the high school competition are parochial institutions that have adapted rugby to a varsity approach. That is unsurprising: Private schools often evince a strong sense of identity as well as a nimbleness that eludes their public counterparts in many fields, not only athletics.

But last years's Xavier-Gonzaga final, a breakthrough for the Washington DC XV, attracted little interest among Salt Lake's burgeoning rugby cognoscenti. By contrast, a raucous 3,500 or so watched United down archrival Highland in the U19 championship.

Local affinities rather the sport itself normally drive rugby crowds. It's one thing for teams to be advancing technically, and another for events to progress as a commercial properties. Only the USA 7s and College Rugby (7s) Championship, and perhaps temporarily homeless Cal, might claim otherwise.

As a another example, the audience for last weekend's College Premier Division semifinal was dismal, even though Denver isn't terribly far from Salt Lake. ESPNU's cable telecast notwithstanding, BYU fans clearly stayed home in anticipation of this weekend's finals matchup against Cal.

The collegians' Saturday night finale at Rio Tinto Stadium will cap a pair of school-age tournaments that kick off Friday in nearby Murray, before shifting to the Major League Soccer ground the next day. Xavier, New York's four-time champion, opens against St. Thomas Aquinas, which returns to the eight-team event after a year's absence.

The first day's drama figures to be in a semifinal match between Gonzaga and Sacramento's Jesuit, a perennial contender. A year ago, Gonzaga upset the then-reigning champs 17-15, fracturing the duopoly which had reigned since Highland exited in 2008.

While Highland and United look to be the class of the U19 tournament, there are a pair of sides from ex-Super League clubs, Belmont Shore and the Kansas City Blues. This supports the contention of teams which said they were withdrawing from the nationwide circuit to spend more on youth XVs.

Last week the RSL's expansion Utah Warriors announced it would be adding a division 1 side and assuming responsibility for Highland, America's most distinguished youth outfit.

As was the case a year ago, yellow cards will carry 10-minute suspensions even in 50-minute matches. International Rugby Board regulations limit youth players to a maximum amount of minutes for any given day, but USARFU's rugby (i.e., technical) committee has twice declined to decrease the sanction on the grounds that 10 minutes reflects how long it takes a 'typical' team to score a try, not an interval proportionate to the length of the contest.

The trophy commemorating the College Rugby Championship, set for next month in Philadelphia, will be named after Pete Dawkins, Army's 1958 Heisman Trophy winner who took rugby while studying at Oxford University, tournament organizers announced.

Trio of past All-Americans showcased at college semis

Saturday's college semifinals showcased a trio of coaches who gained prominence with All-American teams at the start of the 2000s, thereby marking a rapid transition from playing to coaching success.

Arkansas State coach Matt Huckaby and Brigham Young assistant Kimball Kjar were 2001-02 All Americans, while Utah head man Blake Burdette won schoolboy honors a few seasons later. Kjar and Burdette went on to earn World Cup caps, while Huckaby was a 7s Eagle.

The generation's list of college standouts-turned-national team regulars includes Mike MacDonald, Matt Wyatt, Kort Schubert, Todd Clever, Mike Petri, and Paul Emerick, a cohort impressive in its own right. But it is particularly unusual that the three young coaches have already steered their charges to the final four.

Interestingly, all are coaching at their alma mater, suggesting the trio have understood how to translate the experience of international rugby to native rugby environments on campus.

Matt Sherman, also from the era, helped San Diego State to the 2009 semis, before moving on to division 1 Stanford.

Arkansas State, BYU, and Cal all made repeat trips to the 2011 semis, while Utah reversed last season's quarterfinal loss to Army.

Related: Huckaby succession as Arkansas St gains ground

San Francisco Golden Gate 53 Old Puget Sound Beach 22 (halftime: SFGG 22-3)

(San Francisco) Tevita Okusi and Volney Rouse each scored a pair of tries as San Francisco Golden Gate strode past Old Puget Sound Beach 53-22 to reach its third consecutive Super League final.

The game was largely decided in the second quarter, when Golden Gate dominated possession and applied pressure at virtually every turn. Tries by Okusi at 24 and 33 minutes, supplemented by Dan LaPrevotte's 39th-minute score, transformed a 5-3 contest into a 22-3 halftime edge.

Meanwhile, Life University downed Boston 27-23 in a see-saw contest, setting up a rematch of the tense 2009 championship (and last year's semifinal). The collegiate final too constitutes a replay, as BYU fought off pesky Arkansas State 36-15, while Cal overwhelmed Utah 62-14 to create an astonishing sixth straight title showdown.

Like the Bears, Golden Gate will enter as mild favorites, both having the edge in recent playoff matchups. Cal has won 4 of 5, including 19-7 victory in the 2010 final; Golden Gate the last 2, mostly recently a 20-14 victory in last year's home semi.

At Sheeran Field, the hosts were convincing, particularly in driving forward play that created ample space for Rouse, the deft Milemoto Pulu, and Okusi.

Prop Saimone Lauaupaleu try's just after halftime stretched the count to 29-3, but Puget Sound responded with its most convincing play of the afternoon, led by backrowers Stan Moaali and Mathew Trouville as well as elusive running from the deep three. Still, Evan Haigh's 49th-minute try was the visitors' only return.

By the hour mark the home forwards resumed command. Samu Manoa's 60th-minute try from a lineout maul, a farewell score as the athletic number eight looks forward to the 2011-12 season at England's Northamption, underlined that three of SFGG's nine tries were claimed by up front.

Rouse and Pulu added fourth-quarter scores, countered by two dazzling open-field runs from OPSB's Filimoni Botitu, evidence of the 7s-minded visitors at their best.

In Atlanta, Life moved to a 17-0 lead behind tries from Mark Aylor and Clint Whitler, before Boston rattled off 20 unanswered points through a pair of tries by Kyle Marshall and another from Brendan Moore. The lead changed three more times in the final 15 minutes, according to Super League reporting, Steve Petzel's converted try with two to go finally earning Life a rare third win over the visitors this season.

In rainy Denver, fullback Blaine Scully and backrowers Danny Barrett and Tom Rooke propelled Cal to an assured eight-tries-to-two win. Utah trailed 8-7 after a sensational 15th-minute score but lacked offensive variation sufficient to stretch the Bears. James Bailes goaled a penalty and six conversions while calmly piloting the defending champs.

In the second College Premier Division semifinal, Arkansas State captured an 8-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes, held the high-scoring Cougars in check well into the second half, and pulled within 19-15 after 52 minutes. But simple mistakes negated the opportunity of two BYU yellow cards, and cagey outings from inside backs Shaun Davies and Jared Whippy carried BYU through to until its persuasive fourth-quarter finish.

Davenport captured the Division 1 title with a 38-19 win over UC Santa Barbara.

Nese Malifa returns to the Sevens World Series for the first time since the 2010 Adelaide tournament. The flyhalf's recovery from injury also important recovery for the 15s Eagles, less than four months away from the World Cup opener against Ireland.

No less than chief executive Nigel Melville labeled the 7s team to England and Scotland as 'the strongest selection' this season and also 'more youth than experience', although there is just one undergraduate, Cam Dolan, and several key players in their thirties. Matt Hawkins is captain.

San Francisco Golden Gate 53 Old Puget Sound Beach 22 (halftime: SFGG 22-3)

San Francisco Golden Gate
Tries: Tevita Okusi (2), Volney Rouse (2), Dan LaPrevotte, Saimone Lauaupaleu, Samu Manoa, Milemoto Pulu, Hector Quiles
Conversions: Volney Rouse (4)

Folau Moleloa; Jeff van Meter (Hector Quiles), Samisoni Pone (Damian Fatongia), Milemoto Pulu, Tevita Okusi; Volney Rouse, Mose Timoteo (Adam Zelazny); Paula Fukofuka, Mark Chris Biller, Saimone Lauaupaleu, John Thomas (Cameron Colier), Neil Kern, Dan LaPrevotte (Ryan Woolright), Bruce Thomas, Samu Manoa

Old Puget Sound Beach
Tries: Filmoni Botitu (2), Evan Haigh
Conversions: Evan Haigh, Alipate Tuilevuka
Penalty goal: Evan Haigh

Evan Haigh (Kieran Kennedy), Filmoni Botitu, William Rasileka, Alipate Tuilevuka, Rob Fitzpatrick (Mike Nelson), Russell Armstrong, James Hetland (Ryan Bishop), Oliver Kilifi, Dan Trierweiler, Josh Osborn, Adam Patchett, Albert Jenkins, Stan Moaali, Tim Jacobsen (Nolan Allen), Mathew Trouville (Thomas Eliot)

Referee: Paul Bretz (Pacific Coast)
Attendance: 250 (estimate) 450

United States 7s to England and Scotland
Justin Boyd (Frisco Griffins), Miles Craigwell (New York AC), Cameron Dolan (Life Univ.), Paul Emerick (Life Univ.), Tai Enosa (Belmont Shore), Matthew Hawkins (Belmont Shore), Colin Hawley (Olympic Club), Valanese Malifa (Glendale), Mike Palefau (Utah Warriors), Roland Suniula (Boston), Shalom Suniula (Brisbane), Zach Test (undeclared)

Playoffs offer hope after predictable season

America's primary playoffs open this weekend, bringing the opportunity of upsets after a highly predictable regular season.

As USARFU slowly departs from the territorial paradigm, it's been one thing to structure new schedules, and another to nurture competitions that challenge participants to catch up to the leaders. The latter, which is different from simple 'fairness', is known to political economists as 'equality of opportunity', and often characterizes the world's most lucrative sports leagues.

Super League and College Premier Division favorites sailed through March and April, even though both competitions were in uncharted territory, the collegians debuting a regionalized regular season and the senior teams contesting an abbreviated format. The usual suspects also dominated the senior grade's first division, though Southern California's ruling on a Las Vegas fracas was overturned by Boulder, briefly introducing uncertainty.

The spring's outstanding exception was the New York AC, which slumped to a 3-3 record and so became the first defending champion to miss the next year's playoffs since the 2000 Denver Barbarians. Boston, lightly regarded despite gaining last year's semifinals, joined unbeaten Life in gaining the East's two berths.

San Francisco Golden Gate handily won the west, ahead of Old Puget Sound Beach, another club that backed up a resurgent 2010 campaign. But the Beach Dogs' path was streamlined by the complete withdrawal of Southern Californians from the nation's putative top senior competition.

The Super League semifinals will be played next weekend in Atlanta and San Francisco. Division 1 matches are set for the following weekend in a Virginia suburb of Washington DC and San Diego.

In the school ranks, this weekend Army hosts Utah, Arkansas State entertains St. Mary's, Brigham Young is at home to Navy, and Life travels to play Cal. (In an unusual situation owing to construction on the Berkeley campus, the latter match will be played on St. Mary's ground in nearby Moraga.) Each of the hosts are expected to advance to next week's semifinals in Denver.

Last weekend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater defeated Vermont's Middlebury 7-3 for the division 2 crown, while Virginia's Longwood captured the division 3 title with a 36-27 win over Occidental.

Also on tap this weekend is a national team training camp at the Olympic Training Center outside San Diego.

On the draft and other items

One of last month's more ambitious articles, Rugby Magazine's mock Super League draft, succeeded because it made evident the American paradigm's applicability to rugby.

Even Nigel Melville agrees. The English-born USARFU chief executive yesterday asserted the Premiership would grow more competitive by adopting the time-honored US approach.

Why not introduce a draft system, give [coaches] the pick of the best new talent not getting Premiership games, stop the big clubs stockpiling talent, get the players on the field, and build exciting competitive clubs. The Aviva Premiership continues to follow the English Premier League soccer model, a system where four or five clubs dominate and the rest fight to survive. Break the cycle guys, do something new ... lead don't follow!

The post not only chides England's contentious promotion-relegation regime, but also implicitly indicts the Commonwealth's academy system. Particularly in the wake of USARFU chair Kevin Robert's dalliance with plans for New Zealand, it's encouraging that Boulder officials are beginning to advocate genuinely American systems.

Argentina will again visit Florida for pre-World Cup training, reprising an important step in the Pumas' historic semifinal showing four years ago.

The camp sharply contrasted with the US national team's stay in remote Iowa. The Eagles finished 2007 without recording a single win, an unfortunate first.

Australia and South Africa have each relocated their Sevens World Series venues, to Queensland's Gold Coast and Port Elizabeth, respectively.

'We measured [possible venues] against four broad criteria: event hosting capacity, brand building potential for 7s and [the South African union], commercial promise, and budgetary viability...', according to South African Rugby Union chief executive Jurie Roux.

It is now difficult to remember that the USA 7s was broadly criticized for moving from Los Angeles to San Diego to Las Vegas in search of the right mix. Also boosted by the abbreviated game's admission to the summer Olympics, the privately managed event has converted USARFU's ruinous loss-maker to profitability.

Cal baseball too has been restored to varsity status, more evidence the school's controversial decision to drop five sports was ill-conceived. Due in part of popular outcry, rugby was restored earlier this spring.

Did anyone else notice yesterday's advert for a youth rugby camp on the Financial Times' front page?