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Life, Jesuit, United grab crowns

Life erased an 11-point halftime deficit to upend St. Mary's 16-14, adding USARFU's 2013 collegiate 15s title to its 2011 7s championship.

Separately, Jesuit and United nabbed high school and under-19 crowns with 21-16 and 24-10 wins over Gonzaga and Cathedral, respectively.

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the Gaels moved to a 14-3 edge behind converted tries from fullback Tim Maupin and center Mike Haley, but were shut down in the second stanza.

Running Eagle fullback Joe Cowley booted a penalty goal and then scored in the corner to narrow the gap to 14-11. Prop Drew Ohmann's 56th-minute try then gave Life its first lead while closing out the scoring in a match marred by second-half rainstorm.

In Elkhart, Indiana, a pair of tries from Devin Kelly helped Jesuit of Sacramento, California, capture a back-and-forth contest with Washington's Gonzaga. The win earned the Marauders their seventh US title.

Throttled by Indianapolis' Cathedral in the 2012 championship, Alpine, Utah's United this year turned the tables with a convincing four-try showing. The 2010 champs moved out to a 17-5 halftime edge en route to its second national crown.

Despite 2013's being the first year of independent organization, the single-school field was notably deep. In recent years Gonzaga, Charlotte, California's Dixon, and Utah's Herriman -- which dropped an 18-17 opening match to Jesuit -- have all made notable gains.

In the senior division 1 playoffs, unheralded New Orleans bested PAC and Minnesota's Metropolis, 57-8 and 15-10 respectively, to reach the final four.

Former Super League teams produced the remaining three qualifiers for the June 1-2 semifinals: Denver Barbarians, Life, and Old Puget Sound Beach. San Francisco Golden Gate, which withdrew its entrant from the division 1 playoffs, meets Life this weekend for the Elite Cup championship.

Some 30 national team hopefuls mustered in Glendale, Colorado, this past weekend in preparation for May 25's Pacific Nations Cup opener against Canada. The squad includes for recalls for prop Mike MacDonald, hooker Phil Thiel, flanker Peter Dahl, and utility back Troy Hall as well as the balance of America's overseas professionals. Twenty-four will travel to Edmonton for the first-round contest.

United States of America training squad
Forwards: Chris Biller (San Francisco Golden Gate), Todd Clever (NTT), Tom Coolican (New York AC), John Cullen (Univ. of Utah), Peter Dahl (Belmont Shore), Cam Dolan (Life), Brian Doyle (New York AC), Zach Fenoglio (Glendale), Eric Fry (London Scottish), Graham Harriman (Chicago Griffins), Mike MacDonald (Olympic Club), Liam Murphy (Boston), Shawn Pittman (Trinity College), John Quill (Dolphin), Louis Stanfill (Vicenza), Phil Thiel (Life), Nick Wallace (St. Mary's)
Backs: Shaun Davies (Glendale), Troy Hall (New York AC), Luke Hume (Old Blue), Seamus Kelly (Univ. of California), Toby L'Estrange (New York AC), Chad London (Glendale), Zach Pangelinan (OMBAC), James Paterson (Glendale), Chris Saint (Houston Athletic), Blaine Scully (undeclared), Robbie Shaw (Richmond), Adam Siddal (Old Blue), Andrew Suniula (Chicago Griffins)

Schools forge ahead with national championship

2012 champs Cathedral and Dixon are among 24 teams contending this weekend for American single-school and age-grade titles, underlining the continuing attraction of nationwide competition among youth teams.

Like the Varsity Cup, the two-track National Invitational Championship is independent of USARFU. In contrast to the collegiate knockout, which demonstrates unhappiness with Boulder's management, the school-age tournament occupies a space USARFU has abandoned.

USARFU holds state championships should be the pinnacle of schools competition, citing the National Federation of State High School Associations, which shuns national championships. But having declined to designate high schools as the organic unit of youth play, in the belief that the goal of maximizing participation trumps settling on a scholastic (or club) model, Boulder has left the door open.

Indeed, in 2007 under-19 teams were given impetus by Boulder's splitting what was once known as the high school championship into 'single school' and 'multi-school club' brackets. The latter have since allied with parochial schools, which are sometimes not part of state athletic bodies, and ambitious public school teams to keep the national tournament going.

The NIC brings a return to three games in three days. Organizers expect longer matches to reduce ties, settled by widely despised kicks at goal. As a safety precaution, youth competition limits the number of minutes an athlete may play in a single day. The Pacific Coast territory, among others, once employed the 3-in-3 format as a means of encompassing more contenders.

In yesterday's opening round, past champ Xavier of New York knocked off California's Dixon 40-29, while California's Jesuit edged Utah's Herriman 18-17. Indiana's Penn edged Charlotte 40-37, and Washington DC's Gonzaga handled South Carolina's Chapin 55-14.

In the under-19 bracket, the closest game was Danville's 17-15 win over San Diego, an intra-Californian affair. Indiana's Cathedral handled California's Marin 33-19, Utah's United best the Kansas City Blues 56-7, and Colorado Springs topped Ohio's Westerville 54-22.

Life-St. Mary's, the clash of styles featured in USARFU's college final, could be played in stormy conditions.

The Greensboro, North Carolina, forecast anticipates game-time temperature of 73 with 66 percent humidity and 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Even if down from today's predicted high of 85, weather for the 7pm kickoff will likely test the fitness and adaptability of both teams.

Atlanta's Life favors ball control, field position, and bend-don't-break defense; while the San Francisco Bay area's St. Mary's is more daring in attack and looks to exploit turnovers. In heavy weather, both approaches have their liabilities. Though ballhandling can be perilous, equally a few individualistic breaks can pierce a defensive stalemate.

The winner will succeed Brigham Young, last year's division 1 champ and this year's Varsity Cup winner.

The existence of two competitions has fostered debate over who's actually the best. USARFU's title chase is more comprehensive. But BYU and VC runnerup Cal are the game's gold standard, a view underlined by the Bears' besting of St. Mary's this season in a non-league match.

Related:
USARFU the source of competing titles
National HS champs on the way out as 'single school' guidelines loosened
HS title revamp sets teenage strategy

NorCal, BC in school-age all-star tilt

School-age all-star teams from British Columbia and Northern California meet tomorrow night at San Francisco Golden Gate's Sheeran Field, each looking to clinch a three-game series initiated last month in the Canadian province.

British Columbia Mainland Under 17 claimed the June 17 opener 36-34, while two days later the Northern California Youth Rugby Association's Varsity XV rebounded with a 46-39 win over BC Island U17. Friday's visitors combine the two regions, whose sturdy rivalry fuels the Pacific province's national preeminence.

In as much as NorCal can claim to be America's strongest region, particularly at the scholastic level, the TrueBlue BC-NorCal Cup looks to exemplify sensible 'cross border' competition. The first-year event matches regionally elite players, coaches, and managers, a marked contrast with the top-down, multimillion-dollar, and ultimately short-lived North American 4.

BC's identity is all the stronger for its success in Canada's age-grade competitions. Earlier this month, the provincial U19 side went undefeated at the national championship. Some 9 of the 21-man San Francisco squad helped BC to last years's U16 Canadian crown.

USARFU no longer conducts domestic representative play, at any level, leaving governing bodies like NCYRA to create their own opportunities. The region now boasts 90 teams, more than enough to warrant all-star play.

In theory, the full BC side ought to be stronger than its components. In practice, availability is a perennial issue, for both sides: North Vancouver's Capilano and the Sacramento-area Dixon contribute the lion's share of players. This go-round, NorCal is at home.

Following the Friday match, BC will travel to Dixon to compete in a school-age 7s tournament.

Northern California Varsity XV
Forwards: Ryan Adair (Oak Ridge), Nico Bedoya (Dixon), Nick Bonovich (Dixon), Anthony Calnero (Jesuit), Marshall Godfrey (Ponderosa), Val Lee-Lo (Dixon), Austen Middleton (Dixon), Gavin Moscone (Piedmont), Teki Polaulu (Luther Burbank), Pepe Semeraro (Dixon), Josh Short (Vacaville Christian), None Vailea (Luther Burbank)
Backs: Nate Ansbach (Rio Americano), Alex Brewer (El Camino Fundamental), Tim Dallosta (Rio Americano), Aidan Flynn (C K McClatchy), Kyle Garlick (Dixon), Mark Qoro (St. Francis), Chris Rico (Dixon), Moni Tongauiha (Oakland)

British Columbia Under 17
Sina Alavi (Capilano), Ben Bethune (Capilano), Joel Campbell (Abbotsford), Toby Digney (Nanaimo Hornets), Will Foss (Langley), Marshall Fuller (Capilano), Alex Klassen (Bayside Athletic Association), Caleb Lee (Capilano), Spencer Loughlin (Abbotsford), Anton Metalnikov (Richmond), Connor McRae (Capilano), Christian Nonni (Capilano), James Oswald (Capilano), James Porter (Capilano), Jack Rainer (Capilano), Louis Retief (Abbotsford), Morgan Tate (Castaway Wanderers), Jenner Teufel (Cowichan), Tomasi Vataiki (Bayside Athletic Association)

Starting lineups not available at time of publication.

School posts attract senior coaches

A pair of San Francisco coaches are leaving nationally prominent senior teams in favor of school posts, moves that are no longer obviously a step down.

Ray Lehner has wound up his time as head coach of the Olympic Club to focus on Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School, according to people familar with the matter. Separately, Paul Keeler last week resigned as San Francisco Golden Gate's director of rugby in order to head up Santa Clara University.

Though the moves are independent of one another and personal matters play a role in any decision, they suggest that school roles are becoming more attractive to experienced coaches than club rugby. This implicitly raises questions about the state of the senior game.

School sides, definitely the fastest-growing segment of American rugby, look to be more stable than senior outfits. The underlying institution is often better established in the local community, commanding more recognition and resources. This has led to more densely populated, and increasingly competitive, leagues.

By contrast, the Rugby Super League is designated America's top competition but has been shedding teams, and the leading proposal for restructuring USARFU's division 1 all but advocates RSL's disbandment. The uncertainty is aggravated both by the union's lengthy 'competition review' and the simultaneous but separate goal of converting territories to 'geographic unions'.

The Pacific Coast, which houses both SFGG and the Olympic Club, has announced it's winding down -- without declaring what comes next. Meanwhile, Santa Clara competes in division 1A's new California conference, which also includes St. Mary's, Stanford, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara, while Bishop O'Dowd competes in the 'single school' division of the region's fast-rising Northern California Youth Rugby Association, home of national champion Dixon.

School players can better focus more on rugby than young adults. Daily training times are before or after class and often on campus, much like varsity sports. Club players, looking after jobs and sometimes new families, start out scattered and need to assemble. Adding a third weekly session can be a major commitment.

Moreover, where school teams draw from the student body, club worries are not limited to recruiting but also that their best will be encouraged to go overseas, without any consideration for their development efforts.

It turns out that over the past two decades, when they have come from domestic ranks, USARFU's top men have frequently come from the schools. Both 15s coach Mike Tolkin and 7s head man Alex Magleby have academic backgrounds, at New York's Xavier high school and Dartmouth, respectively, while previously Tom Billups and Jack Clark (both Cal) worked from a collegiate base.

(Tolkin of course also led the New York Athletic Club, as well as the proto-high school All American team; the primary exception is Al Caravelli.)

In his stint at SFGG, Keeler nabbed a pair of RSL titles, coached USA 'A', and was a finalist for the Eagle post. Lehner helped O Club to a trio of division 1 final four berths and lead USA Under 20, even as he was launching the Bishop O'Dowd program, where he teaches.

Assistant Grant Wells is expected to step up the head coaching role at SFGG, according to people familar with the matter, while the Olympic Club intends to name Lehner's replacement by the end of September. The Winged O recently named Stanford 15s and All-American coach Matt Sherman as its 7s supremo.

Junior All-Americans 34 Canada U-20 28 (Ht: 21-14 Canada)

(Langford, BC) Led by two tries each from Pierce Dargan and Noah Tarrant, the Junior All-Americans mounted a huge comeback to beat the Canadian U-20 squad 34-28 at Bear Mountain Stadium. 

The victory completed a two-match sweep for the touring team. The USA U-20s previously defeated Canada 27-22 last Wednesday.

The American tourists found themselves under heavy pressure from the first kickoff. No. 8 Cam Stones opened the scoring for Canada just four minutes in, thundering into the try zone. Tries from scrumhalf Andrew Ferguson and wing Josh Hart followed in short order - flyhalf Connor McCann hit all three conversions, putting Canada up 21-0 just fourteen minutes in.

Lock Pierce Dargan, of Dublin University, scored first for the Americans. Dartmouth's Madison Hughes added two points, bringing the score to 21-7. The two sides battled back and forth, but the JAAs ended the half with momentum on their side: high school winger Noah Tarrant, of the Oceanside Hurricanes, broke through the Canadian line to score. Hughes converted, narrowing the gap to 21-14 at halftime.

Tarrant opened the second stanza just as he had closed the first - with a try. Hughes missed the conversion, leaving the Canadians with a narrow two-point lead. The fullback soon redeemed himself with a 51st minute penalty goal to put the visitors ahead for the first time in the match, 22-21.

The Canadians drove deep into the visiting half, but stiff American defense held up the attackers just over the line. The hosts showcased their ability to play strong phase rugby, swinging the ball out and pressing forward until center Mike Fuilefau finally touched down to retake the lead, 28-22. 

America's response was swift. The Junior AA backrow, led by eightman Alex Goff, launched into Canada's line to crack open space for an American rebuttal. Hooker Cameron Falcon hit the gap to make it a one-point game just minutes later: 28-27, still in the Canadians' favor. (Goff, a freshman starter at Arkansas State, seemed to be everywhere but the try zone - he was quick off the scrum, relentless at the breakdown and an absolute terror in open play.)

Throughout the match, referee David Smortchevsky repeatedly pinged Canada for infringing at the ruck. His warnings culminated in a pair of fatal yellow cards - reserve flanker Fuku Vikalani and center Clayton Meeres were sent off in the 70th and 73rd minutes, respectively, for an offense at the ruck and a dangerous tackle. Canada was down two men with less than ten minutes in the match, and Dargan wasted no time in exploiting numerical advantage for his second try of the day. Hughes converted to make it 34-28, giving the Americans a narrow lead in the match's final moments. 

The Junior AAs made the mistake of committing a turnover in injury time, giving the Canadians the opportunity to make a game-winning score as they drew close to the try line. Resolute tackling made up for the Americans' error - they ran the clock down, and Hughes booted the ball into touch on the final possession to end the match with a USA victory. 

The two-game test series served as the final tune-up for the Junior All-Americans before the 2012 IRB Junior World Cup Tournament, to be held June 18-30th in Salt Lake City. (Canada takes on the University of St. Andrew's U-20 side on June 9th.) Both teams will compete in different pools on June 18th: Canada will kick off against Georgia in Pool B, while the United States takes on Tonga in Pool A.

USA Junior All-Americans

Tries: Pierce Dargan (2), Noah Tarrant (2), Cameron Falcon
Conversions: Madison Hughes (3/5)
Penalty goal: Madison Hughes

Madison Hughes, Pasefika Iosia, So'e Tatafu, Kingsley McGowan, Noah Tarrant; Will Magie ©, Alex Taefu; Vei Tomasi, Cameron Falcon, Angus MacClellan, Nick Barrett, Pierce Dargan, Tim O'Hara, Teli Veamatahau, Alex Goff.
Reserves: Casper Huizenga, Khrys Speed, Aladdin Schirmer, Brendan Hardiman, Nick Boyer, Sione Letoi, Tanner Barnes, Travis Whitlock.

Canada U-20s 

Tries: Cam Stones, Andrew Ferguson, Josh Hart, Michael Fuilefau
Conversions: Connor McCann (4/4)

Patrick Kay, Lucas Hammond, Michael Fuilefau, Clayton Meeres, Josh Hart (Mike Dalsin); Connor McCann, Andrew Ferguson; Noah Barker, Casey Reed (Eric Selvaggi), Jake Ilnicki ©, Jacob Rumball, Andrew McGinn, Matthew Heaton (Fuku Vikilani), Chase Kelliher, Cam Stones.
Reserves: Alex Marshall, Ryan Monahan, Doug Crowe, Caleb Hanson.

Referee: David Smortchevsky (Canada)
Attendance: Unavailable

 

Gonzaga 26 Xavier 17 (Ht: Gonzaga 14-10)

by Olin Akisoglu

(Washington DC) Hometown Gonzaga ran in four tries, three converted by sophomore flyhalf Ben Cima, to down Xavier 26-17 Sunday in the finals of the Jesuit Rugby Classic tournament.

Three tries came from the forwards, helping Gonzaga to open leads of 14-3 and 26-10. Xavier tallied twice, with pivot Jimmy Wolfer notching 7 points goalkicking.

Gonzaga has now captured four of the last five contests in what has become one of America's leading scholastic fixtures. The exception: Xavier's 2010 national championship win in Salt Lake City.

Fordham defeated Fairfield 32-19 for third place. The third-year tournament, hosted by the city of Alexandria, Virginia, featured 6 Jesuit schools from the Eastern seaboard, plus a Metro Area conference game between TC Williams and Eleanor Roosevelt, won by the latter 24-22.

Gonzaga
Tries: Bayo Adebonojo, Matt Brune, Andrew Iscaro, Matt Flynn
Conversions: Ben Cima (3)

Matt Nalls (Joe Taylor); Bayo Adebonojo, Nick Hopkins (Patrick Abod), Danny Flynn, Jace Caulfield; Ben Cima, Ryan Gilroy; Cole Baker, Dom Plantamura (Tommy Rippert), Matt Flynn, Jack Bowman, Brendan Johnson (Jack Hyre),  Matt Brune, Andrew Iscaro, Joe Whalen

Xavier
Tries: Bailey Caliban, Jake DeFonzo
Conversions: Jimmy Wolfer (2)
Penalty goal: Jimmy Wolfer

Kevin Cochrane; Charles Guiraud, Bailey Caliban, Brendan McCabe, Dan Donahue; Jimmy Wolfer, Matt Cilmi; Ricky Comis, John Schneider (Jake DeFonzo), Billy Tietjen (Michael Pallilo), James Kondrat, Tim Steffens (Carl Horvat), Connor Sweet, Mike Gorman, Luis Carpio

Referee: not available
Attendance: not available

Bellarmine nabs a pair

by Nick Bonavolonta

(Oakland) Elton Rangel and Justin Taliaferro combined for seven tries as visiting Bellarmine defeated Northern California Varsity Single School rival Bishop O’Dowd in a one-sided affair Monday.

Two days after downing De La Salle 36-17, Bellarmine showed but two changes, both in the forwards. Taliaferro, with a hat trick against O’Dowd, scored five in the two games.

The win moves the Bells to 4-0. Both De La Salle, a state football power, and Bishop O'Dowd are 1-3.

Bishop O’Dowd
Tries: Joe Radoff, Max Fuery-Robbins
Conversions: Eric Hernandez (2)

Bellarmine
Tries: Elton Rangel (4), Justin Taliaferro (3)
Conversions: John Lencioni (5)

Referee: Rich Anderson
Attendance: 30 (estimate)

De La Salle
Tries: Tyler Hawking (2), Chris Leachy
Conversion: Michael Goodwin

Bellarmine
Tries: Justin Taliaferro (2), Andrew Clem (2), Jimmy DiBona
Conversions: John Lencioni (4)

Referee: Mike King
Attendance: 50 (estimate)

Student exchange seen as means to broader horizons

A growing school-age team is turning to an old tradition, the student exchange, in an effort to expand its horizons.

Later this month, Sacramento, California's Land Park will receive a 14-year-old Welsh boy for a two-week stay. Next year, the rural school in Brecon where Sam Maggs plays will take in an American student-athlete.

'I dream of taking an entire team on tour, but the economics are too daunting for 12- and 13-year-olds. One night I figured if I can’t send a whole team, I’ll start by sending one or two, and thus the idea of an exchange came up', Land Park coach Matt Eason said in an email.

Most American youngsters have little practical understanding of elite rugby. Welsh teenagers better know the routes to their national team, which sometimes includes precocious athletes like George North, just five years older than Maggs.

Maggs, who has earned age-grade honors and is part of a Welsh Rugby Union program for early teens, will thus be a kind of role model.

Like several programs in Northern California, Land Park has grown quickly, in 5 years reaching 110 players aged from 8 to 14, and is beginning to measure its achievements in terms of the exploits of 'alumni'. '[We are] a major feeding ground for [Sacramento's] elite high school programs, and we are now starting to have an impact into the college ranks', Eason reported.

About an hour north of Cardiff, Brecon's Christ College was founded by royal charter in 1541. Maggs is the fifth generation of his family to attend the private school, which claims a fine rugby heritage.

The exchange was facilitated by Welsh-born Peter Hansford, like Eason a member of the Northern California referee society.

Coaching, admin roles showing signs of split

As school and university teams evolve, coaching positions are diverging from administrative roles, possibly to the game's overall detriment.

A California high school looking for a women's coach is touting the opening as a 'dream rugby coaching job'  because scheduling, logistics, and related chores are the responsibility of the school's director of rugby and its athletic department. Around the country, college leagues too are finding that many prefer technical specialization.

'Most of the coaches who are actually paid to coach can't / don't / won't serve in administrative roles', one league official said in an email. 'It is left to guys who have full-time jobs outside of rugby to both coach and administer competitions'.

As the game attempts to populate America's continental expanse, volunteerism is likely to persist, no matter whether it is organized by territorial or geographic union, state, or conference. Coaching stirs the blood because it's close to the action, while administration is not only thankless and obscure but also a responsibility shared with rivals, meaning no one wants to devote too much time and effort.

But separating how the game is organized and packaged from playing and coaching risks unmooring the sport from its primary competitive nature. Coaches, a team's single most influential voice, ought to be part and parcel of game development, to help shape routine administrative practice.

As one example of schism, staging the 2008 collegiate round of 16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, made sense in terms of event registration and staff logistics, but created superfluous travel while taking playoff matches out of the campus environment. The following year, broad unhappiness with the collegiate territorial (all-star) competition led to calls for a coach's association.

USARFU has recently made direct grants to school leagues for professional administration, with mixed results. Some policymakers are now discussing whether the geographic unions that are to replace the territories might employ full-timers.

Since the GUs are meant to govern senior rugby, however, it is unclear how such staff would work with the independent high school and college organizations that have already taken root. The conversation is preliminary, according to people familiar with the matter.

For their part, should school leagues develop commercially, they would soon enough have to decide when and how to reinvest in expanding capacity.

James Paterson used an illicit narcotic during the World Cup and therefore has been sidelined for four months, the International Rugby Board announced Friday.

During routine drug testing, Paterson acknowledged taking oxycodone for a shoulder injury, on the recommendation of the national team's medical staff.

'This was a very unfortunate case in the sense that it could have been avoided by referencing the [World Anti-Doping Agency] Prohibited List which is provided to all unions and was proactively made available to all participating teams and players prior to and during RWC 2011,' IRB anti-doping manager Tim Ricketts said in a prepared statement.

In addition to being the only failed drug test at the quandrennial championship, the case has attracted attention because the 24-year-old is native to Christchurch, New Zealand, and has played Super Rugby for the Crusaders.

The snafu is a major black eye for USARFU, which separately had recently been audited by the federal Department of Labor regarding improper player payments. Unlike most of American rugby, the national team is professionally managed.

The suspension began last October and extends through February.

SFGG bleacher plans signal expansion

San Francisco Golden Gate is looking to purchase more bleachers, indicating it believes expanded capacity will lead to additional revenue.

Unglamorous as they may seem, amenities such as stands, scoreboards and programs, concessions, and parking are the backbone of sports events the world over. The teams which provide them are the ones that get ahead.

Most American clubs neither own their grounds nor charge admission. SFGG too leases its Treasure Island facility, but sells tickets to Super League matches, operates concessions, and otherwise earns match-driven revenue against the fixed cost.

The club has further hosted such high-profile fixtures as USA 'A' versus New Zealand Heartland XV, a  charity match against intracity rival Olympic Club, (temporarily displaced) Cal against the University of British Columbia, and USARFU's club 7s tournament.

SFGG also runs large youth programs, so the stands would benefit parents. Approximately 180 of its 250 playing members are school students, with the under-14 group alone accounting for 100 athletes.

The estimated price of nearly $20,000 is material to the club's annual budget, according to a club official. There are hopes that donations may underwrite part of the bill, potentially warranting sponsor naming rights.

Adding three stands would bring the club to a total of five permanent bleachers.