Gainline.us

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.

Keith Brown (1950-2011)

Last week's passing of Keith Brown robs American rugby of an unusually effective executive.

Until recently president of the Chicago Lions, his greatest achievement was to carry out the simple yet powerful vision of allying with a local charter school in pursuit of a dedicated field. The outcome has been to create a potential pipeline of junior players and a well-equipped rugby facility in the midst of one of the country's great cities.

'Partnering with a school with a noble mission makes our story that much clearer and understandable to people', he said in a 2009 interview.

Also under his leadership, the midwestern club adopted the policy of recruiting only college graduates who demonstrate likelihood of converting a few months' subsidy into gainful employment and independent living arrangements. Combined with the Lions for Hope project, the approach has established a national benchmark for sustainability.

There is no shortage of ideas in American rugby, but rather less follow through. Yet Brown's distinction was his recognition as 'first among equals', a leader capable of uniting people even while making good on plans big and small.

Although a college athlete, Brown played little rugby, strictly as an 'old boy'. Having succeeded in banking and then commercial real estate, he was brought to the Lions by the stalwart Dick Smith, whom he knew professionally.

The team then owned a bar and clubhouse that could stage functions as well as temporarily house recruits. Brown thought to go a different route, to partner with Hope Academy in order to seed a youth program while currying the city's favorable view of plans to convert an old scrap yard and a building once slated for demolition into a rugby pitch and fieldhouse.

'He saw the club needed some guidance and managed us through some major changes, like the sale of the bar and original clubhouse and the purchase of a new building', one longtime Lion wrote. 'He was the force behind the Hope Academy partnership ... [and] the establishment of a 501c3 corporation for the club'.

The Lions are hardly the story of one man, however. Brown knew when to listen and how to rally the troops, and saw that competent people were in charge of important things to do. His tenure saw an upswing in the Lions' national performance, most notably in 2007, when the club reached Super League finals and then captured the national 7s title.

'He was always very supportive of the 7s team and gave me free reign on how to run the team. I am very glad he was able to share in our victory in Las Vegas 7s 2011. It was an honor to be part of the organization while he was at the helm', coach Aaron Mannheimer observed.

Beyond the Lions, Brown served as a delegate to Rugby Super League, which he thought should expand, and as director of the US Rugby Football Foundation, a youth-focused non-profit organization. He was also a member of the board of trustees at Northeastern Illinois University and of a local hospital.

Apart from his precipitous, terminal decline in health, Brown's last days would have been troubled by changing national and territorial eligibility rules which all but forced the Lions to withdraw from RSL, which it helped found.

Aged but 61, Keith Brown is survived by his wife and two sons.

New York AC 43 Olympic Club 22 AET (halftime: NYAC 19-7)

(San Francisco) A barrage of overtime tries lifted the New York Athletic Club to a 43-22 win over Olympic Club in a specially arranged game Saturday at Treasure Island.

Staged as part of the Humphrey-Thompson Cup, a two-day, multisport competition between two of America's better-known sports clubs, the match positioned rugby alongside basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo. The slate was marketed to the Olympic Club's entire membership and supported by its estimable concessions arm, which next year will stage golf's US Open.

The program included 300 or so athletes, some with Olympic medals, world or NCAA championships, and/ or national team credentials. Ironically, NYAC's Mike Petri and Olympic Club's Brendan McClenahan were not part of the mix, having recently returned from the World Cup.

NYAC swept the program to retain the trophy. Three of the matchups were overtime affairs, however, while two more were single-goal affairs. Organizers see as a budding rivalry.

Max Levine, Justin Hundley, and Alex Willen all scored during the extra 10 minutes, as the visitors shrugged off Keegan Engelbrecht's nerveless 35-yard penalty goal at the end of regulation, which knotted a game NYAC should have claimed in regulation.

Played on an Indian summer's afternoon and with both teams having modest preparation, the contest displayed the hallmarks of preseason rugby: turnovers in contact, mistimed passes, and so on.

Yet there were notable moments. Conor Coyne's first-half score, made by halfbacks Mike Doran Durant and Hundley, was a polished effort that staked Winged Foot a three-try edge. In the 70th minute, as the hosts played short, Gary Golding ran in a sideline try assisted by Dan Blake, improbably breathing life back into a 19-7 contest.

Blake then scored with five minutes to go, and still there was time enough for Rob Johnson and Engelbrecht to trade mid-range penalties.

Levine's go-ahead try in the 83d minute, a craftily executed quick lineout, settled the matter, even though NYAC wasn't quite finished. The New Yorkers have something of a reputation for sudden-death know-how, including a triple-overtime win in the 2008 Super League final.

New York Athletic Club 43 Olympic Club 22

New York Athletic Club
Tries: Rob Johnson, Conor Coyne, Gareth Gibbs, Max Levine, Justin Hundley, Alex Willen
Conversions: Rob Johnson (5)
Penalty: Rob Johnson

Olympic Club
Tries: Rickus Pretorious, Gary Golding, Dan Blake
Conversions: Keegan Engelbrecht (2)
Penalty: Keegan Engelbrecht

Referee: Paul Bretz (Pacific Coast)
Attendance: 200 (estimated)

United States of America to 2011 Pan-American Games
Mark Bokhoven (Denver Barbarians), Colin Hawley (Olympic Club), Rocco Mauer (Chicago Lions), Folau Niua (San Francisco Golden Gate), Milemoti Pulu (San Francisco Golden Gate), Nu'u Punimata (Old Puget Sound Beach), Blaine Scully (Univ. of California), Roland Suniula (Boston), Shalom Suniula (Belmont Shore), Zack Test (undeclared), Peter Tiberio (Univ. of Arizona), Maka Unufe (Utah Warriors)

Catchup: 2d college 7s tourney on tap, Lions exit RSL, refs named

Some recent developments worth noting. I'll look to spend more time on some of these later:

A second college 7s championship will debut in mid-December. USARFU's edition will comprise 24 teams qualifying via 13 preliminary tournaments staged this fall. The union did not release any information about the venue or commercial arrangements. Dartmouth is defending champion of the springtime USA 7s Collegiate Championship Invitational tournament, which is broadcast nationally.

Eligibility rules may now be revamped mid-season 'for unforeseen concerns that conflict with intent of existing bylaws, particularly if national playoff status is likely to be affected'. The union additionally signaled it will be less likely to grant mid-year waivers to join another club -- 'only for non-rugby related, extraordinary circumstances' -- and outlined criteria for clubs fielding sides in different divisions. The latter is a staple of most 'developed' rugby countries.

The Chicago Lions withdrew from the Super League, citing changes to Midwestern eligibility rules. The territory's new strictures reduce to 3 0, from 7, the number of players with *3 or more games of year-ago* Super League experience who may compete in Division 1 matches, according to a Super League statement *and a Lions release*.

New England, Texas, Southern California, and parts of New York are the first participants in a 'pilot program' for regional government that is eventually to replace the territorial system. 'Geographical unions' are intended to 'support anticipated [team and player] growth and to provide increased member services at the local level', USARFU said in a release, without elaborating differences from the incumbent bodies.

Nick Ricono and Marc Nelson have been promoted to the top tier of American referees, now counting a dozen, while Terry Helmer, Jim Rogers, and Kurt Weeder have been added to the five-person cluster of 'national panel' candidates.

Tokyo has joined the Sevens World Series, extending the 2011-12 schedule to nine rounds while bringing the world circuit to the country that will host the 2019 15s World Cup.

The series opens in Australia, stretching the debut leg to a grueling three weeks of traveling from north of Sydney to Dubai to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. After a two-month break, the series will resume in Wellington, New Zealand, before moving on to Las Vegas. The USA 7s will be held over February 10-12, the weekend before President's Day weekend.

2011-12 National Panel Referees
Davey Ardrey (West), Paul Bretz (Pacific Coast), Ed Gardner (South), Chris Henshall (Mid Atlantic), Michael Kennedy (South), Tim Luscombe (West), Tom Lyons (Mid Atlantic), Gareth Morgan (South), Marc Nelson (West), Aruna Ranaweera (Pacific Coast), Nick Ricono (Southern California), Dana Teagarden (Southern California)
Focus Group: Joe Androvich (Pacific Coast), Terry Helmer (Midwest), Jim Rogers (New England), Kurt Weeder (West), Brian Zapp (West)

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)

RSL semis, CPD quarters nearly set by mid-April

Boston, Life University, and San Francisco Golden Gate each won to qualify for the Super League semifinals, while Arkansas State and St. Mary's clinched College Premier Division quarterfinal berths.

Dropping a snowy 12-10 contest to the Chicago Lions, New York AC became first RSL champion to miss the following season's playoffs since 2000, when the Denver Barbarians fell from the 1999 title to 3-4 and 6th place in an 8-team conference. 2011's postseason has been cut in half, to 4 contenders, because the league has been reduced to 11 teams.

Unbeaten Life handled Old Blue 34-13 and 4-1 Boston downed the Chicago Griffins 32-27. Despite moving to 3-2, the Lions cannot catch the Beantowners; Boston would claim the tiebreak due to April 2's 24-22 head-to-head win, notable for the visitors' playing most of the contest shorthanded.

In the West, 5-0 San Francisco Golden Gate nabbed a home semifinal match with a 49-29 win over the Utah Warriors. Idle this past weekend, Old Puget Sound Beach (3-1) is in the driver's seat to win the second berth, and would sew up a trip to Treasure Island with a win over the Barbos this Saturday.

Reflecting the league's abbreviated schedule, Boston meets Life a second time on April 30, in a game that will settle the East title and home field for May 14's semis. The winner of that contest will host the league's May 20 finals.

In the college ranks, 5-0 Arkansas State rolled past Notre Dame 70-21, maintaining control of its playoff hopes, while 5-1 St. Mary's downed Central Washington 22-18 on the road, grabbing the Pacific's runnerup slot.

With two weeks to go in its debut campaign, 5 of the 8 CPD quarterfinalists are already locked in. At 31 teams and 7 games per division (save for the South), it looks to be too big to be competitive week in and week out.

Topped by BYU's +469, 8 of the 31 teams have cumulative points differentials of 97 or more; while 11 have scored 97 less than allowed, led by Wyoming's -283. By this conventional measure, less than 40 percent of the league regularly plays in matches determined by less than three tries: 97 points divided 5 matches equals 19.4, or two goals and a five-pointer.

(Cal and BYU, the 2 teams which have already played 6 matches, have been winning by considerably larger margins. Oklahama, which is -97, has played only 4 games.)

With a win next weekend over 2-2 Texas A&M, the Red Wolves will finish top of the South and host the Gaels on May 7. That would send 4-1 Life University, who fell 28-26 to Matt Huckaby's troops on April 2 but have nonetheless clinched a place in the quarters, to meet Pacific champ Cal (6-0, idle).

In the East, Army and Navy each moved to 5-0, having posted 57-15 and 27-10 wins over Ohio State and Dartmouth, respectively. The service academies meet at West Point on the final weekend of April, but first the Cadets host 4-1 Penn State, the only other team still in the divisional race, while the Midshipmen travel to 2-2 Delaware.

In the West, Brigham Young (6-0, idle) has already clinched a berth and does not play again until April 30's matchup against 4-1 Arizona State, a game that also impacts 4-1 Utah. Both ASU and Utah have a pair remaining, but where the Sun Devils meet 3-2 Air Force and then the Cougars, the Utes face Colorado State and Wyoming -- both winless to date.

The East champ hosts the West runnerup, while the Western winner welcomes the East's second-place team. The CPD's semifinals are set for May 14 in Denver, while the finals are May 21 in Salt Lake City.

In British Columbia's Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League quarterfinals, the University of British Columbia Old Boys downed Burnaby Lake 35-18, while the University of Victoria upset James Bay 41-26. UBCOB now meets Meraloma, while UVic tackles the top-seeded Castaway Wanderers.

British Columbia traditionally produces the lion's share of Canadian internationals, and given the Super League's truncation, the CDI looks to be North America's top senior circuit. For international fans, it is certainly the continent's best-reported league.

Boston 24 Chicago Lions 22 (halftime: Boston 17-8)

(Chicago) Duran Vota's shorthanded try lifted Boston to an improbable 24-22 victory over the Chicago Lions yesterday at Hope Field, creating a three-way tie with the New York Athletic Club for second place in the Super League's eastern division.

The visitors' only score of the second half, converted by Nick Elrick in the 72d minute, surmounted Dave Prell's red card as well as the teeth of a blustery afternoon. Five minutes into first-half stoppage time, the lock was issued his second yellow and therefore dismissed.

The man advantage recast a game which had been going Boston's way. Chicago moved from trailing 17-3 to leading 22-17.

Center Marcus McAllister staked the visitors a 10-3 edge in the 20th minute. Then Prell was temporarily marched off for repeated infringements, but the Lions failed to cash in. Twice they went over the line only to knock on, and a third time were held up by Boston defenders.

Several phases after a botched clearing kick, indicative of Chicago's error-prone outing, midfielder Derrick Wovumba charged through for a 42d-minute touchdown.

Hitting back, the Lions drove to Boston's tryline, where Prell again ran afoul of referee Nick Ricono. Prop Dave Knab promptly rammed over to make the halftime count 17-8.

Lions wing Mark Carter Roberts commanded the opening minutes of the second stanza, scoring in the 44th and 47 minutes and each time converting himself. But a yellow card to halfback Dave Selimos leveled the match at 14 a side, checking Chicago's momentum.

Probably more important, the Lions overlooked tactical opportunities to pin Boston back through line kicking and driving 8-on-7 lineout mauls. Though they indeed enjoyed possessional advantage, a more expansive approach also afforded more touches for McAllister, who ran and passed decisively, and 7s experts Wovomba and Duran.

The latter's fourth-quarter try was such a moment, against the run of play, capped by a standout solo finish.

With time drawing down, the Lions blocked a Boston clearance but with a game-saving try at hand, the bounding ball spilled from Carter's Roberts' arms.

Both teams move to 2-1, as are the New York Athletic Club, 25-21 45-21 winners over crosstown rival Old Blue (0-3). Eastern favorites Life meanwhile sustained their unbeaten record with a 25-16 win over the winless Chicago Griffins.

In the western division, San Francisco Golden Gate moved to 3-0 with a 34-14 win over Old Puget Sound Beach (2-1), dropping the Seattle side into a tie with the Utah Warrirors, while the Denver Barbarians claimed their first victory with a 53-22 defeat of the winless Dallas Harlequins.

In the College Premier Division, Army edged Dartmouth 32-23 while Navy handled Penn State 29-12, placing the unbeaten service academies at the top of the east. Arkansas State upended Life 28-26, in a match expected to consign the Atlantans to travel to meet the Pacific champs in the quarterfinals.

Cal and St. Mary's were again easy winners, *the Bears by* 100-0 over UCLA *and 62-7 over Claremont* and *the Gaels* 57-17 over Cal Poly, respectively. In the west, BYU rolled past Wyoming 123-3.

In Adelaide, the United States defeated Japan 22-19, Scotland 29-19, and Kenya 17-10 to capture the bowl title and earn Sevens World Series points for the first time in five tournaments.

The showing is some ways from last year's first-ever finals berth, but lifts the Eagles to 10th place in the Sevens World Series standings, two ahead of Portugal, Russia, and the Scots. Canada, which is not a 'core' nation, lies in 14th. Two tournaments remain, in England and Scotland.

Boston 24 Chicago Lions 22 (halftime: Boston 17-8)

Chicago Lions
Tries: Mark Carter Roberts (2), Dave Knab
Conversions: Mark Carter Roberts (2)
Penalty: Mark Carter Roberts

Ben Purcell; Mark Roberts, Luke Thiem (Ed Cassidy), Matt Kelly (captain), Jordan Highberger; Mickey Franco, Dave Selimos; John Vitale, Phil Abraham, Dave Knab, Dustin Hugen, Jason Isaacson (TJ Kennedy), Jeff Jackson (Paul Passino), Joe Chesak, John Isaacs (Ed Long)

Boston
Tries: Marcus McAllister, Derrick Wyvomba, Duran Vota
Conversions: Nick Elrick (3)
Penalty: Nick Elrick

Glynn MacKenzie; Kyle Marshall, Derrick Wovumba, Marcus McAllister, Duran Vota; Nick Elrick, Justin Goonan; Tony Purpura (Ed O'Bare), Anthony Adam (captain), Craig MacKenzie, Dave Prell, Will Haydock (Tyler Williams), Adrian Meyer, Mike Bunce (Brendan Ridge, Nate Terrazone), Brannan Moore

Referee: Nick Ricono (Southern California)
Attendance: 150 (estimated)

Why rugby won't flourish without senior teams

That primary resources for American rugby's growth and improvement lie in the school system, and accessing them requires us to adopt a mainstream approach to sports, has now passed beyond argument.

Yet just as it is logical for rugby to take advantage of high schools and universities, so it is evident that rugby cannot flourish without its network of club teams.

Saturday's Super League kickoff therefore merits only slightly less attention than last weekend's College Premier Division launch. The 15-year-old competition may lack the new league's socioeconomic promise, and won't tell us much about the Eagles' World Cup hopes, but it certainly speaks to the state of our senior game.

Club rugby serves three important roles. First, it provides recreational competition for adults who like playing rugby. That is why the team, not the union (or conference), is the nucleus of the sport. (As proof: good teams can thrive despite bad unions; organized unions cannot rise much above poor teams.)

Second, clubs bond past, present, and future generations together. For a country with few and fragile organic rugby traditions, it is important for high school and especially college players to have something to look forward to, and old boys something to rally around. Unsurprisingly, the bigger and better clubs tend to be active at youth and old boys levels, or to operate their own grounds.

Third, the best of these senior clubs safeguard the American players whose ambitions surpass fitness and recreation. The Super League and division 1's upper echelon -- about 30 teams in all -- bridge the college level and international 15s and 7s (and also European pro teams). This is because USARFU has all but discontinued domestic representative play.

The Super League season opens with 2010 runnerup San Francisco Golden Gate visiting the Dallas Harlequins, and the debutant Utah Warriors at the Denver Barbarians. Next week sees a full slate of five games, including three-time champion New York Athletic Club hosting the Chicago Griffins.

Meanwhile, with many Eastern schools on spring break, two of the more interesting CPD contests feature Southern favorites on the road: Arkansas State at LSU and Life at Texas A&M.

Todd Clever, having wrapped a club season in Japan, is likely to join the 7s Eagles for the first time in three years. The 15s captain will be among 20 players hoping to make the squad for Hong Kong and Adelaide, where the US will look to arrest a streak of 3 straight tournaments missing the quarterfinals.

United States 7s training squad
James Aldridge (New York AC), Marco Barnard (Harlequins [Pretoria, South Africa]), Gerson Blaise (Metropolis), Justin Boyd (Frisco Griffins), Todd Clever (Suntory), Miles Craigwell (New York AC), Paul Emerick (undeclared), Tai Enosa (Belmont Shore), Jake Fallon (Univ. of Davenport), Matthew Hawkins (Belmont Shore), Colin Hawley (Olympic Club), Ata Malifa (Glendale), Taylor Mokate (Oklahoma), Zach Pangelinan (Old Mission Bay Athletic Club), Don Pati (Utah), Lester Peni Salanoa (Village Lions), Roland Suniula (Boston), Shalom Suniula (Pearl City), Zack Test (undeclared), Peter Tiberio (Arizona), Kevin Wiggins (Kansas City Blues)

Super League sets broad expansion goal

Rugby Super League outlined ambitious expansion plans for 2012, asserting it is less expensive for national contenders than the regionally geared first division.

By 'unanimous agreement', the 11-team outfit intends to 'get back to a 16- or 18-team league', RSL said in a prepared statement circulated by president Sean Kelly. A new committee is to approach past members and new candidates, focusing on 'underrepresented areas'.

The preseason declaration implicitly challenges the popular conception that a series of high-profile withdrawals preordains RSL's folding. Three teams which left citing financial worries, including four-time champion Belmont Shore, reached 2010's division 1 quarterfinals, suggesting contenders have been exiting because divisional play yields the same national exposure for less money.

RSL is designated America's foremost senior competition, so a collapse of the 15-year-old circuit would broadly embarrass USARFU as well as the International Rugby Board, which have spent millions on 'cross border' competition, 'high performance' officers, and similarly lapsed projects aimed at elite players. A fraction could have invigorated the manifestly indefensible claim that the country's best players compete in the Super League, while mitigating the league's fiscal constraints.

League managers have evidently decided not to wait for aid or the perception that it is doomed to become self-fulfilling. One way they are making their case is an unusually public accounting of the cost to compete in the continental competition.

At its 2008 height of 18 teams, the league held 63 matches at an average cost of $8,052 per game, RSL said in its release. Under its cost-sharing system, whereby teams equally divide agreed expenses, the gross expenditure of $507,276 therefore required each outfit to contribute $28,182. (Teams that spent more received a refund.) In 2010, the league played 42 matches at $6,740 per game, for a gross cost of $283,080, or $20,220 per team.

Adherents make the case that because regular-season schedules are known in advance and short-term playoff costs are shared, the RSL bill will be less than the tab faced by division 1 teams which reach the national level. Although league matches are local, contenders alone bear the price for 3 weekends of last-minute airfares and hotel accommodations: the round of 32 (i.e., 'competitive region or cross-territorial qualifiers), the round of 16 and quarterfinals, and the final four.

Goes the argument: A squad of 30 purchasing round-trip flights at $500 per ticket and $100 per 2-player room per night will spend $18,000 for a single weekend. Under this scenario, reaching the semifinals would easily outstrip anticipable RSL costs.

Some clubs which have withdrawn think otherwise. One team official, quick to say that the 'competition, venues, and referees were great', noted that 'our costs were more than what is indicated [in the release]. I can say that in one year we spent approximately 70 grand on travel. It is much cheaper to play in competitive regions'.

Actual outcomes depend heavily on a team's proximity not only to rivals but also playoff venues. Whereas the RSL sites all but the finals as home matches for its best regular-season teams, and members are collectively incented to manage costs, USARFU often looks to cluster several divisional levels, in order to simplify administration. Absent local and territorial volunteers, USARFU's championships could not be conducted.

Still, the Super League is mindful of filling in the white spaces on its map. Notice that it will be favoring new territories may not bode well for the Glendale Raptors, recently denied admission in part because of proximity to the Denver Barbarians.

'We would look to add 3 to 5 teams in 2012 and the remainder in 2013. The caveat is that we are not going to add teams for the sake of adding teams,' RSL president Kelly said in a followup email.

In conjunction with expansion, RSL is looking to significantly boost its regular-season slate. 'The consensus ... was that anything less than 10 regular season games was not enough,' Kelly said.

The objective could place renewed strain on travel budgets.

TapOutMouthGuard, an equipment maker, and a yet-unnamed sports nutrition company are to sponsor the league this season, joining equipment vendor Rugby Athletic and Gilbert, the balls maker.

2011 Rugby Super League
East: New York AC (defending champion), Boston, Chicago Griffins, Chicago Lions, Life University, Old Blue
West: Dallas Harlequins, Denver Barbarians, Old Puget Sound Beach, Utah Warriors, San Francisco Golden Gate

Withdrawn (since 1997): Belmont Shore, Boston Irish Wolfhounds, Charlotte, Gentlemen of Aspen, Kansas City Blues, Old Blues / Olympic Club, OMBAC, Potomac AC, Philadelphia-Whitemarsh, Santa Monica, St. Louis Bombers, Washington

Related stories:
    Business views evident in Utah addition
    On the inherent value of the RSL final
    On RSL and representative rugby
    Belmont's RSL exit an economics lesson
    Is the Super League too big?

Undeclared players raise questions about 7s teams

More than a quarter of the 7s players who were hoping to make the Wellington and Las Vegas tournaments aren't affiliated with a team, raising long-term questions about where and how elites are being trained.

Five players are unattached, including veterans Roland Suniula and Paul Emerick, USARFU said in a press release last announcing the 20-man squad. Boulder also listed Marco Barnard with a college where he
played his final game in 2009, according to the school.

Conversely, just three players invited to a preseason national team camp competed at this year's club 7s championships, according to team officials.

The immediate impression is that domestic 7s is yielding too few athletes considered suitable for international play. While some elites inevitably will come from outside conventional channels, any governing body is primarily responsible for fostering the regular competition that identifies and enhances players.

Further, USARFU's focus on international competition as well as administrative restructuring looks to be creating negative trends in club and representative 7s play.

The worry is not squad selections per se. In one respect, the presence of numerous undeclared players simply indicates coach Al Caravelli has been scouting. The US has regularly been scoring Sevens World Series points, the final measure, so the chosen athletes are performing.

Boulder looks to be spending comparatively little time on 7s, however, other than attending to USARFU's new relationship with the US Olympic Committee. Senior personnel including board members rarely, if ever, attend the 7s club or territorial championships; the union has scheduled Eagle 15s matches on the same weekend as major tournaments and even the 7s finals. The primary exception is a 7s referees program that hasn't much to do with players or coaching.

Further, with a review of local 'governance' grinding on, it could well be that the 7s Inter-Territorial Tournament is on its way out. USARFU has already disbanded the 15s territorial championships, without creating a permanent replacement.

15s outfits are restive because the union actively endeavors to send their best players to compete in Europe, without compensating the clubs for their efforts when internationals aren't with the Eagles. But the union support services available to 15s teams easily exceed those available to 7s sides, according to many team officials.

Ironically, the international 7s season is ideally suited to follow the domestic game -- a dramatic contrast to the 15s game. Historically played in summertime, particularly in the Eastern strongholds where the many club-organized tournaments make for a rigorous territorial qualification, 7s progresses to August championships, followed by elite training in September and October and then the IRB circuit opener in November.

Financial worries shortchanged this year's 7s Eagles preseason, curtailing a trip to Singapore. Though the tournament offered to pay for accommodations and meals, the union could not afford airfare and team costs (i.e., per diems), according to people familiar with the matter.