Union HS in Oregon may well have cleared the path to another state title after beating previously-unbeaten Portland Pumas last week, and maybe that’s why the Titans are looking for more challenges.

Union has lost only one league or playoff game in Oregon, ever, and that was the state final in the team’s first season in existence. But they expected, and got, a stern test from the Pumas.

“They are a talented team and they really took the game to us,” said Coach David Curle. “But what we want to do in each game is impose our will. The idea is we can’t let them do that, and if we work as a team and play smart, physical rugby, we can take control. We started to do that.”

Union didn’t take long to turn the tables on the Pumas and led 21-0 midway through the first half, and cruised to a 45-12 win to improve to 5-0. 

“I am proud of the effort the guys put in, and it was a good team win,” said Curle. “We’re not big, but our guys ave a lot of heart, and while we have a really strong backline, I have been challenging the forwards to do a lot more, and they came through.”

Leading the way was flanker Hayden Ramsay, who was player of the game last week, and who put in a lot of work around the field. 

Union now looks ahead, with Battle Ground this weekend, then Reynolds to finish out the league. Reynolds is 2-2 but hammered Union’s 2nd side (which also plays in the league), and Curle is cautious about putting down any predictions.

Still, it seems as if Union is going to be the top single-school team in Oregon once more, and they will, as a result, be looking to get some more competition outside the state to see where they stand.

Meanwhile, in the multi-school club competition, two teams are leading the league. Polk County followed on their win over defending champs Beaverton with a fairly straightforward defeat of Oswego. Meanwhile the Northside Panthers beat West Linn handily to stay undefeated. Polk leads the Red Division with a 4-0 record, and Northside leads the Black with a 4-0 record.

So, the big question is, will we see these two teams play each other? We’ve got good news - April 30 is the showdown date, with Northside at Polk The two teams shouldn’t have any trouble getting to the playoffs, so this game will be a nice playoff preview. And don’t forget Beaverton, which matched Polk try-for-try but couldn’t convert any of them. The Barbarians are 3-1 after edging the Valley Rams 19-17, and are still in the championship hunt.