NCR Names Men's All Americans
National Collegiate Rugby has named an All American 23 for all four of its divisions.
A full squad for D1, D1AA, D2, and Small College has been named.
U. San Diego Defeats Arizona State in Arizona State
Despite the loss of a couple of teams the Gold Coast Conference is still up and running and active, with University of San Diego and Claremont Colleges looking like early favorites.
Behind a player-of-the-game effort from Joey Varcoe USD beat Arizona State 40-26 this past weekend. Los Toreros lost talismanic No. 8 Michael Ramos to injury just 10 minutes into the game. Varcoe was called on to replace him much, much earlier than expected and was exceptional, scoring a try and making a massive impact.
“The first match of the league season is always a big test," said USD Director of Rugby Kevin Easton. "ASU is a top side and we knew they would fight for 80 minutes. This match gave us the opportunity to display our depth, which I feel is the best we have had in the last 10 years. We have guys coming off the bench who can provide a massive impact, and that showed today.”
RMA Podcast: Big Man on Campus
Luke Gross enjoyed a rugby career as an American that is almost unprecedented in its length at the highest levels.
A basketball player at Indiana State and also at Marshall, Gross picked up the sport of rugby late, but his career blossomed with the Cincinnati Wolfhounds and with his 6-9 frame and love of contact, he soon earned notice from the USA setup.
First capped at 26, Gross ended up retiring with what was then a USA record of 62 caps. He was among the first USA players to earn a professional contract when rugby turned pro in 1996, and over an 11-year period played for eight different professional teams in England, Wales, and Italy.
CRAA Adding 7s Tournaments to Spring Finals Weekend in May
The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) will host its Spring 2023 Championship Weekend on May 5-7 at Aveva Stadium in Houston, Texas.
This year’s event will for the first time combine the 15s finals and a Rugby 7s Championship for both men and women. All of the games will be shown live on The Rugby Network.
Headlined by the Men’s D1A National Championship, the weekend will also feature the D1 and D2 Women’s Spring Championship, D1AA Bowl Championships between the California Conference and the Florida Collegiate Conference, and an additional D1A Bowl Game.
USF, FAU, UF Win in Florida DIAA
South Florida is clearly on top now in the Florida DIAA collegiate league after USF defeated North Florida 58-7.
Center Michael Burrell logged 13 points with four conversions and a try. His elusive running in the #12 jersey was also impressive. USF took North Florida apart mostly because they were confident in using all players in a wide-aligned backline. Their handling and running and ability to find gaps were all consistent among forwards and backs. This was spelled out fairly early, with smooth hands putting fullback Joseph Thornton in at the corner.
A few minutes later lock Derrick Lei-Sam cut through like an outside center and was in at the left side.
Some elusive running from Burrell set up a nice attack that put wing Andrew Ivasyk away in the corner.
Top DIAA Players of the Fall: Front Rowers
Top DIAA players of thw fall of 2022 finishes up with the front row. we're almost done with our lists of top DIAA players from the fall.
We combine the hookers and props, with 31 players chosen.
If you missed our other picks, here they are:
Top DIAA Players of the Fall: Wing and Fullback
Cal Poly, UC Davis, UCSB Win in California Conference
The California Conference had a busy weekend with conference leaders Saint Mary's off on tour.
Cal Poly made a move, improving to 2-1 with a 52-26 defeat of Santa Clara. Led by solid work from center Coby Baker, prop Quinton Tindel, and No. 8 Ryan Wenstrom the Mustangs ran out to an early led and forced Santa Clara to chase them throughout. The Broncos did have scoring chances but saw several of them squandered and will be shaking their heads at that.
Santa Clara fullback Daelan Denenberg was outstanding while center Ben Voelz and lock Benji Rogers recorded good performances, as well. But Cal Poly was more clinical and punished Santa Clara for turnovers, usually for tries, or to prevent Santa Clara tries.
Cal, CWU Win Non-Conference Clashes
Central Washington and Cal emerged victorious from non-conference games on Saturday, but fairly convincingly.
Cal Over GCU
“We appreciate what GCU brought to this match,” Cal head coach Jack Clark said after the game. “I think both teams will grow from this contest.”
Cal forwards were all over the scorehseet as the Bears beat Grand Canyon 69-7. Prop Michael Puckett crossed the line for the first of his two tries in the third minute. Lock Tom Dixon crashed over six minutes later. Fullback Max Schumacher converted both to make it 14-0.
Grand Canyon mauled over to makr it 14-7, but Cal answered with Dixon's second (converted by Schumacher) and then Puckett's second finished off the first half 26-7.
This Week in Men's College Rugby Action
About 20 games are on the slate on men's college rugby this weekend, with four conferences and some international games, too.
We've been tracking Saint Mary's on their tour of the UK and Ireland.
Wins for Saint Mary's in Oxford; Trinity Next
We preview a very tight Florida conference here: Competitive Florida Conference Looks to Week 3
We take a look at the Red River and the early success of UT Austin here: Upstart Texas Headlines 2nd Week in Red River
Top DIAA Players of the Fall: Lock
And we're almost done with our lists of top DIAA players from the fall.
This time it's the locks, and second row is often a tough one to populate partly because you can be a great lock and not get seen (no matter how big you are) because you do a lot of in-tight work—hitting rucks, making tackles around the breakdown, pushing in the scrum.
So with that in mind it's very possible we missed some players. At the same time, those we named are all very good indeed.
UCLA Hosts CWU, GCU at Cal in Non-Conference DIA Action
Two intriguing non-conference D1A games are on the slate for this weekend, with Grand Canyon at Cal and Central Washington at UCLA.
Cal is coming off two lopsided victories, having played Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara. Certainly the Bears are playing some impressive rugby, but it remains hard to gauge exactly how impressive. This weekend hosting the ‘Lopes might be a better measurement.
GCU, meanwhile, is coming off a January 21 defeat of UCLA 24-14. It was a game that was gratifying to Head Coach Sean O’Leary, but he also added that UCLA might be a different outfit as the season progresses.
Certainly GCU is young, and may give up a few inches in height when comparing their tallest players (we’re giving away no secrets here; it’s just a fact that Grand Canyon will have to compensate).
Donor Gift Provides Boost to U. Arizona Rugby
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona rugby program will now offer scholarships to its student-athletes thanks to a $1 million gift from Jason Figley, a parent of a current and a former rugby player at UArizona.
"The gift will allow us to continue to strive to be the best program in the country," said Sean Duffy, rugby program director and men's rugby head coach at UArizona. "A rugby scholarship signals to prospective athletes that we're serious about rugby here — we want our program to grow, and we want to support you as part of our team."
California Conference Heats Up in Winter
With Saint Mary's off gallivanting across the Irish Sea, the rest of the California Conference (DIA) is looking to inch their way closer to the top.
Yes, the Gaels are favored, but there is plenty to play for regardless.
Six teams are on the field in conference play this weekend. Two of them are coming off a couple of good victories—Santa Clara held off Sacramento State in a non-conference game, while Cal Poly beat Chico State by a wide margin.
Both had lost big to Cal and Saint Mary's, respectively, the week before.
"It was a step in the right direction," said Cal Poly Head Coach Chris O'Brien of his side's 69-8 defeat of the Wildcats. "No one really stood out, but it was a good team effort."
More to the point, it was a mental rebound after the Gaels beat the Mustangs by 78 a week before.
Upstart Texas Headlines 2nd Week in Red River
The upstart in the Red River Conference has to be the University of Texas Austin.
The Longhorns, once one of the stronger teams in the conference, had hit upon hard times not helped by a revolving door of coaches. They have a new coaching staff again, but perhaps some solidity. Certainly there's a group of players who are behind their new head guy.
The surprise new coach is Brian Hannon, who is still in his 20s. It all came about because Connally McKay, who has been coaching the 'Horns for three years, was stepping down. Hannon, whose girlfriend is from Austin, Texas, had moved to be with her.
Competitive Florida Conference Looks to Week 3
Week #3 of the Florida College season sees everyone enter competition with only one … one team at 2-0.
South Florida is the only team to not have lost a game and USF will host North Florida this weekend in a quest to go 3-0.
Sure they won by a lone point over Florida Atlantic, but they still won.
“A tight finish against an athletic and very physical FAU squad that could have finished with either coming away with the victory,” said USF Head Coach Austin Dacanay, who called it “a pure defensive battle.”
It was just a battle of attrition, but one of those games where a good team shows its mettle.
