The Gold Coast DIAA Men’s College starts up again with six games on the slate.

University of San Diego, which ended the season with the best regular season conference record, takes on the team that finished 7th out of seven last year, UC San Diego. 

Santa Barbara City College takes on new addition UC Irvine. Meanwhile Cal State Long Beach, which won the playoffs and ended up losing to eventually national DIAA runners up Arizona by only seven points in the Round of 16, plays Cal State Fullerton in a meeting of two teams that were 4-1 last season.

“We have a good team for this year,” said CSULB Head Coach Jason Reynolds. “We have some athletes and a couple of freshmen who will make the starting lineup. And we got a couple of students from overseas which was a nice surprise. I like our backline. I think we have as good a backline as any team in Southern California except maybe UCLA.”

“Long Beach is sort of our nemesis,” said CSU Fullerton Keri Adams. “They always seem to get us by a point or two. But I like that we’re playing them now because we’re both healthy.”

Fullerton has a small, mobile pack, with have moved two of their biggest forwards into the backline, which means the hammer is out wide, and the rapier in tight. 

They have also benefited from the considerable rugby knowledge of Baden Woodman. The son and nephew of All Blacks and the sister of Silver Ferns star Portia Woodman. 

“I have no ego in this,” said Adams. “I see that Baden has a lot to offer and he has brought us a new defensive pattern and attack plan.”