Oregon Latest - Union 2-0 and Others Strong Too

Union HS out of Oregon moved to 2-0 in Rugby Oregon action with a 51-19 defeat of Prairie Saturday.

This follows on from 32-0 shutout of Lincoln in the league opener last week. Union was paced last week by sophomore prop Joshua Barber, who scored three tries and was player of the game. The Union forwards looked solid throughout.

"Against Prairie we were much sharper and stuck to our structures and our game plan," said outgoing Head Coach David Curle. 

Captain and scrumhalf Max Burchett has been a smart leader and organizes the attack. Already a very light team, Union lost their two starting props to injury before the season, forcing the coaches to shift things around. Curle said he remembered seeing a very light-looking English select side come play in the Pacific Northwest, and swarm the PNW team that hosted them. He decided to emulate that.

"We needed to dominate with speed to the ball," said Curle. "We've got some loose forwards who can move."

In addition, senior Chris Green and sophomore Barber have nailed down the front row. They aren't big in the second row, but they are all mobile, win their lineouts, and attack the weakside effectively. In the preseason tournament, Curle put his Union side up against the biggest HS club teams he could find. That was a bit of a trial by fire, but it worked. The playrs understand what they need to do to succeed.

"All the boys are great tacklers," said Curle.

Curle had finished coaching at Union as of this past weekend, as he is moving for work. In the four years coaching the team, Union has made every 7s and 15s state final, winning six of them.

But it's not a done deal for Union this year. Newberg has started very well and runs a game plan that will test Union when the two meet April 8. Battle Ground is also 2-0 thanks in part to a close opening-week win over Oregon City.

In the HS Club bracket, Beaverton, Northside, and Valley are no surprise. Both Northside and Valley played a tough Bend team and came away with similar results, indicating they might be close. Beaverton is yet to give up a point.

(Scores and standings below. Please note that Rugby Oregon does not report winning margins greater than 35 points, so a 35-0 score may well be more than that.)