NCRC winners Western Washington visit California NorCal winners ARC in one playoff on the West Coast. This is also for a chance to play in Indianapolis. ARC has been dominant, with Head Coach Zach Swithenbank having seen his team improve throughout the year.
A two-year institution with a lot of football crossovers, ARC starts with athleticism and works to build from there. They have to build quickly, however, and they have.
Western Washington has a smart, high rugby IQ team led by Head Coach Adam Roberts and captains Harry Moore and Liam Walsh. While Western has been a contender for years, and won the cRAA D1AA 7s in 2024, they often ave had hiccups along the way.
This year, they ran the table in the NCRC in impressive fashion, paced by try-scoring sensatio Eli Ashmann and impressive young lock Lyndon Bailey. Can they upend ARC in California?
And finally, San Jose State, after losing to ARC in the NorCal final, gets one more shot. The Spartans play a very powerful and unbeaten Arizona State side.
Austin Cox and Jacob Hurl lead a points barage that has seen ASU average over 50 in the California Southwest Conference. Hosting in Tempe, they have to be favorites, but the Sun Devils haven't played much outside their region, so there is a question.
Some might wonder why WWU isn't playing at ASU, and the simple fact is that ARC and SJSU had already played, so there needed to be a split of the two NorCal teams. Yes, true, San Jose State could have gone at Western Washington, but it's tough to ask ARC or ASU to go one the road when they haven't lost a game.
In the end, someone will stay home and sit there thinking of what might have been. And that's OK. If you look at the teams that just missed out on the semis (remember, Iowa State already qualified), there will be a list of very strong programs who just missed out.
