Rugby in the winter for girls in Southern California has been about 7s, as teams that struggle for numbers are able to play.

The tournaments have mostly been about getting experience - no tournament winners - but this weekend it all culminates in an end-of-season event that will show us who is strongest.

Fallbrook is once again expected to do well, although the Fallbrook coaches did not return repeated attempts to contact them, so our inability to give you more on Fallbrook is because of that.

Mira Mesa and Mission Vista are in Fallbrook’s 1st team’s pool and those three will face off for the highest bracket championship.

In the second bracket, Valhalla has shown well.

“It’s been a progression,” said Valhalla Valkyrie Coach Josie Ziluca. “We had low numbers and some new players among with really experienced players. We had a big learning curve, but we haven’t taken any steps backward.”

Deja Taylor is a speedy back who can steal ball and score tries. Haley Harris and Desiree Drew have also led well, while young sweeper Shelby Robins, new to rugby and actually any team sport has emerged as a nice weapon. She hadn’t scored any tries until last week, when she scored give.

“They are learning the movement and dance of 7s,” said Ziluca. “In our first weekend we won all of our games and we surprised ourselves. It gave us confidence.”

And now they just need to play with more confidence this weekend. And with a little thought of revenge, as one of the few teams to beat Valhalla was Rancho Bernardo last week, and they want another shot. Rancho and Fallbrook 2 are in Pool B.

Westview, La Costa Canyon, Poway, and High Tech High round out Pool C. And in Pool D hosts Cathedral Catholic lead a pool with Mira Mesa 2 and La Costa Canyon 2.

Nikita Wollerman shows some great kicking skills and is a superb tackler. Freshman Kaelene Walter is fast and has excellent vision. Senior Leiloa Ulutu is a handful with the ball in hand.