After playing 7s all fall the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference (NCRC) gets a head start on the Winter-Spring 15s season with a small number of DI games this weekend and next.

The games are mainly driven by Central Washington’s need to squeeze NCRC games and Varsity Cup games into their 15s season. So it’s no surprise that CWU will play both weekends, this week against Washington State and next week against Eastern Washington. EWU, meanwhile, warms up for the CWU clash with a game against Washington.

While EWU and UW are still finding their way, the Central Washington Wildcats are heavy favorites to win the league. Because of the Varsity Cup, CWU won’t enter the NCRC playoffs, however, giving everyone plenty to play for regardless. Among those with a lot to play for are the Washington State Cougars.

Head Coach Matt Hudson said he has as deep a squad as he’s seen in a while, with about 60 players on the roster.

“We have some experienced rugby players and some dynamic players,” said Hudson. “We’re coming together well as a team and have a good team approach.”

Washington State had some good moments playing 7s this fall - even in the challenging PAC Conference 7s, they were competitive with the top teams and won a couple of games, too - and Hudson sees that as an indication of good things to come.

“I think 7s can be a barometer of how you will do in 15s, and we played well at times,” he said. “The guys are hungry to start playing 15s, though.”

So are the Wildcats. Head Coach Tony Pacheco said his players “just need to play.”

CWU expects WSU to be a solid opponent, and they and next week’s Eastern Washington teams are physical and hard-nosed, if nothing else.

“We just need to get on the field and get started,” said Pacheco. “We have some young players - a lot of young players - and we want to see how they will do.”

Trent Barnes is one of those young players, a good ballcarrier who is learning some of the finer points of the game. Scott Dean has taken up a big roll as the flyhalf and is a talented, intelligent pivot who just needs more game time.

Malakai Jones is one of a group of very young locks trying to make an impact in the second row.

It’s a big time for the NCRC as a whole. The NW Cup is now underway, which brings in smaller schools playing for promotion to the full NCRC. It’s a DII competition, but not a DII competition moving toward a national championship - not yet. Hudson, who is commissioner of the NCRC, said the key move was to get small schools such as Lewis & Clark, Whitman, The Evergreen State College, and Oregon Institute of Technology games.

“We wanted, first of all, to reduce forfeits,” said Hudson. “These teams were playing in a not-very-organized competition, and we’ve organized it, divided up the divisions, and given them a predictable schedule. Now they have structure and with the promotion-relegation, something to play for, and I think we’ll see them playing a lot more and participation will go up.”

This Weekend’s Northwest College games:
NCRC
Washington State at Central Washington
Washington at Eastern Washington

NW Cup
Whitman at Idaho

NW Cup Games Already Played:
Whitman 28 WSU Tri-Cities 25
Gonzaga 45 Whitman 17
OIT 21 Southern Oregon 0
Central Oregon 43 Willamette 0