After a soft opening, the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference gets down to business with four games this weekend.

Defending conference champs and prohibitive favorites Central Washington will take on Boise State in BSU’s first game of the season. There’s little doubt that the Wildcats are the strongest team in the league, and as a result, the chase is really for 2nd in the league, and for the top four and a spot in the semis.

At 2-0, Western Washington leads the league after upending Oregon. The Ducks were 7-0-1 last year and certainly still in the hunt, but the win signals that WWU might be thinking big.

The Vikings take on Washington, 1-0 after a fall win over Eastern Washington. 

“We’re in a similar position they were in last year,” said UW Head Coach Kevin Swiryn, referring to WWU’s difficult rebuilding year in 2013-14. “We graduated and/or lost 10 if you look at our team at the end of last year to now. We’ve been able to fill in some holes, but playing them first up in the New Year isn’t ideal.”

Swiryn said his team needs to be close to perfect to overcome a more experienced WWU team.

“They understand the nuances of the game,” said the former Eagle. “They have experienced coaches and their guys get to play in a competitive environment every day with over 40 guys turning up for their trainings. I have no doubt this game will teach us a lot about ourselves, and fast.”

Meanwhile, Oregon is looking to rebound from the last-minute 18-15 loss to Western. They taken on Western Oregon. 

“The loss was disappointing,” said flyhalf and UO club president Connor Crossley. “We would have liked to have the win but all around it was a really fantastic game. It was just that our momentum was coming down right as theirs was at the end. We’re close to last year’s team - we’re pretty much the same, and I think we’ll have good, consistent performances.”

What hurts the Ducks right now is the flu running through the team. They need as many front-line players as possible healthy for the game. If they get that, cane be sure that center Lucas Silveira and captain and flanker Anton Matschek are on the field, and keep the ball moving against WOU’s big pack, they should be OK.

Also on the slate is Washington State against local rivals Eastern Washington.

“This is always a tight game,” said WSU Head Coach Matt Hudson, who is also the league commissioner. “We feel good about it, though. We have guys with good rugby IQ and a lot of athleticism, so we just need to put that together.”

WSU had a solid 7s fall, and 7s success in the NCRC has often translated into 15s wins. WSU is looking for this game to be a restart after they were put to the sword (to the tune of triple figures) against Central. Eastern lost to UW, and so is also looking for a win.