Danville loose forward Nate Becker is off to Australia soon as part of a program initiated by NorCal Youth Rugby.

Rugby NorCal partnered with Estilo Travel out of Australia to offer a graduating high school senior boy to spend two months weeks in Sydney. After a long application and screening process, Becker, who captained the Northern California select side in a win over the English Lambs this spring, was chosen.

Becker led the Northern California in their 23-10 defeat of the England Lambs tourists in March.

Becker will leave in a little over a week. His airfare, accommodation, and most of his in-country travel will be covered. He will train with the Manly club in the Sydney Premier League, and he will have the opportunity to complete volunteer work with the Australian Rugby Union. He will return mid-August.

“It’s a great opportunity and I am very excited about it,” said Becker, who will enter Cal this coming fall. “To be living and training and playing in a rugby country like that is amazing.”

Becker spent part of his childhood in South Africa - his parents, who are American, were missionaries who worked with prisoners throughout Africa. He was exposed to rugby in an informal way while there, but didn’t take up the game seriously until his junior year at Danville HS.

He was a varsity basketball player, but soured on the experience.

“My friends were telling me I should come out and play rugby, and it seemed to make sense - in basketball I kept getting too many fouls anyway,” he said. “I loved it. I loved running with the ball and the contact. I could use my basketball skills in the lineout. And I loved the camaraderie. The idea that you have this really intense game and then the two teams have a barbecue together was something I really liked.”

 The 6-4, 207-pound flanker missed Danville’s big game against Kahuku HS in the Pacific Cup, but he was part of the Northern California final, a 34-31 Danville win over Granite Bay. He remembers the reverse goal-line stand, where Danville had the ball on their own goal line for a long series of phases near the end of the game. One slip-up, one mistake, would have handed the game to Granite Bay. But somehow they held on and got out of trouble.

“That’s typical of the type of team we have,” said Becker. “Everyone working, pulling together.”

Becker is also known for his pre-game speech in that select-side game against the English Lambs. The culmination of the speech was Becker telling his teammates how he likes his tea - “tax-free or at the bottom of the harbor.”

“It was something to pump them up, and it did the job,” he explained.

The partnership with Rugby NorCal and Estilo was spearheaded by Rugby NorCal Executive Director Mark Carney. After some Australian teams toured the region, and enjoyed the visit so much, Estilo wanted to show their appreciation. The plan is to make this a regular thing, possibly every other year.