The Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference crowns its champion this weekend with Western Washington visiting the University of Oregon Ducks.

It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for the NCRC. Both Oregon and WWU have lost games this season. Oregon lost to WWU 29-24 in the fall. Western lost their first game of the season, against Oregon State, and then saw the Ducks get some revenge 18-12 last month.

You could be forgiven for thinking that both teams were vulnerable going into the playoffs. But they responded impressively. WWU handed Boise State its first loss of the season, winning 28-10 thanks to an early surge of tries from Darious Brown, Kyle Peters, and Charlie Funk. 

Oregon had come into the semis having won three in a row, but two of those were by less than a try, so you had to wonder. Wonder no more, as the Ducks flew past Washington State 44-14 thanks to a big game from hooker Reed Vabrey.

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So on to the championship game. Western Washington has had to deal with some injuries that have kept players they expected to depend on out for the season. Their last two games have seen the Vikings play without five starters, and in fact 10 freshmen suited up against Boise State.

"This has given a number of younger players an opportunity to step up," said Head Coach Paul Horne. "The players are responding to the coaching. The commitment to training has been fantastic in often the worst weather conditions. And young players are developing their rugby IQ."

They will need all of that. Horne said his team has enjoyed a solid week of training, and are ready to make the almost 400-mile trip to Eugene.

And there they will welcome an Oregon team ready for the rubber match.

"We had a great week of practice," enthused Head Coach Pate Tuisa. "We knew that for us to have a chance in the final we needed to have a great week of practice, and that's what we got from the boys."

Tuisa said he wanted to see intensity in training, and he lauded his B-side players for how hard they worked to prepare the A-side.

"It's a championship match, but we're trying to look at it just like any other match we've played," said Tuisa. "We just need to play our game and focus on the things we can control."