GRR: Thunder Rugby SoCal
Thunder Rugby backed up last week's 3rd-place win in SoCal with a 2-0 performance at the Pacific Invitational this weekend.
Thunder beat a very tough SFGG side 34-32 on Day One. The Thunder forwards got their team on the board first, and SFGG responded, and that exvhange was a harbinger of how the game would go.
Somehow Belmont Shore did it.
Really, it wasn’t as if Shore was playing poorly, but after a loss to the touring Woodlands side from Texas and then in the regular season to the San Diego Mustangs, as well as a very nervy and close semifinal to the SOC Raptors, they were not favorites to win the SoCal Boys HS Club final this past weekend.
As always the Storer Classic provides some important preseason rugby for teams in the West, and this year did not disappoint.
There were several solid showings with SOC Raptors, Marin, Carlsbad, and Layton Christian all producing some good results. Atop all of those was Belmont Shore, which ended the weekend 3-0.
Carlsbad won big in their first game of the New Year in the Southern California school league, defeating San Clemente 52-12.
The game itself felt a lot closer than the score might indicate—San Clemente did well to test the Carlsbad defense and did find gaps to exploit.
Southern California HS teams have been testing each other out before the Christmas break to get themselves prepped for the regular season ahead.
That regular season kicks off really soon—the first weekend in January in fact—so there isn't much time for these teams to get themselves up to speed.