Welcome back to another USA Club Rugby Monthly Recap! This month we are excited to dive a bit deeper into the details, as we don’t have anything to catch up on from the fall. In case you’re new here – welcome! This is your one stop shop (organized by division) to find out what’s happening in club rugby in the USA.
A few notes – this information is all gathered from team-entered data on RugbyXplorer. So if there’s an error or an incorrect score, please first check RugbyXplorer and then with your local Geographical Union to ensure all matches are finalized in the system. Like any human, I also make mistakes; so if it’s all right online and wrong here, please let me know! Any other commentary added is for entertainment value from someone who has zero stake in the outcomes of these matches.
Now with that out of the way, we can get into the good stuff. What happened in the Men’s D1 Competition in February? Read below to find out!
Midwest Men’s D1
The Chicago Griffins won the Midwest this year, defeating the Chicago Lions in November. With Rocky Mountain opting out of the Men’s D1 Pathway, the Griffins qualify directly for the National Championship Final Four in May.
Mid-Atlantic Men’s D1
The Mid-Atlantic is still on hiatus until next month. Rocky Gorge (6-0) sits on top of the table with the Washington Irish (5-2) in second. Schuylkill River (5-1) has one left to play to try to claim second while the Potomac Exiles (4-3) will finish fourth.
Northern California Men’s D1
Our first two glimpses into this competition happened just this past weekend as Santa Rosa hosted Life West and East Palo Alto (0-1) hosted Olympic Club (1-0). Keen eyed readers may be saying “but wait, isn’t Santa Rosa D2?” And you would be correct! They hosted Life West in an exhibition match on the 22nd after Fresno couldn’t make the trip. But it still gives us insight to how the season is going to go, so I’m including it. Life West look in top form, eager to make it back to the playoffs and finish what they started last year. Fielding a light roster, they managed to clinch the win on the road, 43-14.
Meanwhile in the first regular season game, Olympic Club traveled to the EPA Razorbacks and dominated, scoring 49 points to open their season with a W. Jake Broekhuizen opened the scoring with the first two for O Club, and by halftime, they were up to 34 points. Almost a point a minute! The Razorbacks tightened up the defense in the second half, allowing only three more tries, but it was too late; Olympic Club well on their way to starting their season strong.
The action really gets going in March, Silicon Valley (0-0) and San Jose (0-0) both host on the 1st, and Life West hosts Olympic Club on March 8th.
Pacific Northwest Premiership
As the lone D1 team in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle will automatically qualify for the Super Regionals. Their only match-up in February was the MLR warm-up game against the Seattle Seawolves. Now it would be unfair to judge Seattle’s quality by the scoreline of that match because it’s a professional side (who went to the Championship last year) against a club side. It is however pretty intimidating to be the only D1 Men’s side in the nation that has played a full 80 against a professional outfit. So add that street cred to your name Seattle. Seattle’s regular spring season will kick off in March against the Tacoma Nomads.
Southern California Men’s D1
February brought a number of thrilling matches and tight scorelines to the Southern California region. There’s only one undefeated team left, as OMBAC (5-0) added three to the win column over the past month. Scoring an average of 50 points per match, OMBAC has strike runners all over the field. In February they had 17 different players score points, an amazing display of depth from this club. Their closest match was, as expected, the battle against Belmont Shore (4-1) on February 8th. Belmont has an otherwise perfect record, even edging out OMBAC on the points per match with an average of 52.6, including that February 8th loss. When these teams play again in March, there are sure to be fireworks.
Moving down the table, Santa Monica (2-2) are not far from the competition leaders. They put up 30 points against OMBAC early in February and followed it up with a nail biting 38-36 win over the Old Aztecs (0-5). Eagle Rock (1-4) also scraped out a two point win over the Old Aztecs to get their first W of the season. While Old Aztecs are still looking to get into the win column, their performances aren’t far off the mark.
Looking forward to March, we already mentioned that top of the table clash between OMBAC and Belmont; but also mark March 8th on your calendar when Eagle Rock hosts Santa Monica.
Red River Premiership
Another month of action down in Texas paints an exciting picture of what’s to come. The Austin Blacks (4-0) are the only team to hold their undefeated title after two months of action. Austin opened their February with a clash against the other undefeated side, Dallas RFC (3-1). After scoring twice in the opening minutes, it looked like it was going to be a brutal day at Burr Field, but Dallas regathered and refocused. The Reds managed to draw within a conversion but the Blacks again shot out of reach. The final score of 63-33 makes it seem like the Austin Blacks have all but wrapped up Texas, but don’t forget there’s two more meetings between these sides left in the season.
Meanwhile, the Austin Huns (1-4) traveled to the Dallas Harlequins (1-4) to find their first win of the season in a try-phoon. Out of the gates it was the Huns, and they kept the momentum moving until about the 55th minute when they eased off the gas. That’s when Dallas spotted their gap. Scoring four times in the final 20 minutes, the Harlequins surged back in what would be the comeback of the century, had they pulled it off. A crucial penalty in the final minutes gave the ball back to the Huns, who kicked it over for an extra three to extend their lead 49-44. The Harlequins however netted two bonus points in that loss, which keeps them in third.
Finally the Austin Huns hosted the Dallas RFC in their second meeting of the year. Dallas managed to make the series an easy two for two, but allowed Austin to get a bonus point in the closing minutes. Looking forward to March, we’ll see the two giants go head to head again on the 8th, this time in Dallas.
Florida Men’s D1/D2
The Miami Tridents (5-0) had a big February, logging three additional wins in their quest to claim a National D1 Title. The only club electing to follow the D1 post-season pathway, Miami plays in a hybrid competition with the rest of the Florida Men’s D2. Their perfect month started out with a 48-16 defeat of Jacksonville (0-4). Although impressive on the scoreboard, Jacksonville managed to convert three penalty goals which indicates that Miami has some work to do around discipline in their own half.
The next weekend the Tridents hosted Fort Lauderdale (3-1-1), improving their record, but still falling victim to disciplinary issues as they saw two separate players receive yellow cards within five minutes during the 40-10 defeat.
Finally, the Tridents swept through Tampa Bay Krewe (1-4) 73-10 to bring their record to 5-0, still losing two players due to yellow cards during the match. After a bye week, Miami are back on the pitch March 1st to take on Orlando (1-3) followed by the highly anticipated trip to the undefeated Pelicans (4-0) on the 22nd. If they can keep their discipline in check, I’m sure we’ll see great things from the reigning D2 National Champions in the D1 postseason.
