END OF AN ERA

HAIL, PELICUS!

HOLIDAY WEEKEND? HARDLY: WE NEED REFS

Prepare to celebrate Memorial Day by refereeing rugby. There are a lot of games, and each of them needs a ref. Nine games of fifteens and several of Sevens.

Let us know if you can do any of these. Flexibility is appreciated if you could list several options.

Saturday, May 26:
Noon: UC Santa Cruz alumnae game
2 PM: UC Santa Cruz alumni game

1 PM: Olympic Club OB – Berkeley RFC OB

10AM Lady Razorbacks – Amazons (fifteens)
11:30AM EPA U19 – Islanders U19 (fifteens)
1PM Razorbacks – Sacramento Lions
Several games of Sevens starting at 1 PM

Sunday, May 27:

All-Star games: Bay Area Select sides versus Sac Valley Select sides at Sheeran Field, Treasure Island.
10 AM: Boys’ Middle School
Noon: Boys’ JV
2PM: Girls’ varsity
4PM: Boys’ varsity

THE BEST KIT IN THE BUSINESS

Good news from Tom Zanarini:
The new kit is in! If you've refereed 5 assigned matches in 2012, you are eligible for our new Pelican Green jersey. The first mass distribution will most likely be at the Annual Banquet on June 30. You are also welcome to come by my place in Mill Valley. I also have a fresh supply of everybody's new favorite shorts and some new socks to boot. Shorts and socks are not gratis, these things cost money. I haven't gotten the new invoices yet so the price is TBD. Expect around $10 for socks and $30 for shorts. That being said, we may have a fire sale on the old kit. I only have so much storage in my tiny apartment. We have a boatload of the Rugby Imports jerseys and the sky, navy or gold polos. Most are XL and larger. hey make great gifts and trading schwag!! We're all out of flags, so I'm attempting to find a vendor for the super fancy ones instead of the old-school short-half-life wood models.

We just received a message from Jeff Lombard at IA Rugby that there are three blue Kooga tracksuits available at $85 each. These are left over stock from a previous order. If anyone is interested, please contact him directly at:
Jeff Lombard
International Athletic
www.iarugby.com
800.635.4553

CALENDAR

It’s never too early to raise your hand for summer weekends. It you’d like to ref any or all of these, let us know:

June
Saturday, 16: Loaves and Fishes Sevens at For Pete’s Sake
Sunday, 17: Youth Sevens in Morgan Hill

Saturday, 23: Sacramento Lions Sevens
Sunday, 24: Youth Sevens in Dixon

Saturday, 30: Palo Alto Sevens
Annual NCRRS awards banquet

July
Saturday, 14: Palo Alto Sevens
Sunday, 15: Youth Sevens, Pleasanton

Saturday, 21: Marin Highlanders high-school Sevens

Saturday, 28: Palo Alto Sevens
Sunday, 29: Youth Sevens championships, location TBA

August
Saturday-Sunday, 4-5: USA Rugby club sevens championships (men and women) at SFGG
Saturday, 25: Fifteens tournament in Reno

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

FULLERTON 15 – Motherlode 8 Referee: Tony Levitan
ARs: Mike King, Eugene Baker
#4: Jeff Richmond
Coach: Jim Crenshaw

After a 20-minute delay caused by the ruckus and celebration associated with the CA State Boys Junior Varsity Club match, followed by some seriously ill-timed and snit-like behavior by an adult involved in our match, the Girls Varsity Club match finally kicked off under warm, sunny skies at Jesuit HS in Sacramento. The very evenly-played match was marked by loads of running rugby, some seriously fine counter rucking, and really hard-nosed running by girls from both teams. Motherlode opened the scoring 9 minutes in with a penalty after Fullerton was tagged for hands in the ruck. Fullerton's superior size began to show as they repeatedly created long run opportunities from loose play, dotting down twice for unconverted tries, ending the half up 10-3.

Another try for Fullerton 6 minutes into the second half (15-3) looked like a harbinger for domination the remainder of the game but, if that was to be the case, no one showed Motherlode the script. Fullerton infringements were the launching pad for hard, determined quick-tap runs by Motherlode's captain/flanker, Gabby, who almost single-handedly willed her side back into the match with an unconverted try with 18 minutes remaining, 15-8. The back-and-forth flow continued until Fullerton went down a player having infringed at the rucks one too many time, earning a yellow card. The remainder of the game saw repeated, concerted attacks by Motherlode and desperate clearing runs and kicks by Fullerton. Motherlode twice breached the Fullerton goal line, only to be held up in-goal both times (as confirmed by my more-than-able ARs). The match ended with a spate of scrappy, pull-out-all-the-stops thrusts by Motherlode including a dangerous but thwarted effort on the final whistle, 15-8 Fullerton.

Our officiating team was spectacular in their support: Jeff Richmond, especially for helping navigate a pre-match tantrum by one of the coaches; Mike King and Eugene Baker for their clear calls on the touch lines and on the odd eye-contact request for confirmation or input. Thanks, boys. My final shout out of appreciation to Jim Crenshaw for the time and commitment he made to watch our match and offer some insightful tips for next time 'round.

FOG PREPARE FOR BINGHAM CUP
Report by Bryant Byrnes:

Fog A 5 - SFGG (kinda) 0
Fog B 15 – UN Reno (kinda) 34

This was a tune up for the Bingham Cup in Manchester UK in two weeks. The TI field was clipped and moistened on a beautiful day. The teams mixed and matched all day.

The first 40 minute match was competitive (obviously), a defensive battle (also obviously). I think the strength of the Fog will be their back line- centers Rocco and Mike Estes move well and hit like a ton of bricks. (Mike is an old friend and former Berkeley Rhino/U of O player who is trying out for the Maccabee Games later this summer.)

The next game was lots of long runs and lots of points.

The drink up was, as always with these guys, a pleasure. Roll Fog!

ANNUAL SOCIETY AWARDS BANQUET

Don’t forget to set aside Saturday evening, June 30th, for the Pelican Refs 2012 annual awards banquet. We’ll be returning to Scott’s in Walnut Creek for the festivities.

RSVP to Bjorn Stumer with your menu choices: bstumer@comcast.net

THE NATIONAL STAGE

Dixon won the single-school high school boys championship in Utah this past weekend.

Marin Highlanders lost the national U19 semi to Highland.

Aruna Ranaweera refereed the top men’s college division championship game between BYU and Arkansas State.

Paul Bretz refereed the next-to-the-top division final, won by Davenport over San Diego State. See below.

CALIFORNIA BOYS’ U19 CHAMPIONSHIP

LAMORINDA 27 – Oceanside 17 Referee: Rich Boyer
ARs: Eric Rauscher, Mike King
Waterboy: Jim Crenshaw
The Jesuit sideline was packed with home supporters; visitor's side, not so much. Oceanside from San Diego made the roadtrip to Jesuit to play Lamorinda.

Lamo played hard, ran some intricate back plays (some of which crabbed sideways), yet only had an unconverted try to show for it halfway through the first period. They may have been surprised by the aggressive nature of Oceanside's defense and strong ball running. Lamo enjoyed the majority of possession, made very good tactical kicks, which Oceanside backs were loath to catch in the air, received good bounces but just could not produce results. Lamo finally went up 10-0 after some good forward play (highlighted by #4 and captain Sam, #7) freed up the backs for a 4 on 2 overlap out wide and a score in the corner.

It must be noted that the Lamo tighthead worked very nicely with his Oceanside counterpart early in the game to ensure the scrums remained stable after a few half starts. Good sportsmanship all around.

Oceanside maintained good spirits in spite of the onslaught. Eagle eye Mike King spotted an Oceanside shoulder charge out of bounds away from the ball by captain Tito. He apologized before the ref could even utter a word. He was penalized nonetheless.

Shortly thereafter the Oceanside #7, an overachiever, shoulder charged the Lamo ball-carrier and received a yellow card. He was contrite in his apology. Some of the Oceanside players lamented that he was "pushed" by his teammates and did not have a chance to wrap. Needless to say this fell on deaf ears.

Lamo kept Oceanside under pressure and powered through for a third try, again unconverted, against the 14 Oceanside players. 15-0 at halftime.

The second half began after some much needed Gatorade and water was provided by Jim Crenshaw, who doled out a few sage observations to the ref as well. Immediately, it seemed, the humidity skyrocketed and the temperature increased, compounded by Lamo's halftime strategy to swing the ball wide and run and run and run. Oceanside remained the tortoise that could and finally was awarded a try on a simple overlap pass to captain Tito.

The Oceanside forwards picked up steam in the second half and picked and drove numerous phases for many yards. Lamo flyhalf Bobby Taylor probed with numerous kicks, hitting paydirt when another kick bounced backward into the Lamo fullback for a converted try. 22-5.

Throughout Oceanside's strong running one player became very prominent, #13, Gabe Edwards. It literally took 3-4 Lamo players to put him to deck every time he ran the ball. He simply would not be denied. The game likely would have been closer had he found opportunities in the first half.

Lamo went up 27-5 but Oceanside's continual barrage, combined with the humidity, took its toll and they scored two more tries, one of which was converted after forwards' captain Branden ran through two players and around the fullback for a very well deserved 30 yard try under the posts. 27-17. Oceanside's #11 illustrated some nice open field running during the run up to both tries. Lamo seemed to be getting a bit anxious.

Oceanside finally gave up the ghost when #13 did an unintentional spear tackle with 8 minutes remaining. Neither team scored again, having literally left it out on the field. Final score 27-17, Lamorinda. Congratulations to both teams, and to Lamo for winning the California U-19 Championship.

Nice sportsmanship by all.

A big thank you to ARs Eric Rauscher and Mike King, along with Jim Crenshaw.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Your writer wrote a report on Paul Bretz’ first game as a referee after Paul stopped playing, on November 20, 1999. Among the observations recorded at the time:

“Paul is refereeing at the C1 level with the exception of some lapses in knowledge of the Law. It is plain to see that he should quickly achieve the B panel, given the opportunity.
At his age, with dedication, he could come to the national evaluators' attention within a few years.”

Now it’s a dozen years later. Paul has spent many of those at the top of the USA Rugby refereeing corps. He has several Test matches to his credit. He has represented Northern California and USA Rugby with distinction, and made many of us very proud.

To a generation of Northern California players, Paul has always been the best referee they have been privileged to know. To a generation of Pelicans, Paul has been the exemplar.

From Phil Akroyd:
“Taken at the end of Paul's game. Was pretty emotional for all the refs. After his final whistle he walked to the center spot, sat down and took off his boots. Then left them there.”

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

WINDING DOWN?

HAIL, PELICUS!

FRIDAY NIGHT GAME

The Diablo Gaels will be hosting a touring side from Brisbane, Australia, the Outback Barbarians, this Friday evening at 7 PM on the new pitch at the California Maritime Academy.

Jordan Bruno will be refereeing and would appreciate a couple of ARs. The Gaels will then owe you food and drink!

CHAMPIONSHIPS

It wasn’t the best weekend for NCRFU teams, save Santa Rosa. They advanced to the men’s club D2 semi-finals at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo., the first weekend in June.

The Amazons from Sacramento lost to eventual champions Fallbrook from San Diego County in the opening round of the girls’ national high school invitational.

Stanford, playing at home, lost to Penn State in the women’s college D1 finals on Saturday.

Stanislaus lost to Southern California’s South Bay in the men’s club D3 playoffs.

EPA Bulldogs lost to the Kansas City Blues in the men’s club D1 playoffs.

St Mary's College 17 – ARKANSAS STATE 31 Referee: Tim Luscombe (USA)
AR: Chris Tucker, Bruce Ricard
4/5/6: John Coppinger, Ron DeCausemaker, Rob Hendrickson (not necessarily in that order)
Evaluator: Dixon Smith
Also there, chilling out having a good time: Bryant Byrnes

Beautiful day in Moraga, shame the same couldn't be said for the quality of game on the pitch. To be sure it was exciting stuff, tied up at 17 with 20 minutes to go, but the technical quality wasn't present. Some aimless kicking from hand from both sides and a fly-half on the home side who was seriously out of sorts, and the game became a contest of two battering-ram sides.

First try went to the visitors, who set up a peach of a maul drive off a lineout and crashed over. They scored again, thanks to one of many loose passes from the St. Mary's backs, "How many chances are you going to give them?" Tim O'Brien called out after the second try. Back when I played, "one skip two loop three" was a designed play. In this game it referred to how the pass was delivered, and where the centres had to go to recover the ball.

While the home side were fighting back we had a couple of odd incidents. In one, the St. Mary's pack set up a maul off a lineout, then Arkansas State pulled out of it. The maul trundled upfield 30m unopposed before the visitors eventually engaged, pulling it down. Cue much confusion from players and coaches alike, but the maul does not end just because defenders give up and run away!

[Editor’s Note: Correct! If all defenders voluntarily disengage from a maul, it remains a maul. If they fall off by the natural molting process that driving mauls undergo until none of them remains, the maul ends. Good refs like the one in question understand this and can tell the difference.]

In another somewhat sad incident, one of the home coaches demanded repeatedly to know how many substitutes had been made by the visitors, alleging some form of malfeasance. Ref Tim informed him he didn't know, that's why we have 4/5/6. Ron DeCausemaker wasn't at all confused by the blood subs that came and went, he knew the answer: 3. Of course to find this out, the game was stopped, the coach was escorted over to the far side, where the answer was given, and then was promptly ejected for continuing to argue. Tim could have saved himself some bother by just tossing him out first, but at least he got to embarrass the hapless man and hopefully persuade him to keep his thoughts to himself next time.

As time wound down, a visibly tiring St Mary's team missed a tackle and allowed a long breakaway for a try in spite of the best efforts of the fullback. As they pressed for an equaliser, the halfback fumbled the ball at a ruck, and the Arkansas State wing-forward scooped it up, raced 60m and scored to ice the game.

All in all an enjoyable game, made specially so by the boisterous crowd we've come to know and appreciate up in Moraga. Shame that our NorCal representative won't get to prove themselves against BYU, but such is life -- in the biggest game of the year, they didn't bring their A game, and that was all she wrote.

ANNUAL SOCIETY AWARDS BANQUET

Don’t forget to set aside Saturday evening, June 30th, for the Pelican Refs 2012 annual awards banquet. We’ll be returning to Scott’s in Walnut Creek for the festivities.

RUGBY GAMES

SF Fog – San Jose State Referee: Ray Schwartz
The game went fine, the field was not mowed, and was poorly marked... both teams weren’t on top of their games…

SJSU won the first 40 minutes 15-12, and the FOG brought in their 2nd side...

SJSU is getting ready to play their alumni match... the FOG is sending 48 over to the Bingham Cup in Manchester, England in three weeks.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

A championship team of three: Steph Bruce, Leah Berard, and Jen Sporleder right after the Stanford-Penn State final on Saturday 5/12.

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

RUGBY IN ALL DIRECTIONS

HAIL, PELICUS!

NEED HELP MAY 19

The California high school championships will be played at Jesuit HS in Sacramento on Saturday, May 19. There will be four games.

If you can help out, please respond to David Williamson: calrugbyref@sbcglobal.net

There will also be a round-robin tournament hosted by the Fog that could use three refs, from 11 to 4. We’re guessing this one will be a lot of fun, so let us know if you’d like to run.

BIG WEEKEND COMING

There will be a lot of good rugby in Pelicanland this weekend.

Friday-Saturday-Sunday:
Girls and women’s college national championships at Stanford. Four games Friday and Sunday, twelve games on Sunday.

Stanford and the Sacramento Amazons will be playing down on the farm.

Saturday:
St. Mary’s hosting Arkansas State in a college premier semi-final. Arkansas State is the team that eliminated St. Mary’s each of the last two years, but both of those were on the road.

Saturday:
Several high-school all-star games in Sacramento. Let Chris Tucker know if you can help: ctucker2003@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Also, the Fog will be hosting San Jose State on Treasure Island.

Meanwhile, in Chula Vista, East Palo Alto Bulldogs, Santa Rosa and Stanislaus will be playing in the sweet-sixteen level of competition in their respective divisions.

Good luck to all of our NorCal teams!

ANNUAL SOCIETY AWARDS BANQUET

The Pelican Refs 2012 awards banquet will be held on Saturday, June 30th. This is also the first weekend of the Palo Alto Summer Sevens.

Mark your calendar and invite your date so we can celebrate our addition to rugby together.

RUGBY GAMES

(This was a rain makeup game.)
EPA RAZORBACKS 52 – Bay Barbarians 10 Referee: Bruce Ricard
Only one barbarian player was at the location when I arrived 1h before kickoff. After 20 more minutes, only a handful of barbarians were on the pitch, so we started to play touch with the razorbacks. At kickoff time, only 7 Barbarians were present. At 2:30 they had 12 players, and both teams agreed to play 10's.

Barbarians scored a try just after the razorbacks kicked off. But the reds woke up at this moment, and they scored 5 tries during the first quarter (we agreed to play 4 20-minute quarters). They also scored 5 tries during the 2nd quarter, and the Barbarians also scored one try. After those two quarters, the barbarians didn't want to play anymore, so we ended the game there.

Thanks to Mike Malone for driving from that far to watch the game, and sorry that a real game didn't happen...

EXCHANGE REPORT
By Jordan Bruno:

All Saint's Tournament, St. Cloud, Minnesota 4.28-4.29

Over the weekend, teams and referees from around the Midwest converged on St. Cloud University’s pitch in Minnesota for two days of great rugby. Men’s clubs, Division 1 college sides, and high school teams all played twenty minute halves in well-contested, smash-mouth rugby. When the forwards did relinquish offensive control to the backs, it was usually for a crash inside by the centers. This was typical for the Midwest style of play.

The first day of competition I refereed University of Minnesota vs. North Dakota State in a tied match with minutes to go until the final whistle. The NDSU Bisons infringed at a ruck inside their own 22 as Minnesota advanced downfield. Instead of going for points, the perennial tournament champions asked for a scrum down, and as time expired had their forwards rumble over the goal line for an exciting win. Minnesota went on to play St. Cloud University in the final and again won with seconds to spare.

The Saturday night referee banquet was held at McCann’s Restaurant with great burgers and locally brewed ales. Not much sleep on the weekend, but plenty of rugby was a welcome substitute. Thanks to Tammy Cowan and Eric Anderson of the Minnesota Rugby Referee Society for a great exchange and well-orchestrated tournament.

ISLAND RUGBY IN CALIFORNIA
Report by Bruce Bernstein:

I did the Catalina Old Boys Rugby Tournament this past weekend & had a great time on the island all 3 days I was there, getting put up by the tourney at a nice cottage, reffed 3 very good matches (Ancient Aztecs v. North County, San Diego; Huntington Beach Unicorns v. Pasadena; & Aztecs again v. the Older Gaels--2 of these resulted in ties & the 3rd could have easily been tied--which is supposed to be the result of all matches anyway); an "after" party at the Sand Trap & in between saw parts of the Film Fest & a downhill skateboard Championship featuring the top boarders in the world.

The tournament program featured an image of Joe Hendrix who ran the tourney for every year until he unfortunately passed away last year. It is now run by his twin bro' Tom.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

4-6 May Chris Tucker
Friday night we kicked off the NCYRA playoffs with the single school Varsity and JV semis.

JESUIT 48 – Bishop O’Dowd 22 Referee: Chris Tucker
Jesuit came away comfortable victors, but not before BOD pushed them hard. However their lack of ball security did for them, as they turned it over repeatedly in good attacking positions. Both teams played good, fundamentally sound rugby, and it was a pleasure to officiate.

I then ARed for Chris Gleiter as he did Jesuit beating CB comfortably in the JV semis.

Saturday we had around 40 games, very few of which I got to see as I was busy being the HMFRIC -- assigning refs, then reassigning as either refs had to do other things, or teams decided they would or would not play certain games. I think we came away with everyone aside from poor James Hinkin getting a good shake. James turned up early for the games, then had his first game cancelled from underneath him. His second was not until 4, so he spent a somewhat frustrating day. I hope the JV final made up for the wait!

JV: DIXON 31 – Christian Brothers 12
The 3rd place game in the single school JV bracket. Both teams seemed tired, and there wasn't a huge amount of life to the game. However a number of tackles were dangerous, resulting in 2 yellows each, for silly, careless play. A fifth yellow for a high tackle led to a penalty try to Dixon and I called the match early to keep it safe.

I then ARed the single-school Varsity final for Scott Wood. This was a fantastic game of rugby, and an excellent advert for the game. With 2 minutes to go, Dixon pulled within 1 point of Jesuit, and I ran back to my sideline. A spectator pointed out my ear-to-ear grin, and I said 'it doesn't get better than this.' Dixon were unable to get the ball back, and the game finished as close as it could be, leaving the victors the spoils and the vanquished to regret their lack of accuracy (1 of 4 conversions were scored.) Nice job by Scott.

Sunday and the money rounds came about. Again, many refs working tirelessly for the best games possible.

JV: SIERRA FOOTHILLS 59 – Lamorinda 27
Lamo had representatives in both the JV and Varsity finals, but the double-attempt was not to be. Sierra were fast and effective the entire game, although I did have cause for a yellow for continued failure to either understand or obey the offside law. They overcame their opponents, running away with it in final quarter. The scoreline is more indicative of Lamo's tiring towards the end of 2 hard days' play, than a 2-1 gulf in quality between the teams. Another joy to ref.

I then dashed over to AR for visitor Andrew Lin on the Varsity Final. He worked hard for his money, continually pushing the Islanders to the back foot and Lamorinda to keep their feet. And it was worth the effort, with a fantastic game ensuing. Islanders went up 2 tries early, but I was struck by the calm response by Lamo, who weren't rattled, stuck to their plan, and executed, coming up victors by 3 points.

As we chatted under the ref tent, I had a highly entertaining conversation with the Lamorinda head coach. I was explaining how a tackle can occur without a tackler, but that regardless of tackler or tackle assist, both must release the tackled player. I went on with the interesting variant I had with my game where a player had voluntarily gone to ground meaning the defender did not have to release. His response to all this? "No wonder I yell at you guys all the time." Cheers coach.

Thanks to all 20+ refs who turned out, did assignments without question, and made the tournament go with a bang. You made my life a lot easier, and I have had nothing but plaudits from several folk who took the time to say thank you to me (and by proxy to you.)

ERIC RAUSCHER’S GAMES
Christian Bros 24 – SIERRA 34
Marin 19 – BUCHANAN 26
Both of these games were very enjoyable to do. It is great at the end of the season to see skilled players playing the game well. I expected a higher level of play out of them which meant penalties in the first half and more open and faster play in the second.

JV: LAMORINDA 31 – Granite Bay 22
In this case the level of play had increased to a fairly competent level. The problem you get by the end of the year for JV teams is that they are willing to help you make calls because now they know how to play the game. This is not a problem I run into at Varsity levels. It is however fun to see the improvement.

Overall I must say that the Cherry Island Complex was a very well laid out and nicely landscaped venue, (many trees and shade, bathrooms), on which soccer players have enjoyed over the years and perhaps we can look forward to enjoying again in the future.

SCOTT WOOD’S GAMES
Friday
JV Semi-Final
McCLATCHY 24 – Dixon 17
McClatchy led at the half 17-7. Dixon discovered a change of pace and went on the attack in the second half. Fifteen minutes into the second half, McClatchy helped its opponent's cause by donating a player to the sin bin (10.4f). Dixon thanked McClatchy by scoring two tries to tie the match at 17-17. With just over five minutes remaining, another McClatchy took a trip to the bin via 10.4e. Dixon tried to use the one-player advantage but was unsuccessful and eventually turned the ball over. McClatchy turned on the attack and, despite Dixon's valiant defense, scored a try to the right of the posts. I looked at my watch and saw a mere ten seconds remaining in regulation.

Garmin results: 2.79 miles, 817 calories, Avg HR 155 (Max 177)

Saturday
South Valley 15 – CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 44
I was assigned this 45-minute match as a warm-up. South Valley fared well in the first half trailing by a try 10-17. Christian Brothers decided to put the afterburners on scoring five tries to one.

Garmin results: 1.9 miles, 489 calories, Avg HR 147 (Max 169)

Single School Varsity Final
Dixon 24 – JESUIT 25
ARs: Chris Tucker, James Hinkin (2nd half: Eric "Missed Assignment" Rauscher)
The teams came out strong and fast. An early spate of scrums slowed things down for the backs but the forwards were up to the task. Jesuit took an early lead with a try and a penalty before Dixon put points on the board. Jesuit led at halftime: 15-7.

Dixon turned on the heat in the second half outscoring Jesuit 17-10. With just under six minutes remaining, Dixon was on another attack, maybe fifteen meters from Jesuit's goal line. Unfortunately, their scrumhalf decided to 10.4(b) on/near a Jesuit player (who was about to be penalized for not keeping his feet at a ruck). Dixon loses a player for the remainder of the match. Jesuit kicks the penalty to touch, wins the lineout, loses possession. Dixon capitalizes by scoring a try. Conversion made. Jesuit sends the restart kick deep to Dixon. The ballcarrier runs left behind two teammates too close for comfort placing them in a position to be penalized for obstruction. Jesuit was awarded a penalty 30 meters from Dixon's posts. The kick missed wide left and full time was sounded (I didn't want this match to end and secretly wondered what Dixon could have done if the ball had ricocheted off the upright).

Kudos to both teams for a well-contested match.

Garmin results: 2.87 miles, 784 calories, Avg HR 151 (Max 170)

BRUCE CARTER’S GAMES
Friday:
Poor planning. I had to work and didn’t get to Sac until well after ten PM. Got a clean, comfortable room, they left the light on for me and my wife, and we didn’t have to stay at a Motel 6.

Saturday:
SILICON VALLEY 29 – Danville 14
ARs: Eric Rauscher, Giles Wilson
Great game to start the day off! These teams had one loss between them so far this year, with SV having lost to Danville during the season. Now, they’re even.

I must say: calling U19 scrum law at the end of the season with accomplished teams is hard to do. The scrums sure look safe when they start driving, but I still insist that they stop short of pushing a try over.

They sure run into contact like men, and respond to the referee like gentlemen.

Then I got on my horse to drive to Moraga as I didn’t want to miss the St. Mary’s – Utah game. That game didn’t disappoint either, Craig Smith doing a fine job assisted by John Coppinger and Jordan Bruno, with Brad Richey and Ron DeCausemaker as fourth officials.

Then back to Sacramento for
SANTA ROSA 38 – East Palo Alto 26
A player offered me five bucks to ‘keep it fair’. I laughed and said I didn’t know which he’d insulted more, my integrity or my earning capacity! In any event, Caddyshack references are always appreciated.

EPA were troupers – having missed their first scheduled match, they played the two games back-to-back. Thanks for the effort, guys.

It was a very close game: EPA squandered two certain tries, one in each half, with a two-inch knock-on while putting the ball down and by putting it down six inches short on the confusingly-lined pitch.

We had a nice dinner at the Booting Irishman or some such. They did have the traditional Cinco de Mayo corned-beef tacos.

Sunday:
WOLFPACK 38 – Silicon Valley 21
AR: JC van Staden
Wolfpack, from Reno, is a new team to me. They play a nice game, hard-hitting with excellent off-loads.

Girls Final: MOTHER LODE 17 – Bishop O’Dowd 14
ARs: Giles Wilson, Anthony Nguyen
This was a wonderful birthday present for me. Fifty-eight years old and still doing tournament finals! I played in my first tournament final in 1977 at Hilton Head, South Carolina (we won).

I feel like I won this one as well – at least, I can’t imagine feeling any better after a match.

Both teams play well, and hard, and fast, and crisp rugby. BOD scored first, got behind, then came to within three with 25 minutes left, which made for a very dramatic final stanza.

A problem refs love to have: the players can barely hear because of the crowd noise. Big breaths, loud cadences, sharp whistles and big signals were the order of the day.

A mark of the players’ determination and commitment were the five held-up-in-goal calls, one of which ended the match. (It was not as dramatic as it might have been – Mother Lode was held up.)

From Rod Salaber
It was a spectacular end to a great rugby season. More than 50 high school teams participated in the 8thAnnual NCIT and NCYRA Playoffs and Championships, with seven (7) High School Champions crowned, and three (3) Open Division Champions. Please find the attached result of the tournament.

Congratulations to the following Teams for reaching the finals, playing some fantastic rugby, and taking home the hardware. Also, take a look at the results of all of the NCYRA Varsity Finals. The largest margin of victory was three (3) points. Now that is the way Championship Finals are supposed to be!

NCYRA Championship Results:
· Boys Varsity Gold: Lamorinda – 29, Islanders – 26 (Andrew Lin)
· Boys Varsity Single School: Jesuit – 25, Dixon – 24 (Scott Wood)
· Girls Varsity Gold: Mother Lode – 17, BOD – 14 (Bruce Carter)
· Boys Varsity Silver: Diablo – 33, Elk Grove – 31 (JC Van Staden)
· Girls Varsity Silver: Pleasanton – 14, Dixon – 14 (Pleasanton won on drop goals)
· Boys Junior Varsity Gold: Sierra – 59, Lamorinda – 27
· Boys Junior Varsity Single School: Jesuit – 56, McClatchy – 28
· Boys Junior Varsity Silver: Sac Eagles – 37, BOD – 27


NCIT Open Division Results:
· Boys Varsity Gold: Rosa (winners in pool play), Lancers
· Boys Varsity Silver: Sierra – 34, Christian Brothers – 24
· Boys Junior Varsity Gold: Marin (winners in pool play), Danville


Thanks to the NCIT Tournament Directors, Karen Chance and John Riddering, and the many volunteers that helped make this tournament the most successful one yet. Yes, we still had some hiccups, but all-in-all, the tournament was a great tribute to the progress the NCYRA has made in just two years of existence.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Some of the refs are ready for action Sunday morning at the NCIT:
Standing, L to R: David Williamson, Ray Schwartz, Mark Godfrey, Anthony Nguyen, Giles Wilson, JC van Staden, Chris Tucker, Andrew Lin (SoCal)
Kneeling, L to R: Eric Rauscher, Rod Chance, Bruce Carter

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WATCH AND LEARN

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HELP WANTED MAY 5

St. Mary’s will be hosting Utah this Saturday. We need ARs and fourth officials.

Let us know if you can help.

DOWN ON THE FARM MAY 11-12-13

Stanford’s Steuber Family Field will host three USA Rugby competitions, the women’s college D1 and D2 championships and the girls’ high school invitational

The staggering of the competitions means that while only one pitch will be in use on the Friday and the Sunday, there will be three in play on the Saturday.

We need ARs and 4/5/6 officials. Two or three more for Friday the 11th and Sunday the 13th would be great, but we need about ten more for Saturday, May 12.

Please let us know, and your jersey size (USA Rugby provides jerseys).

ANNUAL SOCIETY AWARDS BANQUET

The Pelican Refs 2012 awards banquet will be held on Saturday, June 30th. This is also the first weekend of the Palo Alto Summer Sevens.

Mark your calendar and invite your date so we can celebrate our addition to rugby together.

HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND

May 4-5-6: the Northern California Invitational Tournament, for high school boys’ and girls’ teams, in Sacramento.

The tournament will be held on six pitches. Games will be played from 9 – 7 on Saturday and from 9 – 3 on Sunday.
http://sites.google.com/site/norcalinvitational/home

Hotel rooms will be provided if we know you are coming from afar.

Please reply with your availability for this weekend.


CALIFORNIA MARITIME ACADEMY: SECOND IN THE NATION

The CMA earned second place in the inaugural National Small College Rugby Organization championships this past weekend, played in Glendale, Colo.

The Keelhaulers defeated North Florida 31 – 26 in the semis and then lost another close one to Salve Regina (Rhode Island) 15 – 22.

Congratulations to Steve Hiatt and his team.


CR1 PLAYOFFS

These four winners advance to the men’s club D1 final four in Glendale the first weekend in June:

EPA BULLDOGS 35 – Las Vegas Blackjacks 24
OMBAC 37 – Olympic Club 26
BELMONT SHORE 45 - Sac Lions 12
SANTA MONICA 36 – Utah Brothers 24

Go Bulldogs!


GAMES


Señors – SOBs/Faded Roses Referee: Ray Schwartz
No report received.

SF/GOLDEN GATE 52 – Chicago Griffins 10 Referee: Nick Ricono
ARs: Mike Gadoua, Rich Anderson
Evaluators: Kat Todd-Schwartz

EPA BULLDOGS 35 – Las Vegas Blackjacks 24 Referee: Denny Russell
ARs: John Coppinger, John Pohlman
Evaluator: David Williamson

Seconds: St. Mary's – Santa Rosa Referee: Evan Schlinkert
No report received.

EPA Razorbacks – Barbarians POSTPONED TO MAY 5

MEN’S COLLEGE PLAYOFFS AT STANFORD

San Diego State advanced out of the D1 sweet sixteen round that was played at Stanford.

Santa Clara’s season ended with their loss to UC Santa Barbara in Saturday’s semi-final

Sierra College and Santa Rosa JC competed in the D2 bracket, out of which Utah Valley University earned the right to play almost at home, in Salt Lake City, for the finals.

HS PLAYOFFS: TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT

These games were listed as playoff games:

BOYS VARSITY GOLD
Lamorinda – San Mateo Referee: Tom Zanarini
No report received.

Islanders – Santa Rosa
We received a text that Islanders had beaten Santa Clara. Our correspondent was certain that it was Santa Clara. So we’re not sure what happened here.

Marin – Mother Lode Referee: Ian Johnston
No report received.

GRANITE BAY 27– SF/Golden Gate 14 Referee: JC van Staden

BOYS VARSITY SILVER
Buchanan – Stockton

Marin – South Valley Referee: Ian Johnston
No report received.

Diablo – Sac Eagles Referee: Darren Folau
No report received.

ELK GROVE over SF/Golden Gate by forfeit

Bullard – Clovis

Silicon Valley – Nevada Referee: John Pohlman
No report received.

BOYS JUNIOR VARSITY GOLD
Lamorinda – Diablo

SIERRA FOOTHILLS 77 – Marin Highlanders 0 Referee: Bruce Ricard
High-school teams are definitely nice to referee. Players and coaches seem to be much more fair-play and respectful of the referees. This was a very nice game, even if not very balanced.

Sierra Foothill scored 7 tries during the first half, despite a yellow card for repeated infringements. 6 more tries were scored by the home team in the second half. Marin was very close to scoring a try at the very end of the game, but the ball was held up in goal, and the final whistle was blown.

Danville 17 – JESUIT 22 Referee: Tony Levitan
After their scheduled playoff opponent Sacramento Islanders were unable to field a team, Danville coaxed Jesuit to San Ramon for a spirited, high-paced match of exuberant rugby.

The match went down to the final seconds after a furious second half charge by Danville, spearheaded by their dominant scrum play.

Granite Bay – Peninsula Green

SINGLE-SCHOOL GAMES
We have no idea how these fit into playoffs, or whether they are even playoff games at all.

Christian Brothers 26 – BELLARMINE 31 Referee: Jeff Richmond
AR: Anthony Nguyen
By the coaches' accounts, both teams were missing key players as the regular season drew to an end. Bellarmine had been roughed up by Dixon the day before and had spent the night in the area rather than make the trip to San Jose and back. It was a very competitive match with Christian Bros. taking an early lead. A CB forward played very heads up ball on a tackle close to the goal line - he was brought down less than a meter short but immediately reached out and touched it down in-goal for the try. Bellarmine was effective in finding overlaps and brought the score to a 19-19 tie at half time.

The pace slowed down a bit in the second half with two stoppages for injuries where players needed medical attention. Bellarmine pulled ahead for good with their 8-man taking the ball out of the scrum and racing 20 m weak-side for the score. CB came back to within a try with less than 2 minutes to play. On the ensuing restart by Bellarmine, CB took the ball methodically downfield. Time expired but no stoppage occurred, as CB ran several phases of pick-and-go from their rucks. A CB forward crashed into the Bellarmine defense at 3 m out but lost the ball in a knock-forward. Bellarmine grounded the ball in-goal to end the match.

Thanks to Anthony Nguyen for his AR support and referee coaching report.

HOW TO REFEREE BETTER

Richard Every sent along these links. If you want to know how to move up the ladder, here are some excellent examples of both the right way and the wrong way.

“Below are the USA RUGBY REFEREES videos produced this season for the RSL and 1A competitions. Please feel free to circulate to your referees, as we expect these standards to apply to all referees in National Championships. Thank You!

“Feb V1 - https://vimeo.com/37711945
March V2 - https://vimeo.com/38172822
March V3 - https://vimeo.com/38574917
March V4 - https://vimeo.com/38992375
March V5 - https://vimeo.com/39415943
April 3 - https://vimeo.com/39766892
April 12 - https://vimeo.com/40230378
April 19 - https://vimeo.com/40672018
April 25 - https://vimeo.com/41006314
NO ARMS/SHOULDER - https://vimeo.com/39663073
DUMP TACKLE - https://vimeo.com/39827144 “

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THREE TO CELEBRATE

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THREE PROMOTIONS

We are very pleased to announce the promotions of George O’Neil to the T Panel, Jordan Bruno to L1, and Lee Salgado to L2. Congratulations for well-earned advancement to these Pelicans!

CAN YOU REF THIS WEEKEND?

There appear to be a dozen or more high school playoffs floating around in the ether for this weekend.

If we asked for referees, we’ll do what we can – but then we’ll need some refs.

Let us know if you’d be able to cover one of these possible games.

ANNUAL SOCIETY AWARDS BANQUET

The Pelican Refs 2012 awards banquet will be held on Saturday, June 30th. This is also the first weekend of the Palo Alto Summer Sevens.

The location is pending, but mark your calendars now and set that Saturday aside for team-building, camaraderie and memory-making.

SEASON-ENDING HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

May 4-5-6: the Northern California Invitational Tournament, for high school boys’ and girls’ teams, in Sacramento.

There will be four full playoff games on Friday afternoon between 3 and 6. Let us know if you can help out.

The tournament will be held on eight pitches, so a large flock of Pelicans will be needed. Games will be played from 9 – 7 on Saturday and from 9 – 3 on Sunday.
http://sites.google.com/site/norcalinvitational/home

Hotel rooms will be provided if we know you are coming from afar.

Please reply with your availability for this weekend event.

MOVING ON

Stanford advances to the final four, to be played on their home pitch May 11-12, by defeating Cal 41-22 in the national quarter-final on Sunday.

Santa Rosa advances to the USA men’s D2 club playoffs with victories over ORSU and Snake River last weekend.

Stanislaus advanced to the D3 playoffs at the same event.

GAMES

Saturday
SACRAMENTO LIONS 50 – Sacramento Capitals 30 Referee: Scott Wood
AR: Peter Andrew
On the hottest day of the season (for me), the teams put together the highest cumulative score I've refereed this year. Both teams played very well. The competition was high as is to be expected for a local derby.

HT: Lions lead 33-10

Capitals took advantage of some rare shade at the half to discuss strategy. The Lions apparently rested on their laurels as the Capitals exploited the defense several times before the hosts regrouped.

All in all, an exciting and fun game to referee.

EPA Razorbacks – Barbarians POSTPONED to April 28

OLYMPIC CLUB 41 – San Mateo 0 Referee: Tom Zanarini
ARs: Mike King, Bruce Carter
Evaluator: Mike Malone

Seconds: OLYMPIC CLUB 106 – San Mateo 7 Referee: Darren Folau

Silver playoff game:
SFGG 40 – South Valley 20 Referee: Bruce Carter

SF/Golden Gate 19 – EPA BULLDOGS 32 Referee: Jordan Bruno
ARs: Tony Levitan, Eric Rauscher
Great weather accompanied a great day of rugby Saturday on Treasure Island. SFGG would be playing for a berth in the playoffs, while the Bulldogs had already secured the first seed going into the match. SFGG played well, evidenced by their disciplined play and low penalty count. The Bulldogs’s scrumhalf was carded early for a high tackle on SFGG’s winger. Continued penalties kept SFGG in the game well into the second half when three repeated infringements at the ruck by the Bulldog’s defense led to a SFGG penalty try. Golden Gate was knocking at the door in the last minutes of the match following a Bulldog penalty for leaving feet at the ruck inside the SFGG 22. With little time left, the Bulldogs poached the ball, passed it wide, and ran back a try in the corner. The conversion was slotted from the sideline, ending the chance of an SFGG upset. Many thanks to Tony Levitan and Eric Rauscher for AR duties. And for all the Pelicans at the clubhouse following the match—Bruce, Mike, Tom, Tony, and Eric—I owe you a pint.

[Editor's Note: Why the pint? you ask. Well, Bryant Byrnes refereed a tie on the Fog pitch and thus had to buy the first round.

[As those were being drained, Mike Malone affirmed that Jordan had earned promotion the previous week. Attention to orders was called and a field promotion awarded. Thus: Jordan owed the next round.

[But Jordan hadn't enough cash and the ATM in the corner was kaput. Just as well - everyone needed to drive home - and a pint in the future is definitely worth more than a pint in the past.]

Seconds: SF/Golden Gate 36 – EPA BULLDOGS 37 Referee: Tony Levitan
AR: Eric Rauscher, Jordan Bruno (1st half)

D3 Bowl Final:
COLUSA 33 – Sacramento Blackhawks 19 Referee: James Hinkin

Fog White Devils 39 – Fog Black Mambas 39 Referee: Bryant Byrnes
After SJSU canceled for a second time, the Fog figured that the final match of the season on their home TI pitch would be intramural 10s. (While they seemed to have enough for 15s, they wanted to keep things moving with lots of substitutes.)

And back and forth it went all day. Black up initially, but then behind. With no time left, Black scores and ties the game-thus costing me about $30 at the SFGG bar when word got out to the other refs.

UC Davis 13 – ST. MARY’S 52 Referee: Craig Smith
ARs: Chris Tucker, Bruce Ricard
Evaluator: Kat Todd-Schwartz

Seconds: UC Davis – St. Mary's Referee: Chris Tucker
No report received.

Women's Grizzly Scrimmages Referee: Lois Bukowski
No report received.

PELICAN IN COLORADO

AIR FORCE 68 – Arizona State 10 Referee: Phil Akroyd
ARs: Brian Zapp & Derek Summers
A beautiful day at Infinity Park for the early kick-off of the day. The game was pretty much one way traffic throughout but it still kept me busy. Even though they were winning comfortably for most of the game, Air Force insisted on displaying a lack of discipline in relation to law 10.4 (e), as well as being very sore winners. Two of USAR's finest officials were on the sideline (with radios) as my extra two-pairs of eyes.

When the game was out of the way we retired to the Try Club to take in Glendale v Highlanders and enjoy the banter with the locals. Time for a bite to eat and a couple of Harps before returning to the airport for the late flight home. A great day out.

HIGH SCHOOL

Wednesday, April 18
JESUIT 57 – Fairfield Prep (CT) 21 Referee: Phil Akroyd
AR: Rich Boyer
The visitors managed to make this a competitive game for the majority of the first half, but their missed tackles, inferior tackle clear-out and static back play finally exposed them. Jesuit put the hammer down in the second half but they still appear to lack a pack leader, capable of instilling some discipline in the Marauder forwards.

High School Payoffs

April 21st, 2012 For Pete's Sake, Santa Rosa
SANTA ROSA 39 – Peninsula Green 7 Referee: Cary Bertolone
Kick off at 12:00 and it was over 80 degrees already; 87 degrees by the end of the game, and it was obvious that Peninsula Green was not used to the heat nor did they have as many subs as Rosa.

The game started out with a lot of penalties, especially on Peninsula Green for coming in from the side and high tackles. Rosa scored two tries close to the ten minute mark. Peninsula Green got a great converted try with their numbers 6, 7 and 4 working together with some power running to make it 12-7. Three minutes later, Rosa got an easy one when during their lineout, their 8 man grabbed the throw and ran right through green for a try to take away their momentum, making it 17-7 at the half.

I thought it was anyone's game as Green was making less mistakes than the earlier part of the game. The second half started out even, but Rosa made a long run and try and that made it 24-7. Shortly after, green's captain did ten minutes on the sidelines for a kicking offense and between the heat no one was used to, the dismal score and the playing down a man, Rosa began to take advantage. They used their speed to score two more tries and another easy lineout try to win going away, 39-7. Rosa has a phenomenal player in the back line that was Sonoma County's overall MVP in football (scoring 6 touchdowns in one game). He was a rookie in rugby at the beginning of the year, but has learned to also be a great rugger now, too. He sees the field and creates offense all game long. Wow!!!

Varsity Silver:
SFGG 40 - South Valley 20 Referee: Bruce Carter
High school playoffs seem to be underway - I offered to do a game, and then the opponent and the venue and the date almost changed at the last minute. Which is typical for this time of the year.

We ended up on Ray Sheeran Field at 11 AM on a beautiful day, sailboats blowing around the bay like hot dog wrappers at Candlestick Park.

This was a Boys Varsity Silver matchup between SFGG and South Valley. I used to do a lot of HS games, but my work schedule has picked up considerably since the market tanked and my 'retirement' vanished, so I'd only done two high school matches thus far this year and one of them was… South Valley hosting SFGG. So, a rematch. South Valley won the first time.

South Valley scored first and last but SFGG had their backs working like a drill team, interpassing, weaving, working their magic down the pitch.

We did have an appeal for 'held up' when a defender got his hand underneath the ball. Time for a little exposition.

Dirty little referee secret for our non-referee readers: you have to get more than a hand under it to hold it up, unless you have that hand in a fist or the hand is off the ground. The ball only has to be grounded and the grass is part of the ground - try it yourself: put the back of your hand on the ground and place a rugby ball on the palm. Push down on the ball. The ball will be grounded.

It was fun to do a well-played, fast game in front of an appreciative crowd. It's a shame when the season is over.

SILICON VALLEY 49 - Alameda 12 Referee: John Pohlman
TJs: Assistant Coaches from either team
I got a call from Silicon Valley coach Norm Boccone Tuesday asking if I was available to referee a wild card game between his team and Alameda on Saturday in Mt. View.

Winner keeps playing loser done. Sure but better check with our assignment guru. No worries from the Pelican Guru.

So Saturday I got to see some talented high school rugby players go full tilt from the middle.

I arrived at Whisman Sports Center in Mt. View, about fifteen minutes after leaving home, at 10:00 AM for an 11:00AM kick-off. Most of both teams players were already booted and warming up.

SV won the toss and elected to kick the ball. Their defense was outstanding the whole game, so I guess they wanted to start on defense from the get go.

Alameda scored first and converted the kick to go up 7-0. Silicon Valley scored the next two trys at 7 and 12 minutes. Three try s in the opening 15 minutes, the players were up for an open, flowing game.

At 17 minutes Silicon Valley was yellow carded for repeat offenses within their 22 meters. I had warned them 5 minutes earlier about penalties in the red zone.

Alameda scored another try five minutes into the sin bin.

Once SV was back at full strength they scored two more try s at 28 minutes and 30 plus. We were playing 30 minute halves in case of a tie, there would have time for overtime. At 29:30 Alameda had a scrum put in and lost the ball. SV scored and took the momentum from there.

Half time score SV 22 Alameda 12.

The second half saw SV's bigger players breaking tackles and rambling for 50 meter tries. SV scored 5 unanswered tries in the second half. These were wear-down trys. The smaller Alameda players could only bring down the bigger SV players for so long, #12 for Alameda being the exception. His tackling was outstanding.

Good luck in the next round.

Final Silicon Valley 49 Alameda 12

Bellarmine Vs Fairfield Prep (Connecticut) Referee: Bruce Ricard
The Bellarmine kids are amazing; they should receive a fair play award or something. They were respecting their opponents, and decisions of the referee, as I have rarely seen. The other team was also pretty good. Maybe it's actually because they were all 18...

The game seemed pretty balanced, both teams were playing good rugby, but Fairfield made a few defensive mistakes, and almost every time Bellarmine was scoring on those occasions. Bellarmine won this game with about 10 tries to 1.

Monday:
SAN MATEO 34 – Elsie Allen 25 Referee: John Coppinger
Elsie Allen took on San Mateo Monday night at Burlingame High School.

Elsie Allen surprised the bigger and faster San Mateo Warriors with aggressive counter-rucking, smart (for the most part) kicking, and daring defense, which led to two first-half intercept tries and a 19-17 lead at the break.

San Mateo's power and pace made the difference in the second half, especially when Elsie Allen kicks began to find speedy and powerful San Mateo backs as San Mateo scored three second-half tries to Elsie Allen's one.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Brian Zapp and Phil Akroyd give two thumbs up to Infinity Park rugby. Photo by Gilligan.

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Pelicus Scriptoris