DULY NOTED

HAIL, PELICUS!

STANFORD GAMES ON A BUSY WEEKEND

We need refs for two games at Stanford this Friday evening and two this Sunday morning.

And if we don’t get a few more refs for Saturday, some Pelicans will be doubling up with first- and second-sides matches. There are matches available as close as Davis, San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

TWO-GAMES HERE, ONE GAME THERE

MARITIME ACADEMY 17 – Santa Rosa JC 3 Referee: Chris Tucker
AR: Rich Anderson
A perfect day for rugby, 60 and sunny with little breeze down by the Carquinez Strait. Pitch is still a little firm, with a couple of ankle-breakers still to be smoothed out, but nothing major. Both sides came in a little rusty, and we had scrum after scrum in the first half. SRJC's kicking was also a little wayward, and gave the academy fullback plenty of opportunity to show off his powerful sidestep, gaining plenty of ground in the process. The errors kept momentum to a minimum, but both sides came close, with the academy hooker knocking on as he crossed the line, and the SRJC left wing just short on a kick-and-chase in the corner -- the kick was weighted perfectly, but the fullback made it over to cover. A couple of penalties and it was 3-3 at the half.

Rich's prediction at the half was that the SRJC defence would tire in the second, and so it proved, with a couple of tries bashed in by the forwards. The first I was somewhat complicit in, as I got tangled up with a tackler coming from an unexpected angle, but the second was a fine rolling maul, finished off by the #7 who dived over from 3 meters out. Both were converted from easy angles. Both sides started to tire, and the tackles became a little more cavalier with it -- nothing malicious, but enough that I had to speak with a couple of players on either team. One in particular was a badly timed tackle on an academy player jumping for the ball. Not particularly dangerous, but then the dumb clown stood over his opponent and jeered at him. Not in this game, mate.

SRJC never stopped, and camped out in their opponents' 22 for the last 5 minutes of the game, but to no effect. The stronger, fitter team won, but this early workout will have given both coaches plenty of material to work on before the season starts in earnest.

Seconds: MARITIME ACADEMY 17 – Santa Rosa JC 10 Referee: Rich Anderson
The referee reports that it was a “spirited match”.

Diablo Gaels hosting Fresno: Canceled

Orlando 0 – DAYTONA 24 Referee: Sam Reagle
Location: Orlando, FL
Weather: Perfect
This was a much better game than the score implies. Daytona's backline was the difference. Orlando had multiple attacks thwarted by turnovers and excellent pursuit from Daytona. The few times Daytona broke into the open, they outran the Orlando pursuit.

After about 11 minutes of back and forth rugby, Daytona scored their first converted try. It would be their only try of the half as a penalty kick about 7 minutes later completed the first half scoring.

The second half was very similar to the first. The visitor’s backline scored a converted try about 15 in and another about 10 minutes later. The rest of the half was typical industrial rugby. Both teams ran well, tackled well and rucked well with very few surprises.

After the game we headed to the Pine Street Pub for the social to quench our thirsts and enjoy Southern style hot wings. My thanks to the Orlando RFC for their great hospitality and to the FRFURS for the game.

Next week is USA vs Uruguay in Ft. Lauderdale. Should be a hoot.

RARE PELICAN SIGHTING

From David Williamson:
“Ran into Paul Gauthier at the Military Championships at Fort Benning this week. He was one of the Marine Corps coaches, along with Bob Destafney. According to Paul, the Marines finally played according to the game plan and soundly defeated Navy in the consolation match--earning third place in the tournament.

“Gravelly-voiced Paul, who's been invited to return as a Marine Corps coach next year, wants to be noted in HP.”

We are happy to take note of Pelicus Sibilo Egregius nee Sarcophilus Harrisii, the whistler extraordinaire. Although: while the new Commandant of the California Maritime Academy, COL Destafney, retired from the Marine Corps earlier this year, our friend Paul is retired from the same US Navy that his adopted team soundly defeated!

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

This one shall speak for itself.

And it says, “Ahhhhhh....”

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For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

ALOHA, PELICUS!

HAIL, PELICUS!

CIRCUMSTANCES

Your reporter and scribe is on Maui this week for a medical conference. Matter of fact, just over the top of the laptop screen as these words are being typed looms the blue Pacific, the horizon framed by the islands of Molokai and Lanai.

This missive comes to you through the miracle of the Internet and triumph of discipline over dissipation.

UPCOMING

On November 14 we are only showing two games, both at 1 PM:

Maritime Academy hosting Santa Rosa JC, referee Chris Tucker
Diablo Gaels hosting Fresno, referee Paul Bretz

If you would like to AR, please get in touch with the referee.

The following weekend is an entirely different story: eighteen games and a three-pitch tournament at Chico. Two of these games are Friday night and five of them are on Sunday.

We’ve got nine names in the hat so we need at LEAST a dozen more. Please respond with your availability!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The New York club defeated the All Blues to claim the first-ever Premier League title at Treasure Island on Sunday.

The All Blues have been the dominant team of the pre-WPL era, and are now one of the top two in the higher-level national competition.

The San Diego Surfers won the D1 title.

Referees for the weekend included Paul Bretz and Joe Androvich, as well as Dana Teagarden who has been appointed to referee France v. Canada next week.

Assistant Referees included Preston Gordon, Rod Chance, Mike King, John Coppinger, George O’Neil, Eric Rauscher, Mark Godfrey and Eugene Baker.

Bryan Porter and Kat Todd-Schwartz were on hand to gauge the referees’ performances.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

MARITIME ACADEMY 17 – UC Davis 0 Referee: George O'Neil
Seconds: MARITIME ACADEMY 22 – UC Davis 7 Referee: Mike King

Stanford 19 – TRIPLE THREAT 44 Referee: John Pohlman
Stanford's Division 1 quest for the woman's rugby national championship started this weekend. The Cardinals hosted the Triple Threat in a Friday night game under the lights.

The Triple Threat coming off a top ten finish in Division one woman's rugby, where clicking on all cylinders.

Stanford playing quite a few rookies and their first A side game.

This was a fun, fast game to referee. I think it was a great one to watch.

Stanford won the coin flip and received the ball. TTT pressure created a turn over and the TTT started their clinic on how to crash and recycle through phase after phase. I blew my whistle for a knock on around 5 minutes in. This was the norm for the game with lots of ball in play and few stoppages.

The TTT's #10 scored the first two tries of the game. She was a big, smart runner hitting gaps and powerful enough to carry would be tacklers into the try zone. The TTT had numerous crashing, hard running forward and their #6 was rewarded with a late first half try. Half time score TTT 17 Stanford 0.

The score could have been out of range if not for the outstanding tackling of the Stanford forwards lead by captain and #8 Francis.

The second half was more of the same. TTT recycling the ball through forward crashes. Textbook play leading to double digit phases.

Stanford's Eagle Jessica Watkins did not get allot of ball but still managed a hat trick in the second half.

I questioned Stanford's coach on the logic of starting the season against a veteran-filled powerhouse team at the end of the season. His comment we want to set the standard.

Well if that is the standard, I'm sure we will see them in May.

Thanks for a fun, well-disciplined game.

ANDREW MITTRY MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT IN REDDING

Report by Bruce Bernstein:
The tourney and specifically the host & organizer (& person who started the Shasta team) Andreas treated us like Gods, from the Club Med-style Hotel & Spa (Giai) Friday night to the half-a-cow tri tip Preston ate.

We stopped both directions in Williams, driving at night was more scenic, the rugby was very good for pre-season; at a beautiful park on the Sacto River in Anderson (about 10 miles south or before Redding). Turns out the tourney was also to benefit/recognize Andreas's son who died in a horrific car accident a few years ago as he was about to start at SRCC.

We had 3 refs to start with Dave Ellis & Preston & me rotating on 2 fields & an old Clown & Engineer Prof & coach of OIT did a few games to spell us.

Sacto State & Chico State both had 2 very good, well coached teams; but the surprise team to us & probably everyone who played them were WOR or Western Oregon (according to my wife, a teachers college near Salem & Corvallis). Very scrappy, great defense, hardly any penalties & counter-attacked to create their offense all the time. Plus the added bonus was they had no coach to yell at me for being me.

Chico men, Mendocino, Santa Rosa JC, & the host Shasta were also there.

I'd recommend we get more refs for this real good time next year. Dude

[Editor’s Note: It’s reports like this that will enable us to ‘get’ more refs, a process which is entirely dependent on volunteers.

[For those who don’t know, NorCal refs do not receive reimbursement in terms of match fees, mileage, expenses, etc, no more than rugby players do. We get the water you give us at halftime and the respect you give us throughout the year.

[Like rugby players, we receive the immense pleasure and satisfaction of participating in the greatest game on Earth in the best RFU in the USA.]

Report by Dave Ellis:
SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE 24 – Oregon Institute of Technology 0
OIT who, to be fair, looked tired as they were playing the second of back-to-back games, were unable to deal with SRJC’s well-disciplined power and ball-retention approach to the game. The Junior College provided most of the attacking highlights in this game, none more so than Bryce Paulson, their impressive #8 who either scored or provided the foundation for all of the SRJC tries.

OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 44 – Mendocino 7
One of the day’s final games saw a bare-bones Mendocino side beaten by a younger, fitter OIT squad. Mendocino fielded a relatively raw but athletically talented side with excellent size, which can be expected to improve dramatically as they gain experience. OIT’s speed and ball-handling ability came through on the day, as they attacked with vigor at every opportunity. Mendocino’s spirit never failed though, and they competed hard and fairly throughout the game.

Report by Preston Gordon:
It went very well - Bruce, Dave, me and the guy from Oregon whose name I
forget (Bruce knows him) all did games. Each game was 40 minutes (2x20). I did
5. Bruce did 4, I think. We had 2 fields and were all pretty busy the whole day.
The tournament didn't have a final or anything, but several of the college games were very fast. Western Oregon and Chico State looked to be in good form, along with SRJC and Sacramento State, and those games were pretty fast. There were also some good matchups between the men's sides and the university sides, with each of them using their strengths effectively. I'd say the highlight of my day was the Western Oregon vs Chico State game - very fast and well contested, although the scoreline was a bit one-sided. Western Oregon was bigger, faster, and able to counterattack more effectively, and won the game.

The hospitality was excellent. There must have been at least 30 huge tri-tips on the BBQ after the tournament was over, along with 2 kinds of salad, bread, and beer. Bruce and I stayed for a meal and then hit the road. The hotel was great too - very comfortable and located right off I-5 and just a mile or so from the pitches. Bruce and I took the trip and had a pit stop at Granzella's in Williams (highly recommended) on the way back. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone else.

The Chico State coach is a wonder to behold. He followed the action around the pitch so that he could hector the referee from as close as possible - whoever it was; he did it to all of us. It was pretty annoying, and he was having a go even when his side was winning the game and/or going forward. The guy from Oregon complained about it to me after his game with that team and didn't seem too happy.

There was an injury in one of my games (Shasta vs Mendocino) that prompted me to ask one of the ladies organizing the tournament to call 911. The paramedics responded within a few minutes. If you have any questions about this, please give me a call.

It was a pretty busy weekend of rugby, after AR'ing 2 games on Friday in the rain, driving 200 miles up north Friday night, refereeing 200 minutes on Saturday, driving back to SF Saturday night, and AR'ing 2 more games on Sunday.

Well worth it however!

[Editor’s Note: This exemplifies the volunteer spirit and the ensuing rewards of being a Pelican!]

SACRAMENTO STATE women 20 – U. of Oregon 0 Referee: Bruce Carter
My wife and I were staying in Lodi Friday and Saturday, being involved in Scott Wood’s wedding. With the rehearsal dinner over early Friday and the nuptials not scheduled until 6 PM, an 11 AM kickoff thirty miles away was ideal.

This was my third time working with Sac State in the past month: at Reno, UC Santa Cruz, and now on their home pitch. Their improvement is evident already, well before the season.

I apologize for not having names. The exigencies of having to prepare to officiate a wedding later in the day required my immediate departure, despite numerous invitations to attend the social.

Sac State’s #10 scored two lovely solo tries in the first half, both from first-phase ball. She ran forty meters more or less down the middle of the pitch for the first centered try and twenty meters up the left touch for the second, having broken to the weak side from a scrum.

In the second half their Captain and #9 recovered her own up-and-under to score at the right post. The game was capped by Sac State’s #12, a very dynamic runner who had a knack not for making tacklers miss but for causing them actually to bounce off, leaving a trail of would-be tacklers in her wake and scoring between the posts.

I’d like to be able to say that a stiff breeze prevented any of the conversions from being made.

OTHER SUNDAY GAMES

Seconds: Stanford women 5 – U. OF OREGON 17 Referee: Bjorn Stumer
On a beautiful sunny November day at the pristine Stanford pitch the University of Oregon ladies, composed of A&B side players, confronted a young and inexperienced Stanford B side. The first half had Oregon written all over it, as the visitors put in three tries, one which was converted. Most of the match was played in the Stanford half, but the local ladies put up a stern defense and contained most of the damage.

The second half was altogether a scrappier affair, as many inexperienced subs were given a run. Much knocking on by both sides resulted in a large number of scrums that, however, I called uncontested for safety with 8 minutes to go. Ultimately Stanford found its pace, or Oregon tired out, as the hosts found new found vigor and kept Oregon at bay. No more score for Oregon and Stanford scored a fine pushover try on the last play of the match. Overall a great day of Rugby.

STANFORD men 31 – Santa Clara 15 Referee: James Hinkin
On a perfect spring fall day in Palo Alto the Santa Clara men traveled to Stanford for an early preseason match. With Stanford’s football team playing on Saturday the match was moved to Sunday to accommodate the tailgaters, some of whom I am sure were playing on Sunday. Ah, college.

Two well coached but rusty teams met up and were ready to go right on time and it was Santa Clara who struck first with their lively #4 chasing hard on a kick and intercepting a pass to run unmolested 60 yards to score under the posts. Stanford was able to battle back with 2 more tries in the half (one converted) to go into the break with a 5 point lead, but at that point it was anyone’s game. The sides were even and battling back and forth in a fast contest and it was great theater for the fans.

The second half saw more of the same when it came to possession and play, but Stanford was able to finish just a bit better. Santa Clara was able to score an unconverted try and a penalty kick and Stanford countered with three tries of their own with only one kick going astray. The game, in fact, ended on the lone unconverted try as some ill discipline from Santa Clara was penalized and Stanford tapped quickly to rumble in for a score. Final Score: Stanford 31 - Santa Clara 15

Seconds: STANFORD men 27 – Santa Clara 15 Referee: Chris Labozzetta

HOLY MATRIMONY

A large flock of Pelicans attended the wedding of Scott Wood and the former Danielle Vervais in Lodi, Saturday evening.

The ceremony was outdoors, under the lights, and was officiated by a Pelican with another bird perched under the lamppost to the groom’s immediate left.

The happy couple then jetted off to Maui for their honeymoon.

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Imagine the honeymooners on the beach. Your editorial staff is staying about three miles up the beach from their nest and we don’t have a lens long enough to breach their privacy.

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GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

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NEWEST C3

Mark Godfrey has been promoted to C3 on the basis of his refereeing at the Stanford Tens last weekend. Congratulations!


REFS NEEDED

Once again, the weekend looms and we are undermanned.

Friday:
Night game: Cal Maritime hosting UC Davis, seconds, following the 7 PM first-side match. Needs a ref.
There’s also another Friday night game in the Bay Area. Let us know.

Saturday:
Saturday tournament: Andrew Mittry Memorial in Redding. We’ve got three refs and hotel rooms are being provided. Could use one or two more.
Saturday game: Humboldt State hosting SF State. Needs a ref.

Sunday:
Sunday there are three Bay Area games that need refs. Let us know if you’d like to ref or AR.

Friday and Sunday:
ARs needed for the women’s national championships.
Friday there will be two games each at 9, 11 and 1. We’ve got five ARs and could use one more.
Sunday there are six games, also overlapping, and we only have four ARs. Could use at least two more.

LAST WEEKEND

UC Davis B 0 – Sierra College 29 Referee: Phil Akroyd
Sierra College seemed to be up for this more than Davis. UCD didn’t help their own cause as they missed many tackles and lost a lot of lineout ball. Sierra had a grizzly looking set of second rowers who had an amazingly high level of energy and fantastic work rate.

UC Davis B/C 27 – Sierra College B 46 Ref: Akroyd
The second match involved a lot of subs, due to the preseason nature of the game. It was more open and provided many more tries, and UCD got on the scoreboard.

STANFORD TENS

This year’s edition began at the civilized hour of 8:35 AM and all three pitches began right on time. Full marks to Chris Labozzetta, Roberto Santiago and Eric Rauscher for mobilizing the teams and playing ball!

Ten referees did from four to six games each. New Guy Prys Hughes did some AR work, as well as young Ben Bravo completing three weekends on the line on the trot.

The women’s bracket was won handily by a mostly-alumnae Stanford team called Sequoias. They pretty much had their way with all comers, winning one 24-minute match 59-0. John Pohlman refereed their championship match against the Fog, faces decorated as skulls on the day.

The men’s bracket, with seven teams playing a quasi-round robin followed by a final, featured something of an upset.

Pete Smith refereed the Stanford Red team against the Stanford Graduate School of Business side. The undergrads took a two-try lead and looked set to coast, but the coasters must have been reversible as the future venture-capital friendly X scored the next three tries to seal the deal.

BARACUS TENS: McGEORGE BACK FROM THE DEAD ON HALLOWEEN

Report by Bjorn Stumer:
Beautiful day of Rugby in San Francisco for the Baracus 10's tournament. The morning fog soon gave way to glorious sunshine and a full schedule of matches was on its way with three Pelicans in attendance.

USF B-Side 0 – McGEORGE 22 Referee:
McGeorge proved to be the surprise team at this tournament. They arrived with good numbers and are obviously well drilled. On the day they were far too strong for a scrappy USF B side.

McGEORGE 24 – Vallejo 0
Another uneven match which McGeorge easily walked away with. Vallejo fielded a fit and capable side, and I am not quite sure why they were not able to score at all.

McGEORGE 19 – USF A-Side 0
This surely must be a first: I refereed the same side three times (McGeorge), and they won all of these matches and were unscored against. A good day for them, for me, and for all involved.

Report by Mike King:
BARACUS 40 – U. of San Francisco A 0
VALLEJO 24 – USF B 14 round robin

MARIN 19 – Vallejo 0 playoff round
MARIN 21 – McGeorge 14 final round
BARACUS 28 – McGeorge 12 final round
Round robin for first 6 matches. Then a playoff round after which Vallejo and both USF teams needed to leave.

Last 3 teams played round robin, so however won between Marin and BA won tourny (Rich did last game- I had to leave)

Report by Rich Boyer:
A cool morning turned into a very pleasant day. Only one pitch was available for seven teams, so there was no downtime between games. McGeorge ended pool play ranked #1 but ran out of gas against motivated Marin and Baracus teams in the knockout round. Baracus ended up winning the tournament. Baracus focused on good back play with good running bursts. Scrumhalf had some nice boxkicks as well.

Seeing ageless Mike Comstock at prop brought back memories.

FOG FEST UNDER CLEAR SKIES?

Report by John Coppinger:
The combination of the Bay Bridge closure and the busy life (soccer and trick or treating) of Ms. Paige Anderson (age 6) prevented Rich Anderson from refereeing the mini-rugbyfest hosted by SF Fog on the Jobs Corps field on Halloween. This left me and new pelican (but long-time NCRFU stalwart) Dave Ellis to handle 6 40-minute matches played among Fog A and B, Berkeley A and B, San Francisco State Gators, and NCRFU debutante San Bruno Saints. (Since Dave drove down from Redding, I was too embarrassed to complain about an hour and twenty minute drive through Marin to reach TI, a destination I can usually reach in 12 minutes or so from my Oakland home.)

Rich missed a beautiful day on the bay that was perfect for rugby, cool (but not cold) and no wind. Hundreds of pelican were hunting along the western shore of the island as I arrived and I took this as a good omen.

Dave handled matches 1, 3 and 5, while I did matches 2, 4 and 6. Unfortunately, Dave left just before the sixth match on his long journey home before I remembered to collect his scores.

In game 2, Berkeley A beat Fog A 17-7 in an entertaining game. Game 4 featured Berkeley B falling to a smaller and much younger and improved SFSU side, 19-14. In the final match, and a good match it was, San Bruno faced host Fog A. San Bruno looked the better side early and just missed scoring a number of times, but Fog held on to ultimately keep San Bruno scoreless and prevail 7-0. San Bruno was hampered by having three players receive yellow cards, one for a shoulder charge and 2 for failing to retreat 10 meters on penalties, and did struggle with the directives against bridging in rucks and the need to bind when rucking; nonetheless, San Bruno's discipline and sportsmanship on the day are to be noted.

My thanks to the unknown Berkeley supporter who ran touch for six matches.

SUNDAY

Maritime Academy Scrimmage Referee: Joe Androvich
Assistant Referee: Shamoun Aszed
My games were more like a mix-match scrimmage, ask the ref what that means type of deal. It was a good learning tool for the players, but I have no score to report.

SAY A PRAYER

John Chapman of Seaside, Oregon, has refereed several times here in Pelicanland and his voice will be known to many as the stadium announcer from national championships at Stanford to the IRB Sevens when it was played in Los Angeles.

John has been dwelling in the valley of the shadow of death the past week and more, having contracted H1N1 influenza and then sustained any number of complications.

His co-workers have established a blog to provide information about his condition and his family: http://www.johnchapmanseaside.blogspot.com/

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Trying to get all of the referees together for a photograph at a tournament is just about impossible.

Here’s a small sampling of those at Stanford for the Tens tournament last Saturday:

Referees: John Pohlman, Bruce Carter, and Bruce Bernstein
Referee Coach: David Williamson
Assistant Referees: Ben Bravo, Prys Hughes

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L’ÉTAT, C’EST MOI

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NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING

John Tyler went to join the NCRRS and entered Coach. He was listed as the Coach of the Northern California Rugby Referee Society. So pay attention to what he says!

Mike Gadoua got his fingers crossed at the keyboard and was charged $150 to sign up for CIPP. (It should be $60.)

It turns out that Mike is registered not as a member of the society but as THE SOCIETY ITSELF.

REFS NEEDED

It’s a weekly ritual: we abase ourselves and beg for more referees for the upcoming Saturday.

For Halloween, we now have three tournaments and three additional 80-minute matches besides. Seventeen Pelicans have confirmed their availability – about five fewer than we need.

Let us know your pleasure: tournament fifteens, tens, or a regular game.

The next big crunch weekend will be November 21. Plan ahead and try to be available to referee on that date.

GAMES LAST WEEKEND

CHICO STATE 48 – Southern Oregon 5 Referee: Phil Akroyd
Southern Oregon travelled with 18 players, while the home team had a sideline packed with players in this pre-season friendly. Unfortunately, nobody emphasized the “friendly”.

It looked like it would be a blow-out before the game started. Chico looked lean and mean, while S.O looked lethargic after a day of travelling. Chico were peppered with Sacramento area high school talent while S.O looked physically inferior. It was a bit of a shock when S.O got the first try after just five minutes – a lineout 5m from the opposition try line went straight to the front, was caught and the back-rower dropped over the line. I heard the Chico front man say “Sorry guys, I just took my eyes off him”. Pre-season indeed, but game-on.

It seemed like coach Jagoe’s comment before the game had some pertinence. He was “concerned over which Chico would show up”.

No panic though. He reassured his team, told them to take their time and not be in a rush to score. The Wildcats played controlled phases. Rucking, picking and driving to the blind-side and opening up the back on the open side. They killed Oregon at the rucks and seemed to have found their rhythm with a try on 20mins. It also helped that the S.O lock was in the bin for a no-wrap hit. They made hay while the lock sat and got another try to take the lead five minutes later.

A couple more late tackles from either team meant more yellows and more open spaces, which Chico took advantage of.
Halftime: Chico 17 – 5 S.O

The second half continued as the first finished. Power play from Chico and more outstanding work from Jesuit grad and number eight, Zeke Sulzen saw him get his second try.

High tempers continued through the second half and Chico sustained a red for a dangerous tackle on the S.O center. Think back to the video examples of case studies of the new dangerous tackle law amendment that we watched at the ref AGM last week, and this tackle was more clear-cut than those.

The home team were still powerful with 14 and got a penalty try with the last play of the game. A wonderful phase of rugby put the winger in on the try line with 7m to go, two supporting players and only the opposition winger to beat. The defender went way too high, bringing the ball carrier to ground. Penalty try, one final yellow card.

I look forward to seeing more from these teams later in the season as they both put together some tremendous, powerful rugby, with skilled, fast backs

STANFORD Women 49 – California 30 Referee: James Hinkin
With much of the country struggling with rain and snow - even to the point of delaying some meaningless baseball games - I arrived at Stanford Sunday with both teams prepared to struggle with temperatures in the high 70s and clear blue skies. We somehow found the courage to go on.

For an early pre-season match both sides had combined their rookies for a camp/scrimmage which was just finishing up when I arrived. The veterans were warming up and the captains decided on three 20 minute periods of 10 a side rugby and (much to Cal's dismay) uncontested scrums. Stanford elected to defend the right half (facing away from the clubhouse) and when Cal kicked off, made one pass and sprinted the length of the field for a try. Cal replied within minutes with a long breakaway of their own and Stanford took their turn for a third 60+ meter breakaway try in the first 5 minutes. After that the teams decided that some defense is also part of playing rugby and the game settled down. The play seesawed back and forth with Cal finishing the first period up 15-10.

The second period saw much of the same with both sides evenly matched. The game suffered for rhythm as subs were liberally brought on and teammates got used to each other again. The second period finished with 2 tries apiece and brought the day's tally to 25-20.

The third period was a completely different game as Stanford brought in their speed players and Cal had no counter. Four tries to Stanford and the first conversions of the day against one try to Cal brought the total to a lopsided 49-30. Both teams showed some of the character that could define them for the season with Stanford using speed to outflank opponents and Cal using power and ball control to dominate. But then again, things can change a lot in a few months. It will be interesting to see how these team match up in the winter.

MEN’S SLUGFEST

The captains’ meeting was called for 7:30 AM, with kick-offs set for eight.

Your writer arrived at 7:15, having driven most of the way around Monterey Bay in dense pre-dawn fog, headlights and windshield wipers a-working. Ascending the hill to the pitch the road emerged atop the marine layer.

Four teams were warming up, doing passing drills, running to and fro. Four college rugby teams were eager to begin their Rugby Day ahead of Sol’s arrival.

At 7:26 the sun stuck his nose over the horizon, sensed a beautiful clear day ahead, and climbed out of bed. What was a dark gray, forbidding fog from the inside became from above a brilliant white bed of matted cotton insulating the waters of the Monterey Bay.

Play ball!

Ten college teams played in two pools while five B sides were separated. The tournament did not keep scores or standings but of course the referees did: the only undefeated teams were Long Beach State, Sierra College B and San Jose State B.

Earlier in the day it looked like Sierra College and San Jose State’s A sides were the class of the tournament, so a match was arranged between them at the end of the day, which San Jose State won, 24-12.

However, neither of these teams played Long Beach, who went home 3-0, and when San Jose State heard about this fourth added match, they played their B side as their A side and dropped one.

Is this confusing? Maybe that’s why the Slugs didn’t want to track the results.

The men’s college D2 should be very competitive this year, with Reno dropping down and these other teams improving.

The tournament provided two athletic trainers, capable and delightful young women with the enchanting names of Mercedes Evangelista and Aphrodite Daphnis. Two angels on a rugby pitch from heaven!

The referees, a solidly terrestrial crew, were: Mike King, Pete Smith, Eric Rauscher, Sandy Robertson, Mark Godfrey, Rod Chance, Bruce Bernstein, Chris Labozzetta and Bruce Carter.

Mike King’s report:
UC Santa Cruz Slugfest

General comment: it was exciting to see so many new players to the game, in their early learning phase with obvious potential and a great interest in improving.

SF STATE 14 – Santa Clara B 7
Early round match with a solid showing by both sides. SFSU controlled play for most of the first half, with the novice Santa Clara side coming into its own in the second.

UC SANTA CRUZ 28 – UC Davis B 0
The hosts were more experienced with the flow of the game and struck quickly to send the message to the brand new players of this young UC Davis side. To their credit the visitors did not back down or give up. When they trade some of their American football instincts for the freer-flowing pace of rugby, they undoubtedly will see improvement in the score.

UC Santa Cruz 7 – SF STATE 12
The host side sent a less experienced group of players into this match, but they held their own. Again, SF State seemed to keep the attack in tight, but occasionally sent the ball wide. Both sides counterattacked with some success gaining ground.

WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE FIRST SEASON ENDS

ALL BLUES 82 – Oregon Rugby Sports Union 10 Referee: Joe Androvich
ARs: John Coppinger and Rich Anderson
On a rare sunny, windless morning on Treasure Island, the All Blues closed out their undefeated season with a victory over visiting ORSU.

The All Blues scored five tries in the first half but missed all their conversion attempts.

In the second half, the All Blues dotted the ball down closer to the goal posts, netting six conversions in their nine tries. ORSU scored two well-earned tries with strong, consistent pressure on the All Blues goal line at 50 minutes, and a long run by its fullback at 63 minutes.

The observers, which included Bryan Porter, Dixon Smith and Dave Williamson, noted a spirited competition between the ARs to see which one could raise his touch flag the highest.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL D1 PLAYOFFS

The first round and quarterfinals for D1 were played in Boston this past weekend.

The NorCal Triple Threat lost to the Glendale Lady Raptors 20-0 on Saturday but came back to defeat Chicago North Shore 10-7 in the consolation game Sunday.

The four top-seeded teams all won and will advance to the semifinals.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Treasure Island will host the best rugby clubs in the USA the first weekend in November when the Women’s Premier League and D1 competitions decide their champions.

In D1, San Diego will face Atlanta and Seattle will take on NOVA. These games will be played on Friday, November 6.

The WPL teams will play off for a Cup and a Bowl. Cup teams are the All Blues, Beantown, New York and Minnesota Valkyries. Those contesting the Bowl will be Keystone, Twin Cities Amazons, ORUS and Washington, DC.

Six games will be played each day on Friday, November 6, and Sunday, November 8. Paul Bretz and Joe Androvich will be among the referees for the event.

With this schedule, ideally we should have four or more Pelicans on hand each day to serve as Assistant Referees. Two have raised a feathered appendage so far. Let us know if you can take that Friday off and/or migrate out for some Sunday rugger.

2010 MEN’S CLUB COMPETITIONS FEATURE NEW TEAMS

D1:
The season takes on a proper length with the addition of the South Bay Barbarians. League play will commence on January 9, with the final week of the regular season being April 24. There are off-weeks for Presidents’ Day and Easter.

Each team will play twelve league matches. SFGG’s super league side will have friendlies against all of the teams except the Barbarians and the Sacramento Capitals.

The league leader gets a bye into the CR1 playoffs May 8, while second, third and fourth playoff against Utah teams on May 1.

Olympic Club
San Mateo
South Bay Barbarians
Hayward Griffins
Sacramento Lions
Sacramento Capitals
Reno Zephyrs

D2:
There are an even dozen teams with several having moved up from D3. They will play a round-robin schedule beginning January 30 and ending April 24, with St. Valentine’s Day and Easter weekends off.

The top three teams advance to the Pacific Coast playoffs May 1.

East Palo Alto – defending USA Rugby champions
Diablo Gaels
Fresno
Seahawks
Santa Rosa
BA Baracus
SFGG
Arroyo Grande
Chico
Vallejo
Vacaville
Stanislaus

D3: Eleven teams will play a round-robin in the third division. Two new teams join the league: Redwood Empire out of Sonoma County, and the Saints from San Bruno.

They start on January 9 and finish on March 27, with the Las Vegas Sevens weekend off. Then, after taking Easter weekend off, the top six finishers will have playoffs over the next three weekends which lead to the PCRFU playoffs on May 1.

East Palo Alto U23
Diablo U23
Humboldt
Berkeley RFC
Marin
Aptos
San Francisco Fog
Shasta
Mendocino
Redwood
Saints

REFEREE TRAINING COURSES AT THE MARITIME ACADEMY

The NCRRS offered some courses at the California Maritime Academy this past weekend, courtesy of new Commandant Bob Destafney, who is a member of our Society.

On Saturday, Dixon Smith and Mike Malone presented the Level One referee course to nine students. On Sunday, Bruce Carter and Mike Malone held the Touch Judging and Assistant Referees courses to seven attendees, some of whom had spent the day before in the same room.

If the past holds as a guide to the future, we’ll hear from half a dozen folks this week who want to know when we’ll be teaching these courses. The answer is: November 14 and 15 in West Sacramento.

If you see a new face at a game or tournament, introduce yourself and make our fledglings feel at home.

LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL: YOU’RE INVITED
From Pat McNally:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we all know, USA Sevens has packed up shop and moved to Las Vegas. Now, after meeting and talking with the folks at USA Sevens, I am pleased to invite all referees to the 2010 Las Vegas Invitational Rugby Tournament on February 11th, 12th and 13th (Saturday morning), preceding the USA Sevens. This year’s event will include all the divisions we have come to know and love (Men’s and Women’s, Sevens and Fifteens, Youth and Masters), but will also include the Championship Cup Series playoffs. The LVI Tournament will be held on the pitches outside Sam Boyd Stadium, location of the USA Sevens. More Tournament information can be found at:
http://www.lvirugby.com

All referees who will be in the Las Vegas area on Thursday, February 11th and/or Friday, February 12th are welcome to join in. Last year, there were over 70 teams in attendance and this year will be even bigger. The move to Las Vegas has also attracted the interest of some international touring teams. An expanded Invitational Tournament and the Championship Cup Series playoffs (no word on an International Women’s Sevens Tournament, yet) means we will need all the help we can get. All are invited and there will a place for EVERYONE (including touch judges and number fours).

While I doubt that Las Vegas would ever run out of hotel rooms, it would be a very smart move to look into accommodations as soon as possible. The Hard Rock Hotel will be the Tournament HQ Hotel, but USA Sevens has arranged discounts at hotels throughout the Las Vegas area. Hooter’s has rooms as low as $49 a night and even The Palms has some rooms for $79. Wherever you seek reservations, make sure you ask for the USA Sevens Tournament rate (see www.usasevens.com for more information).

I will be passing on more tournament information as it becomes available. Please feel free to pass this email onto anyone you think might be interested.

Please contact me by email, telephone, or snail mail if you are interested and available, or just need more information.

Hope to see you on a pitch somewhere soon,
Patrick McNally
National Sevens Referee Manager, USA Rugby

If you would like to referee or AR at this event, let Pat know:
paddymac@ix.netcom.com

DOING OUR PART FOR MEDICAL PROGRESS

From the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine:
“Pertinent in this regard is a study by Liu and colleagues,3 which suggests that a single precursor cell is responsible for generating metastatic disease. These researchers initiated the Project to Eliminate Lethal Prostate Cancer (PELICAN) in 1994, in which men with prostate cancer were asked to donate their bodies in the event of death from their disease.”

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

At our recent annual training meeting, Joe Leisek moderated a panel discussion with St. Mary’s Captain Andrew Cook, the California Maritime Academy’s Coach, Edward Roberts, and Elsie Allen’s coach, Alan Petty.

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris

EVERYBODY'S PERFECT

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MEN’S SLUGFEST THIS SATURDAY

Sixteen teams are signed up to play all day on two pitches starting at 7:30 AM.

At present we have four refs – that’s six games each spread from dawn till dusk. Much better to have eight refs, either working the morning or the afternoon, doing three games over a five hour period and then being free the rest of the day.

Please let us know if you would like to ref a half-day, say AM or PM, or if you’d like to stay for the day enjoying the finest view in rugby pitches anywhere.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS NOV 6 & 8

Treasure Island will host the best rugby clubs in the USA the first weekend in November when the Women’s Premier League and D1 competitions decide their champions.

Six games will be played each day on Friday, November 6, and Sunday, November 8. Paul Bretz and Joe Androvich will be among the referees for the event.

With this schedule, ideally we should have four or more Pelicans on hand each day to serve as Assistant Referees. Two have raised a feathered appendage so far. Let us know if you can take that Friday off and/or migrate out for some Sunday rugger.

ANNUAL PELICAN REFS TRAINING MEETING AND SOCIETY AGM

Forty bright shining faces were all in their places the morning of October 17th, a lovely edition of a St. Mary’s Saturday.

Dave Williamson organized a day of training focused on the tackle, where great rugby games and referees are made.

Pete Smith reviewed the Law, demonstrated body positions, made extensive use of a convenient dummy and showed what the players are attempting to achieve. This was supplemented by some video footage with on-screen ‘commentary’ provided by USA Referee Panel Manager Richard Every.

Some on-field exercises helped to indent these lessons into muscle memory.

Chris Tucker and Aruna Ranaweera spoke about their referee experiences in Mexico and South Africa, respectively, with photo illustrations enough to make an ambitious ref dream.

Joe Leisek conducted a panel discussion on the tackle as described below.

Preston Gordon reviewed and provided examples of dangerous tackles, with apropos guidelines for adjudicating them properly.

Daniel Kamenetzky summarized this experience and progress of his Referee-Specific Fitness Project over the past year.

Shared Perspectives on the Tackle
Report by Dave Williamson

Two coaches, Alan Petty (Elsie Allen) and Edward Roberts (Cal Maritime), and a player (St. Mary's captain Andrew Cook) joined us at our annual meeting to discuss the tackle. Joe Leisek moderated the panel

Alan acknowledged each ref is different in what he allows at the tackle. He even discusses referees' differences in his pre-match meetings with players. What he is looking for is a consistent standard from each referee set early in the match. He said players will adjust.

Edward seeks not only consistency during each match, but consistency throughout the Society and the nation. He predicted we would see longer (north-south), narrower rucks to secure the ball after the tackle, which will highlight any attempts to disrupt possession by side-joining.

Andrew seeks respectful interaction between himself and the referee both before and during the match. He emphasized clarity and consistency.

The Society very much appreciates the opportunity to meet with coaches and players to share perspectives.

NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2010-2011

At the Annual General Meeting of the NCRRS a new board of directors was selected for the next two years.

Tom Zanarini and Preston Gordon join returning members Bruce Carter, Pete Smith and Scott Wood. The Board selected Bruce Carter to continue as President, now entering his second decade in his dream job.

The Society would like to acknowledge the service of David Williamson and Joe Leisek and thank them for their contributions. We suspect they will continue to serve the best referee society from sea to shining sea in many and varied ways.

CIPP SNAFU

If you have registered with USA Rugby and paid your CIPP, please go to the ‘club roster’ for the Northern California Rugby Referee Society and see if you are included. If you are not, let us know.

Bjorn Stumer registered. Searching for his name, you’ll see that he’s listed with the NCRRS. But looking at our roster, you won’t find him.

We need to know if other folks fall into this same category so that the problem can be fixed.

RUGBY GAMES LAST WEEKEND

CHICO STATE 55 – Humboldt State 8 Referee: Don Pattalock
Chico State controlled (dominated) the contact and the game just rolled their way after that. Good run, good weather and a good start to the new season.

Seconds: Chico State – Humboldt State Ref: Pattalock
The second-side game was a full 80 minutes (160 for the ref on the day) and it was a spirited affair with the winner in doubt right up until, uh, now, since the ref didn’t keep score.

University of San Francisco 10 – ALUMNI 15 Referee: Sam Davis
A beautiful day in San Francisco the Dons and the Old Dons came to play. USF had a number of new players with no experience playing rugby. The old Dons had 16 players ;-) Old age, skill and treachery over came youth and some skill. We played 3/ 20 min periods with no goal posts. Old Boys 15 Young boys 10.

WOMEN’S SLUGFEST

The host UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs welcomed UC Davis, Sacramento State and Slomboldt to their breath-taking sunlit pitch floating above the fog-enshrouded Monterey Bay on Sunday.

UCSC was nice enough to work with the referee society so as not to conflict with our annual meeting the day before.

Humboldt State thought the tournament was to be played on Saturday, as per usual rugby protocol, and not all of their players could bivouac an extra day. Reinforcements were called in, naturally enough from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and thus the Slomboldt side.

Rich Anderson, Bruce Carter and John Pohlman each refereed two rookie-rich games. The Slugs had 45 players on hand; the other NorCal schools well over a full side. Unlimited in-and-out substitutions were allowed. The referees increased the tolerances on their minor-infractionometers and turned up the clarity on their explanatory apparatus.

UC DAVIS 22 – UC Santa Cruz 0 Referee: Bruce Carter
Santa Cruz ran a rookie-rich side, frequently replenished, as the classroom on the pitch commenced.

Davis didn’t need as much instruction, particularly in the backline where they ran amok.

SACRAMENTO STATE 21 – Slomboldt 7 Referee: Rich Anderson

SLOMBOLDT 19 – UC Davis 7 Ref: Carter
Humboldt has a #8 whose name we did not get, but who has played competitive soccer to this point. She stands out on a rugby field, always is near the ball, and we wish her every opportunity and success and in the future now that she’s found our game.

SACRAMENTO STATE 15 – UC Santa Cruz 0 Ref: Anderson

Report by John Pohlman:
I got the call around 10:30 AM Sunday morning. Looked like the Slugfest had more games scheduled than originally foreseen, at least by the Pelicans.

Bruce Carter and Rich Anderson showed up around 9:00AM. They were hoping I could do the 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM games. Both had children with them and wives at home cooking dinner. At least that's the story I heard.

I had told Bruce on Saturday I didn't want to spend the whole day at the tournament. Still some last minute honey-do's and husband points to work on prior to the season starting. So getting there around 2:00PM worked.

SLOBOLDT 10 – UC Santa Cruz 5 Referee: John Pohlman
My first game was UCSC playing SLOBOLDT (combo of Humboldt and SLO). The Slugs were playing allot of younger experienced players. This was early season rugby. Loads of good tackles and disorganized running.

One of my highlights was having Bruce's ten-year-old grandson Ben run touch. Ben is keen and focused. I said if he saw any foul play to report it to me. Sure enough at half time he said he saw a high tackle. I asked for a number and team and asked him if something like that happened in the second half to put his flag out. In the second half there was a forward pass and I looked over at Ben he had his flag out. I asked if it was for the forward pass and he said yes. Oh well, hopefully he can make it to the touch judge and referee course coming up.

SACRAMENTO STATE 31 – UC Davis 10 Ref: Pohlman
The 4:00 game was between two pretty experienced teams, Sacramento State playing UC Davis.

I started the game forgetting my touch judges had left. Always an embarrassing moment when the ball goes out of bounds and you wonder where the touch judge is and then you remember...

Odd thing was I asked the hooker to hold the ball while I went to get TJ's. When returned, play was going on and about 3 phases had been played. They didn't even miss me. I wondered how long they would have played before they realized they had no ref.

Sac State dominated the first half. They had three runners lead by #13 who would not be tackled by anything less than a committed hard tackler. Sac State scored five trys. UC Davis played hard and got a confidence boosting try at the end of the first half. UC Davis played much better in the second half and Sac's hard runners spun the ball to younger players.

I gave my first yellow card for repeat high tackles to Sacramento State late in the second half. If I had my ace TJ there it may have come sooner.

Tee shirt of the day: "Women play rugby, chicks watch". Go girl.

SANTA CLARA ALUMNI MATCH
Report by John Coppinger

Santa Clara moved its alumni game to the fall to coincide with the annual reunion weekend.

The weekend kicked off Friday evening with a rugby alumni dinner in the SCU Faculty Club attended by over a 100 people, with SCUTS from the past four decades in attendance, and a grand time was had by all. The guest of honor was Richard Coz, S. J., a retired Jesuit priest, who served as the faculty moderator/counselor/friend/confessor/advocate for SCUTS players for many years. University President Michael Engh, S. J. stopped by to welcome the former SCUTS back to campus and to remind them not to linger too long.

On Saturday, the alumni gathered to face the current SCUTS in the annual Coz Cup match, as the alumni game is called. SCUTS Coach Chris Kron choose to mix his veterans with the younger SCUTs and the Alumni ran out 29-17 victors in a good spirited 80-minute match played in four quarters. Notable players for the Alumni were Terry Ryan (Class of 77 and current Bellarmine Prep coach), Ross Malinowski (Class of 79 and former Grizzly standout of the 80's), Rich Kelly, and Joe Domine (Class of 90). Tom Mell made a guest appearance for the Alumni just 5 months after having a lot of titanium installed in his arm to repair a broken humerus (proving that rugby players are not the brightest sometimes), but Rich Anderson was a no-show.

REFEREE AND TOUCH JUDGE COURSES

LEVEL ONE REFEREEING COURSE:
Saturday, October 24 at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo
Saturday, November 14 in West Sacramento

TJ/AR COURSE:
Sunday, October 25 at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo
Sunday, November 15 in West Sacramento

Reply soonest with your interest.

PELICAN FLOCKING IN DUBLIN

OLD BELVEDERE 29 – Clontarf 22 Referee Brian Gildea
Three Pelicans intersected unexpectedly at Old Belvedere RFC in Dublin, Ireland, this past Saturday for an impromptu flocking.

Tony Redmond, just back from an ERC Referee Coaching in a Gloucester match, his son, Eoin, a former Peninsula Green coach and Brian Gildea, a long-lost Pelican, all crossed paths on the back pitch at Old Belvedere.

Although Clontarf put up a spirited effort and tied the match 22-22 with 10 minutes to go, Belvo always looked to be the better side. The Belvo out-half scored a nice try with two minutes to go off a nice "show and go" move to seal the result.

Of course, Eoin Redmond scored one of Belvedere's tries and Tony had a few post-match words of wisdom for the referee. And we all legged it home to watch the Saints out "street-wise" Munster in the Heineken Cup.

MEDIA RELEASE: COACHES CERTIFICATION WORKSHOPS, REFEREE COURSE, ETC.

Rugby 7s in 2016 Olympics!! ENHANCE YOUR RUGBY CAREER at USAR Coaching Work¬shops or NCRRS Ref Course IN W. Sacramento, Nov. 14 & 15

Sacramento – The Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation will proudly host Coaching Certification Workshops in West Sacramento, CA, on the weekend of November 14th and 15th. The two USA Rugby workshops, Introducing Rugby and Developing Rugby Skills will be presented at River City High School, now in its first full year of operation in West Sacramento. These are the last two USAR Coaching Work¬shops in the West prior to February 2010.

The Workshops enhance skills at all levels of coaching, and certification is required for head coaches in most local area rugby unions. Fee for the Workshops is $180 until Nov. 1st, $230 until Nov. 11th , and $300 for walk-ins. For registration and advance requirements, please contact membership.usarugby.org and click on “Register for a Coach¬ing Workshop,” or contact Mollie McCarthy at mmccarthy@usarugby.org or 303.539.0300 ext 129.

Concurrently, the Foundation is also hosting a Level 1 Referee and Assistant Referee / Touch Judge Course sponsored by the Northern California Rugby Referees Society. For further information, please contact NCRRS at Pelicanrefs.com.

Convenient lodging has been arranged for out-of-towners at the Courtyard by Marriott, Sacramento Airport Natomas, 2101 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833, located between the Sacramento International Airport and River City High School. The special rate is $79 per person plus tax, including breakfast for two and airport transportation. Contact the hotel at 916-922-1120 (refer to “Coaching Clinic-Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation”) or register directly online at http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sacch/

Local contact: Ray Thompson, 916-972-8977, or raythompson3@surewest.net

THIS WEEK’S PHOTO

Fresh off selection to the NCRRS Board of Directors, Preston Gordon shares the lens with John Eales, perhaps the most accomplished rugby player ever to have lived. (Two Webb Ellis Cups in the trophy cabinet, one as Captain – who are you putting up against that?)

Preston says he welcomed John to the area on our behalf and in return, Nobody (as in ‘nobody’s perfect’) said thank you and wished us good luck this year.

Semper Bonis Avis.

HAIL, PELICUS!

For the Senate
Pelicus Scriptoris