Ruck Bottom

A List of Rugby News Sites, Blogs, Podcasts, etc relevant to the American Rugby Community

2015-11-19T11:59:00.000-06:00

This list is not complete by any means, but I do consider it comprehensive enough for more than most people. If you think I left one off, submit your suggested link HERE!

Note: No Facebook pages or Twitter accounts are or will be listed here.

Rugby Organizations

World Rugby - The International Governing Body of Rugby Union
USA Rugby - National Governing Body of Rugby Union in the USA.
NACRA - The North American & Caribbean Rugby Association that promotes rugby in that geographic community.
USA Rugby South - USA Rugby's sanctioned, competitive sides in the NACRA competitions
PRO Rugby - The Professional Rugby Organization, a professional XVs competition in the USA sanctioned by USAR & World Rugby.
The NRFL - The National Rugby Football League, a professional XVs competition in the USA not sanctioned by USAR.
Pacific Rugby Premiership - A West Coast based Rugby Club Competition ~~not~~ sanctioned by USAR. (NOTE: Rcv'd breaking news & confirmation that PRP accepted USAR's sanctioning agreement!)
American Rugby Premiership - An East Coast based Rugby Club Competition sanctioned by USAR.
Varsity Cup - 16 top men's college teams in a knock-out style, invitational championship tournament.
Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s - multi-team 7s competitions of both genders in Philadelphia
D1A Rugby - USA Rugby's top collegiate men's rugby competition
NCWVRA - National Collegiate Women's Varsity Rugby Association - Eight (8) Women's Rugby Teams with Varsity status at their respective universities.
ACRA - American Collegiate Rugby Association - Women's College Rugby organization governing numerous conferences.
ACRC - American Collegiate Rugby Championship - Men's College Rugby organization promoting a championship-style bowl series produced by urugby.
NSCRO - National Small College Rugby Organization - Division 3 collegiate rugby (both genders) across the nation.
ARCA - American Rugby Coaches Association - Everything the American Rugby Coach needs to know.
USA Sevens - All about Las Vegas 7s and the LVI

USA-based Rugby News Sites

Americas Rugby News - Rugby News in the American Hemisphere
American Rugby News - Yahoo List-Serv sharing rugby news links daily.
DJ Coil Rugby - North American Rugby news with a USA slant
Goff Rugby Report - Alex Goff's rugby news site covering college, high school, and national team news.
National Rugby Post - Greg Tanner's passion for rugby revealed.
Real-Time Rugby - Scores and Schedules across the nation.
Rugby Today - United World Sports' rugby news site covering rugby in the USA.
The Breakdown - Womens Rugby news by Jackie Finlan
The Rugby Corner - Dallen Stanford's collection of Rugby News
This Is American Rugby (network) - Curtis Reed's rugby news site covering rugby in the USA and regional affiliates

Your Scrumhalf Connection - Wendy Young's women's rugby site covering news, championships, videos, scores, & all things #wrugby both domestic and abroad.

Regional and State-based Rugby News and Information

Eastern Penn Rugby Union - All about rugby in Eastern Pennsylvania
Mid-Atlantic Rugby Calendar - Google Calendar of Rugby Events along the Eastern Seaboard.
Northwest Collegiate Conference - Men's Collegiate Rugby Conference in the Northwest.
Rugby in Florida - Everything about Rugby in Florida you need to know!

USA-based Rugby Blogs

American Rugby World - musing about rugby in America
Chicago Rucks - Stephanie Esposito's blog about Rugby in general and Rugby in Chicago
Gainline - Kurt Oeler's blog about the state of Rugby in America
Gifttime Rugby Network - Gift Egbelu's rugby news and opinion blog covering the south.
growrugby - Eric Taber's blog about how to grow rugby (no updates since 2013, but some good ideas therein)
Life Love Rugby - Rambling rugby thoughts with some Q&A's
Lineout Coach - Gavin Hickie's blog about coaching the technicals, tactics, and strategies of Rugby
Pro Rugby Scrum - Relatively new blog about Professional Rugby in America
Red White and Black Eye - Warren & Preston's PodCast out of Atlanta about all things rugby.
RuckBottom - My opinions and views about Rugby.
RugBiz - Promoting an informed discussion on the business of Rugby.
~~Rugby America~~ - Ted Hardy's rugby news and opinion blog (taken offline)
Rugby Nation - Mike Alvarez's rugby blog about Rugby in America
RuggaMatrix America - Alex Goff, Pat Clifton and friends podcast about Rugby in America
Viral Rugby - Tosan Temitse curing the world's woes thru more rugby (mostly with really cool videos).

Rugby Forums of interest

r/USARugby - subreddit about USA Rugby
T2 Forum - All things T2/T3 Rugby
The Rugby Forum - All things rugby

Other Rugby News sites

BBC Rugby
ESPN Scrum
Last Word On Sports
NZ Herald Rugby
Planet Rugby
Rugby 365
Rugby Banter Page
Rugby Heaven
Scrum Queens
UR7s

A freshman USA Rugby Congressman's perspective

2015-11-11T13:22:00.000-06:00

Published with permission

Greetings everyone,

I've decided to speak about my experiences as a USA Rugby Congressman and then draw some conclusions about the state of the union. It's long winded, but I hope it's insightful.

I hadn't really known who was on Congress previously or how they were elected. It was just something that happened at the Territorial Union (TU) or somewhere echelons above my reality as a player and small club administrator. USA Rugby had been evolving it's structure to separate the youth and high schools from the colleges from the adult teams and doing away with the "middle management" of the TUs. To catch up with the changes, the Congress was expanded to better represent the membership.

The Texas Rugby Union (TRU), which represents the adult leagues in Texas and large portions of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, was given two Congress positions. The terms are 2 years and are to be staggered. We held one election, the top vote winner getting the 2 year term and the second place, me, with a half term. Congress meets twice a year and the first meeting was in Houston, my home, in the summer of 2014. I was excited to get started.

The night before the formal meeting, Congress traditionally meets informally to welcome the freshman members and discuss the next days agenda. This was the first introduction to my actual role. We affirm board member nominations, we approve any USA Rugby actions that are outside the operational norms, and we are to be a free workforce serving in a variety of committees. Other than listen to briefings about the budget, the new online membership system and the player development model, our only task for the first meeting was to affirm the renomination of a sitting board member and the nomination of one new member to replace someone who has termed out. I was given bios and they sounded impressive enough to me (the new guy being a West Point grad and former ambassador to Germany). We affirmed both without much discussion.

After that, I was to wait for a list of openings on committees. The list never came. The only thing that came was a second hand mention of a Strategic Planning Committee to revamp the Strategic Plan, a task that happens every 5 years. After two conference calls, that group disbanded after the USA Rugby employee who was leading the effort quietly parted ways.

The next Congress meeting coincided with end National Development Summit in Chicago... In winter, thanks. We heard about USAR's bid for the Sevens World Cup and that pro rugby was in the works. There were more reviews from the different USAR functions, blah blah... This is where we approved RIM. It was so insignificant, the only note I have on it is "USA Rugby sponsorship will term out and move to RIM." It was a way to commercialize rugby and it sounded like a step forward. My other Texas partner didn't even have it in her notes. Looking back, I realize that I had no idea what I was agreeing to. There was minimal explanation. I only learned that it's modeled after US Soccer's United Marketing a couple weeks ago. I don't know what other National Governing Bodies own these private companies, what the legalities are, nor how well they have worked historically. I still don't.

We also found out that there hadn't been action in the committees because Nigel had asked a few Congress members to review all of them. The review wasn't thorough enough, so he asked for them to continue. We set specific deadlines to get the work done.

One tidbit I gathered was that the IRB, now World Rugby, had identified that we have trouble with attrition and gave USAR a grant of $100k to assess our recruiting and retention. I thought that was money well spent because I struggle with it every day at the adult level.

There was again no action on getting new Congressmen on committees between semiannual meetings. The deadlines came and went with little notice. To be fair, I could have been way more proactive, but was working, coaching a high school team and had 2 kids under 2 at home. No excuse... but there's my excuse. I assume that the rest of Congress is busy working locally as well, so their national responsibilities becomes out-of-sight-out-of-mind unless they are already on an active committee with regular conference calls and firm leadership.

My term should have been up at that point but the TRU hadn't replaced me yet. I flew to the home office in Boulder for my 3rd and likely final meeting recently. Colorado in summer, much better! Once again it started with a 'hoo-rah' session about how great everything is. Two Olympic qualifying teams, a RWC qualifying team, the creation of the American Six Nations tournament, the pro league being almost a reality, etc.

As I mentioned before, USA Rugby had restructured, so we took the time to update the bylaws. There wasn't much substance change, just renaming the IRB World Rugby and Territorial Unions Geographical Unions.

The best part for me was heading the results of the recruiting and retention study. Basically, we attrit 50% of our high school players every year with only a small fraction playing in college. We recruit a bunch in college just to lose 50% again each year. A small fraction go on the adult teams where we only lose 45% each year. The major culprit is that no one communicates between the silos. All the restructuring that happened in the years before I got there seems to have indeed created silos of isolation. My immediate thought was, "WTF am I doing wasting my time trying to fix this mess nationally. I need to be fixing it at the local level. I can get my local schools talking to colleges and talking to clubs. USA Rugby will do dumb things in the name of progress, so it's up to me fix my home town."

We spent the rest of the day brainstorming for the Strategic Plan that I'd tried to be a part of the previous year. All our ideas were to be compiled by a full timer and turned into a plan. Most everyone was distracted by the USA Canada game that was streaming on over half the mobile devises in the room. I can't say I was proud of the quality work we put in.

This meeting was attended by about half the Board, but the others who were in town the day before didn't stay. This is the first time I'd really interacted with any of them as a Congress member. A couple had given presentations and fielded questions at other meetings, but never had they "mingled" before. My general impression was that they don't get the daily struggles of club admin. Their focus is on corporate America.

Finally, we talked about committees. The review was much more thorough with a terms of reference provided for most. There still were some open actions, and again Congress was firm in setting deadlines. Nigel committed to them. Alas, no process has been established to get the free workforce of Congress working. I did get queried about joining the Club Strategic Committee from the chairman who is a local Texan I've known for a few years. I told him I wasn't interested because I'd already decided to champion breaking down the silos in Houston and not worry about the national scene anymore.

So, that's it for my stint in Congress.

Here are more of my editorial comments about the people/groups and their actions:

Nigel: I've approached him several times to try and strike up a conversation (first time meeting him was 2011 at the first and only Director of Rugby Course), but I never really got him to engage. He always seemed like he had someplace he'd rather be or someone more important to chat up. I'm not suggesting I don't like him because he gave me the cold shoulder, but I've never seen him as an inspirational leader. I would expect someone in his position to be more engaging. "Tell me what you do in rugby? What are your difficulties with...? Have you contacted so and so who has dealt with similar problems? What can I do to help you?" I almost envision a salesy politician shaking hands, kissing babies and spreading the gospel of rugby. His vision really is to make American fall in love with rugby but how is a mystery to me!

I've only had limited interaction when it comes to actual decision making and task execution. He's been terrible at managing what would seem to be a simple review of the committees. My outside perspective on his decision making is based on his coaching choices. Friday seems to be a great choice though a year later than it could have been made. The rest of his coaching choices are suspect.

The Board of Directors: I view them as competent professionals but they have limited time to engage the Congress and they either don't try or struggle at it. Someone pointed out that one owns the baseball park in San Fran and that's where the Sevens World Cup will be. I don't know how I feel about that. Is the board swaying USA Rugby to benefit themselves financially or are they pulling strings to benefit USA Rugby financially?

USA Rugby employees: Passionate and underpaid or we're getting what we pay for. It's a mix.

Congress: Passionate people who want to do good things. They're time is divided. I believe an effective leader could cut the red tape and get good results. We don't have many of those. Most are doing great things in their own unions, conferences and state-based organizations. I've heard some comments that Congress isn't representative. I disagree. We are. I encourage everyone one of you to look up your rep and send them a message if you have a question or concern. I've solicited comments via email and I do a small amount travel to be available for comments/questions. I've only heard from about 3 people in my whole union.

USA Rugby's trajectory: I don't know what the vision is or what the values are that should guide our decision-making. I've actually written some of the values presented at each Congress meeting in my notes and they're different each time. The Army Values are clear and drilled into every soldier. My companies values are published on every wall and publication in the building. The terrible company I worked for between the two didn't have any of that, so note the adjective I described it with.

Yes, rugby in the US is better now than it ever had been, but if you benchmark against others, we aren't growing as fast. One of the USA Rugby employees wrote a long list of all of the successes we've had. There are a lot! But there was no clear pattern. There were feats that happened years ago and haven't been repeated. Argentina and Japan used to be peers and now they're pulling away in 15s. You can say that 7s is most improved but that all happened in the second half of one series. I'll call it a trend if it carries through this World Series and the Olympics. And then I'll attribute it to a simple change in leadership and wonder what would happen if we changed out some leaders.

My final comment is about the recruitment and retention study. It makes it very clear that there's something wrong. We cannot continue to lose half of our players every year. I'm coming to the conclusion that the system is cobbled together by struggling leaders to keep strong factions from tearing the whole thing apart. We are floundering in a broken, fragmented system, and I'm convinced there's a better way to do things. We need strong leadership and clear vision that can unite our efforts!

Dave Yeoman
Houston, TX
11/11/2015

Editor's Note: The views stated here may not directly reflect the views of RuckBottom. However, RuckBottom accepts that a reasonable voice should be heard, especially if the perspective is different. We've known Dave Yeoman for several years and always known him to be a staunch supporter of rugby. His voice has always been heard above the din at every rugby event to take place at BBVA Compass Stadium (yes, including Houston 7s)! We wish him the best and hope he will soon write about some of the success he achieves promoting and improving the Houston Rugby Community.

PRO RUGBY LAUNCHES FIRST PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE IN NORTH AMERICA

2015-11-09T07:28:00.001-06:00

Press Release

NEW YORK – November 9, 2015 – For the first time, North American rugby union fans and players will have a professional league, the Professional Rugby Organization (PRO Rugby) announced today. Exclusively sanctioned by USA Rugby and World Rugby, competition will begin in April 2016 with six teams in major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, the Rocky Mountains and California. Venues and coaches will be announced starting this week with playing rosters to follow.

USA Rugby Chairman Bob Latham added, “As the fastest growing team sport in the USA, it is the time to have a sanctioned professional competition. We are very happy to partner with PRO Rugby in taking this step to popularize the game, to inspire Americans to fall in love with rugby, and to show the rugby world what American players can do.” 2017 will see the addition of Canadian-based teams, with Jim Dixon –GM Rugby Operations and Performance commenting, “Rugby Canada looks forward to working with Pro Rugby on sanctioning the competition in Canada for the 2017 season and beyond.”

“Rugby is a natural fit for our country,” said Doug Schoninger, PRO Rugby CEO. “Participation and interest in the sport is at an all-time high and the demand for a professional competition is clear.” In its inaugural year, the PRO Rugby 2016 season will feature 10 games per club and run from April – July in medium-size venues, allowing fans to connect with their teams, and build the sense of camaraderie and loyalty that the game is associated with. We look forward to working with the existing rugby community to provide a pathway for local players into the professional ranks, completing the pathway from youth player to professional.”

“We welcome North American teams into the international rugby family.” said World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper. “With PRO Rugby in place, US and Canadian players will be able to train year round and play in elite competition, something that has been sorely missing from rugby development in North America.”

“With the completion of the record-breaking 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, and the reintroduction of the sport into the 2016 Rio Olympics, now is the time to launch,” said Schoninger. “Professional rugby is a relatively young sport, with players, coaches and fans who are passionate about the game and the values of integrity, discipline, and respect that it inspires. A lot of people feel pro sports used to be a positive influence – it built character and provided role models, but not so much anymore. I believe that by adhering to rugby’s core beliefs, we can reclaim those lost sporting values and provide opportunity for a new generation of North American rugby players.”

ABOUT PRO RUGBY

The Professional Rugby Organization (PRO Rugby) is the official league for professional rugby union in North America, sanctioned by USA Rugby and World Rugby. Embracing the highest standards of play and character on and off the field, Pro Rugby champions the fastest-growing sport in North America and its all-inclusive nature as we attempt to “Raise Our Game.”

www.prorugby.org
www.facebook.com/prorugby

USA Club Rugby's Ranking Poll for 2015-2016 Explained

2015-10-24T08:51:00.000-05:00

Op-Ed by Grant Cole

24 October 2015

The Club Department at USA Rugby decided to begin experimenting last Spring with an informal club rankings poll for the Premiership and D1 teams. This past week, after poking and prodding agreeable voters to vote on the Top 30 Club teams in America, USA Club Rugby released its initial in-season rankings poll (pictured above)

USA Club Rugby "invited 20 selectors to vote in the poll, with a balance of 40% club/competition representatives, 30% High Performance coaches, and 30% community journalists/pundits." So it's a fairly decent cross-section of folks who pay attention to rugby in America. The voters are asked to vote on their Top 30. Those thirty clubs are then assigned value based on where the individual voter ranks them (i.e. Ranking 1 receives 30 points, Ranking 2 receives 29, Ranking 3 receives 28, and so on to Ranking 30 receiving 1 point). The Clubs that receive votes for that week are averaged based on the number of voters, then the poll is produced based on the averages. The average value is used because voting input is not yet consistently applied by the voters week-to-week (i.e., not every voter who agreed to vote is doing so, yet). From the Top 30 of the voters, a Top 20 rankings poll is derived.

Club and Competition Representatives are asked to vote because they, at the very least, know the clubs in their areas and their competitions. Initially, these selectors may suffer from an echo chamber effect, because they tend to spend a LOT of time focused on their own clubs and competitions. They do not always pay attention to what is happening in other Prem/D1 Competitions (especially if their competition does not play into any post-season competition outside of their own). However, the Club Department expects that as the poll progresses, these representatives will take the time to follow what is happening in other competitions and become more well informed voters in the poll.

USA Rugby's High Performance Coaches (HP) are asked to vote because they spend an inordinate amount of time watching video of matches that Prem/D1 teams choose to film and to share with them (this is the moment when Prem/D1 players realize that they can get seen every week IF their clubs will just invest in a moderately decent camera set-up to make this happen. Shameless Plug: Contact me for help getting a really good camera set-up from T5RDG!). Basically, HP sees a LOT of Prem/D1 rugby every week, thus they are qualified to make the assessments that lead to informed voting.

Finally, there are the journalist and pundits of the rugby community that were invited. I am in this group. It is worth noting that numerous journalists and pundits were asked to vote and many declined the opportunity. American Rugby journalist and pundits are mostly volunteer or self-funded, although that seems to be changing with the America's Rugby News & Rugby Today models. We read each other's work, we browse the scores standings and rosters in the USA Club Rugby CMS system (Links at the end of this article). Some of us routinely comb through the various and sundry Prem/D1 Facebook pages (or account in the case of Rocky Gorge), Twitter accounts, Instagram accounts and webpages looking for video, updates, scores, rosters, and other club news. These range from pretty good (Glendale, Seattle, KC Blues) to non-existent. We also chat with some of coaches, admins and players about their matches and competitions. In the end, some of us get to know the capabilities and potential of the clubs a lot better than we did last year or the year before. This all helps when voting on this poll.

The Club rankings poll is a positive step from USA Rugby. A product adding value for little cost that can create buzz and engagement. Broadcasters have been telling USA rugby for years that clubs need to take themselves more seriously, market themselves and their competitions better, create more buzz and engagement around the competitions. This poll is a step in that direction.

Official standings Links by competition:

American Rugby Premiership
BC Premier League
Mid-Atlantic Conference
Midwest Conference
Northern California Conference (idle)
Pacific Northwest Conference (idle)
Pacific Rugby Premiership (idle)
Red River Rugby Conference (idle)
Southern California Conference (idle)

I want to give a personal shout-out to Ryan Ginty and the crew at Next Level Rugby. Without their coverage of 70% of the ARP matches, there would be no way for pundits to actually see how good Mystic River and Old Blue really are this year.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those of Grant Cole at RuckBottom and do not represent directly the views and policies of USA Rugby or its affiliated clubs.

Do the Paperwork: Acting Professional in a Club Environment

2014-11-08T09:10:00.000-06:00

By now we've all heard about the Atlanta Harlequins' forfeit of their Women's Premier League Semi-Final upset over the Glendale Raptors. There's a bit of an uproar over this issue in the rugby community, but not over the right part of this issue.

When your club agrees to play in a competition (either gender, either code), it is agreeing to abide by the rules of that competition or suffer the consequences for breaking those rules. IF that same club chooses to play a match with a player not registered properly by the rules knowing that the match may be forfeited because of that choice, NO ONE in that club or affiliated with that club possesses a credible complaint about the decision by the league's governing body to declare the match forfeited (to the 'Quins credit, Ms. Jervey issued a statement taking full responsibility).

This is nothing new. We've seen this issue come up in past championship competitions at every level in the USA.

Division 1 and Premier clubs should always ensure that all of the correct paperwork is completed on their players and on their club and turned in on time. This is a benchmark of that status and a stepping stone to professionalism. A club's off the pitch activities will reflect in its on the pitch actions in this manner. Division 1 and Premier rugby clubs and teams of each gender and code are charged with acting professionally at every turn.

It is a shame that the Atlanta Harlequins made the decision to play an ineligible player, because they played the game of their lives yesterday. The 'Quins are a solid organization as evidenced by how well they hosted the WPL Championship weekend and by how well they played the game. We hope that they will bounce back from this and not allow it to happen again.

We also hope that there is a club out there vying for a chance in the spotlight that will apply the lesson learned form this incident without having to repeat it.

Rebranding Ruckbottom

2014-11-02T08:42:00.001-06:00

Ruckbottom started off as a way for me to be involved in rugby without distancing myself too much from my family. We all know this dilemma far too well. It grew in ways that I could not fathom and was going good until I had to relocate and change jobs in the first half of 2014.

In the Summer of 2014, Curtis Reed, the Owner and Managing Editor at This Is American Rugby (TIAR), contacted me about contributing to a regional outlet of the TIAR Network, This Is Texas Rugby. Needless to say, Ruckbottom's previous utility was transferred. I have really enjoyed posting on This Is Texas Rugby, but it is a news site, not a place for the opinions of a rabid fan and critic of the American rugby community.

I possess those opinions (popular or not) and some ideas about how "growing rugby" should be implemented, amongst other things. Those will be presented here. I hope you enjoy and disagree. Moreover, I hope you engage. I didn't come by these ideas and opinions by myself.

Oklahoma wins the 2014 Allied Rugby Conference XVs Championship

2014-03-29T19:27:00.002-05:00

On a sunny Saturday in Norman, OK on the Tim 'Tarzan' Wilson pitch of the Al Velie Rugby Complex, the Texas Tech Men's Rugby Club met the Oklahoma University Men's Rugby Club for a match that had been rescheduled from early Spring due to terrible weather. Little did they realize in January that this match would decide the conference championship. Nevertheless, the conference championship was at stake and neither team disappointed in their quest for that prize.

The Sooners struck first as wing Isaac Koh crossed the line and converted his own try a couple of minutes into the match. The drive was so dominant that it looked like Oklahoma would run away with the match. Ten minutes later, senior captain Michael al-Jiboori dotted in the corner to bring the score to 12-0. Again, the Sooners were looking to put their stamp on the game.

Then the Red Raiders decided to wake up as their big loosehead prop, Jordan Talley, banged in for a try after Tech had spent a few minutes camped out on the Sooners' goal-line. Flyhalf Wes Mitchell could not convert, but Tech was on the board. A quick minute later, Tech lost their feet in a breakdown in front of their own posts and referee Scott Green began to warn his charges about repeated breakdown infringements. Isaac Koh slotted the penalty kick easily to bring Oklahoma's lead to 15-5.

Texas Tech answered back with a flawless backline move inside Oklahoma territory. The ball found the hands of Tech utility back (wearing the 14 jersey on the day), Kyle Kulka who darted in-goal to close the gap. Minutes later, Tech's forwards were camped out on Oklahoma's goal-line again. Eventually, the multi-phase possession resulted in a converted try for the Red Raiders. Tech was up 17-15. Moments later, Tech returned to that end of Tarzan Pitch for five more points as Kulka grubbed ahead and beat his teammate/target to the ball for the try. With three tries in a row, Tech seemed to enjoy a bit of momentum that even al-Jiboori's unconverted try at the end of the half could not subdue.

At the halftime whistle, Tech had the lead, 22-20.

Oklahoma started the second half determined to break Tech's momentum. They drove a nice maul in from ten meters out only to have Tech's much bigger forwards hold it up. Oklahoma then gave up possession and Tech found their other winger, Zach McKinney, in space. McKinney dotted down. Mitchell could not convert. Tech held the lead 27-20.

It was at this point that all seemed lost for Oklahoma. Green finally tired of the breakdown infringements and issued a yellow card to a Sooner lock. The same play had seen Oklahoma's captain leave the playing area with an injury. Inside Center David Nixon was already playing with a heavily taped up ankle and the Sooner front row was out-weighed by about 200 pounds. Winning this match seemed a tough ask.

However, the Sooners persevered and held the Red Raiders scoreless while they defended the Tech attack with a man in the bin.

With 13 minutes left, it was Oklahoma's turn to camp out on the Tech line before Toby Harden drove in to score an unconverted try. The Sooners had pulled within two points of Tech. Moments later Blake Hutzler and Cale Witter added converted Sooner tries to bring the score to 39-27 in favor of the home team. With only two minutes left, victory seemed assured.

Tech gave it one last 'college try', though. Zach McKinney garnered a brace of tries for the day. Mitchell converted. Green whistled Full Time. Oklahoma 39, Texas Tech 34. The Oklahoma Sooners are the 2014 Allied Rugby Conference XVs Champions! They proved they are "ALL IN!"

After the game, Oklahoma Coach Jason Horowitz had this to say about his team and the game:

I could not be more proud of the boys today. Started off completely dominating Tech in all facets. Got ahead. Gave up the momentum. Then the Tech team stepped up huge and owned the middle of the match. Mike on the sideline, Blake in the sin bin... 2nd game players on the field... And the second half was on.Once again taking the momentum, OU climbed back out of the hole and took the lead 39-27. Then, off a line of penalties, Tech scored with time expired ending the match 39-34 OU.
The Sooners have won back to back 7s and 15s conference championships.Great birth day present for me. Could not be happier for all of the boys.

The Texas Collegiate Cup Championship

2014-03-26T21:36:00.002-05:00

The Texas Collegiate Cup bracket has been released. Teams from across the Texas Collegiate Rugby landscape will vie for the only Texas Collegiate Championship Series open to all collegiate rugby programs in Texas. All three collegiate conferences are represented well.

The Allied Rugby Conference (ARC) sends Texas Tech, Baylor, and Sam Houston. All seven of the Southwest Rugby Conference (SWC) teams (Texas, Rice, Texas Christian, UHouston, Stephen F. Austin, North Texas and Texas State) are included. While the Lone Star Conference's (LSC) Angelo State, Southern Methodist, St Edward's, LeTourneau, UT-San Antonio, and UT-Dallas round out the competition.

This single-elimination tournament, held over four weeks, leads to a Championship Match to be held on April 26th! Seedings are an approximation based on the teams' performance over the past season, conference play, and by collective cooperation of the Commissioners of the ARC, SWC & LSC with some consideration to match teams that haven't recently played.

The action starts April 5th!

This competition marks the first time that Texas-based college clubs have launched out on their own for a Regional XVs Competition that culminates in a Championship. This idea has been bandied about Texas for over a decade. It finally began to make sense to the member clubs at the end of the Spring 2013 season when Rice and Texas A&M had to make long trips in the first round of National College Play-offs. Texas A&M opted out for multiple reasons. A solid Rice squad made the trip to Bowling Green only to return home with losses under their belts.

First Round Predictions:

These are almost always wrong, given college rugby's late season fickleness, but here goes:

Baylor at SFA: SFA is just getting back into the college rugby scene this year but has played everyone tough. Baylor is at the end of a tough, but close ARC XVs season that featured them defeating the Aggies in College Station last weekend. Baylor has a young squad that can hold their own at the breakdown and show speed out wide. Baylor moves on.

UNT at ASU: The Rams had a great year in 2012-2013, but just could not get past St Edward's this year in the Lone Star South Division. The Mean Green Machine of North Texas played some TOUGH rugby this year, but just fell short of the top end of the table. North Texas should win.

Texas St at SMU: The Mustangs played some much-improved improved rugby this Spring, but it won't be enough to overcome the SWC runners-up. Texas St will make the short trip to Burr Field on the second weekend of April.

St Edward's at UH: The Cougars are one of those up/down teams that display magical moments one weekend, but travel light the next. They have an advantage of being at home, so they should be at full strength. They'll need it against a well-drilled, well-disciplined St Edward's team. The Hilltoppers saw the low side of the scoreboard twice this season: once against an in-tune Texas A&M squad and once in the NSCRO Cowboy Cup Challenge against the always solid University of Denver. Both games were close. The Hilltoppers are hungry now and they've some unfinished business to attend to in the quarterfinals. St Ed's moves forward.

Texas at LeTourneau: LeTourneau is the little team that could. Everything about the Yellow-jackets is like-able: their fans, their camaraderie, their pitch, their coach, etc. For Texas, this is a warm-up match before they travel to Gary, Indiana the following week for the first round match of the Varsity Cup against the Fighting Irish. Texas is the 2014 SWC Champion. While LeTourneau will play with sting, the 'Horns should leave Longview with the win.

Sam Houston at UTSA: Most years, this would be an easy pick. However, Sam Houston just weren't crisp this year. Tough, but not crisp. UTSA seemed to have had a rebuilding year. As they weren't as tough in the LSC as the two years previous. I'll pick Sam to win a close one, but UTSA could surprise.

UTD at Rice: Rice had a good year in the SWC, but not perfect. Still, the Owls are a smart. strong team and have the home-field advantage. UT-Dallas has huge advantage over most of their rivals in that they have developed a lot of depth. This in only three years. Comets for the upset.

Texas Tech at TCU: Texas Tech has had a fair season, but it could have been better with more game time. TCU is building a program that could leave other schools salivating, but the Frogs had a tough year in the SWC. TCU has played up a few matches this Spring, though. So they may be ready for some sweet victory. Texas Tech will move the ball well and show their speed. Who wants it more? Texas Tech has the advantage and should advance with a slim victory.

HARC SHARCs victorious over the Austin Valkyries

2014-03-18T21:35:00.001-05:00

HARC Captain Gina Steffano breaks the gainline.

The Austin Valkyries are the perennial top women's team in Texas' Red River Rugby Conference. However, on Saturday the Valkyries were upset by the Houston SHARC's determination to prove their worth in Division 1. Saturday's weather proved perfect for rugby as heavy rain swept through the Houston area for about 2 hours before the game making the grass field unplayable and dictating a move to the Turf field, marked for soccer and gridiron. The heavy rain continued for the first 20 minutes of play, then cleared to allow for a more open game to develop.

The SHARCs started the scoring off in the 2nd minute with a try from outside center Bonnie Richardson (AKA, "Bonnie Rugby" because she is an Aggie, class of 2013) who received the ball through some quick hands after a scrum 15 meters from the Valkyrie's in-goal. After a long period of solid defense in the SHARC's half, Austin scored their only points of the game in the 20th minute. The rest of the first half saw some very determined defense from both sides with Austin losing a player to the sin-bin for repeated early lifting in the line out. At halftime, the match was drawn at 5-all.

Four minutes into the second half, the SHARCs added seven to their score when Richardson darted 30 meters down the left touch line, then turned to dot down under the posts, making an easy conversion for Nick James (another Aggie, '11). A few minutes later, the SHARCs lost Captain Gina Steffano (recently returned from Fiji with Atlantis 7s) to a calf injury.

At the 65 minute mark, the SHARCs garnered a yellow card when lock Teresa Pavljuk commited a dangerous tackle on a low running Valkyrie. Some loose ball handling from the ensuing lineout allowed Richardson to scoop the ball at the half way line and run untouched to score for her hat-trick. Superb ball handling after a scrum allowed the SHARCs (with a forward still in the bin) to pass the ball along the back line to Richardson, who again showed her amazing speed to score for her 4th try on the day and the final points of the match.

The balance of the game was played in the center of the field with neither team allowing the other to threaten their try areas. The SHARCs pack dominated the scrums and the Valkyrie’s failed attempts at complicated lineout maneuvers created multiple free kicks awarded to the home team.

The Women’s division of the Red River Rugby Conference is no longer a one horse race. Houston proved eager to make their mark this season and have done so in no uncertain terms. The balance of the season is far from over for the SHARCs, as they face long trips to Denton and Tulsa followed by a final home match against the always-tough Oklahoma Roses. Austin remains on top of the RRRC D1 table, though. The Conference Champion may likely be decided by point differential. Austin currently has the edge by having played one more game than Houston, but that is most certain to change. The SHARCs will be looking to hang as many points on their final three opponents as possible.

Houston SHARCs coach Martin Chalmers lauded his charges stating, "All the ladies have worked really hard this year to justify what we saw as our rightful inclusion in division 1. Although some did not see it that way and said so publicly, we used that as motivation so we could prove them wrong. We built from a solid core of girls and added some new players, Nick (James), (Chelsea) Peper and Bonnie (Richardson). We've really enjoyed the competition and the good heated rivalry that the Valks have given us, even though both teams want to win I think we can see the benefits in have good strong opponents to play against."

OU Rugby announces 2014 Hall of Fame inductees

2014-03-12T20:04:00.000-05:00

OU Rugby 2013 Hall of Fame inductees

University of Oklahoma Rugby will enshrine its 2014 class of Hall of Famers in conjunction with its 40th Anniversary Friday, March 14, 2014 at Sooner Legends, starting at 7:00 pm.

Jon Velie, OU’s Director of Rugby says, “This year’s class is indicative of the great tradition of OU Rugby, our first coach Kieran Malloy, our first National Team player in Drew Allan, Our biggest international rugby star Michael DeJong, our most prestigious referee and former national women’s team member Wendy Young and the longest serving referee and true character of Oklahoma rugby Lenny Burger.”

Head Coach Jason Horowitz states, “Oklahoma’s Rugby Hall of Fame provides the bridge between the rich tradition of Oklahoma’s rugby past and the future success of today’s student athletes. We have something special at OU where we invite those that competed for Oklahoma to come back and step on the pitch and compete again against our current squad. The 40th Anniversary will be a celebration of Oklahoma Rugby, a nod to its past with a view to its future.”

Michael Al Jiboori, OU’s captain, “The history of success at Oklahoma is not only appreciated it is expected. It will be an honor to watch those that played here before us receive their Hall of Fame jackets.”

The Oklahoma Rugby Hall of Fame Class of 2014 is as follows:

KEIRAN MOLLOY

1978-1980. OU’s First Coach. Flanker. Inducted 2014
OU MVP 1978, 1979
1977 English Universities XV
1971-1977 University of Nottingham RFC (captain 1974, 1977)
1981-1984 Bective Rangers RFC (Dublin, Ireland)
1984 - 1990 Old Bristolians RFC (Bristol, UK)

ANDREW “DREW” ALLAN

1974–1980. Wing. Inducted 2014
USA National Team 1983.
Eagle Trialist 1977 – 1983
Western RFU 1977-83
Texas RFU 1983
Ozark RFC 1977-83
Heart of America RFU 1975-76
Vancouver (Canada) under 19’s 1972
International Matches: Western RFC vs England (Dallas 1982)
Oklahoma Comanche’s vs New Zealand Barbarians (Auckland 1981)
International Tours: Australia (1); Canada (1); England (2); Ireland (1); New Zealand (1); Scotland (1); and Wales (1)
Club Member: OU RFC; Tulsa RFC (1980-83); San Antonio RFC (1983); University of St Andrews RFC (Scotland) (Assistant Coach 1984-88); Madras RFC (Scotland) (1984-88); London-Zealand RFC (England) (1988); The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) RFC (England)(1989-90)
Captain: OU RFC; Tulsa RFC; and Oklahoma Comanche’s tour of NZ/ Australia
Patron: OURFC - Scholarship for the “Commitment to Excellence” (Luke Turner 2004)

WENDY YOUNG

2001-2006. Scrumhalf, Captain. Inducted 2014
USA Women's National Team XV 2004-2009;
2012: West Senior XV 2004-2007:
West Senior 7s 2003-2004:
West U23 XV 2001-2006:
Austin Valkyries 2006-2008:
Member of USA Rugby Competition Committee
Editor and Creator of Your Scrumhalf Connection

Coaching:

West Senior 7s All Stars Assistant Coach 2011 Present:
West U23 All Stars Coach 2008 2012:
Texas Rugby Union U23 All Stars Coach

Referee:

2014 - Assistant Referee at IRB Women's Sevens Series #Atlanta7s
2014 - USA Rugby Women's Collegiate D1 Playoffs
2014 - USA Rugby Club Playoffs
2013 USA Rugby All Star Sevens Championship
2013 Collegiate Rugby Championship
2013 USA Rugby Women’s Collegiate 15s Playoffs
2012 USA Rugby Collegiate Sevens Championship

CLAUDE LYNNE “LENNY” BURGER

1975- Present. Hooker, Referee. Inducted 2014.
Longest serving referee in Oklahoma.
Refereed the first high school rugby match in Oklahoma
Played every position on the pitch
American School of London 1971-1974
Saracens RFC Colts
Ozark RFU
All three OU International Tours (Van Canada, Bahamas, England)
Played rugby in England, France, USA, Canada, Oman, Nigeria, Kenya and Bahamas

MICHAEL DE JONG

1980 -1986. Scrum-Half. Inducted 2014.
OU’s first International Rugby Star
1990 – 1991 USA Eagles 9 Caps (Tours to Ireland, Australia and Japan)
1991 Rugby World Cup 2 Caps
1985 All American
1986 -1989 Jr Eagle tours Europe and New Zealand
1997 -1998 Manager USA Eagles
1998 – 1999 Backs Coach USA Eagles
1999 Rugby World Cup USA Eagles Backs Coach
1996 – 2002 All American Selector and Manager
OURFC to Bahamas – “the best tour ever – Trust Us”
1984 – 1991 West RFU
1991 National Champion- Denver Barbarians RFC
1985 Most Valuable Back-OURFC

---------------------------------------------------------

A. Jason Horowitz
The University of Oklahoma
Head Coach, Men's Rugby
610-223-9784 mobile
405-801-2493 office
214-572-9737 fax

401 West Main Street, Suite 310
Norman, OK 73069

jason@OUsoonersRugby.org
http://www.ousoonersrugby.org

OU Rugby is "ALL IN" - BOOMER SOONER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mHu2Z6jlAU

State of Play podcast and Way of the Warthogs trailer

2014-03-06T21:08:00.004-06:00

So two biggies this week are the release of the Way of the Warthogs trailer and A Rugby Life's State of Play podcast on which the Pacific Rugby Premiership is discussed by Kevin Sullivan of Rucking Insurance, Curtis Reed of This Is American Rugby, Ted Hardy of Rugby America, Hedley Lagrand of A Rugby Life, and myself, Grant Cole of RuckBottom (at least until a thundersleet storm knocked my power out).

Way of the Warthogs director Serge Bakalan states:

We are EXTREMELY proud to share the three minute movie trailer of the documentary on our program called, "Way of the Warthogs". Please spend three minutes to see why you should be so proud of the support you provide to make a difference for young men in Oakland. It has been called "Inspiring", "A Must See!", and "Incredible". Take a minute to see the difference you make for our young men. Then feel free to repost it and pass it on!

State of Play podcast
If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here

Allied Rugby Conference March 1 review

2014-03-03T20:40:00.001-06:00

Tech's Wes Mitchell converts against Texas A&M

It was not a good weekend to visit an Allied Rugby Conference club. Home teams dominated as Baylor ran rough-shod over Sam Houston in a played forfeit, Texas Tech played an explosive first half against an Aggie team that woke up too late, and Oklahoma shut out Texas in the out-of-conference Red River Rivalry match.

If you take a close look at the scorelines of all the matches so far this season, a bit of parity is revealed. It is tough to be a visiting squad in the ARC, regardless of how strong your team was at home the week before. This type of parity is exactly what the Allied Rugby Conference was formed to achieve.

Baylor 52, Sam Houston 20

Sam Houston took several new rugby players to Waco, Texas on Saturday. While the Bearkats were able to score four tries, Baylor's fitness and skills played out late in the game. The Bears ran away with the game in the second half. Baylor now sits at 2-1 and only two points behind Texas Tech in the standings. Baylor next plays Texas A&M in College Station on March 22.

Texas Tech 50, Texas A&M 19

Texas A&M made the long trip to Lubbock only to let the Red Raiders own the second half. Halftime saw the score at 21-19, but A&M had lost Senior Captain, Chris Frasier, to injury in the first half. The first few minutes of the second half were hard fought and scoreless. However, one Aggie handling error put the ball in the hands of Tech's speedster. With the wind at their back and the sure foot of Flyhalf Wes Mitchell, the Red Raiders were off to the races. Texas A&M had used up all their strength in the first half driving in forward-centric scores. The Red Raiders came away with the bonus point win and some redemption from a close loss to Baylor. Tech faces Oklahoma in their final game of the season on March 29. A make-up game in Norman, OK.

Oklahoma 39, University of Texas 0

Press Release by OU Rugby

On Saturday the Sooners took on the Longhorns in the long-lived Red River Rivalry. This was the 1st time in many years that OU hosted the event in Norman.

“This rivalry is one of the best know in college sports,” said Sooner Head Coach Jason Horowitz. “Football, Basketball, etc. always make this match up a big deal. In fact, we kicked off at 2 p.m. and just an hour later across the parking lot, Men’s Basketball hosted Texas as well. It was a big day on campus with 2 big wins.”

The Sooners opened up the scoring 4:30 into the 1st half as sophomore winger Tom Murphy struck off the centers for a 22 meter run to find the line. Scoring was all over the field with the Longhorns defending well end-to-end and applying pressure forcing the Sooners to balance an attack and create space. No easy tries were scored on the big physical Texas side.

“I was happy that we were able to get our young players another solid match. Most of the team is made of up freshmen and sophomores, which has been challenging… but will pay off for sure in coming contests. Coming off a tie with A&M, it was important to solidify those learning experiences,” said Horowitz. “Our defense was impeccable for the most part, still with many improvements to come.”

Junior captain Mike Al-Jiboori was happy with the outcome of this very intense game. “The Red River Rivalry is always one of the most physical and most anticipated games of the year. It is the biggest rivalry in the South in all sports. We respect each other as athletes, but when the whistle blows it’s a different story. It’s all about the pride of being the dominant University, which is why this game is so great. We played strong at some points of the game and less cohesive at others. We are a young growing team so we are still working on it. Our coaches set some goals and we nailed most of them. A win over UT is gladly taken any day no matter the fashion. Sooner Glory.”

The Sooners have the next weekend off and well deserved as they have been at it since early January. The season will kick back into gear on the weekend of 3/15 as they host Wisconsin during the 40th anniversary weekend of OU Rugby and the get back into conference play the following weeks.

OU vs Texas scoring line
Murphy, 1 try
Hutzler, 1 try
Gatica, 1 try
Al-Jiboori, 2 tries
Koh, 2 conversions
Crowder, 1 try
Lair, 1 try

Battle in the ARC

2014-02-24T22:22:00.001-06:00

OU attacks inside A&M's 22.

Dogfight. Brawling Bash. Tooth-&-nail scrap.

Those are apt descriptions of what has evolved in the Allied Rugby Conference this season and only three games have been played!

Baylor traveled to Norman, OK and got a rugby lesson from the Sooners. It seemed to be the wake-up call that the Bears needed. They turned around and traveled to Lubbock this past weekend and nipped the Red Raiders by a point.

Tech has a win under their belt, but it was a unplayed forfeit by Sam Houston. Their match against Oklahoma had to be rescheduled due to weather. Weather has also prevented them from putting in plenty of meaningful practice time. This may have been the crimp in their step Saturday.

Texas A&M had to reschedule their match against Sam Houston due to an unplayable pitch in Huntsville. The Aggies defeated NSCRO's St Edward's, but they had to dig deep and rely on a lot of size and strength to do so. The next weekend, they took a shellacking from Arkansas State in another out-of-conference match. That woke up the Ags when they needed it. Texas A&M opened up this weekend with a try in the first 30 seconds to put the Sooners on notice. Had their cover defense matched their breakdown defense, the Aggies may have nipped the Sooners.

It wasn't to be. The Aggies and the Sooners played to a bone-breaking, eyebrow-swelling draw.

The Sooners are "All-In." They did more than was necessary to obtain minutes before the spring season. Wins against TCU and UNT, a trip to Vegas for more 7s, and a exclamation-point win against Baylor at home all built up a team that needed the depth. The Sooners arrived in College Station, TX with flankers playing at prop (and no props to replace them with) and a slippery scrumhalf-type at hooker who doubled as their goal-kicker. They moved their star outside center into flyhalf to ensure the ball could get delivered to their speedy fullback. A&M's first two tries woke up Oklahoma with some serious nike en rectimus. The Sooners may not have won on Saturday, but their forwards certainly did not allow them to return home with a loss.

What about Sam Houston? They've yet to play a conference match and have had to forfeit their scheduled match against Texas Tech. If you've played or watched any college rugby around Texas in the past decade, then you know that Sam is comfortable playing the spoiler. No team will be able to play the Bearkats without being ready.

Three games into the season and it is already close, undecided, and exciting!

Current Allied Rugby Conference standings.

Oklahoma at Texas A&M (Full Match).

Allied Rugby Conference preview - February 15

2014-02-14T21:17:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, Allied Rugby Conference teams just could not catch a break. Texas Tech could not travel to Norman, OK due to travel restrictions based on inclement weather by their university. Sam Houston's pitch was over-watered by the university (didn't this happen last year to Tech?). Baylor was fortunate in that they had a bye week. Both matches are already rescheduled for the ARC's built-in make-up date, March 22.

This weekend, fair weather has returned to the ArkLaTexOma and matches will be played.

Jayce Crowder (AKA Ell Tee)

Baylor makes the trip to Norman, OK to take on the Sooners. The Sooners are 2-0 in non-conference play this spring after blanking TCU 30-0 and taking their bedlam to the Cowboys in Stillwater winning 62-8. While the Sooners have a strong squad that is "All-In", they have had to fill some gaps due to graduation and academic commitments. Baylor has quietly downed TCU (29-5) and Rice (20-11) this spring. While those are not blowout scores, it represents the major steps that Coach Nick Lane has taken with what is a relatively young team. The Bears may not be favored to win this weekend, but they certainly seemed to have turned their defensive structures around from last year. This may be the challenge that the Sooners need to face. Baylor's steady climb as a club and OU's rise to power definitely represent the benefits of being ARC members.

Texas A&M is coming off a tough 21-17 win over the Hilltoppers of St Edward's. This weekend, the Aggies travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas to face the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. The Aggies have not yet had the better of the Red Wolves and with players still adjusting to new positions after 12 Aggie ruggers graduated last spring, they have a tough row to hoe on Saturday. Coach Brett Mills has shifted several players around in his pack in order to play to A&M's strengths, especially depth at lock and flanker. However, he seems to have found a gem in Texas A&M Rugby's Club President, Grayson Dowlearn. Dowlearn played in the pack most of his days under Mills at St. Thomas HS. However, extreme depth at flanker last season forced Mills to try Dowlearn out on the wing. The youngster did not disappoint. Dowlearn proved his worth against St Ed's by garnering a brace and preventing the Hilltoppers from reaching in-goal on two occasions. The Aggies will require this type of on-field leadership and more when they get to Jonesboro.

ARC Invites College Clubs to Apply.

2014-02-12T20:43:00.001-06:00

College Station, TX - February 12, 2014 - The Allied Rugby Conference (ARC) invites applications for conference membership from any collegiate rugby club in Texas and the surrounding areas. Clubs may notify the ARC of interest at http://www.alliedrugby.com/index.php/arc-home/invitation-to-apply.

Applications for membership will be vetted by the T5½ Rugby Development Group, that provides professional management of the ARC. At the conclusion of the vetting process, T5½ will send the application to the ARC’s Conference Advisory Board (CAB) with a recommendation for acceptance or denial. The CAB will make the final decision to extend an invitation to the applying club to join the conference. The deadline for application is March 10, 2014. Applications will be reviewed until March 24th with notifications of invitation to join the conference will be sent to applying clubs immediately after that date. Although submitting an application does not guarantee that an invitation for membership will be extended, any club applying for membership that is denied by the CAB may request the reasons for denial.

What is the ARC looking for in a club? Foremost, clubs with an attitude that aligns with the ARC Mission Statement:

"To raise the standard of rugby within our region for all participants; players, coaches and referees. This conference intends to be the standard bearer for all other conferences and we will achieve this goal through high quality programs that will develop our players, coaches and referees; while employing a professional attitude towards marketability, exposure and sponsorships."

Clubs should display a willingness to put rugby’s agenda first and to advance the state of the game within the conference. Additionally, applicant clubs should possess a competitive nature, a healthy CIPP roster, and a desire to play 7s rugby, as well as XVs. Finally, geography and fiduciary capability will be important factors to ensure that a club is within a reasonable distance and possesses the financial wherewithal to make all conference tournaments and matches. The ARC sends Renewal Agreements to its current member clubs on February 17th. Those agreements must be returned by March 3rd. Thus, by March 24th, the complete make-up of the 2014-2015 Allied Rugby Conference will be determined.

Benefits of ARC membership include:

A Conference Advisory Board and elected Commissioner ensuring the clubs have a direct voice in conference affairs.
Resource sharing including a best practices manual for training, game preparation, event management, alumni and university relations.
Fall 7's schedule, Coach and Player Clinic and Championship Tournament
Spring XV's competition with a pathway to the USA Rugby National Championships
Scheduling of post-season Bowl Games with surrounding Conferences
A conference film-sharing program.
Dedicated Conference Webpage to include team and player information, conference schedule, results, and college recruiting information
Webcast of an ARC "Game of the Week"
ARC Blog and Podcasts
ARC Press Releases for campus and local media
Annual Coaches Conference weekend
Collaborative effort to bring in and retain sponsorships
Referee Development Program to include film sharing and coach/player/referee feedback.
Coach and player development events with well-established rugby coaching personalities..
Competition in the USA Rugby Collegiate Division 1A.
The ARC is sponsored by World Rugby Shop with discounts available for member clubs.

About the Allied Rugby Conference-

The Allied Rugby Conference (ARC) currently serves collegiate rugby clubs located in the southwest region of the United States. The ARC competes in the DI-A competition of USA Rugby. It’s motto is “Strength through Unity.” At the end of each season, the ARC will post a financial statement on its website for transparency.

About the T5½ Rugby Development Group-

The T5½ Rugby Development Group was founded in August of 2010 by Craig Coates and Johnny Smith in order to bring low cost, high quality services to rugby clubs throughout the region. Each and every service is specifically designed for the recipient club and its players. T5½ is a major sponsor of the ARC.

Contact:

Johnny Smith

(979) 530-5316

http://alliedrugby.com/

Twitter: @Allied_Rugby

ARC Preview - Oklahoma University

2014-01-30T17:21:00.002-06:00

Sooner Rugby is ALL IN! That is the message that the Oklahoma University Men's Rugby Club adopted under their new coach Jason Horowitz. This philosophy led Oklahoma's charge to a dominate 2013 ARC Fall 7s Series Championship and to Greensboro, NC to play in the USA Rugby College 7s National Championship Tournament.

Oklahoma also played a combination of 7s and XVs in the Fall. Every XVs match was played by the Sooners' Development Squad to provide the necessary depth that the Sooners will need in the Allied Rugby Conference 2014 Spring XVs season and the subsequent sophomore season of the Varsity Cup - which the Sooners have accepted an invitation to join.

So far this Spring, the Sooners have visited Ft. Worth, TX in the second of a home and away series against the TCU Horned Frogs. The Sooners blanked the Frogs with 30 points, led by Captain Michael al-Jiboori at Outside Center. The Sooners also took a beleaguered and injury-ridden 7s squad to the Las Vegas Invitational (LVI). Oklahoma held the Collegiate Division champions UBC to under 30-points - a feat no other team that played UBC could boast - but the Sooners also met their match in two extremely close games against Josh Macy's American International College of the Empire Rugby Union.

The Sooners enter D1A Rugby's Allied Rugby Conference XVs season short many of the core players from their Fall season. "It's a young team dealing with the adversity of academics, injury, illness, and life, in general." Horowitz says, "This Spring will be very challenging, but very satisfying." The team has some great support that is "All In" for the Spring and an even better future lined up in recruiting for the Fall of 2014.

Oklahoma opens the ARC Spring 2014 XVs Series as hosts to Texas Tech at 2pm on February 8.

About Oklahoma University Rugby:

The University of Oklahoma Men’s Rugby story begins in 1974 with two law students and an English professor. Tim Wilson, who discovered rugby after serving as a Marine in Viet Nam and Jon Woods, who played rugby as an undergraduate at Dartmouth, quickly grew tired of flag football with their fellow law students and decided it was time to promote a more demanding style of competition.

The first OU Rugby Football Club game was played at the Girdlestone Tournament in Fort Sill, and ever since then the club has grown in size and popularity. After the first home game against the Albuquerque Aardvarks, students were anxious to become a part of the up-and-coming program. Far from being exclusionary, the team has always prided itself on including student athletes from all walks of life.

A base expectation is that these student-athletes are “All In” as athletes, students, and community members. As testament to the effectiveness of this balanced yet challenging program, Oklahoma Rugby has produced many All-Americans and National Team players. Most recently, Taylor Mokate was named All-American in a 2010 tour to England and was named to the US Eagle 15’s squad.

OU has also had a tradition of excellent coaching. The sixth and current Head Coach A. Jason Horowitz has been coaching successful rugby teams for fifteen years and continues to drive this program forward.

The University of Oklahoma Offices of Development, Admissions, and Athletics have also played an integral role in supporting the team. OU was selected to become a part of the Inaugural Collegiate Premier League in 2011, is a current member of the D1A Allied Rugby Conference; and in the Spring of 2014 will be competing in the 12 team Varsity Cup. They will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the team’s founding in March of 2014.

Head Coach: Jason Horowitz
Coach: Michael Black (former OU player for 6 years)

Spring 2014 OU Rugby Roster

Happy Thanksgiving!

2013-11-26T06:02:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are no Texas teams playing rugby this weekend.

Take a break and watch the Dubai 7s (if you can).

The IRBsevens.com website states that UniversalSports.com will be streaming ALL of the Men's Dubai matches (schedule). The men begin play on Friday morning.

That didn't work out too well for us at Gold Coast, though. So don't get your hopes up. Universal Sports does not seem to consider the American rugby fan's dollar all that valuable.

The Women's 7s World Series is a bit more reliable. The IRB broadcasts the series in it's entirety on wsws.irb.com (Schedule). The women begin play on Thursday morning.

Lone Star Conference: Angelo St v Texas St Dev XV 09/23/2013

2013-11-25T13:26:00.001-06:00

Coach Scot Courtney of Texas St shared this video of the Angelo State's victory over the TxSt in LSC action this weekend,

Chadwyck Lehew plays his last TCU Rugby match in style

2013-11-25T12:46:00.000-06:00

Chadwyck Lehew - AKA Big Chad, Thor, Hulk, & even Lord Farquaad - returned from last year's ACL injury to play his final match for the TCU Horned Frogs Rugby Club this past Saturday. The Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin State University traveled to Ft Worth, but the cold and wet conditions favored the Frogs as they chopped down SFA 19-5. The victory was a fine graduation present for Lehew. He walks the stage at the end of the semester and hopefully will make his presence felt in the world of Senior Men's Rugby very soon.

Jared Lindsay braved the wind and rain to chronicle the day and came away with a great photo essay of the day. In case you have missed a few seasons of TCU rugby, Lehew is the one with the hair.

Lehew (center) clowning with his rugby brothers.

Texas Rugby Scores Nov 23-24, 2013

2013-11-23T16:59:00.000-06:00

With a huge weather system moving through Texas on Friday and Saturday, several matches were postponed due to weather (PW).

Scores will be updated as received. Please let us know of any changes or corrections needed.

Texas Rugby Scores - Nov 15-16, 2013

2013-11-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

In Texas College Rugby last weekend, the NSCRO tourists from the University of West Florida split two matches,winning a 2nd XV match against Texas (who obviously sat their 7s starters in preparation for Nationals) and dropping a cross-conference NSCRO to a well-prepared and ready St Edward's. In further cross-conference action, Texas State traveled far north to defeat their Oklahoman equals in Stillwater and North Texas sent their 2nd XV to victory against the University of Dallas.

There were only two matches for the gentlemen in conference play. UT-Dallas remains undefeated in Lone Star Conference play since their inception as they downed their in-town rivals, Southern Methodist. Stephen F Austin surprised a ready University of Houston squad as the Lumberjacks fought their way to a close victory on the Cougars' home ground.

In the SWWC, Tech provided rough treatment to the visiting Aggies. The LSWC saw two matches as UT-San Antonio took the best of three 7s matches over Texas Christian and Texas State dealt a harsh "welcome to XVs" drubbing of the inaugural UT-Dallas team.

In Division 1 rugby, the Women's portion of the Red River Conference began to show form as the SHARCs, Valkyries and Roses all recorded wins. The much-anticipated Men's D1 play began with three cross-town matches with the Blacks topping the Huns, Griffins Rugby over Ft Worth, and HARC taking the first match in the Bayou Battle Rugby Cup series against The Woodlands.

Result from Nov 8-9 in Texas Rugby

2013-11-09T15:22:00.001-06:00

Google Drive

TCU's Chadwyck Jack Lehew escapes two Rice defenders. Photo courtesy of JaredLindsay.com

Texas Rugby Schedule Nov 5-6

2013-11-08T04:38:00.002-06:00

Texas College Rugby
SWC
Friday
7pm Texas at Houston (at the HASP)
Saturday
4pm Rice at Texas Christian

LSC
Saturday
2pm Lamar at Angelo State
2pm Midwestern St at Southern Methodist
2pm St Edward's at Texas St
7pm Dallas at UT-Dallas

LSWC
Saturday
12pm UT-Dallas at Lamar
12pm Texas St at Sam Houston
2pm Texas Christian at Rice

ARC (non-conference)
Saturday
2pm Texas A&M at Sam Houston (development match)
All day. Oklahoma at Elite 7s Tournament in Jonesboro, Arkansas (OU, Arkansas St, Lindenwood, Davenport)

Red River Rugby Conference
Division 1 Women
Saturday
11am Oklahoma Roses at Austin Valkyries (Burr Field)

Division 1 Men
3:30pm Austin Huns at Dallas Reds (2nd XV match at 2pm)

Cross Divisional
Lone Survivor Tournament at the HASP all day on Saturday.

Pacific Rugby Premiership takes rugby to new heights

2013-11-06T16:27:00.003-06:00

Press Release

LOS ANGELES, CA NOVEMBER 6, 2013 - The rugby clubs of Belmont Shore, Denver Barbarians, Glendale Raptors, Olympic Club, OMBAC, San Francisco Golden Gate and Santa Monica are pleased to announce the formation of the Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP), which is to play its inaugural season in 2014.

The competition will be officially launched on January 15th, with the first round of fixtures kicking off on February 1st.

Consisting of a 43 match season, teams will play each other both home and away over a 14 week period. The top two teams from the regular season will then compete for the Premiership title on May 17th, making this the longest competitive playing season for premiere rugby teams in the USA.

The PRP will also serve as a platform for clubs and players to showcase the depth of homegrown rugby talent here in the USA - pitching the leading teams in the country against each other week in, week out.

Being one of the fastest growing sports in America, rugby is drawing ever increasing interest. As a result of this new competition, each club will host a full calendar of highly competitive fixtures, providing a great opportunity for expansion in local markets. The Pacific Rugby Premiership will establish itself as the pinnacle of domestic competition - taking rugby to the next level in the USA.

For further inquiries and sponsorship opportunities please contact info@pacificrugbypremiership.com

Interview with NeMani Delaibatiki, Head Coach at Arkansas St.

2013-11-04T08:57:00.000-06:00

NeMani Delaibatiki with his wife Tonya and son Junior.

The Arkansas State University Men's Rugby Club has named NeMani "Mani" Delaibatiki as it's Director of Rugby and Head Coach. Mani hails from New Zealand where he grew up playing both codes of rugby at loose forward and center. He advanced to premier club rugby as a loose forward in the NZ Provinces of Waikato (Fraser Tech) and Southland (Southland Blues) and culminated his overseas' playing experience with brief stints in Firenze, Italy and in Perth, Australia.

In 2003, the Sckuylkill River Exiles RFC recruited Mani to play Division 1 rugby in Pennsylvania. The move stateside also led to Mani playing rugby for the New Zealand Ambassador's XV, Belmont Shore, Palmer College, and others. While attending and playing for Palmer in 2006, Mani stepped into the Head Coach's role and found his niche. The next few years saw Palmer attend several Division 1 National Round of 16 weekends under the direction of Coach Mani. Palmer's trip to the Division 1 Semifinals in 2010 put Delaibatiki on the map as a coach, though. His charges dropped a nail-biter to Belmont Shore that year and moved on to attend the Semifinals for the next two years, as well.

In 2011, Mani transferred to the Texas Chiropractic College in Houston and began coaching the Bay Area Rugby Club (BARC), a Texas Division II club. His American coaching resume includes representative side positions as Head Coach of the Iowa Collegiate All-Stars in 2009 and 2010 and as an Assistant Coach for the Texas South Selects team in the 2013 Texas Cup Representative Series.

Arkansas State was not the only club courting Delaibatiki's rugby nous as of late, but the Red Wolves are the team that he deemed "the best fit" for his style of coaching and the rugby vision that drives his passion for the sport. ASU's Interim Coach Matt Huckaby expressed his approval of the move, "We are excited and we think Mani can put some good energy in the program."

The soft-spoken Coach Mani afforded us the opportunity to ask him some questions about his new position, his direction for the club, and his ideas about rugby in the U.S.A.

RB: We understand you were being courted to coach and/or direct other rugby programs when the Arkansas State coaching position became vacant. What drove you to seek a position in the college rugby ranks in the US?

Coach Mani: I have always wanted to coach rugby at the grassroots level particularly at the high school and college level. I am quiet passionate about it. The ASU coaching position seems to put me in a great position to do just that. I am excited about the challenge of it all.

RB: What enticed you to accept Arkansas State's offer?

Coach Mani: The team's competitive edge and the support of its school administration for the rugby program is quiet unique. It is hard to see that (support) in most large schools where rugby is merely a club sport with no proper school backing. So its nice to see that at Arkansas State.

RB: Based on what you've experienced during the interview process, what do you think of the culture at Arkansas State?

Coach Mani: Their culture is awesome. Very friendly people in Jonesboro. I got to meet some school administrators and it is good to see the recognition of rugby within such a big school. Plus, you can just tell from meeting all the guys in the team that they want to do all they can to be competitive. That's one thing coaches like from all their players - a passion and love for the game and to be the best in what you do. The competitive mindset is already there and that is a plus for me heading in.

RB: The Red Wolves are considered a solid program, They have won a National Championship in 7s, been the runners-up to the National Champions in 7s and in XVs and play in a tough conference. They are already at the top level in US college rugby. What vision do you bring to the program to maintain and improve on those past accolades?

Coach Mani: I definitely have a tough act to follow with past coaches Curt Huckaby, Matt Huckaby and Alex Houser doing a phenomenal job during their stints here at ASU. A lot of credit goes to them for their leadership and building the program up to what it is today. My vision is to maintain the competitive edge and rugby tradition that ASU has built in the past and to build on it by making it bigger and better than what it has been. That means being competitively consistent every year within the college rugby competition. Not that it needs to get better because all the leaders and coaches in the past have done a great job to get it to where it is today. But, like every club, we can always find ways to improve and I am excited about that challenge.

RB: Should we expect any drastic change in the style of rugby at Arkansas State? Or is their current style equal to what you are accustomed to coaching?

Coach Mani: ASU plays a slight similar style to what I will be coaching, but there can be some huge differences into some approaches. I am a player-centered coach - always about the players first - and coach the southern hemisphere style of rugby. However, I am always be open to incorporate my game-plan with the type of athletes presented and what my players can bring to the table. At the end of the day, the best approach has to be what will give us the winning edge and allow us to be competitive.

RB: Finally, not related to this position, what do you like about rugby in the US? Where do you think the greatest opportunities are for the US rugby community? And what can the US rugby community be doing NOW to realize those opportunities in the future?

Coach Mani: USA rugby will one day be a powerhouse in international rugby. But it all depends on the approach we are taking now to get us there sooner. Its not only about having a professional competition, but having the right approach to development of the game toward the future. No doubt, the USA probably possesses the largest melting port of athletes compared to anywhere else in the world, which is always a great resource. But to grow rugby and better the game in the USA, we need to teach the basic fundamentals and principles in essential core skills early, which will allow ruggers to have better decision-making abilities in non-pressure and reality pressure situations. It is critical that we teach that at the grassroots level because it changes the dynamics of the game and the type of rugby players we are putting out which can only spearhead the game here in the USA toward the right direction. Grassroots rugby is where most of the focus should be going, such as high school, youth and college competitions.

Arkansas State's rugby reputation is hard and fast. The Red Wolves' 12-10 pool play defeat of the Cal Bears at the 2012 USAR College 7s National Championship tournament was a memorably brilliant match that epitomized their style. With ASU being helmed by a coach of NeMani Delaibatiki's rugby pedigree, the US college rugby scene can only expect that playing the Red Wolves will be a bit more difficult task. Exciting times, indeed.