It was quite a rugby weekend here in my neck of the woods in Southern California.
My new rugby home, Pasadena hosted the South Bay Rugby Club. The Rhino's roster is loaded with players of Pacific Island origin. It would be a contrast of their size and physicality against the speed and fitness of Pasadena. Pasadena would score an early try...
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| The only try Pasadena would score-but it was enough |
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| Pasadena attempts to steal a South Bay throw in. |
Pasadena's kicking game did a good job of keeping the Rhino's pinned in their own half, as well as scoring 6 points off of penalties. It was a very nervy and tactical game in the second half. South Bay was able to score a try to make it 13-5. South Bay had one man sin-binned for dangerous play(and really should have had a second player yellow carded for a dangerous tackle)
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| Another Rhino infraction penalized... |
In the end, Pasadena's fitness and discipline in avoiding needless penalties was enough to hold onto the hard fought 13-5 win in a match that was played in simply pristine, 70+ degree, windless conditions in Pasadena.
USA Rugby had it's National Development Summit in Costa Mesa, California down in Orange County. It's a conference that touched on a myriad of subjects, from coaching, to player safety, and getting the sport out to younger kids in the USA. It also gave vendors a chance to showcase their wares, like some of these scrum sleds...
I had a little old home time by running into Chris Babiash. I first met Chris 7 years ago, during my first year with the Metropolis RFC back home in Minneapolis. I played with him back at the Aspen Ruggerfest in 2010, and two years ago in Minneapolis, when the Old Laurentians came to Minnesota, and we had an Old Boys game. He is a very busy man working for Rugby Athletic
http://www.rugbyathletic.com and working hand in hand with USA Rugby. He has a young family, but his work is keeping him on the road quite a bit this year: L.A, Houston and Las Vegas in the early part of this year. It was great to talk with Chris and catch up with news about his family, Metropolis, Rugby Athletic and USA Rugby. In spite of him being a die-hard Green Bay Packer fan, he's a good guy. I admire what he did while president of Metropolis RFC(he was part of the group that suggested Metropolis start fielding two full time teams), and just being very a supportive to a 45 year old guy wanting to play rugby when I first joined Metropolis 7 years ago.
It was just great to catch up friends like Timaris Montano, who along with her husband Chee, are preaching the gospel of the Oval Ball to kids in Gallup, New Mexico.
http://propnurse.blogspot.com/2012/03/chee-spreads-gospel-of-rugby-to-native.html Along with being active parents of their own kids, they reach and help an awful lot of young people that goes beyond teaching scrum and rucking skills. (Her family still wonders what ever became of the white guy who got his car stuck in the ditch trying to find her daughter's Kinaalda Ceremony, signaling her arrival to Navajo womanhood)
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| Timaris Montano, Rugby Apostle in Gallup, New Mexico. |
Timaris, my wife (AKA 'Da Redhead') and I had fine late evening talking about our families and what is going on getting kids playing rugby in western New Mexico. Timaris and her Husband Chee are just wonderful people-like a lot of people involved with rugby.
I started my Saturday watching some hard-fought rugby, while getting to know some very nice people with my new club, and ended my Saturday still talking rugby with some first-class people. All in all, it was a Saturday well-spent.
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