The Glendale Raptors avenged their loss to SFGG in last year’s PRP final with a 31-27 victory in San Francisco on Saturday. The match was an early highlight on the league schedule with both teams bringing their nearly full compliment of players. As expected from last year’s rivals the match was intense with lots of back and forth with neither side showing Valentine’s Day love. In the end it was Glendale that would gain the last advantage and score the win.
Despite ending up on the negative side of the scoreline the match started brilliantly for Golden Gate. Off the opening kick they pinned Glendale in their own end and when Glendale spilled the ball forward after a few phases Soni Pone cleaned up the ball and found the streaking Bubba Jones for the try. Following the try both teams struggled to find their feet as each committed a number of penalties an knock ons. Glendale was the first team to settle down and after Armandy Peens missed a penalty attempt the Raptors pressed SFGG into a lineout deep in their own. Glendale made them pay as a few phases later the ball found the hands of Chad London for the score. Peens would convert and Glendale would lead 7-5. It would only take a couple of minutes for SFGG to retake the lead. Quick recognition from Pila Huihui at the breakdown led to him making a break away. He as caught but his offload found Mile Pulu to run in for the score. Volney Rouse would miss his second straight conversion but SFGG led 10-5. With only a few minutes left in the half Glendale struck again. This time through a well worked ball to Dustin Croy on the wing. Croy did well to break through a couple of tackles on a his way to the tryzone. Peens would hit the conversion. SFGG’s Tai Enosa hit a long penalty just before the half to make it 14-13 in favor of Glendale. By and large Glendale dominated possession in the first and would do the same at the start of the second. That possession turned into points as Cody Melphy scored to extend the lead to 19-13 before Golden Gate responded with a try of their own. Glendale made a mess of their own five meter lineout and Brendan Daly was there to clean up for the try. Enosa would make the conversion and SFGG would retake the lead at 20-19. Things would get worse for Glendale a minute later as substitute Spencer Scott was carded. On the ensuing scrum Daly ran over for his second try of the day. Enosa made the conversion for a 27-19 lead with less than 20 minutes to play. Sensing the match slipping away the Raptors regrouped led by former SFGG captain Mose Timoteo. Quick ball once again found Melphy in space. His try along with a conversion from Peens put the score at 27-26. They would then take a 31-27 lead when Peens scored his first try of the day. That scoreline would hold as the Raptors picked up the victory at Treasure Island. It has the makings of a season changing win for Glendale after their early stumble to OMBAC. They showed great organization and were quick to punish the SFGG mistakes. For SFGG it was a weekend in which there were positives but was not clean enough for the win. To the Member Clubs & Teams:
Many of you are aware of the facts relating to the fall season competition in DIII and the confusion surrounding the forfeiture of games under league rules. The facts of the case are as follows: · Glendale forfeited two matches under the direction of their due to the mistaken belief that his players did not want to compete for post-season competition · Glendale forfeited to Queen City and the Denver Harlequins, but not to Northside or Northern Colorado · RMR policies stipulate that two forfeits in a season result in a team’s scores reading as 20-0 forfeits for the remainder of the season · RMR policies were emailed prior to 2013-2014 season but not emailed prior to 2014-2015 season and were not online before both forfeits occurred · Had Glendale forfeited to all 4 teams, it would be in 5th place and Northern Colorado would be in 2nd; Currently, Glendale is in 4th and Northern Colorado is in 3rd Further: · The original D3 schedule consisted of 7 teams, with the Fall season being a play-in to a 4-team round-robin the Spring to qualify for the Frontier Conference playoffs Two teams (Colorado Rush, Littleton Eagles) have effectively dropped out of the league Equitably: · With only 5 teams remaining, no one wishes to leave a club behind for the Spring · With only 5 teams remaining, there is no point in seeing the Fall as a the qualifier for the Spring · Teams want the Fall results to count, but also want to honor elements of the original format · Teams want the Glendale mistake to be accounted for but don’t necessarily want Glendale out of the competition The Rocky Mountain Rugby Union, in weighing the facts of the case, has reached a decision regarding the Men’s Club Division III competition. We propose the following solution: · A hybrid schedule will be enforced, combining the original plan with the practical realities of our existing competition · Glendale’s Fall results will be marked as 20-0 forfeits in accordance with RMR rules · A Rocky Mountain D3 Championship will be held on May 2 · Qualifiers for this championship will be the Spring champion, which recognizes the original value assigned to the Spring season and the other participating team will be the overall champion, which recognizes the flexibility needed for our now-5-team league · If the Spring champion and the overall season champion are the same club, the second-place team from the overall season will participate as the other team in the game. Of course, the Champion will already be determined and will receive the National Playoff bid. (If the Spring Champion and the overall season champion is not the same club, the National Playoff bid will be on the line.) Nevertheless, RMR will present a trophy for that game to be given to the winner. RMR will also award trophies for the D2 season and championship game winners. · Note: Glendale will be eligible for the Rocky Mountain D3 championship if it wins the Spring season The adjusted Division III Fall/overall standings will then be as follows: 1. Queen City, 5-0, 25 PTS 2. Northern Colorado, 4-1, 21 PTS 3. Harlequins, 3-2, 17 PTS 4. Northside, 2-3, 12 PTS 5. Glendale, 1-4, -4 PTS The RMR Executive Committee believes this is the fairest solution to declare a champion—one determined on the field of play with due deference to the rules of the competition. Please let me know if you have any questions. Kind Regards, Rich Cortez Note: The original draft of this letter stated Glendale's record would be 0-5 with -5 PTS. That was an error that did not reflect the Rush's departure from the competition and Glendale's forfeit victory over that side. As you would expect from two teams expecting to contend for a title this season Saturday’s match between OMBAC and Glendale was a tight affair full of great rugby. There was little separating the two on the day except for the scoring of Zach Pangelinan as last year’s MVP led OMBAC to a 24-13 victory.
Due to the weather in Colorado, Glendale hadn’t had a chance to play a warm-up match before heading to San Diego while OMBAC had the opportunity to play the SoCal DI opponents, St. Mary’s and others. That played to OMBAC’s advantage early as Pangelinan kicked a penalty to put OMBAC up 3-0. Still, it wouldn’t last as Dustin Croy showed some quick pace to put Glendale up 5-3 after Mike Graham missed the conversion. The first half was a back and forth affair and a little while after Croy had put Glendale ahead Pangelinan hit another penalty to put OMBAC up 6-5. Graham would then answer for Glendale to restore the advantage at 8-6. Pangelinan would make one more penalty to bring the halftime score to 9-8 in favor of OMBAC. The second half wasn’t nearly as back and forth as the first. Pangelinan found an early gap for OMBAC and went the distance for the try to make it 16-8 after he hit his own conversion. OMBAC then widened the lead with a driving line out maul converted by new hooker Adam Clarkin to make it 21-8. Glendale pressed hard to get back into the game and crossed the line via Josh Sutcliffe to make it 21-13 but OMBAC responded with an attack that resulted in a penalty where Pangelinan added to his point total of 19 to make the final score on the day 24-13 for OMBAC. Article by Bruce Thomas | Originally published at pacificrugbypremiership.com This season Canterbury renews its partnership with the Pacific Rugby Premiership, becoming the official jersey supplier to each of the seven teams in the league. Robbie Flynn (CEO Canterbury North America) states, “This year the brand launches a new global tagline: “Committed To The Game”. Our partnership with the PRP encapsulates this perfectly. We are committed to helping the PRP build a platform of elite rugby here in the US, giving players a competitive schedule that will raise the level of not only the clubs but help feed the national team.”
Licensed supporters jerseys will be available to purchase online through canterburyus.com and worldrugbyshop.com from January 23, 2015. For more information about the PRP-Canterbury agreement, please visit pacificrugbypremiership.com
The Denver Harlequins turned in their first 4-try performance of the season in dispatching Boulder Rugby at Denver's Cook Park. Up 22-0 just 22 minutes into the match, the Harlequins were led by the boot of outside center Thomas Oliver, who scored 18 of the Quins 33 points - including an 8th-minute try. Boulder, who came out relatively flat, was able to 12 points in the final 15 minutes to narrow the margin of defeat to 33-17. The victory propels the Harlequins into third place in the Rocky Mountain Division 2 competition, though that position is also a result of having played 6 matches thus far in the season. In a tight race to make the 2015 Rocky Mountain Championship weekend, all teams are still within striking distance of the top 4, with no team that's played 6 matches not having at least 13 league points. For Boulder, the loss sees the club on the outside just looking in, as the team currently sits in 5th. Elsewhere in the Rockies, the Queen City Rams finished their Fall campaign unblemished, defeating the Denver Harlequins' reserve side by a score of 39-10. Despite picking up a yellow card, Flyhalf Scott Trench led the Rams with 17 points, turning in yet another excellent performance. In picking up the win, Queen City now has 8 league points between them and the second-place Harlequins, and puts itself in good position to once again reach the USA Rugby National Round of 32 in May. The Glendale Raptors' third side was also in action, pacing past the Northern Colorado (NoCo) Flamingos, 27-7. It is unlikely that Glendale will reach the Division 3 playoffs after forfeiting their first two matches (for wanting to play more than 23 players), but the win does do damage to the Flamingos' odds of making the postseason. NoCo will need to turn in a strong Spring performance and hope for a hiccup or two from Queen City. In other D3 news, the Northside Marauders picked up a 20-0 forfeit over the Colorado Rush. Men's Division 2 Standings | October 26, 2014 Men's Division 3 Standings | October 26, 2014
The red-hot start to the Colorado Springs Grizzlies’ season finally cooled to a simmer, as the Denver Harlequins traveled downstate and emerged victorious, 15-12. An early, 3rd-minute try from slippery Springs scrumhalf Travis Carrasquillo was not enough to rattle the Harlequins’ resolve, as they responded in form with tries from 8-man Sosefa Vitapa and fullback Kregg Hyer in the 14th and 33rd minutes (respectively). Taking a 12-7 lead into halftime, the Peter Borlase-coached Quins knew they needed to maintain pressure to pick up a much-needed win. A penalty kick (PK) by Thomas Oliver in the 47th minute extended the Denver lead to 15-7, but a bursting try from Grizzly wing Nicholas Rosales brought the Springs within 3 points with 15 minutes to play. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the Harlequins’ defense held firm, and the low-scoring affair reflected both sides’ standing as the top two defenses in the league. Elsewhere in the Rockies, the Gentlemen of Aspen moved into the win column during their third match of the season, with a 38-36 barnburning victory over the Denver Highlanders. The Aspen back-three accounted for 33 of 38 points on the day, and flyhalf Daryl Furlong was sensational in directing his club around the pitch. Despite a 6-try effort from the gutsy Highlanders, the boot of Aspen wing Cyle Bilger appeared to be the difference, as the Gentlemen converted all five of their tries, with Bilger picking up a PK as well. Wiehan Pretorius and Garrett Lincoln also bagged a pair of tries each. The Provo Steelers made their first trip across the mountains this year, falling to the Glendale Raptors’ D2 squad, 52-17. Traveling light, the Steelers displayed much heart in pushing the Raptors around the pitch, particularly dominating in the scrum, but they were unable to overcome the incredible pace and skill of Glendale’s outer backs. For Provo, center combination Misi Tukia (2) and Etu Lavulavu accounted for all three of the Steeler tries, while Glendale’s sensational backline grouping of Rohan Fenton (3 tries), Kleslie Alovili (1 try), Kyle Harris (1 try), and Nathan Fa'amatuainu (1 try, 6 conversions) helped the Raptors put in their first complete performance of the season. In Division 3 action, the Glendale third side raced past the Northside Marauders, a second-year club from the northern Denver suburbs, by a score of 88-0. The Glendale D3 squad had previously forfeited two matches for playing too many players, so the result gets the Raptors back into the hunt for the Rocky Mountain GU’s only D3 playoff spot. Next week will see a massive Division 3 clash between the Denver Harlequins D3 team and the Queen City Rams, as well as an opportunity for Glendale D3 to keep its momentum going against a physical Northern Colorado Flamingos squad. In the final Division 2 match of the Fall, Boulder Rugby will also travel down to Denver for their second encounter of the season with the Denver Harlequins. Boulder won the previous encounter this season, 15-11, and this match will give one club or the other a distinct advantage in securing a spot in the 2015 Rocky Mountain Championship weekend. Held May 2-3, the 2015 Rocky Mountain Championship will involve the top two teams from Division 2 competing for the #1 seed in the Frontier Conference playoffs. The loser of that match will be forced to play the winner of the #3 vs. #4 match (also May 2), on Sunday, May 3, for the right to the #2 seed in the Frontier Conference playoffs. To be held May 16-17, the Frontier Conference playoffs are the de facto USA Rugby Round of 32 and Round of 16 events, with the champion of the event heading into the USA Rugby National Quarter-Finals on May 30. Division 2 Results | October 18, 2014 Colorado Springs Grizzlies 12-15 Denver Harlequins Gentlemen of Aspen 38-36 Denver Highlanders Glendale Raptors D2 52-17 Provo Steelers Division 3 Results | October 18, 2014 Colorado Rush 0(F)-20 Denver Harlequins D3 Glendale Raptors D3 88-0 Northside Marauders Men's Division 2 Standings | October 19, 2014 Men's Division 3 Standings | October 19, 2014 The Rocky Mountain Rugby Union is a geographic union within USA Rugby that encompasses one of the nation's most historic rugby-playing areas. Rocky Mountain member clubs have captured 21 national championships, including 11 at the Men's Senior Club Elite / Division 1 level. Overall, Rocky Mountain teams have appeared in 42 national championship finals since 1979, when USA Rugby first began conducting national championships. The union currently consists of 17 senior men's teams, 4 senior women's teams, 17 collegiate men's teams, and 11 collegiate women's teams.
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