The Pacific Rugby Premiership opened up this past Saturday with three high-standard games at Treasure Island in San Franciso.
The games were all live on FloRugby (and are now available on-demand) and showed why this is probably the best men's D1 club league in the country.
We came away with a few thoughts.
Belmont Shore Poked The Bear
The word around the PRP teams after Belmont Shore beat SFGG 30-29 on the final play of the game was pretty much the same: “Great job Belmont Shore, but now Golden Gate is going to be angry and will take it out on everyone else.”
For its part, SFGG took the loss with equanimity, knowing that one or two small things, including some better goal kicking and fewer penalties, could have made the difference.
There’s This Guy...
Get familiar with the name Keni Nasoqeqe. He’s the Belmont Shore No. 8 and his acceleration is wing-like in his ability to spin defenses around. Nasoqeqe created a lot of problems for SFGG.
Life West Is Legit
Santa Monica is not a bad team. It played some smart rugby (except for the penalties), but Life West tore up its opponent in a 40-13 win. How? Athleticism, for one. That Life West front row is big and bulky, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it is slow and not fit. You’d be wrong. Vei Tomasi, Jay Finau, and the imposing Fancy Namelauula crushed opponents and kept going all day.
No. 8 Siaosi Nonu scored three tries and can do it in traffic or out wide. Lock Zach Bonte just keeps bouncing up off the deck with a smile on his face ready to hit it again. The center pairing of Calvin Nell and Guillaume Cazenave were rock solid defensively.
Not Sure What’s Up With Olympic Club
How can O-Club improve following its 52-10 loss to OMBAC? Well, right now Olympic Club has one guy, young Eric Gaffney, who can get through the gain line. Younger players are learning that they have to keep fighting for every yard. The skills are there but that grit — and maybe running at branches, not trees — needs to be there, too.
The Old Guy’s Still Got It
How great was it to see OMBAC's Tai Tuisamoa, who is now 37 and looking spry and limber, on the field still? Tuisamoa scored a very nice open-field try and is also the player-coach for the team. Jason Wood still works as a coach for OMBAC and is a game-day coach, while Ian Denham is a game-day captain. Tuisamoa says that reduces the responsibility… well keep it up, it’s working.
Speaking Of Old Guys
Scrumhalf Jonathan Gray sent this writer an email some years ago saying he was retiring. So how does he turn up as captain of Belmont Shore? You just can’t shake that rugby bug.
