Belmont Shore knocked off the big dogs of Life West in a huge Pacific Rugby Premiership faceoff that put the entire league into a tight ball.

Life West was undefeated going into this game, but the Shore forwards came in with a game plan and did well to stifle the Gladiators' physical play.

"We just had good set piece work," said Belmont Shore head coach Ray Egan. "I think we played with good control and our D was solid."

Shore led comfortably but the bench didn't hold that lead, with Life West running in a couple of late tries to get a four-try bonus point. That, said Egan, was a bit of a frustration.

On-Demand Games From The Pacific Rugby Premiership

Belmont Shore and Life West are now both 3-1. Meanwhile, Santa Monica also moved to 3-1 with a 34-19 defeat of OMBAC. Tries from prop Robert Cleere, No. 8 Haydn Reardon, and wing Eric Pawlakos staked the Dolphins to a 15-0 lead.

Flyhalf Maxwell Rodman failed to convert any of those, but did convert two of his own tries—one either side of halftime. Hooker Conor Clancy added a try for a 34-5 lead. OMBAC scored two late tries but by then it was a done deal.

And the Glendale Merlins won their first game of the season, beating SFGG 43-22. Golden Gate held a 10-3 lead early in the game, but a three-try run in the latter part of the first half put the Merlins ahead to stay.

Former Granite Bay HS star Justin Oles was once again influential, while the Glendale front row had a big day scoring tries.

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