PRO Rugby Preview – San Francisco

Next up in the Americas Rugby News 2016 PRO Rugby Preview series is San Francisco, the second team that was announced for the competition after Sacramento. The Bay Area has a long history of top level rugby, so it was little surprise that they were awarded with a franchise. San Francisco has a roster filled with local talent with a heavy Polynesian influence. Players from Life West litter the roster for San Francisco while there is a surprisingly light representation from local powerhouse San Francisco Golden Gate who retained a group of players more than worthy of playing in PRO Rugby.

“The biggest challenge we face is infrastructure,” said Head Coach Paul Keeler. “We don’t have a home base or a venue that is quite our own, but we improvise and overcome, and it keeps us humble.”

PROP

What San Francisco lacks in household names at prop, they more than make up for in pure size and power. The front row averages almost 300 lbs a man with Patrick Latu looking svelte around the 260 mark. Fancy Namulau’ulu and Maka Tameilau are both over three bills and Niko Lolohea isn’t far behind. How the massive props fare in loose play could determine how well the team does in 2016. One of the hookers or possibly one of the heavier loose will likely be used as cover.

HOOKER

San Francisco will rely heavily on Eagles hooker Tom Coolican for veteran leadership. At 27 years of age, the Australian was left out of the World Cup squad but could find his way back into the test arena with a strong season. Life West’s Jacob Finau and Junior All-American Codi Jones from Cal Maritime will battle as Coolican’s back-ups. Keeler has tabbed Finau as a possible break out player this season.

LOCK

Unlike many of the teams in PRO that are running thin on second rows, San Francisco has a solid group and a bit of depth. Keep an eye on 19-year-old Siaosi Mahoni who could be a future star. At 6’8″ the former High School All-American and Life West player is one of the tallest players in the competition. Once he develops, Mahoni could become a powerful second row force. Life West teammate John Colvill should also see time as well as SFGG pair Brendan Daly and Nick Grass, the latter formerly of Cal Golden Bears. David Tameilau is also capable of providing minutes in the second row if needed.

BACK ROW

David Tameilau leads the charge for San Francisco in the back row. The powerful no8 had a fine introduction to international rugby during the Americas Rugby Championship, picking up his first four of what is to be expected to be many caps for the Eagles. Tameilau benefited greatly from being part of the Taranaki exchange program last year. He’ll now be looked upon as a key player in the inaugural season of professional rugby in the USA. He’s flanked by another new cap, openside Alec Gletzer. Former Tongan U20 Sam Finau should also make an impact for the team. Isaac Helu from OMBAC and Siupeli Sakalia round out a solid group of loose forwards.

SCRUMHALF

The battle for minutes at scrumhalf is between two young overseas born players with lots of upside. Devereaux Ferris grew up in New Zealand before making his way to play for Life West. The other in the picture is Michael Reid. Born in South Africa, Reid came up through the Taranaki system, representing Taranaki at both the U18 and U19 level before playing U20 for the USA. The San Francisco coaching staff has high hopes for their young scrumhalf prospects. Both may need some seasoning at the professional level, but should be fun to watch.

FLYHALF

San Francisco is blessed with a wealth of talent at flyhalf, though all three players in the picture could end up slotting in elsewhere. The big name on the list is Orene Ai’i. The Samoan-born stepper was the IRB 7s Player of the Year during the 204/2005 season while playing for New Zealand. He played for the Blues in Super Rugby as well as Toulon in the Top 14. At age 32, Ai’i has some left in the tank and should prove to be an exciting player to watch. Volney Rouse from SFGG should see some time at flyhalf, but could also get involved in the midfield. Martini Talapusi provides cover at both flyhalf and fullback for the team. Talapusi is another player that could be on his way towards a breakout season.

CENTER

Canadian international Nick Blevins anchors the centers. With 32 caps to his name, the hard-nosed Prairie export comes to San Francisco by way of the defending champions Wolf Pack from the Canadian Rugby Championship. Blevins should complement Rouse or Michael Haley who are on the small side compared to many of the centers in PRO Rugby. Youngster Junior Helu provides another powerful running option in the midfield.

WING

All of a sudden San Francisco’s wing stocks don’t look so rosy. Kingsley McGowan has decided to opt out of the season to recuperate from a long year in Ireland, while work commitments have ultimately put paid to Colin Hawley’s hopes to playing professional rugby. That leaves Santa Clara’s Jack O’Hara as the only known wing on the roster. At 6’5″ O’Hara is tall for the position, but has surprising pace and is certainly one to keep an eye on. He’s stepped in to play no8 on occasion in college and may project as a forward in the future once he fills out and gets stronger. Jake Anderson could well get a run in the unusual spot of the wing in the early goings, or possibly even Ai’i, who has experience all over the backline in his long career.

FULLBACK

San Francisco is as loaded as any team in the competition at fullback. That’s easy to say when you can boast of a 100-cap All Black manning the position. Muliaina will turn 36 years old during the season, but is still more than capable of having an impact from fullback. In addition his experience is something that no other player in PRO Rugby can replicate. Jake Anderson is now a full international himself and will serve as Muliaina’s understudy, though there’s a good chance both will see the field with the sudden wing shortage. Either way he will benefit greatly from the experience, which is a great thing for the Eagles.

OUTLOOK

San Francisco has a wealth of experience and talent in their backs. They should be one of the most exciting backlines in the entire competition. While their backs should keep moving the scoreboard forward, their season may hinge on how well their forwards play, specifically their tight five. Their pack is big and powerful, but will be put to the test against some of the more experienced teams. If their forwards can hold up and provide a good platform for their backs, San Francisco is going to be a tough team to beat.

“The pace at which we play will be amazing,” added Keeler. “It’s a massive leap from amateur to full professional. We skipped a step in the natural development, of a semi-pro environment. Clubs now have done a lot but very few compensate players to play. We are paying players to train, that is a massive switch. Now as players start adjusting to that we can start to crank up the intensity and we will see a massive improvement in playing and coaching as players seek to transition.”

HOME FIELD

Opened in 1953, Boxer Stadium is a 3500-seat facility located at Balboa Park in San Francisco. The stadium has played host to multiple USA test matches in the past, but has been largely unused for rugby in recent years.

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach Paul Keeler’s coaching career began over 10 years ago with Old Blue in New York. He then moved on to become Director of Rugby at San Francisco Golden Gate , where he helped the team to two Super League titles. After leaving SFGG, Keeler went on to coach at Santa Clara University.

A native of New Zealand, Adriaan Ferris has led the Life West program through one of the fastest climbs in the history of USA Rugby. Before that he was the Head Coach for Northland in New Zealand’s ITM Cup, and also doubled in an assistant role with the Tongan national side.

Simon Fathers in another from New Zealand, a Strength and Conditioning specialist that has previously worked with Keeler at SFGG as well as with Guam’s national programs. He also has experience working with ITM Cup sides such as Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

ROSTER

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CAPS	COUNTRY
Latu, Patrick	PR	1.78 5-10	118 260	May 6 1991	–	USA
Lolohea, Niko	PR	1.83 6-0	128 280		–	USA
Namulau’ulu, Fancy	PR	1.88 6-2	145 320	1985	–	USA
Tameilau, Maka	PR	1.90 6-3	138 305		–	USA
Coolican, Tom	HO	1.85 6-1	105 230	Aug 26 1988	8	USA
Finau, Jacob	HO/PR	1.82 6-0	113 250	1994	–	USA
Jones, Codi	HO	1.83 6-0	106 235	Jan 3 1994	–	USA
Colvill, John	LO	1.94 6-4	105 230	1989	–	USA
Daly, Brendan	LO	1.94 6-4	110 240		–	USA
Grass, Nick	LO	1.96 6-5	112 245		–	USA
Mahoni, Siaosi	LO	2.03 6-8	130 285	Jan 29 1997	–	USA
Brennan, Charlie	FL	1.83 6-0	100 220		–	USA
Finau, Sam	FL/N8	1.87 6-2	109 240	Mar 6 1991	–	Tonga
Gletzer, Alec	FL	1.85 6-1	103 225	Oct 10 1991	2	USA
Helu, Isaac	FL	1.83 6-0	106 235		–	Tonga
Sakalia, Siupeli	N8	1.88 6-2	112 245	1986	–	USA
Tameilau, David	N8	1.95 6-5	123 270	Jan 22 1990	4	USA
Ferris, Devereaux	SH	1.75 5-9	84 185	1995	–	New Zealand
Reid, Michael	SH	1.76 5-9	80 175	Sep 12 1995	–	USA
Ai’i, Orene	FH	1.70 5-7	81 175	Sep 23 1979	–	New Zealand
Rouse, Volney	FH	1.80 5-11	93 205	Dec 6 1983	1	USA
Talapusi, Martini	FH/CE	1.88 6-2	100 220		–	Samoa
Blevins, Nick	CE	1.88 6-2	103 225	Sep 11 1988	32	Canada
Haley, Michael	CE/WI	1.84 6-0	90 200		–	USA
Helu, Junior	CE	1.87 6-2	107 235	1996	–	USA
Mateo, Charles	CE/WI	1.81 5-11	113 250	Aug 4 1988	1	Tonga
O’Hara, Jack	WI	1.96 6-5	98 215		–	USA
Anderson, Jake	FB	1.88 6-2	95 210	Jan 22 1992	3	USA
Muliaina, Mils	FB	1.83 6-0	93 205	Jul 31 1980	100	New Zealand

FIXTURES

DATE	PDT	MDT	EDT	HOME	AWAY
Sun, Apr 17	16:00	17:00	19:00	Sacramento	San Francisco
Sun, Apr 24	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	Denver
Sun, May 1	12:00	13:00	15:00	Ohio	San Francisco
Sun, May 8	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	San Diego
Fri, May 20	18:00	19:00	21:00	Denver	San Francisco
Sun, May 29	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	Ohio
Sat, Jun 18	18:30	19:30	21:30	San Diego	San Francisco
Sun, Jun 26	12:00	13:00	15:00	Ohio	San Francisco
Sun, Jul 3	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	Sacramento
Sat, Jul 16	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	San Diego
Sun, Jul 24	15:00	16:00	18:00	San Francisco	Denver
Sat, Jul 30	19:30	20:30	22:30	Sacramento	San Francisco