Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The inaugural California Cup season is in the books, with OMBAC claiming the title in a 26-22 win over Life West at Ray Sheeran Field on Saturday. Tries by US Eagles caps Zach Pangelinan and Tim Stanfill with one from Australian import John Grant did the damage, with eight points coming from the boot of Kalei Konrad and another two from Ian Cassidy. Life West gave a good account of themselves with French flyhalf Guillaume Cazenave scoring 12 points but ultimately came up short to the pre-season favorites from San Diego.
Konrad’s points were enough to see him finish as the competition’s highest scorer on 55, just four ahead of Belmont Shore’s Andy Jackson. An asterisk may be required, however, given that Shore played one less game with their Round 5 match against Olympic rained out. Grant needs no such exceptions with his exceptional tally of nine tries from six games two ahead of teammate Pangelinan.
Third place went to the host side as San Francisco Golden Gate edged Belmont Shore by 20 to 18. A pair of tries to Shore prop Brice Schilling couldn’t quite inspire his team to victory with SFGG’s powerful runners doing the damage. Scores from Opeti Okusi, Lemoto Filikitonga, and Tom Rooke closed Golden Gate’s competition account in style.
The curtain-raiser of the triple-header on Treasure Island saw Olympic claim their first and only win of the competition as they romped to a 50-14 win over a severely depleted Old Aztecs side. Missing key players Jeff Diggs, Mike Deel, Tim Howard, and captain Bill Dow, the Aztecs simply couldn’t compete with the inspired Bay Area side who ran in seven tries to two. Mike Haley led the way with a hat-trick and Keegan Engelbrecht contributed 20 points in all to secure the win.
With PRO Rugby now on indefinite hiatus it remains to be seen how the California clubs will now proceed. Their own Pacific Rugby Premiership had been postponed to accommodate PRO, and the uncertainty now leaves elite level rugby on the west coast without any scheduled competitions. The clubs can celebrate the conclusion of an exciting – albeit condensed – competition but will have to go back to the drawing board to evaluate their next move.
OLD AZTECS 14 vs 50 OLYMPIC
Saturday, January 21, 11:00, Ray Sheeran Field, Treasure Island
SCORING
OLD AZTECS 14
Tries – R. Laulaulo 2
Cons – J. Breytenbach, D. Persson
OLYMPIC 50
Tries – T. Rafferty, M. Haley 3, K. Engelbrecht, T. Mohr, J. Gallo
Cons – K. Engelbrecht 6
Pens – K. Engelbrecht
TEAMS
OLD AZTECS
1 Tristan Pickering, 2 Anthony Ellis, 3 Tasi Toilolo, 4 Lucas Edwards (capt.), 5 Joe Ramonas, 6 Leon Hayward, 7 Robert Laulaulo, 8 Pat Blair, 9 Robert Stortz, 10 Jaco Breytenbach, 11 Cleeandre Ross, 12 Connor Mariani, 13 Jon Prickett, 14 Boomer Roller, 15 James Niblock
16 Chris Gonzales, 17 Eric Zentz, 18 Joe Wesolek, 19 Shawn Price, 20 Nic Cavalero, 21 David Persson, 22 Eric Pray, 23 Matt Foster
OLYMPIC
1 Tanner Mohr (capt.), 2 Travis Moscone, 3 Stephan Salimi, 4 Zack Purdy, 5 Nick Wagner, 6 Kyle Peterson, 7 Josh Gold, 8 Matt Frederickson, 9 Tim Rafferty, 10 Keegan Engelbrecht, 11 John Gallo, 12 Mike Haley, 13 Josh Tucker, 14 Bubba Jones, 15 Dustin Muhn
16 Mark Shughart, 17 Alex Drake, 18 Matt McCarthy, 19 Tom Bernardi, 20 Paul Deneys, 21 Paul Saccomano, 22 Ricky Boebel, 23 Will Johnston
SFGG 20 vs 18 BELMONT SHORE
Saturday, January 21, 13:00, Ray Sheeran Field, Treasure Island
SCORING
SFGG 20
Tries – O. Okusi, L. Filikitonga, T. Rooke
Cons – V. Rouse
Pens – V. Rouse
BELMONT SHORE 18
Tries – B. Schilling 2
Cons – A. Jackson
Pens – A. Jackson 2
TEAMS
SFGG
1 Jacob Nelson, 2 Neil Barrett, 3 Saimone Laulaupea’alu, 4 Brendan Hardiman, 5 Tom Rooke, 6 Opeti Okusi, 7 Danny LaPrevotte, 8 Brendan Daly (capt.), 9 Colby Stevens, 10 Volney Rouse, 11 Pila Huihui, 12 Lemoto Filikitonga, 13 Eae Okusi, 14 Fatai Vailala, 15 Isoa Donaldson
16 Patrick Latu, 17 John Adeamo, 18 Joe Fukofuka, 19 Nick Grass, 20 Isaac Helu, 21 Connor Ring, 22 Isimeli Ratumaimuri, 23 Sione Tupouata
BELMONT SHORE
1 Mason Pedersen, 2 Valentine Meachan, 3 Brice Schilling, 4 Sam Lilley, 5 Ian Carpenter, 6 Rob Newcomb, 7 Sione Masoe, 8 Timothy Mendoza, 9 John Gray (capt.), 10 Hilton Mexted, 11 James Muse, 12 Ed Pitts, 13 Max Paronelli, 14 Greg Daniels, 15 Andy Jackson
16 Daniel Va’afuti, 17 JP Palaita, 18 Mason Masoe, 19 Kelly Bradley, 20 Peter Sio, 21 Peter Nifo, 22 Ben Weischedel, 23 Mafi Seanoa
OMBAC 26 vs 22 LIFE WEST
Saturday, January 21, 15:00, Ray Sheeran Field, Treasure Island
SCORING
OMBAC 26
Tries – Z. Pangelinan, T. Stanfill, J. Grant
Cons – K. Konrad
Pens – K. Konrad 2, I. Cassidy
LIFE WEST 22
Tries – G. Cavenave, A. Pedjase, S. Lata
Cons – G. Cazenave 2
Pens – G. Cazenave
TEAMS
OMBAC
1 Josh Bart, 2 Jed Gillespie, 3 Ethan Willis, 4 Jay Harmona, 5 Tai Tuisamoa (capt.), 6 Chris Turori, 7 Todd Clever, 8 Josh Vainikolo, 9 Jamie Purcell, 10 Ben Batger, 11 Tim Stanfill, 12 Kalei Konrad, 13 John Grant, 14 Ian Denham, 15 Zach Pangelinan
16 Derrick Broussard, 17 Nick Zajda, 18 Anthony Kalani, 19 Shane Moise, 20 Bryce Baker, 21 Ian Cassidy, 22 Nick Evans, 23 Matt Long
LIFE WEST
1 Fancy Namulau’ulu, 2 Jay Finau, 3 Holo Mo’ungaloa, 4 Alex Pedjase, 5 Rich Knight, 6 Siupeli Sakalia, 7 Zach Bonte, 8 Akuila Uaisele (capt.), 9 Devereaux Ferris, 10 Guillaume Cazenave, 11 Junior Helu, 12 Nua Vete, 13 Siokatame Falatau, 14 Pila Iongi, 15 Martini Talapusi
16 Lopeti Liu, 17 Tone Ngaluafe, 18 Maka Tameilau, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Naibuka Tawake, 21 Taniela Vakauta, 22 Siaosi Lata, 23 Anthony Munoz
2016-17 CALIFORNIA CUP LEAGUE TABLE
| CLUB | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | BP | PTS |
| OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 255 | 135 | +120 | 36 | 17 | 4 | 24 |
| Life West | 4 | 2 | 0 | 188 | 174 | +14 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 22 |
| SFGG | 4 | 2 | 0 | 183 | 163 | +20 | 25 | 22 | 5 | 21 |
| Belmont Shore | 2 | 3 | 0 | 134 | 117 | +17 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 13 |
| Old Aztecs | 1 | 5 | 0 | 128 | 232 | -104 | 18 | 34 | 3 | 7 |
| Olympic | 1 | 4 | 0 | 112 | 179 | -67 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 5 |
2016-17 CALIFORNIA CUP SCORING LEADERS
| NAME | CLUB | PTS | T | C | P | D |
| Kalei Konrad | OMBAC | 55 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| Andy Jackson | Belmont Shore | 51 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| John Grant | OMBAC | 45 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Volney Rouse | SFGG | 44 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Guillaume Cazenave | Life West | 43 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| Zach Pangelinan | OMBAC | 42 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Isoa Donaldson | SFGG | 39 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Keegan Engelbrecht | Olympic | 37 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Tim Howard | Old Aztecs | 34 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| Devereaux Ferris | Life West | 26 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Haley | Olympic | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pila Iongi | Life West | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Clever | OMBAC | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pila Huihui | SFGG | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Newcomb | Belmont Shore | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Cassidy | OMBAC | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Lucas Edwards | Old Aztecs | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Halalilo | SFGG | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Munoz | Life West | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boomer Roller | Old Aztecs | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Stanfill | OMBAC | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Stortz | Old Aztecs | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Anderson | Olympic | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Neil Barrett | SFGG | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Batger | OMBAC | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Daniels | Belmont Shore | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gallo | Olympic | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jed Gillespie | OMBAC | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior Helu | Life West | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Laulaulo | Old Aztecs | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanner Mohr | Olympic | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Paronelli | Belmont Shore | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mason Pedersen | Belmont Shore | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isimeli Ratumaimuri | SFGG | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Siupeli Sakalia | Life West | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brice Schilling | Belmont Shore | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tasi Toilolo | Old Aztecs | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fatai Vailala | SFGG | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hilton Mexted | Belmont Shore | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Martini Talapusi | Life West | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pele Toelupe-Tuisila | Life West | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Bart | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Bonte | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Braun | Olympic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brendan Daly | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Deel | Old Aztecs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Denham | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Diggs | Old Aztecs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Evans | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Siokatame Falatau | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lemoto Filikitonga | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Finau | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Fukafuka | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Kalani | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny LaPrevotte | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manu Laqai | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Siaosi Lata | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Long | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shane Moise | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Moscone | Olympic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Holo Mo’ungaloa | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Niblock | Old Aztecs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Opeti Okusi | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Pedjase | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Peterson | Olympic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tristan Pickering | Old Aztecs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Prickett | Old Aztecs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Rafferty | Olympic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Reed | Belmont Shore | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Rooke | SFGG | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pita Semeane | Belmont Shore | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Naibuka Tawake | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Te’o | Belmont Shore | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Turori | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Vainikolo | OMBAC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nua Vete | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manu Volavola | Life West | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaco Breytenbach | Old Aztecs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| David Persson | Old Aztecs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
