Pacific South Recap: New Contenders Emerge in Women's Divisions
Pacific Rugby Premiership:
In the rematch of last year’s PRP championship match, it was a reversal of fortune for Old Mission Beach, as they staved off Belmont Shore, 33-19. In the first half the two teams were hard to separate, with OMBAC trailing by one at the half. A try within the first minute of the second half, launched OMBAC back into the lead. The early try led to a total of 13 unanswered points, establishing an insurmountable 26-14 lead. A try in the 75th minute saw the lead narrowed to 7 points, but a converted try from OMBAC, in the twilight of the game, helped create a stronger buffer.
The other Pacific South PRP side in action over the weekend was Santa Monica, who bulldozed their way by the Glendale Merlins 44-7. Leading the charge for the Dolphins was their flyhalf, Max Rodman, who contributed 24 points to the team’s total. He already looks like he could be ready to take the PRP by storm in 2019, expect him to feature heavily in teams’ game plans.
Women’s Division I:
The only game in women’s division I play, saw an upset- with the Tempe Ninjas, who went undefeated in the Pacific South last year, lose to Santa Monica. Margret Lee and Nina Poloukhine were the stand outs for the Dolphins, scoring two tries and fifteen points respectively. After a down year in 2018, it certainly looks as though the Dolphins are back in their fine form from 2017- a worrying thought for teams in their path.
Men’s Division II:
San Fernando Valley Rugby and Oceanside Chiefs played out an exciting match, with the Chiefs prevailing, 46-40. San Fernando took the early lead before 24 unanswered points from the Chiefs saw them take a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. San Fernando got close to taking the lead back, mainly on the back of their outside center, Hawks Liva’s 20 point performance.
Other games saw the San Diego Old Aztecs claim the win over Pasadena Rugby, 53-17. The win was partly through the efforts of their two centers, Connor Mariani and Nick Cavallaro who both scored braces. LA Rugby was on the wrong side of the score line against the Ventura County Outlaws, losing 54-15.
Women’s Division II:
It was a close one between perennial contenders Old Pueblo Lightning and Pasadena Rugby, but ultimately the Lightning’s impressive domination over its competition came to a close when they lost 19-15. This marks the first time Pasadena has won a game against Old Pueblo since 2015. At the heart of the effort was inside center, Sonya Livingston who scored two of the teams three tries.
Men’s Division III:
Men’s Division III saw plenty of close finishes over the weekend. Las Vegas Irish D3 was able to hold off the pesky Tucson Magpies 30-29; and the Santa Barbra Grunions saw off an Eagle Rock Athletic side that was a thorn in their side all day, 17-10. Huntington Beach Unicorns were able to keep San Diego Old Aztecs D3 from getting their first win of the year by holding on to a 37-32 lead. Despite the close scores there were some blow outs too, Belmont Shore D3 got the biggest win of the weekend with a 71-19 drubbing of the North County Gurkhas. San Luis Obispo also landed a fifty point win of their own, downing the Dolphins 58-7. Kern County were impressive in their 43-12 win over the Back Bay Shark. As were the Scottdale Blues as they tamed the Old Pueblo Lions 38-22.
Men’s Division IV:
Fullerton continued their undefeated run to open the season beating Dead Rabbits Rugby convincingly, 41-19. The other match in Division IV saw Riverside take back the South Bay Stingrays 56-8.
