peninsulagreenrugby.org

Details: Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 December 2018 22:26; Written by Coach Bob Benson

Posted: December 11, 2018

Peninsula Green Beavers – Players, Parents, Coaches, Alumni

The Pen Green Coaches have been talking with the Google Rugby Organization (Currently Men’s Rugby) with regard to forming a relationship that will benefit both clubs. We have decided to form a strategic alliance that has the following benefits to both Clubs.

Google Rugby to Pen Green

Use of Google facilities: sport turf lighted field, scrum sled, equipment shed, conference rooms, gym, pool, and recreation facility and crossfit equipment.
Advertise PG rugby to Google employees, there are over 45,000 employees at Google in the Bay Area. GR can send out emails to Google groups and post information at the Google buildings
Internships available at Google to PG players, when players are ready during the summer to have an internship with Google.
Help with Employment for Pen Green Alumni at Google. The Google Rugby Club to help PG alumni get employment at Google or Google partners
Joint fundraising to help with scholarships.

Pen Green Rugby to Google Rugby

Advertise Google Rugby to PG alumni, via email blast and Facebook post. Encourage PG Alumni and graduating players to play for Google Rugby.
PG coaches can help coach Google Rugby
Coaches and players support Google Rugby

Please call or talk to any of the Pen Green Coaches with any questions about this strategic alliance with Google Rugby, and what benefits that personally interest you as a player, parent or PG Alumni.

Google Rugby Coaches Mark Spear and Peter Danenburg will be happy to meet with or discuss joining Google Rugby with any interested PG Alumni.

https://googlerugby.com/

Posted: November 23, 2018

Practice Nov 24 (No Problems with Air Quality this week due to the rain).

3 PM, Stanford IM fields (Sand Hill Rd between Pasteur and Stock Farm) -

The air quality Alert is over due to the rain. Now is the time to start getting in shape and to start to get the feel for the rugby basics again.

Bring "Running Shoes" or "Tennis Shoes" in case we wish to work out in the parking lot. The weather report says that it will be sunny on Saturday.

Practice Schedule

We will be practicing on Saturdays during November and December, and in January we will start with practices on Mon and Wed with either practices or games on Saturdays.

Nov - Saturdays, 3 PM, Stanford IM fields (Sandhill Rd between Pasteur and Stock Farm) -
Dec - Saturdays, 3 PM, Stanford IM fields (Sandhill Rd between Pasteur and Stock Farm) -
Jan - Sat, Mon, Wed (Times and places to be posted later)
Feb - Sat, Mon, Wed (Times and places to be posted later)
Mar - Sat, Mon, Wed (Times and places to be posted later)
Apr - Sat, Mon, Wed (Times and places to be posted later)

Posted: January 01, 2018

Pen Green Beavers at USA Rugby High School All American 2017 Winter Camp

Luca Gillespie-Brown and Jacob Cortinas

The Peninsula Green Beavers were well represented at the USA Rugby High School All American 2017 Winter Camp in Arizona (Casa Grande (near Phoenix). Luca Gillespie-Brown and Jacob Cortinas have been engaged all week. During the Red v Blue U18 game Luca Captained the Blue squad (White Jersey) from the Hooker and Flanker positions and Jacob started (and played the entire game) at wing. Luca lead the team to a 39 to 29 victory and scored 3 tries in the process, as well as some excellent tackles. Jacob was a tackling machine as well as setting up tries with some long runs and accurate kicking. Coach Sean Duffy (University of Arizona Head Rugby Coach) commented that both Beavers played very well.

Posted: January 22, 2017

KOT (33^rdAnnual Kick Off Tournament) –

Pen Green starts off strong with 6 wins and 1 loss (very close) to Jesuit Varsity (Ranked #2 in USA).

Pen Green Rugby started the 2017 Season with impressive wins in the 33^rd Annual Kick Off Tournament (KOT), and almost ran the table as the Pen Green Varsity A (Premier League) team came within three points of a win against Jesuit (Ranked #2 in the Single School Goff pre-season Rankings) in the Premier League Championship game at the KOT on Saturday.

Varsity A (Premier A)

Even though the Varsity team was missing U20 All American, Bo Mailau due to other commitments, as well as several other key players due to a Sequoia Football Awards banquet, the team played tough rugby against a strong Jesuit team and almost took home the Championship trophy.

The Championship game against Jesuit was a nail biter (although only 30 minutes in length). Jesuit looked very strong at the start as their backs ran at the Pen Green backs, pounding the Beavers and eventually scoring a try without a conversion, to go up 0-5. Within a few minutes JHS kicked a penalty kick from 20 yards out to make the score 0-8. With 10 minutes gone in the first half the Pen Green team caught fire and attacked with well executed forward and back play. The Beavers controlled possession and Jesuit retreated until Alex Lopeti stepped and bulled his way to score under the posts with Luke Rafaelli adding the conversion (score = 7-8). After a few more attacking plays, Jesuit was penalized on the 30 yd line and Luke Rafaelli split the uprights with a long and precise kick. The half ended with the score 10-8 in favor of the Beavers.

Within 2 minutes from the start of the second half, Beaver Star player, Faitala (Tala) Talapusi snaked through from the fullback position and intercepted a JHS pass from the outside center to the wing. It was clear sailing to try time, but he was not able to hang on to the wet and muddy ball. The play went back and forth for a few minutes more until Tala received a yellow card for a questionable late hit to a kicking JHS player. Unfortunately the tournament rules did not account for the short game times (15 minute halves), and Tala sat out for a full 10 minutes. The Beavers made heroic goal line stands with 14 players on the field, but Jesuit eventually touched the ball down in the Try area near the Touch line with about 10 minutes expired. The conversion kick was wide. Shortly after, the referee awarded a JHS player with a Yellow Card for a high tackle making the player number even at 14 each (He only served 3 minutes). Tala came back in with 1 minute left, and the Beavers mounted a strong attack. However they could not put more points on the board, and Jesuit took the victory and Championship with a 10-13 final score.

In the previous games against Mother Lode and Solo (two strong Premier League teams), the Pen Green Varsity team played excellent “hit em up” rugby combined with strong defensive play. In the first game against Mother Lode (with Jake Erickson back in full form) the Beavers played evenly (5-5) with the ML team in the first half, and then showed a higher fitness level as the forwards came into their own and took the second half 10-0 making the final score 15-5 in the short 30 minute game. DJ Monroe tackled, ran with the ball and poached multiple balls, and was the Coaches Man of the Match.

Coach Benson described the Beaver play in the first half of the next game against Solo RFC “as the best 15 minutes of Beaver rugby he had witnessed”. The Beavers maintained almost 90% ball possession, with accurate passes, pounding North South runs by the forwards and back, and sure ball handling despite the muddy ball. While standing in the coaches box Benson complimented Coach Rob Salaber on the strong play of the Solo squad, and Salaber responded by saying, “Yes they are playing strong defense, but your boys are not allowing them to get the ball”. The half ended 14-0 with the Beavers fired up for the second half. Unfortunately, with about 7 minutes expired in the 2^nd half a Solo player sustained an injury that required immobilization and an ambulance. Due to the tight scheduling of the tournament the time expired before the game could resume and the Beavers won with the score of 14-0 Luca Gillespie-Brown at number 9 was all over the field on both slithering offensive runs, key tackles, ball poaching rucking and team leadership. He was the Coaches Man of the Match.

Junior Varsity

The Junior Varsity (JV), which is the future of Pen Green Rugby, shut down the same array of teams (Mother Lode 28-0, Solo 20-0, Jesuit 15-0) with no team scoring against the Junior Beavers and the Beavers putting multiple points on the board in all three games. There were multiple kudos to hand out to a wide array of excellent play. Even though we chose not to play High School All American, Jacob Cortinas at scrum-half due to some knocks he received at the HSAA camp in December, he still scored twice when we brought him in on the wing against Jesuit. Alani (Rocky) Langi, the second youngest HSAA player at the December camp, contributed to all three victories from the 10 position with distribution, strong running, tackling, poaching and scoring. Roan Polivarti was also particularly impressive with very physical tackling and strong running.

Varsity B (Premier B)

Perhaps the most fun game event of the weekend was the Varsity B game against the Sac Eagles A side on Saturday morning. It was a “mud-bowl” game as the Varsity B players (including some new players for whom it was the first rugby game) enjoyed North South running, deft offloads and some passes that amazed the coaches. The defensive play was extraordinary, and everyone got to slide into the mud. The team picture after the game (see team picture) showed some muddy but very happy players who will probably remember forever the comradery of “mud-bowl” and the 17-0 victory.

Overall, the weekend was a great success as we enjoyed a team dinner on Saturday night with the Beaver boys sharing (with the entire team and some parents) why they enjoy playing rugby with Pen Green. Many of them noting that the Beaver Club is more of a family than just a team, and they felt very welcome on the Pen Green Club.

Season Scores Recap – As of 01-22-17

Peninsula Green Varsity A (Premier A)

The overall record for the Varsity A Team – 2 Wins, 1 loss (To the USA #2 team)

Pen Green vs Mother Lode - 15-5 01-21-17 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Solo - 14-0 01-21-17 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Jesuit - 10-13 01-21-17 KOT (Loss)

Peninsula Green Varsity B (Premier B)

The overall record for the Varsity Team – 2 Wins, 1 loss (To the USA #1 team)

Pen Green vs Sac Eagles A - 17-0 01-22-17 KOT (Win)

Junior Varsity Record

The overall record for the JV Team – 3 Wins, No losses

Pen Green vs Mother Lode - 28-0 01-21-17 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Solo - 20-0 01-21-17 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Jesuit - 15-0 01-21-17 KOT (Win)

Posted: January 15, 2017

Pen Green HS Rugby Ranked #9 in USA - Goff Preseason Rankings,

http://www.goffrugbyreport.com/…/boys-hs-club-preseason-ran…

Pen Green Rugby Ranked #9 in the HS Rankings in the Goff Rugby Report. We will move up or down depending on how we play this weekend.

Posted: November 23, 2016

Peninsula Green Beaver Alum (Naima Fualaau) invited to the Men's Eagles Sevens High Performance Camp.

Congratulations to Naima! He is one of only 2 High School players invited to try out. Please read the article shown below to learn more about Naima's opportunity in Chula Vista. We are all rooting for you, Naima.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. - The final preseason Men's Eagles Sevens High Performance Camp of 2016 has begun, with 16 invited athletes joining six Residents of the Olympic Training Center in training for a spot at Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens Dec. 2-3.

Posted: July 25, 2016

SEVENS Rugby - 2016 NorCal Champion

NorCal Rugby Championship Tournament Recap – Sun Jul 24 - Dixon, CA

The Peninsula Green Rugby Varsity team won the NorCal Sevens Championship and established the Beavers as one of the best (if not the best) High School Rugby Sevens Teams in the USA, The Varsity team was 5 – 0 for the Championship day, as they had to beat Jesuit (2016 #2 HS Single School team in the USA) twice in order to claim the Championship. The Championship was a result of both excellent Sevens rugby play, and top physical fitness that allowed the Pen Green Beavers to play at a high tempo throughout the day as the temperature moved up to ~100 degrees F for the final game. Coach Benson summed up the play on Sunday, “The Varsity Beavers played exciting Sevens throughout the day as they physically punished their opposition on both defense and offense, rucked low and effectively and set up varied and exciting offense patterns lines that oft times saw the ball move from one touch line to the other before scoring and sometimes was the result of a strong individual run with either a physical break through to open space or a dance around multiple players who were left looking for their collective jocks as a Beaver scored between the posts”.

Varsity Results

Pen Green v McClatchy (19 – 14) – Pool play

Pen Green v Pleasanton (28 – 17) – Pool play

Pen Green v Jesuit (19 – 12) – Pool play

Pen Green v Solo (19 – 12) – Semi final

Pen Green v Jesuit (17 – 12) – Championship Final

The coaches of the other teams made multiple positive compliments about the Beaver Varsity teams. The Jesuit Coach, Steve Siefert (Jesuit Coach) said “Your team has a lot of talent and it shows that it is well coached. They played well structured team Sevens rugby”. Rob Salaber (Solo Coach) said, Pen Green showed that they have the fitness to finish strong against very tough competition on a very hot day.”

Varsity

The Varsity team won their 5 games with 9 Varsity [Junior, Senior] players on the roster - (Cutler Pons, Tala Talapusi, Sami Makaafi, Tevite Lopeti, Sione Manukainiu, DJ [Daniel] Monroe), Naima Fualaau, Niklas Yoho and Freddy Fohoko). We supplemented the Varsity players with key JV underclassmen with several of the JV players doing yeoman duty by playing some time in up to 7 games throughout the very hot day – Luke Raffaeli, Thomas Tameilau, Bruce Leapaga, Luca Gillespie-Brown, Lucas Hackett-Provenzano, Alex Lopeti.

The Beavers won the Championship with excellent team play. In the 17 – 12 Championship game against Jesuit, the Beavers came out of the box strong with an early try by Sione Manukainiu after the ball went through multiple hands. Then Naima Fualaau, (who was on fire for the Semifinal and Final games), danced through multiple players to score under the post and add the conversion. This made the half time score 12-0. The Beavers went on the attack from the opening kick-off of the second half forcing Jesuit to commit penalties on their 5 meter line; first near the touch line on the right and then on the left. Then the Beavers got the ball to speed merchant Sami Makaafi streaking through the Marauders to notch the final score close to the posts. From this point the Beavers played rock solid defense with Cutler Pons and Lucas Hackett-Provenzano delivering enveloping tackles that kept the Jesuit side from easily getting to the try zone. Jesuit finally added a try under the Beaver posts and converted. The referee issued Naima Fualaau a 2 min Yellow card which left the Pen Green team ahead but with one man short. Again the boys responded with great defense, but a few seconds before the hooter, Jesuit scored again. As the hooter sounded, the final score was 17 – 12 in favor of the Pen Green Beaver Sevens team.

The field leadership of Cutler Pons, Vite Lopeti, and Tala Talapusi focused the team to manage the defensive chain and the offensive plays. As a coach, I was very proud to see this effective communication and implementation. There were many outstanding performances, but Cutler Pons stood out with his physical presence on both defense and offense. He devoured opponents with his tackling despite the fact that there was almost always a mass advantage in favor of the player he was tackling. His passing from the half back position was accurate and long, and he and Tala had the vision and command to spot and exploit the weakness in their opponents. Tala Talapusi stood out with some mystifying offensive steps (combined with passes and offloads) that freed up try scoring runs by other team members. Tala’s conversion kicking was precise and consistent as he connected with 2 crucial drop kick conversions in a row from the touch line in the first Jesuit game. DJ Monroe scored the first try against Jesuit in the pool play game and he and Luke Raffaeli (Var and JV) made fierce tackles and contributed to the team play. Niklas Yoho provided stiffness in the pack with some serious tackles and effective rucking. Sione Manukainiu inspired the team with his smashing runs and fierce tackles. Vite Lopeti crashed through the opposing teams in the pool play games, but pulled a ham string late in the first Jesuit game, so he was out for the Semis and Final games. Sami Makaafi, the heart beat of the Beaver teams, played flawless defense and jetted away from the opposition to score for the Beavers. The team showed unselfish play as the try scoring (16 total) was spread amongst 7 players with Naima and Sami both notching 4 tries each.

Pen Green Coach Steve Everett said 'I am very proud of our players who performed very well against quality opposition on a ferociously hot day, their success topping off a wonderful season for Peninsula Green Rugby Club; I can hardly wait to the start of next season where the club anticipates further success with a strong roster.'

Junior Varsity (JV)

The JV team was a moment (or 2 points) away from being in contention for the Semifinals and on to a Championship round, but had to settle for a 1 - 2 pool play record with a very close loss (2 points) to the Rhinos in the first game of the day, a close loss to the McClatchy and then a walloping of the Jesuit JV team as some of the newer players contributed to a lop sided victory. The JV team played very well throughout the Summer Sevens season with a close to perfect record until the Championship Series. They played with skill and excellent team play on Sunday, so they can hold their heads high. Several JV players contributed to the Varsity Championship.

Great leadership from Luca Gillespie-Brown, Luke Raffaeli and Jacob Cortinas. Luca Gillespie-Brown was a tackling machine in the JV matches as well as the Varsity matches, as was Luke Raffaeli. The big front row players (Alex Lopeti, Bruce Leapaga, and Thomas Tamielau) all punished the opposing teams with their tackling and their hard running.

JV Results

Pen Green v Rhinos (24 – 28) – Pool play

Pen Green v McClatchy (21 – 35) – Pool play

Pen Green v Jesuit (49 – 05) – Pool play

Peninsula Green Beaver teams (Varsity and JV) establish themselves as team to beat for

The 2016 Rugby NorCal Sevens Championships

Posted: July 11, 2016

SEVENS Rugby

Dixon Tournament Recap – Sun Jul 10

The Peninsula Green Rugby Teams established themselves as the High School Rugby Teams (Varsity and JV) to beat in the Rugby NorCal 2016 Summer Sevens Series, as the Varsity Beavers and JV Beavers swept their brackets beating serious competition by wide margins. The Varsity was 3 – 0 and the JV team was 3 -1 with the only loss being late in the day to a San Mateo team that was a stacked All Star team made up of players from both Bay and Sac teams:

Varsity Results

Danville, (42 – 5)

Granite Bay (Eagle Impact Academy All Star team), (24 - 12),

San Mateo (All Star team), (19 – 7)

JV Results

Mother Lode, (31 – 12)

Jesuit, (28 – 7)

Christian Brothers (19 – 14)

San Mateo (All Star team) – (7 – 26)

Our boys received several compliments throughout the day, and I will relate the one from Alan Petty (Very well regarded Head Coach at Elsie Allen HS and the Santa Rosa Men’s Rugby Club). Alan said to me after the Varsity win over Danville, “Bob, your team shows that it is well coached. They played well structured and entertaining team rugby that was fun to watch. They showed that they are the team to beat in this competition.”

Varsity - The Varsity team won their 3 games with only 5 Varsity (Junior, Senior) players (Tala Talapusi, Sami Makaafi, Tevite Lopeti, Sione Manukainiu, DJ [Daniel] Monroe) on the roster. We supplemented the Varsity players with multiple JV players from the 15 JV players in attendance on Sunday. Several of the JV players did yeoman duty playing in up to 7 games throughout the day – Luke Raffaeli, Aidan Israelski, Thomas Tameilau, Bruce Leapaga, Luca Gillespie-Brown, Lucas Hackett-Provenzano, Alex Lopeti.

The first thing of note was the excellent team play. With the field leadership of Vite Lopeti, and Tala Talapusi the whole team worked well together to manage the defensive chain and the offensive plays. As a coach, I was very proud to see this effective communication and implementation. There were many outstanding performances, but Tala stood out with some crushing, try saving mid-field tackles and some mystifying offensive steps (combined with passes and offloads) that freed up try scoring runs by Tala (4), Vite Lopeti (3) and Sami Makaafi (4) as well as others. Tala’s conversion kicking (7) was precise and consistent. DJ Monroe and Luke Raffaeli (Var and JV) debuted on the Pen Green roster in Dixon as immediate impact players, adding to the leadership, making fierce tackles and scoring trys. We welcome them to the team. Note: There is video of the Danville Game on Facebook “Rugby Recruit) complements of Lucio Lopez.

JV – The JV team faced some of the best teams from Northern California and set down 3 of them in order until the last game of the day against the All Star team when some of our JV players had already left because the schedule board did not show the JV game. As with Varsity there were multiple outstanding performances. Great leadership from Luca Gillespie-Brown, Luke Raffaeli and Aidan Isrealski. Luca Gillespie-Brown was a tackling machine in the JV matches as well as the Varsity matches, as was Luke Luke Raffaeli. Raffaeli scored a hat trick of 3 trys during the day for both JV and Varsity. Lucas Hackett-Provenzano emerged as the “go to” JV conversion kicker with a perfect 9 of 9 conversion kicks for the JV team. Lucas also scored 2 tries and was denied a third as the referee said he was held up in goal. The big front row players (Alex Lopeti (2 tries), Bruce Leapaga, and Thomas Tamielau (1 try)) all punished the opposing teams with their tackling and their hard running. Sydney Leapaga (a freshman in only his second weekend of rugby) scored a hat trick (3 tries).

Peninsula Green Beaver teams (Varsity and JV) win

The 2016 Rugby NorCal D1 Championships

Posted: April 18, 2016

The Peninsula Green Beaver teams (Varsity and Junior Varsity [JV] both won the Rugby NorCal D1 Championships today (Sat Apr 16, 2016)

Varsity (Pen Green v McClatchy): 38 - 12
JV (Pen Green v McClatchy): 31 - 28

Peninsula Green Varsity vs McClatchy – 04/16/16

Varsity – 38-12

The Pen Green won the Rugby NorCal D1 Championship with a solid victory over a very talented McClatchy Varsity team that showed that it is a well coached team with their strong team play. The Varsity team finished undefeated in the regular season with 10 wins and no loses.

The game started with the Pen Green Beavers quickly demonstrating their dominance in forward play and by spreading the ball to, perhaps, the most talented back line in the Nation. Pen Green hit low and hard and denied McClatchy the gain line. Cutler Pons started the Pen Green scoring at the 8 minute mark when the Beaver halfback dotted the ball down after a series of rucks near the McClatchy goal line making it 5-0. At the 16 minute mark USA High School All American Yoshi Warnock burst through several tacklers and scored the second try for Pen Green. The conversion by Tevita Mailau made the score 12-0. The Pen Green Beavers continued to dominate the game, but did not turn the excellent play into more points before the half.

McClatchy did not give up and continued to tackle well enough to keep Pen Green out of the Goal area. The Pen Green fierce tackling continued to stop the offensive play of McClatchy. Moses Ahomana received a yellow card for not wrapping about 7 minutes before the referee blew the whistle to end the half. At half time the score was 12-0.

The second half commenced with Pen Green Beavers on the offensive again. However, a few Pen Green penalties and the Yellow card effect gave McClatchy the opportunity to score their first Try at the 2 minute mark of the second half. The conversion made the score 12-7. Pen Green was still dominating and they decided to put the game away. At 38 minutes the Yellow card time expired and with 15 players on the field, the Pen Green backs executed a perfect play with fullback Naima Fualaau taking the pass (at pace) from flyhalf Tala Talapusi on a reverse line that took him between two McClatchy players and offered him an unrestricted scamper for 25 meters to score under the posts. Mailau added the conversion. At 43 minutes Bo Mailau added another Try and brother Tavita converted making the score 24-7.

Pen Green continued to pound McClatchy with both forwards and backs. Tavite Lopeti at outside center (Man of the Match) wove his way thru traffic on multiple carries with shifty running and punishing fends. Pen Green added another Try with a nice run through the middle of the McClatchy defense by Tevita Mailau. Michael Mounga (A tall, fast wing converted to 2^nd Row) added the last Pen Green score as he and the Pen Green pack pummeled the McClatchy defense. The two conversions made the score 38-7 at the 57 minute mark. Speed merchant Sami Makaafi (wing) deserves mention for his tackling prowess as he chased down a clearing kick to make a perfect tackle on the McClatchy fullback and then get up and tackle the next McClatchy player. This is similar to USA Eagle Zack Test’s (Pen Green Alumni 2007) accomplishment against Japan in the 2015 World Cup where he made 3 tackles in a row.

Pen Green played everyone from the 23 player roster and allowed McClatchy to score the final try with 2 minutes left in the game. The final score was 38-12.

Peninsula Green JV vs McClatchy –

Junior Varsity - 31-28

The Pen Green team JV team finished the regular Rugby NorCal season as D1 (Open) Champions with an undefeated 2016 record of 12 wins and 0 loses.

The JV Championship game was a thriller as McClatchy went ahead 21-5 in the first half with 3 tries in the first 15 minutes. The Pen Green JV Beavers played fierce rugby and executed well until they came within the 10 meter line from their goal. McClatchy played very good team rugby and had the wind and the slightly downhill slope in the first half. They were able to put the ball into the goal and score when they ran the ball away from the pack to their talented backs. Thomas (Moses) Tamellau scored a Try for Pen Green with a nice run at the 19 minute mark. The first half ended with score 21-5 to McClatchy.

McClatchy then widened the lead to 28-5 early in the second half as they scored at the 37 minute mark. Then the Pen Green JV Beavers started to claw and fight their way back, even though most of the Pen Green fans had given up the game for lost, and the McClatchy fans were counting the game in the win column. At the 43 minute mark, Thomas (Moses)Tameilau scored his second try on a nice bull run. Score 10-28, but still a long way to go. A few minutes later Marshall Ferris fed Mohamed Fofanah a nice pass and Mohamed juked his way through traffic to score under the posts. Jacob Cortinas converted and the score was 17-28. Time was running out and both teams battled back and forth with Pen Green close on several attempts. At the 60 minute mark big Nio Mafi carried half the McClatchy team with him into the goal. Cortinas converted and Pen Green had a 24-28 game with 10 minutes to go. The Beavers continued to pound on the McClatchy forwards but could not get across the line. Then Luca Gillespie-Brown (normally a Hooker) playing at the Wing position dotted the final try with less than 3 min left in the game as the pack pushed the McClatchy pack back through several runs and rucks. Everyone – players, coaches and fans were so proud of the tenacity of the JV Beavers. They left it all on the field.

Great rugby and great heart from both teams.

- Thomas (Moses) Tamellau - Scored 2 Trys and took some many runs North-South carrying players with him.

- Alex Lopeti - Strong running with one run of about 80 yards where at least half of the Berkeley team attempted to tackle him and bounced off. Strong tackling.

- Jacob Cortinas – Juked and ran around more than half of the McClatchy team on several runs which set up Pen Green scores. Cortinas tackled half the McClatchy team as well. He plays as he we were twice his size.

- Marshall Ferris – Directed the team at fly half and set up multiple plays. Marshall was fierce in the tackles.

- Lucas Hackett Provenzano - Played out of position at wing in the second half. Several well executed runs that set up positioning for the scoring Trys.

- Luca Gillespie-Brown – Played out of position at wing in the second half. He ran and tackled extremely well and ultimately scored the final Try.

- Nio Mafi - Many runs North-South carrying players with him. Scored the second to the last Try.

- Matt Mercurio – Matt was all over the field making tackles and stealing the ball from McClatchy.

Peninsula Green Varsity

The overall record for the Varsity Team – 10 Wins, No losses

Pen Green vs Riordan - 15-12 01-22-16 Friendly

Pen Green vs Sac PAL - 35-0 01-30-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Solo - 39-21 01-30-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Oakland 28-0 02-19-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Pleasanton - 45-12 02-27-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs SFGG - 28-17 03-12-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Los Gatos - 39-17 03-19-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs North Bay - 43-12 03-26-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Sierra Foothills - 28-0 04-09-16 PO Semi (Win)

Pen Green vs McClatchy - 38-12 04-16-16 D1 Championship (Win)

Junior Varsity Record

The overall record for the JV Team – 12 Wins, No losses

Pen Green vs Riordan - 49-7 01-22-16 Friendly

Pen Green vs Sac Eagles - 37-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Berkeley - 32-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Los Gatos - 28-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Clayton Valley - 52-12 02-06-16 Friendly (Win)

Pen Green vs Bellarmine - 28-0 02-20-16 Friendly (Win)

Pen Green vs Pleasanton - 67-19 02-27-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs SFGG - 43-7 03-12-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Los Gatos - 52-7 03-19-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Berkeley - 47-0 03-26-16 Friendly (Win)

Pen Green vs Clayton Valley - 28-0 04-09-16 PO Semi (Win)

Pen Green vs McClatchy - 31-28 04-16-16 D1 Championship (Win)

Posted: March 21, 2016

Peninsula Green vs LG – 03/19/16

Varsity – 39-17

Peninsula Green dominated Los Gatos from the start of the game to finish, as the Beavers set the tenor of the game with very physical defensive and offensive play. The PG defense kept the LG talented athletes from crossing the gain line. On offense the Beaver forwards continually pushed back the LG defense by running North South and set up the Backs to move the ball fluidly to the touch line or crash through the dog leg gap in the defense.

Tavita Mailau (#12) started the Pen Green scoring shortly after the start of the game as Naima Faulaau (#10) fed “Vita” on a crash ball and the Los Gatos defense melted away as he juked his way to the corner. Then Naima Faulaau (#10) slipped through the LG defense, and the score was quickly 12 to 0. Los Gatos scored under the posts to bring the score to 12 – 7. After some pounding by the Pen Green offense, Los Gatos was caught off side on the 20 meter line and Tavita Mailau cashed in with a penalty kick making the total 15 - 7.

Then the flood gates opened for Peninsula Green as Sione Manukainiu (#14) caught the LG defense backing up too slowly on a penalty and slipped in under the Los Gatos tacklers after a penalty tap from the seven meter line. Within minutes Sione Manukainiu (#14) struck again from the wing position as the ball went through hands and Sione punished his opposite number by driving over him into the goal after contact within 5 meters from the goal line. After the conversion kick went wide, the Beavers took possession from Los Gatos and speed demon Sami Makaafi (#11) looked like Carlon Isles of the USA Sevens team as he took the ball down the touch line leaving multiple defensive players gasping as he eventually scored under the Pen Green posts. After Tavita Mailau completed the conversion the score was a lopsided 32 – 7 in favor of Peninsula Green as the referee blew the whistle to end the half.

The Pen Green coaches decided that during the second half they would play everyone on the Pen Green bench. This decision slow down the Peninsula Green scoring and the overall tempo of the game. PG allowed a try by Los Gatos at the 65 min mark making the score 32 – 12. At the 75 min mark Royce Fisher (LG #15) intercepted a pass between the Pen Green centers and streaked for an unconverted try under the posts. Pen Green put some of the first team players back in the game and Erik Faivaila quickly dotted the ball down between the posts to move the lead to a decisive 39 – 17 in favor of Peninsula Green. This was the final score.

In addition to the players scoring tries there were several additional outstanding performances: Yoshi Warnock, (#8) (HSAA and USA U-20 selection), lead the team as captain from the number 8 position. He had a number of thumping tackles and some outstanding North - South runs. Bo Mailau (# 7) made a large contribution with his tackles and runs from the base of the rucks and from the #2 Pod position. Cutler Pons (# 9) skillfully and swiftly fed the ball out to the Peninsula Green attacking forwards and backs. Pons also spoiled the Los Gatos attack with hard hitting tackles and harassment of the Los Gatos backs. Leilua Lualemaga was also outstanding with multiple physical tackles and several long runs, one of which set up a Pen Green try.

The overall outcome was the 7^th straight win for the Pen Green Varsity team versus no losses. Pen Green leads the league with 20 points (10 points ahead of 2^nd place SFGG) and finishes Rugby NorCal league play next weekend with a game versus North Bay (which recently combined with Oakland). Pen Green will finish #1 in league play and will head into the play-off with a high seed.

Posted: March 14, 2016

Peninsula Green vs SFGG – 03/11/16

Varsity – 28-17

The conditions for the Friday night game that pitted the Pen Green Beaver Varsity team against the SFGG team for first place in the NorCal D1 League were as close to horrible rugby conditions as possible in Northern California – Driving rain that mostly blew in horizontally, extremely high winds, and the temperature dropping into the 40s (F). Since I have played games in the Snow, I qualify that these are close to the worst in Northern California, not the "Worst" possible.

From the start, the Beavers set the tenor of the game with physical defensive and offensive play and a combination of the Forwards running North South and the Backs spreading the ball from one touch line to the other. The first try for PG came at the 5th minute, when Soane Mafi (#01) touched the ball down on a pick and go close to the touch line after the ball went through multiple hands and Leilua Lualemaga ran through multiple tacklers. After several Pen Green penalties which denied scoring opportunities, SFGG scored in the corner to knot the game. Within the next 10 minutes the PG forwards executed a perfect maul from a line out on the 5 meter line which resulted in a Yoshi Warnock (#8) try making the score 10 - 5. Just when it looked like Pen Green was going to break the game open, SFGG and the weather conditions ganged up on Pen Green and SFGG scored again as Ronan Murphy (#10) caught a high ball from his scrum half and scored for SFGG by sweeping the ball down to get pressure on the ball inside the goal area. The Pen Green backs then lost several balls under the slippery conditions, as did the forwards. Then referee Bart Neilsen awarded a yellow card to Tavita Mailau for a dangerous tackle that was late and without a wrap. On a goal line stand Michael Rowe met the same Yellow card fate for wrapping the SFGG player too high in a tackle. The referee awarded a penalty try. The half-time whistle ended the first half with the score favoring the SFGG 17 – 10, and Pen Green having only 13 players on the field.

The Beavers showed guts and fortitude as the second half commenced. With only 13 players on the field, the Beavers stiffened, they did not allow SFGG to break the gain line and within 5 minutes, Cutler Pons bulled over the goal line through three tacklers after a penalty tap by Naimia Foulau and a scamper by Tavite Lopeti. Bo Mailau then followed with another try after the ball went through hands and Bo executed a pick and go from the ruck into the corner of the goal. Tevita Mailau (#12) then added a penalty kick from 25 meters to make the score 23 – 17. Yoshi Warnock (PLE # 10) added another try from a pick and go to make the final score 28 – 17. The Pen Green coaches played started playing substitutes as the game was safely won, and the game ended with the final score notched at 28 - 17.

This was a very hard fought game played under difficult conditions. Pen Green and SFGG both featured All Star players who have played together on NorCal All Star teams. The fans witnessed a wide open game with Pen Green playing exciting and fluid running rugby. At the man-of-the match post game meeting, the coaches from both sides complimented the other side for being well coached and well disciplined. SFGG coach “Big Red” noted that Pen Green moved the ball well from touch line to touch line better than any other team they had played or seen this season.

He also noted that we would have scored more if the backs had been less flat and had not run out of room on the touch line.

It was a good game and the Beavers have much to improve upon for the Los Gatos games this next weekend.

Posted: March 02, 2016

Peninsula Green vs Pleasanton – 02/27/16

Varsity – 45-12

The Beaver Varsity team dominated the Pleasanton team from the start of the game with physical defensive play and a combination of Forward and Back offensive play. The Pen Green backs consistently tackled the Pleasanton backs behind the gain line and executed the PG back play portfolio fluidly whether the ball came from set pieces or from pattern play rucks. The first try for PG came at the 6^th minute, when Tavite Lopeti (#13) dotted the ball down close to the touch line after taking a long pass from the #10. Within the next 15 minutes Tevita Mailau (#12) added two more tries and kicked the conversions making the score 19 - 0. The PG defense suffered a miscommunication and the Pleasanton #10, Malik Hess (former Pen Green player) dummied and stepped inside to complete the first PLE score under the posts. The half-time whistle ended the first half with the score favoring the Pen Green Beavers 19 – 7.

The Beavers started strong in the second half with two quick tries by Fullback, Ty Wilcox (#15) on back play that featured the ball changing hands multiple times with textbook precision. Then Tevita Mailau (#12) added another try, followed quickly by Naima Fualaau. With score 45 – 7, and the game clearly in hand, the Pen Green coaches played every player on the Varsity team bench in order to not further run up the score. Malik Hess (PLE # 10) added a late try to make the final score 45 – 12.

JV – 67-21

The Pen Green JV team started very strong against an over matched Pleasanton team. The JV Beavers have a number of Varsity level sophomores on the roster, and these players – Luca Gillespie-Brown, Moses (Thomas) Tameilau, Alex Lopeti, Dimitri Sakalia and ‘Atonio Mafi dominated the Pleasanton forwards and quickly lead with multiple pack tries. The ferocious Beaver tackling caused Pleasanton turnovers which Pen Green turned into tries. The PG coaches rested some of these players in the second half so that they would be able to play in the Varsity game.

Peninsula Green Varsity

The overall record for the Varsity Team – 5 Wins, No losses

Pen Green vs Riordan 15-12 01-22-16 Friendly / Scrimmage

Pen Green vs Sac PAL 35-0 01-30-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Solo 39-21 01-30-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Oakland 28-0 01-30-16 League (Win)

Pen Green vs Pleasanton 45-12 02-27-16 League (Win)

Junior Varsity Record

The overall record for the JV Team – 7 Wins, No losses

Pen Green vs Riordan 49-7 01-22-16 Friendly / Scrimmage

Pen Green vs Sac Eagles 37-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Berkeley 32-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win)

Pen Green vs Los Gatos 28-0 01-31-16 KOT (Win - Forfeit)

Pen Green v Clayton Valley 52-12 02-06-16 Friendly (Win)

Pen Green vs Bellarmine 28-0 02-20-16 Friendly (Win)

Pen Green vs Pleasanton 67-21 02-27-16 League (Win)

Posted: February 06, 2016

The USA Rugby Eagles are playing 3 games (15 player team) In Texas / Florida as part of the Americas Cup in the next three weekends. The new coach, John Mitchell, has selected his first starting squad for the match v Argentina on Sat evening (Feb 6). This squad includes David Tamielau (Pen Green Alumni) and a number of other players from Northern California

David Tamielau [26 yrs, 6’5”, 270 lbs] - Redwood City, CA (See attached picture of his Pen Green playing days)

David Tamielau will get his first starting assignment for the Men’s Eagles at Num 8 on Sat Feb 6 against Argentina.

David is Coach Moses Similai’s oldest son. Rugby is in David’s blood as his father was an International class rugby player and has been coaching rugby for the Pen Green Beavers since 2004. All of David’s brothers (Andrew and Moses) also play rugby. David started his rugby career with the Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club (Woodside, CA) in 2004, playing 4 years for Pen Green under Head Coach Paul Negus, assisted by Coaches Moses Similai, Bob Benson and George Richards. David was a team leader on the Peninsula Green Beavers Rugby Club playing most of his games at number 8, but also as a 2^nd Row, Flanker and Center. David earned starting positions for the Bay and Northern California All Stars (Pelicans) during his playing years as a Pen Green Rugby player, and also played for the USA U18, U19 and U20 teams where he played in several International Matches including going to Kenya for the Junior World Cup in 2009. The 2009 USA team featured 6 future Eagles – Tameilau (PG), Zack Test (PG), Zach Fenoglio, Brett Thompson, and Tai Enosa.David graduated from Serra High School (San Mateo, CA) where he was an outstanding football player. He went to San Francisco City College where he starred in football as a defensive end. David then went on his Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (Mormon). Upon returning from his mission David played football for West Texas A&W. David came back to the Bay Area where he played for SFGG on the Super League teams, and playing for SFGG against the touring Tongan National team. USA Rugby awarded a scholarship to David in 2015 to attend and play for Taranaki Rugby Academy, New Zealand for 6 weeks. He started playing for the Life West College Gladiators in 2016 under head coach Adriann Ferris, where David is a starting at Flanker and Number 8. David is known for his nimble acrobatic running (He is a big man, but he runs likes a half back) as well as his ferocious tackles and powerful rucking.

Zack Test (Peninsula Green Alum) who was one year ahead of David (2007 graduation) is playing for the USA Eagles Sevens team and will not be available for 15 a side rugby. If he were selected, the Peninsula Green Rugby Club would have had 2 players out of 15 on the starting side.

Men's Eagles | v. Argentina XV

Roster

1. Eric Fry

2. Joseph Taufete'e

3. Chris Baumann

4. Brodie Orth

5. Greg Peterson

6. Cam Dolan

7. Todd Clever

8. David Tameilau

9. Niku Kruger

10. James Bird

11. Kingsley McGowan

12. Lemoto Filikitonga

13. Chad London

14. Takudzwa Ngwenya

15. Blaine Scully (C)

The starting side also includes a number of players from Northern California – Eric Fry (Jesuit Sacramento, Cal Berkeley), Todd Clever (College Park / Bellarmine San Jose), Lemoto Filikitonga (San Mateo), Blaine Scully (Cal – University of California – Berkeley), Cam Dolan (SFGG), and Kingsly McGowan (Saint Mary's College)

To watch the games, fans can access the network online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app or stream of televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One.

Posted: January 31, 2016

GREAT WEEKEND !!!

The weekend at the Kick Off Tournament (KOT) in Rancho Cordova was very gratifying to players, coaches and parents who were in attendance as the varsity team showed excellent team play and really gelled in the game against Solo (Dixon). The JV team also played some excellent rugby but there were far too many penalties.

The team dinner on Saturday evening was enjoyable and satisfying. We did some serious bonding as a club, and then exited the weekend without any adverse player related incidents at the hotel. Congratulations.

The Pen Green Beaver teams ran the table with 5 victories out of 5 contests.

Varsity played 2 games (45 min) on Saturday and won 2 games. The first game was against Sacramento PAL (The new name for Sac Islanders combined with other teams) Score 34 -0. The second game was against a strong Solo Rugby Club (Dixon and Davis combined). The Varsity won that game 29-12 playing very exciting team rugby.

The JV team played 3 games on Sunday and won 3 games. The first 2 games we won handily. In the last game with Los Gatos, we played a very close game which Los Gatos won by a try. However, the Los Gatos JV played the game with ineligible players recruited from other teams (non roster players, and one player who had an earlier red card). The PenGrn JV team played with only 15 players, and these players showed serious grit on the field. The tournament officially listed this game as a forfeit, with the win going to Pen Green. It was unfortunate that the Los Gatos team was not more truthful about their team. Note: There will be more on this game in a subsequent email.

We will build on this very positive weekend and we will work closely with the JV team to improve the team fitness, ability to be "on-side", and not to commit “Yellow Card” infractions.

This week we will be preparing for the games with Clayton Valley (Varsity B and JV). More on the game details later.

Pen Green Practice (week of Feb 01)

Practices

Feb 01 - Mon

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Woodside High School - Football field.

Feb 03 - Wed

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (This time may change and I will know more on Monday.

Sequoia High School - Football field.

Saturday Games

Feb 06 - Sat

Time TBD

At Clayton Valley High School – Concord, CA

Please let one of the coaches know if you have a conflict for practice or the KOT. We need to have everyone at practice this week.

Note 1: Recruiting: Bring a friend to practice.

Posted: January 25, 2016

Peninsula Green v Archbishop Reardon - Friday Jan 22, 2016
Games / Scrimmage (Varsity, JV) - Friendly - Sequoia High School

The games with Archbishop Reardon on Fri night were an excellent first test for the 2016 season. The rain that came on and off added another dimension to the game, but we were generally blessed that the rain did not start pouring down until late in the Varsity game.

The coaches were very pleased with the performances of both the Varsity and JV teams. The Beaver players were aggressive on both defense and offense. We saw some excellent tackles, some good set piece play (scrums, lineouts, KO, etc) that followed the plans developed during practice, and some exciting runs from both forwards and backs. The key element that was very positive was the team play displayed by both Varsity and JV teams.

These game were both scrimmages with 15 minute periods and rotating player substitution, so the score does not count for league standing. However, for those interested, the Varsity squad won a tight game by one try (5 pts) and the JV squad won by lopsided score of 5 tries to zero.

We will build on the positive aspects of the play against Reardon - Team play with multiple passes to move the ball to the wing, Tackling and Rucking with intensity, Good set piece play and exciting running by backs and forwards.

We will work to improve the team fitness, ability to be "on-side" (i.e. too many off-side penalties), and the discipline to not "talk to the referee".

Posted: November 05, 2015

Pen Green Alumni (Zack Test) Update:

Zack Test makes Three (3) unaided tackles in a row in the USA v Japan Pool Match on Oct 11, 2015.

During the USA v Japan Pool Match on Oct 11, 2015 (at roughly the 37th minute), Zack Test (Pen Green Alum) chased down a kick put forward by the USA Flyhalf and fielded by Japan. He made Three (3) unaided tackles in a row with the last tackle being in the Japan “In Goal”. The end result was a USA scrum on the Japan 5 meter line. This tackle “hat trick” is an extraordinary event in Rugby at any level (particularly at the World Cup National Competition level), and only happens when a player is both fit and skilled. Test had a superior game for the USA on both defense and offense in the game against Japan (which the USA lost 18 to 28). In addition to the tackles, Test played the entire game at wing and showed some excellent offensive skill with several runs, and tenacious defensive skills with multiple tackles and very effective rucks.

See Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6WOpAZXM9U

Published on Oct 11, 2015 – Universal Sports 2015, Gloucester, England, 8th IRB Rugby World Cup, In the USA vs Japan Match, Rugby Sevens star, Zack Test nails three Japanese Ball handlers in seconds with some superior hustle.

This video highlights that Zack Test has great rugby skills, intensity and fitness. In order to make three tackles in a row, you have to do three things: a) Make the tackles, b) Quickly get to your feet, and c) Have the fitness to do this at such a speed that you can make three tackles...... This is a rare occurrence in rugby...... Zack - Great job !!!

Zack Test was a key player on the Peninsula Green High School Rugby club from 2005 to 2007. He developed his rugby skills under head coach Paul Negus and coaches Bob Benson and Moses Similai. The Pen Green coaches nominated Test to play on the Northern California All Star teams and the USA U18, U19, and U20 National teams during that time period. Test was a key player on the USA U18 Rugby team that won 4 out of 5 games in the Junior World Cup in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2007. Test grew up in Redwood City, CA and graduated from Woodside High School. At Woodside HS Test was a star wide receiver on the Woodside HS football team. He attended college at the University of Oregon where he played football (wide receiver) and rugby. He decided to play rugby full time and went on to study at Loughborough University in England where he played on the Loughborough rugby team. He has been a key player on the USA Rugby Eagles Sevens team from 2010 to the present 2016 Olympic qualifier team. During that time period he has captained the team, and he is the leading all time scorer for the USA Rugby Eagles Sevens team. The IRB worldwide rugby community recognized Zack Test by naming Test to the “All Tournament” team (the best seven players in the World) on multiple occasions. He was recently selected to play on the USA Eagles 15 a side National team, where he solidified his position on the team with solid play on both offense and defense during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Test is 26 years old so he has many great years ahead of him on the International Rugby scene.

Zack Test is also an very active Alum for the Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club. When Zack is in the Bay Area, he frequently attends Pen Green Rugby practices, where he plays touch rugby with the current players, and coaches the current club members by conducting drills used at the USA Sevens Rugby Olympic Training Camp. Test gives back to Rugby by helping younger players learn rugby skills.

The Peninsula Green Rugby Community, the Northern California Rugby Community and the USA Rugby Community are all looking forward to following Zack Test during further USA test matches, during the IRB Rugby Sevens circuit this season, and during the Olympic Games in Brazil during the 2016 Summer Games.

Posted: June 30, 2015

2015 Season Recap

The Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club had an excellent season in 2015 with many of the graduationg seniors going on to college to study and play rugby, and both the Varsity and JV finishing in the top 4 slots in the "Gold" playoffs. The Varsity Gold team lost in the Semifinals to Danville (The eventual Champion, and the #1 ranked HS team in the United States [according to the Goff Rankings]. The JV Gold team lost in the Semifinals to Motherload, who also went on to win the JV Championship.

Let's build on what we did last year and use the 2015 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, the excitement about the new rugby player on the 49r's (Jarryd Hayne) and all of the discussion about rugby tackling for football to develop a great season for the Pen Green Club.

Posted: March 30, 2015

NorCal All-Stars Defeat England Lambs at SFGG, 23-10!

03/30/2015, 10:15am PDT by Rugby NorCal

The NorCal All-Stars put in an epic performance yesterday in front of a massive crowd at SFGG on Treasure Island, defeating the Independent School Lambs 23-10.

The NorCal All-Star squad of 25 players featured 6 Peninsula Green players who contributed to this excellent win over a tough opponent: Erik Cortinas (Scrumhalf - Fullback), Jason Beard (Flanker), Joshua Warnock (Lock), Juan Cervantes (Prop), Line Latu (Flyhalf), and Tevita Lopeti (Wing).

The All-Stars got of to a great start in the first few minutes, winning a penalty at the breakdown, but could not convert on their kick at goal. Another missed penalty a few minutes later might have caused the boys to hang their heads, but they stuck in there with some great defense until the Lambs exploited space out wide for a well taken try in the corner - not converted.

The Lambs followed that up with another great opportunity out wide, sucking in the defense to walk in uncontested in the other corner. Again, they could not convert leaving the score 10-0 Lambs.

The NorCal All-Stars came back with two quick penalties of their own from Erik Cortinas (Pen Green) and Tevita Milau (Hayward) to make the score 6-10.

Right before half time, the All-Star boys heaped on the pressure close to the line after contesting the Lambs' lineout and forcing a knock on. Three phases later, and Sam Tofi (Riordan) barreled over for a well taken try that was converted by Erik Cortinas (Pen Green) for a half time score of 13-10.

In the second half, the NorCal boys came out firing and were very strong in defense, not letting the Lambs use their explosive speed on the outside. The All-Star boys managed to continually pile on pressure up front and were rewarded with 15 minutes to go with another try from Sam Tofi (Riordan) who went over after a good shove from the pack. The try was converted by Erik Cortinas (Pen Green) making the score 20-10 in favor of the All-Stars.

With 10 minutes to go, the Lambs scrum half was shown a yellow card after frustration and infringements at the breakdown. The Lambs, even one man down continued to pile on the pressure, testing the All-Star's defense, but they stayed strong in the tackle and caused quite a few turnovers.

The All-Stars were rewarded with a penalty inside the 22, which Erik Cortinas (Pen Green) made no mistake with, leaving the score at 23-10 with just seconds left.

The All-Stars managed to get the ball back after the restart and Line Latu (Pen Green) playing at Fly-Half booted the ball out, yielding the final whistle. It was a real battle out there on the field, but the All-Star Boys put in one heck of an effort both in attack and defense to win the match with a final score of 23-10.

For the All-Stars, Lopeti Liu, Nate Becker, and Pasimi Hingano (all Danville) were all awarded man of the match performances, with honorable mention to Sam Tofi (Riordan).

We want to thank all the players, staff, spectators, the Lambs, and SFGG for such a fantastic event. This match will surely go down in history here for Rugby NorCal as a turning point in our High Performance pathway, and All-Star process.

Posted: January 30, 2015

Pen Green Rugby - Ranked 10th in the USA High School Club rankings by Alex Goff

In the preseason rankings by Alex Goff the Pen Green Rugby Varsity Gold team is ranked 10th. See the whole report below or view it on line at the following URL. Pen Green starts the season playing the 3rd ranked team - Danville Oaks.

http://www.goffrugbyreport.com/news/2015-boys-hs-club-rankings-week-1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2015 Boys HS Club Rankings Week 1

Cathedral and Santa Monica at the top, for now.

01.02.2015 - Alex Goff

Goff Rugby Report brings you the opening Boys HS Club rankings of the 2014-2015 season. Yes some teams in Southern California have started plaiyng already, as have one or two other teams, but this ranking still serves as the de-facto pre-season rankings.

Three-time HS Club champs Cathedral remain on top, and the team that faced them in the last final, Santa Monica, is #2. Danville is a very strong #3, and they could well bounce up to #1 in a very competitive NorCal league.

Among the teams that moved up from the end of last year are United, who we think will be more consistent this year, and Peninsula Green, which is a team with all sorts of oung talent. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen which of the teams in Washington will move to the fore, so Seattle and Liberty are relatively low. Alpharetta Phoenix already has some impressive wins under their belt, and come in at #20.

This ranking will expand as more teams play, and will end with a Top 50 in May.

Goff Rugby Report Boys HS Club Rankings Beginning of 2015
Rank	Team	Notes
1	Cathedral (Ind.)	Until they get knocked off the tower
2	Santa Monica (Calif.)	Strong group of good players returning.
3	Danville Oaks (Calif.)	Most of a young team that came very close to NIT win is back
4	San Diego Mustangs (Calif.)	Top players from strong varsity programs migrating to Mustangs
5	Kansas City Jr. Blues (Mo.)	Have been consistently strong
6	United (Utah)	Returning a lot of good players
7	Hayward (Calif.)	Lost some strong leaders
8	Colorado Springs (Colo.)	Holding steady
9	Red Mountain (Ariz.)	Solid group of returning players, good depth
10	Peninsula Green (Calif.)	Great young players
11	Brother Rice (Ill.)
12	Naples (Fla.)
13	Sierra Foothills (Calif.)
14	Union (Okla.)
15	West Shore United (Pa.)
16	Union County (NJ)
17	Seattle (Wash.)
18	Liberty (Wash.)
19	Clark County (Ore.)
20	Alpharretta Phoenix (Ga.)

Posted: January 28, 2015

Pen Green Rugby - Game recap - Jan 24, 2015 vs Clayton Valley (at Woodside)

All three Pen Green Rugby teams played very well against Clayton Valley on Saturday. The weather was excellent, and we thank all the fans that attended to support the club. For many on the JV team and a few players on Varsity, this was their first rugby match. The 3 teams played as rugby teams which made the rugby enjoyable for all.

This was a Friendly game (Non-League). The coaches wished to use this game to tune up the team play and players for the first league match this Saturday against Danville. In both JV and Varsity games the first periods had a bit too much individual play. Although this still resulted in multiple scores against CV, the coaches found the second half play to be more team play oriented.

Although the scores were not important, I have listed them below for those who are interested.

JV Gold: 43 - 0

Varsity Gold: 43 - 7

Varsity Silver: 24 - 7

Posted: January 18, 2015

Pen Green Rugby - Game recap - Jan 17, 2015 vs Clayton Valley and Oakland

The first Varsity encounters for Pen Green Rugby for the 2015 season were 2 Friendly 30 minute half games vs Oakland and Clayton Valley Varsity teams at Clayon Valley (Concord).

The Pen Green coaches were very pleased with the team play exhibited during these games by the Varsity players who made the trip. We saw the following good aspects during the games:

The overall play was "Team" oriented and less "Individual" play.
The passing was almost professional at times with players taking the ball on the burst with well timed passes from their teamates.
The Defense, "Attack without the ball", was inspired. We tackled well, stole the ball multible times and did some excellent "counter rucking".

The scores were not important as we were playing to test players at various positions and to develop the team and individual skills, but for those who wish to know, they were the following:

Pen Green vs Oakland: 36 to 7

Pen Green vs Clayton Valley: 20 to 0

Let's build on this success, be at practice and work hard in practice to develop our team skills.

Posted: March 14, 2013

Pen Green Alum Zack Test Named RUGBY Mag's 7s Player of the Year

Peninsula Green Rugby Club Alumni, Zack Test, (Redwood City) was named by Rugby Magazine, [the definitive magazine for Rugby Football in the United States] as Rugby Magazine’s Sevens Rugby Player of the Year on Jan 1, 2014. Zack lives in Redwood City, CA when he is not training at the San Diego Olympic Training Center or traveling on the IRB (International Rugby Board) Sevens circuit with the USA Sevens Rugby Squad.

Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club

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