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Archived News By Date

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Posted: October 09, 2013

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Peninsula Green planning for a great 2014 season.   

Congratulations to all on a great 2013 season. The Pen Green Varsity and JV team finished in the finals of the Summer High School season with a Championship for the JV team and a close second place for the Varsity team.

After a Strong 15 season and a Very Strong 7s season the Pen Green Club is starting the 2014 season.

Parents Meeting - Oct 09, 2013

First Practice - Oct 26, 2013

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Posted: April 19, 2013

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NCYRA / Bay Playoffs Round 1: Pen Green Varsity team win vs EPA - 41 to 12 (Thu Apr 18). 

Congratulations to all on a nice win last night against EPA. The game was great entertainment as there were some exciting runs by the home team and some great defense. It was probably our best game of the season - few penalties, swift and resolute defense, and strong offensive execution.

The Pen Green Varsity will play the Islanders in Sacramento next weekend for the 2nd round for Boys Varsity Gold NCYRA playoffs. The game time has not yet been scheduled.

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Boys Varsity Gold Playoff Schedule (Preliminary):

Based on the best available data for Sac Valley standings (Granite Bay #1, Sac Islanders #2 and Sierra Foothills #3), the NCYRA Playoff matches the weekend of the 27th will be;

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Danville (NorCal #1) hosts Marin or EPA (NorCal #8)

Granite Bay (NorCal #2) hosts SFGG (NorCal #7)

Hayward (NorCal #3) hosts Sierra Foothils (NorCal #6)

Sac Islanders (NorCal #4) hosts Peninsula Green (NorCal #5)

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Posted: April 16, 2013

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The Pen Green Varsity team - 6-1 in Conference Play - Entering Playoffs after winning last 2 games.

The Pen Green Varsity team finished the Bay Varsity Gold conference play well with a 6-1 record.  We tied for second place in perhaps the toughest conference in the USA with Hayward (Danville is first with a 7-0 record) after the end of competition.  The Pen Green Varsity team was triumphant over all of the old Skyhawk Conference Competition and added victories over old rivals SFGG and Lamorinda.  The only loss was to the Marin Highlanders.

The first Varsity playoff game will be on Thursday Evening, April 18 against traditional rival EPA.  It will be a home venue at Woodside High School.

The Pen Green Junior Varsity team - 5-2 in Conference Play - Finished with 5 victories and Enters the  Playoffs with momentum.

The Pen Green Varsity team finished the Bay JV Gold conference play well with a 5-2 record.  We finished in a tie for 3rd place.  After a slow start with losses to Danville and SFGG the JV team won the last 5 games.  Again, the Pen Green Varsity team was triumphant over all of the old Skyhawk Conference Competition and added victories over Marin, Pleasanton, Riodan, South Valley, and Los Gatos.

The first JV playoff game will be against Riodan on Tuesday Evening, April 23 at Woodside HS.

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Posted: April 08, 2013

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The Pen Green Varsity team - 5-1 in Conference Play

The Pen Green Varsity team has started the Bay Varsity Gold conference play well with a 5-1 record.  We are tied for second place in perhaps the toughest conference in the USA with Hayward (Danville is first with a 7-0 record) after 7 weeks of competition.  There is one more game in Conference play - Lamorinda.

The Peninsula Green Rugby Club had one game this weekend after several weeks off – the Pen Green Varsity vs Hayward. Although Hayward is in the Bay Boys Varsity Gold conference, we do not play them in the normal schedule in 2013. This game was a friendly to shake off the cobwebs and rustiness of a couple of weeks off for the Varsity, and it was a tune-up for Lamorinda and the play-offs. The coaches were very impressed with how the boys stepped up their play in the face of a game that could easily have gotten away from us.

 

It was a great game - ferocious tackles and rucks, slicing runs, precise kicks, and come-from-behind courage.  Hayward blasted the Pen Green Beavers with forwards pick and gos, and their backs who were juking and slicing.  We responded with smashing tackles and our own full speed, slashing running.

 

Peninsula Green Varsity vs Hayward – Woodside HS

Pen Green’s varsity side played a tough and very determined match against a big and fast Hayward team Friday night.   Pen Green and Hayward are tied for 2^nd place in the Bay Boys Varsity Gold standings with 5-1 records (Hayward lost a close game to Danville and Pen Green lost a “not so close” game to Marin). The end result of 24-24 confirmed that the teams are evenly matched. Coach Blane Warhurst of Hayward complemented the Beavers after the game during the “Man of the Match” ceremony stating that Pen Green was as tough as any team they had faced, and that his opinion was that either team could go “All the way” in the playoffs.

From the opening kickoff, both sides played a physical game characterized by hard running, smashing tackles, and ferocious rucking and counter rucking.  Hayward scored first with roughly 6 minutes into the game on a break through up the middle of the field by Chris Foto (USA HSAA Eagle). They added the conversion to make the score 0 - 07.  With about 20 minutes into the half Pen Green posted its only points of the first half on an angled penalty kick by Steve Bodley from outside the 30 to make it 03 - 07.  Pen Green struggled to establish its game pattern as Hayward maintained possession of the ball most of the first half, but the Beaver defense kept Hayward in the middle of the field and out of scoring position until late in the half when Hayward again broke through for a try and converted the point after.  Hayward opened the second half with another quick try but missed the conversion, and the Beavers found themselves down 3-19.  But the Beaver Varsity players dug deep and stepped up the Beaver game, continuing to tackle hard and win ball in the rucks.  Liam scored 17 minutes into the half on a nice ball that went out to the wing and then back in for a try which Steve converted.   10 minutes later, Mark spotted a big opening on the weak side of the Hayward line and called for the ball off the back of the scrum, took the ball at speed and sliced through Hayward’s backline before they had a chance to respond, taking the ball in for another try under the posts that Steve converted.  Hayward then scored another try, but did not convert. Finally, with the clock winding down and Pen Green down 17-24, the Beavers drove the ball close to the Hayward red zone, smashed up inside with a couple of pick and go’s from the forwards, then got the ball out wide to Tevita TakiTaki on the wing who showed his wheels in scoring a final try that Steve Bodley converted to tie the game with 3 minutes left.  The momentum had swung to the Beavers, and we were close to taking the ball down field to score again when time ran out with the score 24-24.

Pen Green had many standout players on the night: George Fifita answered the call, doing a great job stepping into the number 10 spot with hard tackling, keeping the Hayward defense off balance by making some smashing runs straight at them, and placing some smart kicks deep over their backline.  Maka Lopeti and Juan Cervantes (who was in bed sick all week) were beasts on the tackles and on both sides of the ruck, with both of them very effectively counter rucking to put pressure on the Hayward attack.  John and Yoshi Warnock tackled hard and ran well with the ball close to the rucks and off the pods. John Warnock (USA HSAA Eagle) set the high standard of leadership early in the game by taking down hard running Hau Moala before he reached the gain line and letting the entire Hayward squad know that they were in for a long night if they ran near him (since he was all over the field they were always near him). Jason Beard was fearless as Hayward’s big boys ran straight at him and he stepped in for the tackle time after time.   Sam Veimau was voted forward ‘Man of the Match’ by the Hayward players for his hard charging running and his tackling and rucking.

Liam Cotter was again the standout player on both sides of the ball, taking on the hard running Hayward backs and putting them on the deck, rucking brilliantly, and taking the ball at pace off of our back line moves.  Liam played like he was a “Whirling Dervish” as he was everywhere making tackles and dragging Hayward players to the ground. Mark Qoro (USA HSAA Eagle) was a leader as usual, tackling hard, running even harder, and demonstrating the field awareness that makes him an outstanding player.  Steve Bodley (NorCal U17 All Star) is not only one of the best kickers in the league, going 4 for 4 on kicks for points on the night, he also made several saving tackles at fullback against big Hayward runners who had broken our line and were coming at pace looking to run him over.

Posted: March 11, 2013

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The Pen Green Varsity team - 4-0 in Conference Play

The Pen Green Varsity team has started the Bay Varsity Gold conference play well with a 4-0 record.  We are tied for first place in the conference with Danville after 5 weeks of competition.  There are 3 more games in Conference play - Marin, Santa Rosa, Lamorinda

Games scores to date (Varsity):

Pen Green vs SFGG (Win 20 - 19)

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club varsity squad traveled to SFGG and won in a come from behind game that was one of the most exciting games played to date.  The team played hard throughout the game.  During the first half SFGG played their pattern but Pen Green was able to take a 10 to 9 lead into the half.  In the 2nd half the hard tackling (particularly Mark Qoro and Liam Cotter) and tenacious rucking of the Pen Green team broke the SFGG pattern.  After giving up points during a yellow card sin bin period of having only 14 players on the field to make it 10 to 19, the boys battled back with 2 trys (the 2nd one coming with 5 min left).  The team kept up the pressure and was in the accendency when the whistle blew.  Captain John Warnock stated correctly, "This is why we play rugby".

Pen Green vs EPA (Win 25 - 14)

EPA traveled the short distance to the Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club home field in Woodside for a game in which the Pen Green varsity came out hard and took the play to EPA the entire game. Although the EPA team out weighed the Pen Green boys, the ferocious tackling and team play of Pen Green did not allow EPA to show any consistent scoring.  Unfortunately the team lost two key players to injury during the game - Alex Everett and Jackson Rapaich. 

Pen Green vs Oakland (Win 30 - 14)
 
The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club varsity squad traveled to Oakland to play against the Warthogs.  The team got off to an aggressive start and were playing inside the Warthog 22 much of the first 12 minutes of the first half, but committed a couple of costly penalties that lost us possession and field position.  Scoring started with a penalty kick from Steve Bodley 17 minutes into the half, and then fanother penalty kick 30 minutes into the half, followed quickly by a try by John Warnock and Tavita, with Steve Bodley adding the conversion at the halftime whistle, putting us up 18-0.  
 
We started the second half well as Alex Everett dummied his man and kept the ball for a try that Steve converted.  Oakland ran at Alex and Liam all day and must have regretted it as they watched their films on Sunday, as they seldom made any ground and never broke through the center of our line for any long runs.  Tavita made a long run off the wing to score a final Beavers try, while Oakland managed a couple of break through tries for a final score of 30-14. 

Pen Green vs San Mateo (Win 34 - 5)

Posted: February 12, 2013

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Peninsula Green Varsity vs Oakland at Oakland 02-09-13 (Full Recap)

Game scores (Varsity):

Pen Green vs Oakland (Win 30 - 14)
 
The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club varsity squad traveled to Oakland for our match against the Warthogs this past weekend.  The team got off to an aggressive start and were playing inside the Warthog 22 much of the first 12 minutes of the first half, but committed a couple of costly penalties that lost us possession and field position.  We finally got on the board with a nice penalty kick from Steve Bodley 17 minutes into the half, and then fought back and forth with Oakland for 10 minutes.  28 minutes into the half, we were threatening again but again gave up another costly penalty close to the try line.  We got back on track shortly after that, with Steve Bodley hitting another penalty kick 30 minutes into the half, followed quickly by a try by John Warnock and Tavita, with Steve Bodley adding the conversion at the halftime whistle, putting us up 18-0.  
 
We started the second half well as Alex Everett dummied his man and kept the ball for a try that Steve converted.  Oakland ran at Alex and Liam all day and must have regretted it as they watched their films on Sunday, as they seldom made any ground and never broke through the center of our line for any long runs.  Tavita made a long run off the wing to score a final Beavers try, while Oakland managed a couple of break through tries for a final score of 30-14.  While we had some costly penalties in the first half, our overall penalty count was much improved from the past two weeks (only 2 penalties in the second half), so improving on our way to 0 penalties for future matches, hopefully.  Other notable play: Eric Cortinas forced Oakland to cover him closely, breaking several long runs and slipping or breaking numerous tackles.  Our forwards dominated at the scrum, pushing Oakland off of several of their own balls.  We likewise controlled the lineouts well, winning our own ball and stealing a few of theirs.  Strong play from Sam, George, and Lipo in a very physical game at the breakdowns.  Special mention to Yoshi Warnock, who had a brilliant run, scooping up  a loose ball on our sideline, breaking one tackle, then drawing the defense inside before making a beautiful backhanded offload flip to Tavita who broke for a long run down the sideline – this was picture-perfect ball-handling!  

The game got a little bit chippy at one point in the second half, but both sides maintained their composure, and the Warthogs were generous hosts in the after-game party, so a good, tough, and sportsmanlike game by both sides.  

The Pen Green Varsity team has started the Bay Varsity conference play well with a 2-0 record.  We are tied for first place in the conference after 2 weeks of competition.

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Posted: January 28, 2013

 

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Kick Off Tournament (KOT) in Sacramento (Summary recap) 

 

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club traveled as a team to Sacramento for the annual "Kick Off Tournament" (KOT) on Jan 26, 27 (Sat, Sun) to start the competitive HS season for 2013.

 

The team played excellent rugby (both controlled and entertaining), comported themselves as gentlemen and had a great deal of fun.  This trip was fun for everyone, and resulted in a great team building trip. 

 

The teams played in 2 Divisions and went 5 and 1 for the weekend (5 wins and 1 loss).  We played very tough competition in every game, and only lost 1 game against the Lamorinda varsity.

 

Varsity - Gold - Saturday
Junior Varsity - Open Division - Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted: January 16, 2013

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Kick Off Tournament in Sacramento

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club is entering 2 teams in the Kick Off Tournament (KOT) on Jan 26, 27 (Sat, Sun).

Varsity - Gold
Junior Varsity - Open Division

There may be a possibility for Middle School play, but we have not entered a team.

We are planning to make this a team travel event and stay overnight in Sacramento (Rancho Cordova area).  We want as many players to attend as we view this trip as fun, and a great team building trip.  The tournament is at the following site which has 6 or 7 fields:

Cordova HS, 2239 Chase Drive,
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

The cost per player will be $25.  The team will subsidize some of the cost which we expect will be ~$35.  You are welcome to contribute more and to help pay for gas directly to your driver.

Hotel (Red Lion) @ $68/room - 4 players per room = $17 (includes Sun breakfast
Dinner (Sat night) = $13
Other drink, snacks, etc. = ~$5.

Players will be on their own for other food besides the dinner and breakfast mentioned above.

We will leave very, very early on Sat morning and return on Sun afternoon.

We need a commitment for the following by this Sat (Jan 19):

Players - Can you go, and will you be able to pay the $25 fee.
Parents - We need about 10 cars (4 to 5 players per car) to drive up and return.

Please send back your commitment by email or text.

We will send a flyer with all of the information later this week.

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Weekend game recap - Jan 12-13, 2013

 

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The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club weekend was successful beyond the expectations of the coaches as the young men on all of the Pen Green Beavers comported themselves extremely well both on and off the field.

 

Peninsula Green JV vs Los Gatos – Woodside HS

 

The Peninsula Green JV (Frosh-Soph) team opened with a friendly scrimmage against Los Gatos on Saturday morning at Woodside HS.  With a very strong squad of returning JV players plus a great group of freshmen, middle schoolers, and some new rugby players, we fielded sides balanced between experienced and newer and younger players, to good effect for a first scrimmage.  We had tries from some of our usual suspects – veteran players Erik Cortinas, Chase Wilcox, Ryan Foster, Juan Cervantes, and Sean McWilliams all had at least one.  Jason Beard, a new player with all of one practice under his belt, showed how it’s done with 2 tries on the day.  Sami Makaafi showed his speed with one long try and one other long run that ended just short of the goal line.  Our younger backs, led by Sione Manukainu were aggressive on both attack and defense and showed very well for the day.  Strong play in the forwards from Reese Richardson, Marcus Satale, and Ren Makino who ran all over the pitch and did a solid job of securing ball at the breakdowns.  We have a very strong group of players among our JV squad; as they learn our pattern of play and improve their basic skills, we expect they’ll form into an outstanding team. 

 

Peninsula Green Varsity vs Stanford University JV (Frosh-Soph) – Stanford Rugby Stadium

 

The Pen Green varsity opened with a traditional friendly against the Stanford University Men’s Frosh/Soph team on a cool late winter afternoon at Stanford’s home pitch.   Pen Green struck first with a penalty kick from 35 meters by Steve Bodley 7 minutes into the game, followed quickly with the opening try of the season by Mark Qoro, and the Beavers poured it on from there, outscoring Stanford 58-12.  There were several examples of great Beaver rugby, including two tries of 50+ meters that passed all the way out to the wing and back in to the centers for tries.  Mark Qoro set the bar high for the season, scoring 6 tries including 2 on chip kicks that he dropped behind the Stanford full back and chased down to take on the bounce and going away from Stanford’s defenders.  Liam Cotter was outstanding on both attack and defense, making some hard tackles, getting quickly to the breakdown and blowing Stanford off the ball in the rucks (like a forward).  The wings Eduardo Zenteno and Jesse Gifford both had a strong games as well; Edwardo scoring one try and making several hard tackles, and Gifford hard in the tackle and always in support.  Steve Bodley was 4-9 on conversion kicks, but we made it tough on him, putting most of our tries down in the corners. Alex Everett was solid throughout the game, stopping every attack that came at him, reliably making his connections on attack, and breaking away for several runs. The Beaver forwards smashed ahead relentlessly (as was the plan) and softened the Stanford defense. Notable were John Warnock, Maka Lopeti, Yoshi Warnock and Leepo Satale. We had several players new to rugby get playing time. All of them picked up the game quickly, and they look like they’ll develop into excellent rugby players. 

 

Peninsula Green Middle School (+ Peninsula Seahawks) vs Danville – Palo Alto High School

The Pen Green Middle School team combined with the Peninsula Seahawks as both teams were lacking players for the Open (players can be over 130 lbs) Division teams. The combined team won a hard fought game, as the Beaver players stood out in the rapid and well-contested competition. Malik Hess commanded the team at Scrumhalf, was instrumental in containing the Danville Oaks on defense and scored multiple tries with dashes through the opposition. Ty Wilcox also sliced through the Oaks to score and put down many opposing players. Lei Aholelei added some blistering runs through traffic and Ian Lange-McPherson showed off the Beaver rucking, tackling and running skills as he contributed in all phases. All in all it was an excellent showing for the Middle School Beavers.

 

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Spotlight on Peninsula Green Rugby Young Coaches - Dec 19, 2012

 

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The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club has an excellent coaching staff with coaches having many years of playing and coaching experience.  We also have a nice mixture of older / seasoned / veteran coaches as well as younger coaches who  recently played University rugby, are now working in the Bay Area and wish to "give back to the game".  This says a lot about rugby and the passion that players develop for the sport and the comraderie that is inherent in the sport.

Greg Lee -- Greg joined the coaching staff in 2011.  He is a Peninsula Green RFC alumni who grew up locally (Palo Alto and Paly HS), played his high school rugby for Pen Green and enjoyed the sport so much that he wished to become actively involved with the Club as a coach.  He attended the University of Arizona and UCSB where he played rugby.    When he moved back to the Bay Area in 2010, he decided to join up with Peninsula Green to contribute as a coach.  Greg has studied Training and Conditioning.  He conducts the majority of the conditioning sessions for the club and also conducts more personalized fitness sessions outside the practice times, for those interested.

 

 

• Played at Peninsula Green RFC, Arizona State RFC, UCSB RFC.
• 3 years experience coaching US youth rugby.
• Training and Conditioning coach

 

 

 

 

 

Brad Richey -- Brad joined the coaching staff this summer (2012).  He attended UC Irvine where he first started playing rugby.  After graduation from UC Irvine he moved to Colorado where he concentrated on the refereeing side of rugby.  He moved to the Bay Area (Palo Alto) last year and decided to join up with Peninsula Green to contribute as a coach.

 

• Player at UC Irvine.
• 2 years experience coaching US youth rugby.
• Certified referee - 6 years experience

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Brophy -- Joe joined the coaching staff this fall (2012).  He grew up locally (Redwood City) and went to high school in San Francisco.  After playing a year of high school rugby at SFGG RFC, he matriculated to St Mary's College RFC where he played for 5 yrs.  St Mary's College was in contention for the National Championship in both of his last two years on the team, and Joe contributed significantly to that success.  He was also able to spend a summer (their winter) playing rugby in Christ Church New Zealand.  Rugby is the national sport of New Zealand and the New Zealand All Blacks are the reining world champions. 

 

 

• Played at SFGG RFC (HS) St Mary's College RFC - 5 years.
• Played in New Zealand (Christ Church) - Senior Club level
• 1 Year coaching US youth rugby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These coaches have played at the University level recently and also are slightly closer in age to the young men playing on the team.  They add a dimension to the coaching staff and the rugby experience that is very positive.  Please get to know them.

 

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Sunday, 09 December 2012 20:00

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club - Referee Course - Dec 2, 2012

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The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club was well represented at the Referee training course conducted by the Northern California Rugby Referee's Society, USA Rugby and the Northern California Youth Rugby Association.  Club representatives: Coaches Bob Benson, Wade Hess, and Moses Similai; Players Eric Cortinas, Malik Hess, Mark Qoro, John Warnock (back briefly from his Mexico family sailing); and Pen Green Alum Alex Avendano all attended the course at Bellarmine College Preparatory High School on a rainy Sunday (Dec 02, 2012).

The course qualifies those who attended and who subsequently complete all of the requirements (see below) to be "Certified Referees" for Rugby football.  They are certified to referee rugby games for all USA Rugby affiliated competition (particularly HS and Youth Rugby).  The course consisted of the following requirements:

• Classroom and Practical Instruction - 8 hrs on Sunday Dec 2, 2012 at Bellarmine College Preparatory High School. Classroom coursework and practical work conducted in the Gym and on the Pitch.
• Rugby Ready On-Line Course - www.irbpassport.com
  
• Rugby Laws On-Line Course -  www.irbpassport.com
  

Those who attended the course all noted that they learned a great deal about the laws of Rugby and how to become an effective referee.  It was also a lot of fun, as we interacted with other rugby players and coaches from throughout Northern California.

As a Coach of the Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club I recommend that all players take the course as the knowledge gained will improve your rugby knowledge and skills.  When you actually referee a game, you learn a lot about how referees see the game.

The referees that become fully certified are eligible to earn money for refereeing HS and Youth rugby games - HS Varsity = $50/game, HS JV = $40/game and MS/Youth = $30/game.  The Club also receives recognition for the certified referees and must have 1 certified referee per team that the Club fields.

 

Saturday, 01 December 2012 22:04

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Spotlight on the Peninsula Green Middle School Team

The Peninsula Green High School Middle School Team completes in the Bay Conference in the Northern California Youth Rugby Association (NCYRA).  The team consists of Middle School players as well as younger players who have shown that they are capable of competing at a higher level.

The NCYRA rules restrict players for League games to be age 14 or under (by NCYRA rules - September 1) or younger and registered with NCYRA.

The 2012 Middle School Team competed successfully in the 2012 Summer Sevens Series.  The team placed well in every one of the tournaments, and won the Morgan Hill Tournament on June 17, 2012.

 

Saturday, 17 November 2012 22:04

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Joey Stoval - Alumni of the Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club in 2007 -- Died Nov 3, 2012

Joey Stoval played for the Peninsula Green Rugby Club in 2007.  Joey died in a car accident on Nov 3, 2012. We will miss his smile and his everpresent great sense of humor.   Joey played on the Beaver Championship Team in 2007 when the Beavers won the PICT tournament against Lamorinda (one of the best high school rugby games ever).  See pictures on Facebook (Robert Benson). 

Memorial / Celebration of Life Service

Tuesday, Nov 13, 2PM

Congregation Beth Jacob

1550 Alameda de Las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94061

 

 

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club - NEXT PRACTICE - NOV 17 - 11 AM to 2 PM - Woodside HS.  Practices continue from Oct thru Dec 2012 on Saturdays.  The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club  is actively recruiting 11 to 18 yr old players for the four teams that the club will field for the NCYRA rugby playing season which starts in January 2013. 

Saturday, 27 October 2012 22:04 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club - FIRST PRACTICE - OCT 27 - 11 AM to 2 PM - Woodside HS.  Practices continue from Oct thru Dec 2012 on Saturdays.  The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club  is actively recruiting 11 to 18 yr old players for the four teams that the club will field for the NCYRA rugby playing season which starts in January 2013. 

 

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Registration is open for the 2013 season.  See Registration page for details or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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The Season has started and the Coaches recommend all players consider the following:

-  Fitness.  Run and lift weights.  Fitness is important. You cannot be match fit without working on your own during the week.
-  Recruiting - Talk up rugby and look for other players that you want on your team.
-  Rugby Skills - Touch Rugby at Stanford on Sat (3 PM).  Sand Hill Intramural Fields.

If you would like to see some of the  Pen Green Rugby Club All Star Players in action on the NorCal All Star June 2012 tour to Canada check out the videos on the following URL.  Note the professional quality of the videos thanks to your coaches and Kendra Cortinas who did the filming.

http://rugbyrwbenson.smugmug.com/Rugby-NCYRABayAllStar/Rugby-NorCal-AllStar-Canada/Rugby-NorCal-JV-All-Star-vs-BC/24299046_7PqMWC#!i=2043862320&k=RRHTFrp

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club Facts  

• Rugby Home field:  Woodside HS main football stadium field
• The  Pen Green Rugby Club is the premium team on the SF Peninsula and draws players from Schools throughout the San Francisco Peninsula
• Peninsula Green Rugby Teams
  • High School Varsity – Juniors, Seniors (Frosh/Sophs may move up)
  • High School JV (Freshmen, Sophomores)
  • U14 – Under 14 year olds
  • U12 – Under 12 year olds
• Season and Practice
  • Practice  - Oct to Aug (practices from Oct to Dec before the season starts)
  • Rugby 15s Season – Jan to May
  • Rugby Sevens Season - Jun to Aug

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club practice sessions are open to both returning players and players who are new to rugby. The coaches teach and reinforce rugby basics (passing, catching, rucking, tackling, scrummaging, line out play, etc.) and build the practice schedule to include team offense and team defense in order for the team to be able to play as a team when game play commences in January. 

 

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2012 Season (Week 12): Practice - Tue and Thu Evenings - Sat - Bellarmine (Non League Game)

Practices 

Tue (Mar 20) - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field 
Thu (Mar 22) - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field 

Bellarmine - Non League- Sat  Mar 24

Game - Sat - At Bellarmine HS
Kickoff at 10:00 AM.  Be there dressed for warmups at 9:00 AM

Bellarmine HS
960 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA
 
South on 280 
Take exit 5B to merge onto I-880 N toward Oakland 
Take exit 2 to merge onto CA-82 S/​The Alameda 
Turn left onto W Hedding St
Destination will be on the right.  Park and find the football field

Bring mouthguards, shorts, boots, socks

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Please make certain all of your friends know about, and attend these two practices and the game

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Peninsula Green vs EPA Game (Mar 17) recap – Win 20 to 10 

The Pen Green Beaver Rugby team came together again and played an excellent game, brandishing a disciplined team rugby approach against a much larger EPA team playing individual rugby. The final score was 20 to 10 with Pen Green leading at the half 10 to 5 and outscoring the EPA Razorbacks 10 to 5 in the second half.  We thank Kala for implementing the tactics for this game that really paid off. 

There were a large number of outstanding players in this game as was the case in the 21 to 15 victory over Hayward 2 weeks before.  I will mention a few.  Sam Vaimau did an excellent job with leadership along with aggressive running, tackling and rucking.  Alex Avendano and Leepo Satale were involved in almost all of the loose play and carried the ball in heavy traffic - both scoring trys.  Liam Cotter was tackling everything in site and was a key in the the umbrella defense (along with Ryan Foster, Mark Qoro and Edwardo Zentena) that shut down the EPA attack.  Steve Bodley continued with his excellent kicking and scored the rugby equivalent of a royal flush with a try, a penalty and a conversion.

Overall, it was Beaver rugby at its best, with excellent rucking, tackling, lineouts, scrums, and team play.
 
The game with San Mateo has been shifted to 04-07 and Pen Green will play Bellarmine varsity this weekend (03-24) at Bellarmine.

 

2012 Season (Week 4): Practice - Mon and Thu Evenings - Sat - KOT

Practices -

Mon (Jan 23) - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field
Thu (Jan 26 - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field

KOT Sacramento - Sun Jan 29

Game - Sun - Sacto KOT Tournament. Cordova HS
There will be 3 games during the day. First game at 9:30 AM 

 

Meet at Woodside HS for carpool - 6:00 AM. Leave at 6:30 AM
 

Directions: Cordova HS is located at 2239 Chase Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA, a suburb of Sacramento roughly 10 miles east of the State Capitol. From the junction of I-5 and I-80/Hwy-50 at the Sacramento River: [a] follow Hwy 50 east about 10 miles to exit #15 for Mather Field Road; [b] take the exit and turn left onto Mather Field Road; [c] take the third right off of Mather Field Road onto Folsom Blvd (.6 mi); [d] from Folsom Blvd take a left onto Coloma Road (.4 mi); [e] then a left off of Coloma onto Chase Dr. (.5 mi); [f] at Cordova HS follow signs and volunteers’ directions

 

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2012 Season (Week 2): Practice - Mon and Thu Evenings - Sat - Games

 Practices

Mon (Jan 9) - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field (Good practice - good turn-out and good intensity)
Thu (Jan 12) - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field

Game - vs Los Gatos Lions

Sat (Jan 14) - 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Woodside HS Football Field

This will be a controlled (learning) game / scrimmage. Everyone will get to play. Let's make certain we are ready.

 

 

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Monday, 12 December 2011 22:04

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 Cal Berkeley Rugby Announces Freshman class of 17 and highlights Christian Collins (Pen Green 2011 captain)

 The article from the Cal Bears news releaase can be seen in full at:

http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-rugby/spec-rel/120511aaa.html  

 

The following is an edited portion of the article

BERKELEY - Dec 5, 2011

Seventeen freshmen have joined the Golden Bears for 2011-2012 as California seeks to evolve its roster and replace the loss of 15 graduated players following Cal's second straight undefeated season and national collegiate championship.

"These young men are here for a world-class degree first and foremost," said head coach Jack Clark. "But they also want an authentic student-athlete experience and the opportunity to develop into the very best rugby player they can become."

Coach Clark called the connection between the new student-athletes and the program "in many cases generational - young men who have been parented and/or mentored by individuals with deep ties to us."

These new Rugby Bears will be called upon to help fill the void created by the departure of six All-Americans and more than two thirds of the lineup from Cal's triumph in the final last May over Brigham Young. The group of 17 players includes 15 Americans - one from Southern California and the rest from Northern California - and two Canadians. The Bay Area and Sacramento area are well represented, and 14 of the 17 entered the pipeline through Cal Rugby Summer Camps. "Our annual summer camp for high-school boys continues to be invaluable in identifying athletic potential and character," coach Clark said.

Ten new players join the team as backs, with seven listed as forwards
.

"These boys have very similar individual profiles," said Clark. "They are accomplished students, they're multiple-sport high-school athletes and they are recognized as the most valuable contributors to their teams. It is noteworthy how many of them were in leadership positions as captains."  Clark said it will take the newcomers "a while to find their stride as collegiate athletes. Some may break through earlier than others, but they all have the ability to play varsity-level rugby.
 
Christian Collins

From south of the city in San Carlos comes Christian Collins, a 6-1, 190-pound flanker who played four years with the Peninsula Green Rugby Club under coach Robert Benson and captained the team in 2010-2011. A graduate of Carlmont High School, Collins is a former Cal Rugby Summer Camp attendee who may pursue anthropology studies at the University, where both his parents, an uncle and three aunts also attended. His father, Jim, was a Cal rugby player and member of the Old Blues Rugby Club.

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Peninsula Green Practice in December - Saturdays @ 12:30 at Woodside HS

 

The Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club practice sessions are open to both returning players and players who are new to rugby. The coaches teach and reinforce rugby basics (passing, catching, rucking, tackling, scrummaging, line out play, etc.) and build the practice schedule to include team offense and team defense in order for the team to be able to play as a team when game play commences in January.

Monday, 05 December 2011 22:04

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Practice continues in December on Saturdays at 12:30 PM at Woodside High School lower field

Practice

 

The Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club practice sessions are open to both returning players and players who are new to rugby. The coaches teach and reinforce rugby basics (passing, catching, rucking, tackling, scrummaging, line out play, etc.) and build the practice schedule to include team offense and team defense in order for the team to be able to play as a team when game play commences in January.

 

Registration

 

The Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club registration process officially started with the start of practice on Oct 29, and continues through December. There are 2 forms to fill out and return to the Registration coordinators. The registration coordinators will also hand out forms at practice during November and December and will collect filled in forms as well as copies of school registration certification (or school identification), birth evidence (copy of birth certificate. passport, etc.) and club dues.

 

Cost

 

Fees are $200 per player, with scholarships available (work required for scholarship) to players who cannot afford the fee. Registration fees include club uniform (socks and shorts).  

October 25, 2011

Practice Commences October 29!!

Registration

 

Many of you have asked about registration for the Peninsula Green High School Rugby.  Note:  There will not be on-line registration. The NYCRA requires the member teams/clubs to register players on the NYCRA web site and to pay the fees for the players from club sources.   

 

The Peninsula Green High School Rugby Club registration process officially starts with the start of practice on Oct 29, but you can get a jump on it by filling out the attached forms.  The coaches (or a parent volunteer) will also hand out forms at practice and during November and December we will collect filled in forms as well as copies of school registration certification (or school identification) and club dues.

 

Cost

 

Fees are $200 per player, with scholarships available (work required for scholarship) to players who cannot afford the fee.  Registration fees include club uniform (socks and shorts

• 
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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club Registration 2019

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club registration process officially started on September 1, 2018 and continues through December / February. 

Registration Information – Age Group / Player Category Fees 

High School (Grades 9-12): [Varsity (Grades 11-12 + younger players who play up), Junior Varsity (Grades 9-10)] $350 per student with a $50 discount per additional sibling, full practice uniform included.

Note:  The Peninsula Green Rugby Club does not turn any player away because of the family not being able to make dues payment.  Talk to Coach Benson about schlolarship or aid or a payment plan.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Registration Process

1. Online Registration.  Fill out player information on line.
   1. Instuctions to upload the following:
   1. 1. Player Picture, Player pictures will be taken at practices in the club uniform and uploaded by the club administrator.
      2. Birth Evidence, Player birth certificate can be scanned and uploaded, emailed to the club [see below] or brought to practice and uploaded by the club administrator.
      3. School ID.  The current school id  card can be scanned (or digital picture w/ iphone or camera) and uploaded, emailed to the club [see below] or brought to practice and uploaded by the club administrator
2. Payment – See payment alternatives below
3. Forms – There are three forms for parents and players to sign.  These are available by clicking on the links below, going to the download page or obtaining them from the Peninsula Green Registration Administrator.  Fill out these forms and hand in or email to Peninsula Green.
   1. Pen Green Rugby Player Registration Form and Waiver
   2. Pen Green Rugby Player Medical Form
   3. Pen Green Rugby Player Code of Conduct Form
       

Registration payment alternatives:

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club uses the Adept registration system to minimize administrative overhead and to allow families to provide accurate (and up-to-date) data for each player.  There are several alternatives for the Registration process.  See below:

Online Registration:  Please enter player data through the Online Registration and make payments through one of the following methods:

1. Pay by PayPal at the end of the Online process.
2. Pay by Credit Card at the end of the Online process as a PayPal guest.
3. Pay by Check to a Peninsula Green Coach or Peninsula Green Administrator.
4. Pay by installment program – This program is available after discussion with a Peninsula Green Coach or Peninsula Green Administrator.  The program requires a $50 up front payment.  The remaining payments will be worked out with Peninsula Green as either payments or community work (or a combination).

Registration Assistance:

Please do not hesitate to contact Peninsula Green Rugby contacts with any questions about registration.

Bob Benson                           This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                      (650) 520-1060

Kendra Cortinas                     This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                          (650) 269-2580

 

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CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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Details

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 December 2018 22:26

Written by Coach Bob Benson

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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Posted: December 11, 2018

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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/

 

 

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Posted: November 23, 2018

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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)

 

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Posted: January 01, 2018

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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.

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 Posted: January 22, 2017

 

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 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)

 

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Posted: January 15, 2017

 

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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.

 

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Posted: November 23, 2016

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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.

Read more at:  https://www.usarugby.org/2016/11/high-school-athletes-included-in-pre-dubai-mens-eagles-sevens-camp/

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Posted: July 25, 2016

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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

 

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

The 2016 Rugby NorCal Sevens Championships 

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Posted: July 11, 2016

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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).

 

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Peninsula Green Beaver teams (Varsity and JV) win

The 2016 Rugby NorCal D1 Championships 

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Posted: April 18, 2016

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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)

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted: March 21, 2016

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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.

 

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Posted: March 14, 2016

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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.

 

 

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Posted: March 02, 2016

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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)

 

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Posted: February 06, 2016 

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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.

 

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Posted: January 31, 2016

 

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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.

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Posted: January 25, 2016

 

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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.

 

 

 

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Posted: November 05, 2015

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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.

 

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Posted: June 30, 2015

 

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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.

 

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Posted: March 30, 2015

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

 

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Posted: January 30, 2015

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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

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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.)

 

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Posted: January 28, 2015

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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

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Posted: January 18, 2015

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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. 

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 Posted: March 14, 2013

 

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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.

 

Read More........

 

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Posted: November 09, 2013

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Club planning for a great 2014 season.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Club joins Peninsula Seahawk Youth Rugby Club to form the Peninsula Rugby Club

 

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club ranks #11 in USA in 2013 Final Rugby Magazine Rankings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Registration for the 2014 season.  See Registration page for details or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

 

 

 

 

 

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Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club Facts

 

Rugby Home field:  Woodside HS main football stadium field

 

The Pen Green Rugby Club is the premium team on the SF Peninsula and draws players from Schools throughout the San Francisco Peninsula

 

Peninsula Green Rugby Teams

 

• High School Varsity – Juniors, Seniors (Frosh/Sophs may move up)
• High School JV (Freshmen, Sophomores)

 

Peninsula Seahawk Youth Rugby Teams

 

• U14 – Under 14 year olds (Middle School)
  
• U12 – Under 12 year olds
• U10 – Under 10 year olds
• U08 – Under 08 year olds

 

Season and Practice

 

• Practice  - Oct to Aug (practices from Oct to Dec before the season starts)
• Rugby 15s Season – Jan to May
• Rugby Sevens Season - Jun to Aug

The Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club practice sessions are open to both returning players and players who are new to rugby. The coaches teach and reinforce rugby basics (passing, catching, rucking, tackling, scrummaging, line out play, etc.) and build the practice schedule to include team offense and team defense in order for the team to be able to play as a team during the 2013 season.

 

 

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Posted: January 18, 2015

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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. 

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 Posted: March 14, 2013

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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.

Read More........

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Posted: November 09, 2013

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Peninsula Green Rugby Club planning for a great 2014 season.   

---

Peninsula Green Rugby Club joins Peninsula Seahawk Youth Rugby Club to form the Peninsula Rugby Club

 

---

 

Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club ranks #11 in USA in 2013 Final Rugby Magazine Rankings

 

---

---

Registration for the 2014 season.  See Registration page for details or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

---

 

---

Peninsula Green Rugby Football Club Facts

Rugby Home field:  Woodside HS main football stadium field

The Pen Green Rugby Club is the premium team on the SF Peninsula and draws players from Schools throughout the San Francisco Peninsula

Peninsula Green Rugby Teams

• High School Varsity – Juniors, Seniors (Frosh/Sophs may move up)
• High School JV (Freshmen, Sophomores)

Peninsula Seahawk Youth Rugby Teams

• U14 – Under 14 year olds (Middle School)
  
• U12 – Under 12 year olds
• U10 – Under 10 year olds
• U08 – Under 08 year olds

Season and Practice

• Practice  - Oct to Aug (practices from Oct to Dec before the season starts)
• Rugby 15s Season – Jan to May
• Rugby Sevens Season - Jun to Aug