Those lucky enough to be standing on the sideline of the IM
field this weekend will be witnessing history in the making.
UCLA is hosting the first-ever Pac-10 rugby tournament from
Saturday morning to late Sunday afternoon.
“It is a great event with elite Californian rugby teams
coming down,” said Scott Stewart, UCLA coach and organizer of
the tournament.
The UCLA team is coming out of a great year, ending the 2005
season just missing out on the playoffs.
“This is probably going to be a transition year,”
explained Stewart, also a former Canadian national player. “A
lot of the starters have graduated, so the team is fairly new and
continues to grow.”
Hosting the first Pac-10 tournament means a lot to UCLA players
as well, as it gives them the opportunity to play against a team
they usually never meet.
“In my four years at UCLA I’ve only played against
Cal once,” said UCLA lock Joel Venegas.
This is because the rugby leagues are divided between Southern
and Northern California, and this Pac-10 event is without a doubt
their best opportunity to play a lot of rugby against different
teams.
The Bruins will enter the tournament with confidence after
winning their first two matches in December against USC and UC
Santa Cruz.
But one of the many charms of rugby is that no matter how many
statistics, studies and predictions are made, it is almost
impossible to tell what the outcome of a game will be.
This is especially true in California, considering the teams do
not meet often.
“We are pretty much going to play against the
unknown,” Stewart said. “It will be tough, but we will
remain focused and no matter what, we always take the field to
win.”
California is the obvious favorite, having clinched 14 out of
the past 15 possible national titles.
The Golden Bears will be playing their second weekend of rugby
this pre-season and are hoping that this tournament will be an
opportunity to help younger players find their place on the field
during the five games they will play.
“This team is quite young and we are very excited to be
taking part in this tournament, which we hope will be the first of
many,” Cal coach Jack Clark said.
The Bruins will play on Saturday in the same pool as Arizona,
Stanford, Oregon and Washington State. The finals will be held on
Sunday, with the championship game scheduled at 1:30 p.m.
“There is a great history of rugby in California and
Arizona, and we are hoping that the casual observer will enjoy the
sport offered this weekend.It is going to be very exciting to play
in front of our home crowd.” Venegas said.
“We have prepared well for this season and are looking
forward to having the best team in the country play
here.”