2012 USA Sevens Special Announcement

Sign up now for the 5th Annual USRFF Scrumble Golf Tournament!

There's still time to get into the swing of things at the 2012 USA Sevens by signing up for the 5th Annual USRFF Scrumble Golf Tournament. The Scrumble will take place at the Las Vegas National Golf Club on Friday, February 10, 2012.

Since its completion in 1961, "The National" has had a long and storied history in Las Vegas golf lore and with Hollywood. During the 1960s, The National played host to the biggest names on the Strip, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis, Jr. More recently, The National was featured in the movie “Casino”, starring Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. The house used in the movie sits off to the left of the #1 Tee Box between the #1 and #18 fairways.

The National was also the site for several PGA events and past winners include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Lanny Wadkins and Al Geiberger. Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk all played rounds at The National on their way to victories at the Las Vegas Invitational tournament.
Play at this year's Scrumble will begin with an 8:30 am shotgun start.Register now to ensure your spot in the tournament.
The registration fee for the Scrumble remains just $200 per player and includes:

• Greens Fees
• Transportation to and from selected Las Vegas Strip hotels
• Lunch at the course
• Golf cart
• Beverages on the course
• A chance to win a trip to Bermuda in the Gosling's Ace Your Way to Bermuda Hole in One Contest
• Long Drive and Closest to the Pin Contests
• Player Gift Bag (includes Scrumble jacket, a sleeve of TaylorMade balls, TaylorMade hat, DHL water bottle, and more)
• Bucket of range balls
• Opportunity to take part in the Scrumble Raffle

The winning foursome will not only have bragging rights until next year but each member of the winning group will receive a golf bag, courtesy of Gosling's.
The Scrumble Raffle will include a lot of great autographed rugby and baseball memorabilia and TaylorMade golf clubs and balls, including the grand prize raffle of a full set of Taylormade clubs and a TaylorMade golf bag.Check out the up to date list of the Scrumble Raffle Prizes.
Whether you are taking part in the Scrumble or not, help out the USRFF by purchasing a hole sponsorship. Hole sponsorships are available for $200.
The USRFF would like to thank the USA Sevens, Las Vegas Blackjacks,Gosling's, Building Infrastructure Group and TaylorMade for their support of the 5th Annual USRFF Scrumble Golf Tournament. Proceeds raised from the event will further the youth and high school programs offered by the US Rugby Foundation.
Register now for the 5th Annual USRFF Scrumble.
Purchase a 2012 Scrumble Hole Sponsorship.

In addition to the sponsors above, the USRFF would also like to thank the following for their support of this year's Scrumble:

Dan Larrea Milwaukee Brewers Chicago Lions

Classic Eagles Godek Rugby & Soccer Silich Construction

Jelco New Haven Rugby Canterbury of NZ

Virginia Cardinals Boca Raton RFC DHL

Michael Insurance Sylvan Advantage Hands On Labor

Bear Data World Rugby Shop Irvine Enterprises

Rugby Magazine RPM Mortgage Aspen Ruggerfest

Hooker Wines Bill Fraumann USA Rugby

Mike Lyle & Family Qantas Serevi Rugby

The Casinelli Family RJ Watkins & Co. Santa Monica Rugby Club

Blue Earth Econo Air Mataraki Group LLC

Twin Cities Amazons Mystic River Rugby

I'Maul In Poker and Loose Play Slot Tournaments

In addition to the annual Scrumble, 2012 will mark the third year of the I'Maul In No Limit Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament and the first year for what we hope will become an annual event, the Loose Play Slot Tournament.

For more information about this year's poker event, check out the USRFF's I'Maul In Poker Tournament page.

For more information, see the Loose Play Tournament Page.
The I'Maul In Poker and Loose Play Sot Tournaments are presented in conjunction with the United States Rugby Football Foundation, USA Sevens Rugby, the Las Vegas Invitational and Station Casinos. View all of the events surrounding this year's USA Sevens.

Poll Tuesday: How will the Eagles do in Wellington?

Hello Tuesday, it's me, the poll. No, you will not have to pick between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich like the people in Florida today, but you will have to vote!

Last week we rehashed on old topic but one we thought was worthy of some public opinion. We asked if Cal made the right decision to drop out of the CPD. While it wasn't our most popular poll of all time, a large majority, 83% of you said that they did not make the right decision. 16% of you said they did. (Again, where is that missing one percent?!) What to make of this very unscientific data, we're not sure. Still, if we were to make an educated guess, it would probably be that people just want to see the best teams playing against each other in meaningful competition. With Cal's departure, it makes that less likely to happen this year.

This week, the Eagles 7's are down in Wellington preparing for the next leg of the IRB Sevens Series. It has been a couple of months since the last tournament and a lot seems to have changed for the programme, the introduction of residency being a huge change. However, the squad that Caravelli has taken to New Zealand is an experienced one and could perform rather well. The Eagles will play South Africa, England, and the Cook Islands on day one. So, with that in mind, how do you think the Eagles will do? We've listed the options below, but in doing so feel guilty about only listing the Cup Quarterfinals as the Eagles best option, so if you think they can do better, let us know in the comments. Otherwise, vote on the left side of the site.

Shield Semi-Finals

Shield Finals/Winners

Bowl Semi-Finals

Bowl Finals/Winners

Cup Quarterfinals

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

The Eagles 7's team has arrived in Wellington ahead of the next stop of the IRB Sevens Series and Miles Craigwell gives us the details of his in-flight entertainment.

Craigwell is a busy guy, he was recently featured in Prominence Magazine.

One thing that Craigwell and the rest of the Eagles will be focusing on this week is defense, especially after they brought in defensive coach Dave Ellis for help.

While players like Tai Enosa, Justin Boyd, and Duncan Kelm may not have made the Eagles squad this round, they will be playing in Las Vegas with Tiger Rugby in the Elite bracket.

Not only is Vegas getting into international rugby, the grassroots element of the game is also taking off.

If you are headed to the big tournament, here are some events surrounding the action on the field.

Eagle Pat Danahy has moved on from Life University and moved back to the Bay Area. Find out which club he is going to play for. (Membership required)

Women:

Vanesha McGee lets fans know how things are progressing in residency after the first week.

Your Scrumhalf Connection looks at the participation numbers of women rugby players around the world. Good news! We top the list!

The Pacific Coast RFU is looking for volunteer coaches for their All-Star teams. If interested, here are the details.

College:

Rugbymag.com has their Top 12 rankings for both Men's DI-AA and DII. (Membership required)

They also have the current DI-AA standings.

The University of Texas programme is on the rise, thanks in part to tough conditioning that brings out only the most committed players.

Tidbits:

Gainline wonders if U.S.A. Rugby has the responsibility of encouraging activities that are not in its direct interest?

Former Eagles coach Tom Billups looks at the IRB-provided statistics and explains how the game has changed over the last few years.

Video: Sevens Series First Three Rounds Wrap Up

Since it has been awhile since the last IRB Sevens Series stop, here is a little refresher courtesy of the IRB.

Eagles Abroad Weekend Review

Another weekend, another dollar for American Abroad as some of the boys continued cup play while other returned to league action. Check out how they did:

British Isles/Ireland:

Aviva Premiership

Neither Chris Wyles and Hayden Smith both got the day off for the Saracens. The Sarries beat Worcester 41-14 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Sunday.

Samu Manoa started and played 67 minutes as Northampton lost to Bath 46-14 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Saturday. Chris Biller didn't dress for Bath.

RFU Championship

Shawn Pittman started and played 80 minutes for London Welsh as they lost to the Cornish Pirates 27-6 on Sunday. Andrew Suniula didn't dress for the Pirates.

Robbie Shaw dressed but didn't play in Leeds 21-17 victory over Bedford. Mike MacDonald is out injured.

RaboDirect Pro 12

Hanno Dirksen started, played 80 minutes, and scored a tried as the Ospreys beat the Newport-Gwent Dragons on 26-21 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Friday.

Tommy Seymour and Glasgow have the weekend off.

Other

Derek Asburn started for Oxford in their 29-19 victory over the Royal Air Force last Wednesday.

France:

Top 14

Scott LaValla and Seta Tuilevuka didn't play as Tuilevuka's Montpellier beat LaValla's Stade Francais 38-6 on Friday.

Kevin Swiryn was out injured and didn't play as Agen lost to Lyon 19-11 on Saturday.

Taku Ngwenya started and went 80 minutes for Biarritz who lost to Castres on 29-23 Saturday.

Pro D2

Inaki Basauri wasn't in the lineup as Perigueux lost to Bourgoin 23-16 on Sunday.

Japan:

Top League

Todd Clever started and went 62 minutes at #8 for Suntory as they beat Fukuoka Sanix 61-22 this weekend.

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

In case you missed the news over the weekend, the U.S. has been selected to host the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy. The event will be in Salt Lake from June 18th-30th. Fans need to get out and support this. Here is our piece on the matter.

With Matt Hawkins coming down ill, Garrett Bender will travel to New Zealand to take his place. It will be his first tournament.

Alex Goff looks at who might get more playing time in Hawkins absence. (Membership required)

The team made a stop at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington. Here are the photos of their visit.

The latest Ruggamatrix podcast is out. Dan Lyle joins to guys to chat about the upcoming Las Vegas 7's.

RugbyWrapUp sat down for a chat with U.S.A. Rugby CEO Nigel Melville.

There is one more Eagle Abroad as Glendale Raptor lock Casey Rock is off the play with the University of Queensland in Australia.

The IRB has an interesting piece on the 7's Series from the point of view of the referee.

Women:

Melanie Denham is the latest Phaidra Knight interview. She has some interesting things to say about the Super Bowl.

College:

Gainline says goodbye to the College All-Star Tournament.

The University of Utah didn't exactly have the best weekend. First they lost to St. Mary's, then they were beat by SFGG 58-19. For their part, St. Mary's also beat Chico State on Saturday.

Utah rivals BYU had a better weekend, beating Super League side Old Puget Sound Beach 19-15. BYU also beat the University of Washington 48-5.

In other college news, UCLA beat Cal Poly 39-24, Oregon State beat Simon Fraser 12-10, Cal beat Sacramento State 48-3, and South Florida beat Central Florida.

Cornell coach Ron Schassburger sat down for an interview.

Pat Clifton breaks down all of the scores from the Pacific Mountain West Conference.

Club:

In Club action, Texas saw their fair share of games with Austin Blacks beating HARC 44-13 and Dallas beating Fort Worth 34-29 to stay undefeated.

East Palo Alto beat the Sacramento Lions in a close match 42-38.

In SoCal, OMBAC beat Back Bay, Santa Monica and Las Vegas tied, and Belmont Shore beat Los Angeles. Here is a write up of the action.

Tidbits:

RugbyWrapUp has a two part series profiling the rising stars of rugby in 2012. Here is part 1, and here is part 2.

Ask And Ye Shall Receive: U.S. To Host JWRT

Well, I guess the people at the IRB read my blog. That or I have really good timing. In conjunction with the Youth Conference in Atlanta the IRB has confirmed that U.S.A. Rugby will be hosting the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy. The event will take place June 18-30 in Salt Lake.

Playing in the tournament will be the U.S., Canada, Chile, Georgia, Japan, Russia, Tonga, and Zimbabwe. There will be two pools with double-headers taking place on four separate days. Click here for the official press release.

The is great news for the country. First, it is important that the U.S. host a tournament like this. Coupled with a continued success in the Las Vegas 7's, this will show that the U.S. is capable of hosting large scale tournaments, like the 2023 World Cup. Infrastructure in this country has never been a problem, just the organization of U.S.A. Rugby. If this goes off well, which I have no doubt that it will be fantastic, the U.S. could get some other big events in the future.

Secondly, the timing of this tournament will allow the Junior Eagles time to assemble once most of them are out of school. Previously, the IRB liked to host the tournament in late Spring, meaning many of the players were in the middle of finishing their academic year. This year the Eagles should field a strong side with time together and playing in front of a home crowd. Look for the Eagles to do much better than their one win performance last year. Still, it should be a great step forward for developing these players.

Hopefully fans were turn out in droves to the tournament. U.S.A. Rugby can do all the organizing they like but without butts in the seats, it won't matter. Salt Lake is a good place to host the tournament. Rio Tinto is a gorgeous stadium. If other stadiums are needed BYU South Field is a nice venue and a new soccer complex in the north of the city has a nice stadium. Plus, Utahns love their rugby. 10,000 turned out to watch Cal beat BYU in the CPD final last year, hopefully it will be the same this year. And if fans live too far away, it would be nice for the tournament to get some action on t.v., such as ESPNU, Universal Sports, or even UStream.

Overall, I'm excited; you should be too. Share what you think about this news in the comments.

Friday Thoughts: JWRT, Eagles Coach, and LVI

JWRT:

A few months ago I wrote a piece about how great it would be for rugby in this country to host the Junior World Rugby Trophy. I expected an announcement from the IRB around the same time as the Junior World Championship. So when the JWC location and time was announced in early December (to be played in South Africa), I found it a bit surprising that nothing had come out about the JWRT. The U.S. has always been the favourite to host the tournament and I am not sure if they are just working out the details before they announce it, but I am tired of waiting.

Eagles Coach:

I am also patiently awaiting the announcement of the next Eagles coach. The search is down to four candidates and a decision should be made soon. Without any fixtures until the fall there isn't a hurry from a playing point of view, but it would be nice if the coach chosen isn't familiar with domestic rugby, that he would have a chance to scout the Super League and DI. As has been proven in past, players that play in the domestic competitions can be terrific members of the team. Just look at Samu Manoa. Also, a delay in picking a coach means that it is more and more likely that nothing will happen when Brazil visits in the Spring. Hopefully something will.

LVI:

This last week saw the teams for the Elite bracket and the CRC qualifier bracket announced for the Las Vegas Invitational. Both look to be great tournaments in and of themselves. It is a little sad that they will be overshadowed for the most part by the Sevens Series. Still, it is a brilliant idea to make Las Vegas the busiest weekend on the 7's circuit. It really helps unite the rugby community. Looking at the Elite bracket alone there are plenty of teams that could easily slot into the Series. Hopefully many of the 7's players that didn't make the Eagles squad will be able to play with Tiger Rugby. The CRC qualifier also looks to be the third best college 7's tournament in the country after the National Championships and the CRC itself. All in all, both the CRC qualifier and the Elite bracket would be perfect for t.v. As a rugby fan, I want to see the coverage.

Eagles Abroad Weekend Preview, TV Listings

The pool rounds of the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup may have finished but that doesn't mean that cup action is over. With the first weekend of the Six Nations starting this weekend, the Anglo-Welsh Cup is rolling on in Britain. Other leagues have returned to normal play. With many players getting called up for the Six Nations, some Eagles will be looking to fill in and make their mark. Here is what the action looks like for this week:

British Isles/Ireland:

Aviva Premiership

Chris Wyles, Hayden Smith, and Saracens play Worcester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Sunday. Both look likely to play after Saracens have had a load of call-ups.

Samu Manoa was brought to Northampton specifically for cover during international absences but has done much more than that. He will likely start as Northampton take on Chris Biller's Bath on Saturday in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

RFU Championship

Shawn Pittman will start for London Welsh when they play Andrew Suniula and the Cornish Pirates on Sunday. Suniula suffered a knock last week and may not be able to play.

Robbie Shaw, Mike MacDonald and Leeds take on Bedford on Sunday.

RaboDirect Pro 12

Tommy Seymour and Glasgow have the weekend off.

Hanno Dirksen will start on the wing for the Ospreys as they play the Newport-Gwent Dragons on Friday.

Other

Derek Asburn, Jason Law and Oxford have the weekend off.

France:

Top 14

Scott LaValla and Stade Francais will play Seta Tuilevuka and Montpellier on Friday. Tuilevuka is not in the lineup.

Kevin Swiryn and Agen play Lyon on Saturday.

Taku Ngwenya and Biarritz play Castres on Saturday.

Pro D2

Inaki Basauri and Perigueux play Bourgoin on Sunday.

Japan:

Top League

Todd Clever will start at #8 for Suntory as they play Fukuoka Sanix this weekend.

T.V. Listings:

Saturday

• Racing vs. Toulouse, 10:15 a.m. est/7:15 a.m. pst (ESPN3.com)
• Bath vs. Northampton, 4:00 p.m. est/1:00 p.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

In case you missed it, the 7's team for Wellington and Las Vegas has been named.

Al Caravelli and the boys stopped by San Diego Fox 5 to show their skills before heading off to Wellington. It's a pretty good video. Here's the best sequence:

Anchor: "Can I be out of breath from just putting my leg into a scrum?"

Al Caravelli: "Not really."

Nigel Melville comments on the team and the assistance they got from former France defensive coach Dave Ellis.

Also commenting and taking a closer look at the team is Alex Goff, who suggests that this is a good side. (Membership required)

Club:

Ryan Chapman the former Glendale Raptor turned Utah Warrior turned back to Glendale Raptor is the subject of this profile.

Leading the way for the Austin Blacks is scrumhalf Zak Triplett. He was on Cal's 2006 and 2007 National Championship teams.

Women:

Phaidra Knight sat down with recent Glendale resident Kitt Wagner to talk rugby.

College:

BYU is in the Pacific Northwest this weekend where they started out their playing action with a 76-7 victory over Central Washington.

This weekend will be full of college action, including San Diego State versus Arizona, Florida State versus Life, and UC-Irvine versus UCSB,

Furman University will be hosting the inaugural Southern Rugby Conference Tournament this weekend.

Georgia Tech is getting ready to kick off their Spring season.

Tidbits:

Here is your lesson for the day: don't channel your hostility against referees. It will get you a 130 day ban.

7's Squad Named For Wellington

After a great domestic camp U.S.A. 7's head coach Al Caravelli has chosen the twelve players that will head to Wellington for next week's leg of the IRB Sevens Series. Caravelli made the announcement on Twitter.

1. Mark Bokhoven

2. Mike Palefau

3. Miles Craigwell

4. Shalom Suniula

5. Zach Test

6. Matt Hawkins

7. Maka Unufe

8. Andrew Durutalo

9. Folau Niua

10. Peter Tiberio

11. Colin Hawley

12. Roland Suniula

All in all, Caravelli is bringing and experienced side to the tournament. That should help with consistency, a trait the Eagles have lacked in the past. Interestingly, only 7 of the players are officially residency players. Miles Craigwell and Andrew Durutalo have yet to official sign but should probably be considered residency players. That means that Bokhoven, Hawkins, and Palefau are the players that have broken through from the taxi squad. This isn't surprising considering who those players are and what they have contributed to the team.

The only real surprise not making the team is Blaine Scully. He may have still been carrying a knock or faced fitness issues because of a previous injury. Nese Malifa also hasn't made the team but should feel good about being back in camp. According to Dallen Stanford (Paki's Corner) some of the players that didn't make the team should be playing with Tiger Rugby in the Elite bracket of the LVI.

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

The IRB looks at some statistics from the Sevens Series. The Eagles are co-leaders for most tries from their own half, and most scrum success.

The search for the next Eagles coach has been narrowed to four candidates. (Membership required)

Chris Wyles and Hayden Smith could soon be playing in a new stadium. Saracens switch to refurbish a stadium in Barnet as been approved.

Derek Asburn got his 2012 off to a good start after his Oxford side defeat the RAF 29-19 yesterday.

Phil Thiel is returning to his old High School to share with students what is was like to play in the World Cup.

Women:

Your Scrumhalf Connection breaks down what the changes to the women's World Cup qualifying looks like.

An expanded Pacific Mountain North Conference has all the participants excited to get started.

College:

Nigel Melville explains why Todd Bell was asked to leave his position. (Membership required)

Bernie Decker examines the ways in which tiny Lindenwood as found big success. (Membership required)

U.S. Collegiate 7's champs Life are looking to make another statement by having a strong tournament at the CRC qualifier in Las Vegas.

BYU is making a trip to the Pacific Northwest this weekend where they will take on OPSB, Central Washington, and the University of Washington.

Gainline reports that colleges and their leagues are looking at different ways of working with referees this year.

Tidbits:

American fans have a little more to cheer about, as the Six Nations will once again be shown on BBC America.

Al Caravelli Faces Selection Choices

As the Wellington and Las Vegas legs of the IRB Sevens Series are just around the corner, U.S.A. 7's head coach Al Caravelli is left with some roster choices to make. For the first time he will have his residents available for selection. Only 11 of the 15 players have signed (Craigwell and Durutalo have been offered contracts but haven't yet signed), meaning there will be some room for outside players to make the squad. (Click here for a list of the players in camp, including those in residency and in the taxi squad.)

There is one big HOWEVER, however. Looking at the names of some on the taxi squad: Mark Bokhoven, Matt Hawkins, and Mike Palefau. It would be hard to see Al Caravelli not selecting some of them if not all of them. That means that some in the residency won't make the roster. Is that a problem? Not really. The purpose of residency is to grow players. Through some of their selections for residency spots, U.S.A. Rugby has shown that they are looking to the future and not necessarily now. Some of the players in residency may not be ready to play on the series in a full-time role, but after some time training and playing in secondary tournaments, they may be. These younger players could easily be passed up for a more experience veteran that is not under contract.

On the other hand, where else can young players get top level experience than on the series? What good is it having these young players in residency if they aren't included on the roster? This is quite a pickle for Caravelli. Do you go with experience to win, or do you go with youth?

Further complicating this issue is the availability of certain players. Maka Unufe wasn't available for the first three legs of the series but is available now. Nese Malifa also returns to the squad. Caravelli may be tempted to go with a squad he know can win. Malifa is an experienced play maker that bring valuable experience. Would he be a better that Tai Enosa or Folau Niua? These are tough questions.

Which brings me to my last point. How nice is it that we have tough choices for our 7's team? I'll let you just gestate that for a moment. As you do, here is my best guess as to who will make the 12 man roster.

Certains: Hawley, Scully, R. Suniula, S. Suniula, Test, Tiberio, Unufe, Bokhoven, Hawkins, and Palefau.

Hawley through Test all bring 7's experience and youth. These are the young players that will form the core all the way to Rio 2014. Tiberio and Unufe and young and exciting players that can change any game they play. Palefau is arguably the best player on the team and should be chosen. Bokhoven and Hawkins bring experience up front, an area the Eagles need help.

That leaves two spots open. Most likely one back and one forward, or possibly a utility player. My guess is Miles Craigwell and Rocco Mauer will get the spots. Craigwell will most likely be a residency player and Mauer is one. Craigwell brings experience and options. He can play either as a forward or as a back. Mauer showed well at the Pan-Am games and Caravelli will probably want to give him another opportunity.

All in all, it should be a very strong squad for the Eagles. They will have exciting youth plus experienced. The team should be ready to build upon their performances in the first three tournaments. Most of these players have played together before, so they should be able to slot right in and play. Still, it is too bad for the players left out. Put together, they would make a pretty fine team themselves. I in particular wanted to see J.P. Eloff, Nese Malifa, and Apelu So'oalo in action for various reasons. Hopefully these players can latch on to one of the teams playing in the Elite bracket at the LVI.

Anyways, tell me what you think of the choices in the comments.

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

The men's 7's team is busy preparing for Wellington and Las Vegas. Two of the players involved are Colin Hawley and Blaine Scully, who are the subject of this article.

The U.S. Embassy in Wellington is preparing a "meet the team" even on January 30th, for those of you in the Wellington area.

The Elite bracket at the Las Vegas Invitational has been set. It includes several national teams, including Chile, Romania, Guyana, Spain, and many more. It also includes several top clubs.

The teams taking part in the Tokyo 7's have been selected. The non-core teams include the host Japan, Asian neighbours Hong Kong, Russia, and Portugal.

Women:

Eagle Ida Bernstein is making an attempt to win a gold medal, just not in rugby, and at the winter Olympics.

Phaidra Knight continues her interviews. This time it is U.S.A. 7's player Jenna Flateman.

Qualification for the 2014 Women's World Cup has changed. This won't effect the women's Eagles because they qualified automatically.

College/Club:

U.S.A. Rugby has announced that Director of College Rugby Todd Bell has stepped down from his post.

Alex Goff and Pat Clifton go through and predict the winner of each pool at the CRC qualifier at the LVI.

SFGG is looking forward to a busy next couple of weeks, including taking on the University of Utah this weekend.

Here are the men's DI Spring 2012 standings.

Video: Taku Ngwenya Hat-trick vs. Ospreys

It may not have been as eloquent as his previous hat-trick or his blistering try against the Osprey's last year, but Taku Ngwenya is at it once again. Take a look at his trio of tries over the weekend.

Poll Tuesday: Should Cal Have Dropped Out Of The CPD?

It's Tuesday, and that means it is your favorite segment of the week: Poll Tuesday!

To start, let's look at the numbers from last week. We asked you if you were headed to Las Vegas for the U.S. leg of the IRB Sevens Series. With 55%, the "can't afford it; watching on tv" crowd is the winner. Coming in a close second was "wouldn't miss it" with 45% of the vote. Receiving no votes were "7's?" and "I'll be playing in the LVI." The numbers aren't terribly surprising. It is a long way for many to Vegas and in tough times it can be hard to justify the expense. Still, if you can't make to Vegas to support the event, at least tune in on tv. We need all of the ratings we can get!

This week we are going to back to a topic that was trending a couple of weeks ago: Cal's decision to drop out of the College Premier Division and only play in DI (or whatever it is called now). So, we are asking you, do you think Cal made a good decision to drop out of the CPD? You can vote yes or no on the left side of the site, but let us know why in the comments.

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles:

It may be a token honour but Taku Ngwenya was named to the Heineken Cup Round 6 team by Planet Rugby.

Women:

Stanford women have won their own invitational, defeating Cal 41-0 in the final.

It is ill-advised for any American to travel to Iran right now, especially if you are a female rugby player. The sport has been banned in that country.

Club:

The Tampa Krewe have dropped out of DI, here are the reasons why. (Membership required)

Rugbymag.com has their DI top 25 rankings for this week. (Membership required)

College:

Gainline looked at the evolution of college rugby and says that the roles of coach and administrator are increasingly separate.

Tidbits:

Congrats to USRFF Chairman Brian Vizard for persevering through security to get Bill Clinton's signature.

Poor James Paterson!

By now everyone knows that James Paterson has been suspended for four months after the taking of an oxycontin at the World Cup. His suspension was retroactive, and he will be able to play in the middle of next month. Just to make it clear to everyone, this substance was not banned but needed to be reported to the authorities nonetheless. It wasn't, hence the ban. And just to make it even clearer, Paterson in no way took a performance enhancing drug! I'm not going to go into all the details of who should have done better in this scenario. Alex Goff has already done a terrific job of that, suggesting that everyone shouldn't have been so sloppy.

What I will say however, is how unfortunate James Paterson in this whole scenario. First, he was injured in the Super Rugby season last Spring. In order to play for the Eagles, which he wanted to do despite living in New Zealand and away from the bulk of the squad, he gave up playing for Southland in the ITM Cup. Then he chose to come into camp with the Eagles and play through pain, delivering some pretty good performances and helping the Eagles become a better team. Lastly, he was suspended for taking something that the medical staff failed to report.

Think of what this might cost him. Paterson was not chosen for the Highlanders Super Rugby squad this year. Some of that may have had to do with his sacrificing playing for Southland, and some of it may have had to do with other circumstances. Still, one has to wonder if the Highlanders wanted to bring him on knowing that he couldn't contribute during the first part of camp because of his suspension. Also, Paterson was rumored to potentially be part of the U.S.A.7's set-up, but if he was suspended for the first five tournaments of the series, as well as the Pan-Am games, then that leaves little time for him to get into the squad and adjusted to the lads.

All around this is a really sad and unfortunate case. Hopefully, Paterson can be put with a top club in the U.S. for the Super League season. This way he can at least be playing rugby while he awaits another opportunity. He is still young, but being out of action for any length of time can't be a good thing. If he doesn't play somewhere soon, then it will be almost a year before he gets into another competitive side, all because he wanted to play hard for the Eagles. What a sacrifice. I hope that all U.S.A. Rugby fans will gather around Paterson and show him some support.

Eagles Abroad Weekend Review

Zee Ngwenya! It was all about the American winger this weekend as he scored a hat-trick of tries. Other Americans also saw action in the Heineken Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup, British and Irish Cup, and other leagues. Here is how they did:

British Isles/Ireland:

Aviva Premiership

Chris Wyles came on in the 50th minute, while Hayden Smith returned to the first team after being out injured and came on in the 32nd minutes for Saracens as they beat Benetton Treviso 20-26 in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

Samu Manoa started and played another 80 minutes for Northampton but it wasn't enough as the Saints went down to Munster in a 36-51 Heineken Cup scorefest.

Chris Biller wasn't on the bench for Bath but Tommy Seymour started and played 80 minutes for Glasgow. Seymour scored a try but it didn't help Glasgow who lost 23-18 in the Heineken Cup.

RFU Championship

Shawn Pittman and London Welsh had the weekend off.

Andrew Suniula played off the bench as the Pirates beat Nottingham 33-3 in the quarterfinals of the British and Irish Cup on Sunday. Suniula picked up an undisclosed and unconfirmed injury.

Robbie Shaw, Mike MacDonald and Leeds had the weekend off.

RaboDirect Pro 12

Tommy Seymour see above.

Hanno Dirksen didn't play for Ospreys in the Taku Ngwenya show. Ngwenya was unstoppable, started, played 80 minutes, and scored a hat-trick of tries for Biarritz as they won the match 36-5 in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

Other

Derek Asburn, Jason Law and Oxford play the RAF next Wednesday.

France:

Top 14

Scott LaValla wasn't on the bench as Stade Francais beat Worcester 33-10 on Saturday in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Kevin Swiryn did not play for Agen as they beat Spanish side La Vila 62-7 on Thursday. Swiryn is injured.

Taku Ngwenya see above.

Seta Tuilevuka was not in the lineup as Montpellier lost to Leinster 25-3 in the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

Pro D2

Inaki Basauri started and played 73 for Perigueux as they picked up a rare victory, beating La Rochelle 32-20 on Sunday.

Japan:

Top League

Todd Clever was not in the lineup for Suntory as they had their first loss of the season, going down 21-18 to Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus on Sunday.

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles:

Eagles captain Todd Clever shares his World Cup experience in this piece.

Samu Manoa, who has had a fantastic debut season with Northampton, says moving overseas was the best decision he ever made.

One unfortunate piece of news from the weekend is the four-month suspension James Paterson received for taking an oxycontin. The drug was not illegal, just not reported correctly. It was not his fault.

U.S.A. Rugby has apologized to Paterson and will seek to better educate everyone involved in the game.

Alex Goff questions who is at fault for the suspension. Rightly, he says that it is a little bit of everyone.

All indications are that U.S.A. Rugby is getting close to naming a new head coach. (Membership required)

Eamonn Hogan, writing a guest column for Rugbymag, asks "when is an American, not an American?" (Membership required)

In world wide news, IRB CEO Mike Miller is stepping down after 10 years on the job. Who will replace him is unclear.

Eagle 7's:

U.S.A. 7's head coach Al Caravelli has named the players that will assemble for Wellington and Las Vegas. (Note: some of the listed names are incorrect and Nick Edwards has been added to the squad.)

If you take a look at how the players under 7's contracts were recruited, it tell an interesting story about rugby in America. (Membership required)

A renowned defensive coach has been helping the Eagles. Click here to see who it is. (Membership required)

Guyana are working hard in their preparations for Las Vegas.

Women:

Ric Suggitt named the 24 players he will be taking to Vegas. The women will be split into the Eagles and the Stars & Stripes.

Glendale's Lisa Rosen has been selected to coach the West's Senior Women All-Stars.

All-Americans:

The next All-Americans coach is set to be named in February.

College:

The college game is heating back up with Utah beating Cal Poly in the wind, and Cal running all over Santa Clara 83-7.

Also winning over the weekend were San Diego State, Florida State (twice), UC-Irvine, and Arizona State.

Jackie Finlan has the wrap up of rivalry weekend for women in the south.

Club:

SoCal DI action is also in full swing with Belmont beating Back Bay. OMBAC and Santa Monica finished their fixture in a tie.

In the South, it is New Orleans that remain perfect on the season after defeating Boca Raton 45-0 over the weekend.

In Texas, the Austin Blacks, Dallas, and Fort Worth all picked up victories.

Tidbits:

American Samoa is going to host a 7's tournament this April with teams from all around the Pacific participating.

Eagles Abroad Weekend Preview, TV Listings

The Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup have entered their final day of pool play. That means that many Americans will be working hard to secure a place in the knockout stage of the competition. The British and Irish Cup has also entered its quarterfinal weekend. Here is what the action looks like for this week:

British Isles/Ireland:

Aviva Premiership

Chris Wyles, Hayden Smith, and Saracens play Benetton Treviso in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

Samu Manoa and Northampton will take on Munster in the Heineken Cup. The match will be played at Milton Keynes.

Chris Biller and Bath will play Tommy Seymour and Glasgow in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. Seymour will get the start.

RFU Championship

Shawn Pittman and London Welsh have the weekend off.

Andrew Suniula is one the bench as the Pirates play Nottingham in the quarterfinals of the British and Irish Cup on Sunday.

Robbie Shaw, Mike MacDonald and Leeds have the weekend off.

RaboDirect Pro 12

Tommy Seymour see above.

Hanno Dirksen and Ospreys play Taku Ngwenya and Biarritz in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

Other

Derek Asburn, Jason Law and Oxford play the RAF next Wednesday.

France:

Top 14

Scott LaValla and Stade Francais will play Worcester on Saturday in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Kevin Swiryn did not play for Agen as they beat Spanish side La Vila 62-7 on Thursday. Swiryn is injured.

Taku Ngwenya see above.

Seta Tuilevuka is not in the lineup as Montpellier play Leinster on Saturday.

Pro D2

Inaki Basauri and Perigueux play La Rochelle on Sunday.

Japan:

Top League

Todd Clever is not in the lineup for Suntory as they take on the Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus on Sunday.

T.V. Listings:

Friday

• Gloucester vs. Toulouse, 3:00 p.m. est/12:00 p.m. pst (live on Fox Soccer Plus)

Saturday

• Sale vs. Brive, 6:00 a.m. est/3:00 a.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)
• Leinster vs. Montpellier, 6:00 p.m. est/3:00 p.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)
• Clermont vs. Ulster, 9:00 p.m. est/6:00 p.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)

Sunday

• Benetton Treviso vs. Saracens, 1:00 p.m. est/10:00 a.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)
• Cardiff vs. Racing Metro, 3:00 p.m. est/12:00 p.m. pst (delay on Fox Soccer Plus)

Opening Kick

Opening Kick is a segment devoted to bringing you all Eagles and USA rugby related news in one location.

Eagles/7's:

It was a big day yesterday as the names of the first players to enter residency were released. We'll have more on this later.

There weren't any surprises among the men, who had only 11 players sign contracts, with two more pending.

Matt Hawkins says that all fans need to make it out to Las Vegas to cheer on the Eagles.

Women:

The names of the first 8 women to enter residency were also announced.

One of the women to sign a contract is Deven Owsiany from Penn State.

U.S.A. Rugby is offering discounts for those wishing to attend the Women's Invitational in Las Vegas.

College:

The CRC Qualifier pools and schedule have been set.

Video: Lineout Throwing Practice with Zach Fenoglio

Some Thoughts: Competition for Chris Wyles & Pro Rugby

It is the slow time of the year for rugby in America. Besides SoCal and some parts of the South there isn't much club or college action, Las Vegas 7's is three weeks away, and no Americans are signing new contracts overseas. Regardless! Here are some thoughts for your Thursday.

Chris Wyles and Hayden Smith will be getting a new teammate at Saracens as English international Chris Ashton is joining the team. As a result, Ashton has been dropped from Northampton in anticipation of his switch. The big question for American fans is: what will happen to Chris Wyles. Saracens have some talented wingers and the competition will be fierce. While it may cut into some of his playing time, competing against some of the best in the world everyday can only be a good thing for Wyles. Hopefully, he'll pick up more tips he can pass along to some younger Americans. Still, it will be interesting to see what happens to Wyles and Saracens in the offseason.

The Glendale Raptors DI schedule was recently announced and we pointed to the fact that they will be taking on Brazil in April. But there is something else to not as well; it's a full schedule. Glendale has often been rumored to be one of the teams that might join the proposed pro league. It makes sense with the support and infrastructure they have, not to mention their great playing level. Several months ago I asked Mark Bullock about the possibility of the Raptors paying players and he didn't dismiss it, but didn't say he was going to do it either. Still, the fact that they have a full DI schedule most likely means that the Pro League will not happen this Spring. That is probably obvious considering it is late January and nothing has been said, but it is still interesting.