It involves the best sixteen men's and women's clubs (32 clubs total) in the United States. There were rugby teams at maybe 50 schools, heavy on Ivy Leaguers and beer guts. We are proud to field 4 teams that cater to all levels of experience throughout the year: Women's Premier League (WPL), Division 2, Sevens, and High School. At the UCLA tournament earlier this season, Cal introduced a different lineup for each of six games and won all six by a combined score of 250-18. Like burning man light, with jazz and blues " more Outdoor seating 7. All Blues Rugby's Tweets. The quality of athletes playing rugby in Northern California and on the West Coast went into decline when Congress passed Title Nine. 1994: Old Blues Rugby (CA) 1995: Old Mission Beach Athletic 1996: Northern Virginia Rugby 1997: San Mateo Rugby . Berkeley All Blues Rugby is a fiscally sponsored project of P.A.S.S. The game was never in doubt as the US again won the Gold Medal by a score of 17 - 3. Fun atmosphere with a great selection of local beer, including" more Delivery Takeout 8. Because it is governed not by the NCAA, but by USA Rugby, they are eligible to play five years. On a good team, the large forwards fight for field position and possession of the ball. At halftime, the scholar-athletes from all 27 varsity sports partook in a promenade across the field, each carrying a placard as if this were the Olympic Opening Ceremony. OBs were under pressure at times with some interesting clearance kicks (Davey) not quite finding their mark. Old Blues Rugby Club | Founded 1873 Excellent Title Chasing Rugby + Superb Social based in Motspur. Come join us!! France - Top 14. Then in 1980, the first National Collegiate Championships was played in Iowa and Cal won it, and the three after it. There is a lot of history preceding the formal organization of the Northern California Rugby Union that merits mentioning as a preface. Cal continued undefeated in Rugby in 1885, and the British knew that they had created a monster. Noise. Between 1920 and 1924, Rugby virtually disappeared once again as American-style football soared in popularity. On game day, everything is regimented and a moment before noon, the room goes silent. The final score is 33-12. Login. Players on other teams have sported shirts bearing the OMBAC symbol with a red slash through it and the words OMBAC, the best team money can buy., Said Boyle: And our team made up their own shirts that say, So, wheres my check? Its an unfair characterization that is a combination of jealousy, misinformation and humor., Said Watkins: Were not doing anything different from other teams. If you were to take a look at the number of national championships won by Northern California men's and women's teams, you would find that no other local area union in USA Rugby can match the accomplishments of NorCal. OMBAC should be given credit for going out and building a strong team, Hickey said. "We don't have anything to say to the other team," Stanfill says. Rank 909. Most of the NorCal players were still playing collegiate rugby and some were playing professional football. The Junior Pelicans team was established in l979 and defeated the Southwestern Ontario Union Rep. team in its first game. Women's rugby got an early start in Northern California and continues to produce top-flight club and collegiate teams. *Played on SoCal Rep. Side but played Collegiate Rugby in Northern California.easy. In all, an eight-hour day to play an 80-minute game. Midway through the second half, Cal's 48th consecutive victory against a U.S. college is at hand (now 58 games over three years) but they are still hitting the St. Mary's guys as hard as they will hit anybody all season. Defensa y Justicia. For the past few years, OMBAC has worked in a methodical and organized fashion to strengthen its team, turning it into one of the countrys top rugby organizations. It has also meant that women too could play rugby and their participation in the sport has been phenomenal. Then again, Stanfill had Cal rugby designs of his own, and he knew the dad making the request was the legendary Loren Hawley, the best player on perhaps the best Cal rugby team of them all, in 1965. The All Blues team consists of approximately 40 women dedicated to the Club and the sport of rugby. In 1892 some 19,000 fans crowded into the old Kezar Stadium in San Francisco to watch the first Big Game between Stanford (managed by Herbert Hoover) and California. Watkins also serves as chairman of the U.S.A. Rugby Football Union and is a former president of the Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union. Mike Kane / The Chronicle, RUGBYMAGXX_3312_MBK.JPG The winners will play Sunday to decide the U.S. national club champion. Youth Coach, Administrator, Board Member, Lamorinda Rugby Club; Former Board member and Treasurer, Rugby NorCal; Former Commissioner, Bay Conference, Chief Medical Officer Doctor On Demand and Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated), Stanford University Medical Center. OBs advanced further and sustained their pressure by kicking for the corner and subsequently setting up a superb driving maul from the lineout. Men DIII. RUGBY LEAGUE. Bigger, better, and bluer since 1978! David Witter is a freshman and, like his classmates on the team, is expected to be there at 9 a.m. on a Saturday hanging banners, selling sweatshirts, politely passing out programs. But in addition to providing an in-place organizational structure and a strong fund-raising base, the club also serves as a social network. Other teams have accused the club of recruiting and stealing players. Welcome to the Christ's Hospital Old Blues' Association (CHOBA) Your relationship with Christ's Hospital continues long after you finish studying with us and CHOBA is here to help you keep in touch with the ever growing network of Old Blues across the globe. Listed below are members of the NCRFU All-Star team who defeated the Southern California All-Stars in 1974 in San Francisco at the Polo Fields. Still woozy, he gets up and walks among the Cal parents, looking for his dad. He only lasts five minutes. At the end, after standing in the end zone and waiting for about 15 minutes, here came the rugby team, all in khaki slacks, brown shoes and belt, white button-down shirts and their varsity sweaters -- a heavy, dark-blue Fred MacMurray cardigan with 15 gold stripes on the sleeves. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "It keeps the inflammation down, calms the muscles and makes you a lot less sore.". First played in November 1985, the tournament moved to the summer in 1986 and has been a fixture of the summer rugby season in the United States ever since. And, Rugby is the only high school sport in the nation to have a national high school champion. That infrastructure is a support system that gives us the ability to do a lot of things., Said Boyle: Its a situation thats very different than most amateur athletics.. It involves the best sixteen men's and women's clubs (32 clubs total) in the United States. Ben Taylor skilfully peeled off to put OBs first points on the board with Will Avery coolly converting. In the rugby heyday of the 1970s and early 80's the Northern California Rugby Union boasted all-star teams composed almost entirely of scholarship football players including many college players who had gone on to participate in professional football and still played rugby in their off-season. "A ball could get caught up in that oak tree. Best Winning Percentage (Minimum 30 games played): Most Appearances (Overall and Consecutive): Largest margin of victory in a Cup Final: 54, by Old Mission Beach Athletic (54-0; 2002 Club 7s), This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 00:30. Club Atletico Rosario Central. Off the field, the sport doesnt seem much better. For up to date information as to practice times and locations, as well as game times and locations, please call the Old Blues Hotline at (510) 601-9986. There is the ice bath a third of the way around the stadium in the training room. After the post-game handshake and huddle with the coach, Hawley goes over and lies down behind the Cal bench, holding his head. Founded in 1873, Old Blues RFC is an English rugby union club. The Old Blues -- the Cal alumni club that was once so cool it was hired to endorse BMW in a TV commercial -- is defunct. Both sides play home matches in Motspur Park, South West London. It also marked the first tour ever by a team that could legitimately call itself a Pacific Coast Representative team. Old Blues Rugby has virtually a year-round schedule. The author believes that one thing is absolute however, and that is that University of California ' Berkeley will continue to set standard and raise the bar in Collegiate Rugby for many years to come. Old Blues Rugby Club | Founded 1873 Excellent Title Chasing Rugby + Superb Social based in Motspur. Varsity Rugby, Harlequins London, USA Rugby League, Olympic Club Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Football Club, Philippine Rugby Football Union President, President American Chamber Philippines, YPO Philippines Past President, YPO Board Member SE Asia, Board of Trustees Intl School Manila, Board Member AIB Capital, Board Member Fairmont Raffles Philippines, Board Member AIB Capital, Cal BA 1988, 1989; London School of Economics MSc. Ned Haig, a playing member of the Melrose, Scotland rugby club, devised the concept sevens tournament to make money for his club. A well-organized team is a successful team. Proof came. This ended Rugby as an Olympic event. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. He was a member of the Old Blues Rugby Club of Berkeley and helped the team to seven national club championships from 1979-87. Everyone writes off the Boston Celtics every year, but they always come back. A good example of this would be the l974 Northern California RU All-Stars. 1961) sides from which it sprang. The stunned French suggested that the US team tour France, which they did; winning three out of the four matches they played. THE LONG, BLUE LINE / One hundred and twenty-five years of the purest of all college sports, rugby at Cal, RUGBYMAG_461_MBK.JPG Colin Hawley, a sophemore at UC Berkeley from Trowbridge, CA, makes a toss during a match against St. Mary's at Witter Rugby Field on campus in Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 13, 2007. photo taken: 1/13/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle ** Colin Hawley MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, RUGBYMAGxx_4335_MBK.JPG Louis Stanfill racks a clean from the hang position at the athletic facility in Berkeley, CA, on Tuesday, January, 23, 2007. photo taken: 1/23/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle ** Louis Stanfill MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, RUGBYMAGXX_3692_MBK.JPG Lou Stanfill, right, shows some post-game affection to James Keady, in yellow, a senior from Santa Clara, at a fraternity on campus after Cal Rugby shut out UC Davis in Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, RUGBYMAGXX_3808_MBK.JPG Loren Hawley, rugby legend and Cal Alumni, congratulates his son Colin, a sophomore from Trowbridge, CA, immediately following Cal's shut out versus UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle ** Colin Hawley MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, RUGBYMAGXX_3419_MBK.JPG Lucas Watson, freshman, Walnut Creek, CA, is taken down by UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, during Saturday's match January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle ** Lucas Watson MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, RUGBYMAGXX_3787_MBK.JPG Louis Stanfill stretches for control during a line-in as Cal makes its way to a shut out versus UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 Mike Kane / The Chronicle ** Louis Stanfill MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT, The Cal rugby squad stands for the national anthem before playing UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 7s World Series. The growth and development of the game in Northern California owes a great deal to all those contributors, too numerous to put on one page, who have left such a great legacy. Maximum 5 items per day. The Old. Sevens Rugby 1883-1976 The first seven-a-side rugby tournament was held in Melrose, Scotland on April 28, 1883. Mike Kane / The Chronicle **Tom Rooke, Cal rugby number 8 Louis Stanfill takes a hit while carrying the ball against UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 Founded in 1978, the Berkeley All Blues are one of the country's top women's rugby teams. Monterey/Pebble Beach Rugby Classic records, 1958-1995 Physical description 8.25 linear ft. At the library Special Collections Today's hours: 10a - 4:30p On-site access Researchers can request to view these materials in the Special Collections Reading Room. Getting out of the football stadium and into its own designated rugby stadium 10 years ago was the best thing to happen to Cal rugby in 125 years. In another season or two they will run out of fence. Their next opponent was a team made up of the best players from all the Rugby clubs in the Bay Area calling themselves the Allies. Tweets & replies. A nearly lifelong resident of nearby El Cerrito, Calif., Figone was still a club member the Old Blues in 1985 when he came on board to join forces with Clark and athletic trainer David Stenger, the latter of whom had been serving the rugby team since the twilight of head coach Miles "Doc" Hudson's career in 1973 through the term of future Cal The game jerseys look more like what Jack Nicholson would wear in a romantic comedy. Hella Fitzgerald 25 Musicians Jazz & Blues Performing Arts $$Oakland "Hella Fitzgerald delivered. One could say that that remains true even today with such a great many players and fans who come from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, and other rugby playing countries.Living far from home in a frontier city, these British souls attempted to develop some semblance of the game they knew and loved so well. When Stanfill finds an opposing ballcarrier, that person stays found. The success of the team stems from the fact that it has a structure behind it, Watkins said. But thats not wrong. Colors, name, and logo were selected by Dan Hickey, Manager of the NCRFU All-Star team and later, NCRFU & PCRFU President. Both sides play home matches in Motspur Park, South West London. The Golden Bears came from behind to win 32-17. photo taken: 2/21/07 A rugby side is 15 players, but Cal has 50 or 60 parts that are interchangeable. Blues Sliders. James Sehr, Elk Grove, CA, a senior on Cal's rugby team, takes a moment to collect himself in the locker room before joining his team for warm-ups before taking the field to play UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 As many as 26,000 flocked to Rugby's Big Games between Cal and Stanford. Cart 0. 194 Following. Twenty-two years later in Hong Kong, as I witnessed the closing moments of the British Empire, a Royal Guards band struck up the perfect hymn: "The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended." Cal's reserve squad may be the second-best team in college rugby. 13 00 13.00. Women WPL & WDII. It started back in high school in the Sacramento Valley, where Stanfill was a senior football stud and Hawley a scrawny sophomore. Theyll be back.. Once again Rugby slid into oblivion as architects designed football stadiums seating up to 100,000.Rugby rebounded, however, in 1932 when US Olympic teammates Ed "Mush" Graff, Lefty Rogers, and a few others incorporated theNorthern California Rugby Football Union. Men DIII & Women DII. The British, hosting the American team, gave them little hope. For up to date information as to practice times and locations, as well as game times and locations, please call the Old Blues Hotline at (510) 601-9986. As of the 20/21 season the 1st XV competes in RFU Surrey 2 and the 2nd XV competes in Surrey Combination 1 North. 27 00 27.00. Arthur Road Next, Cal nipped the Phoenix club 7 - 6 and humbled the Allies 13 - 0. Loren Hawley, 64, has had radical surgery for throat cancer and can express himself only by writing notes on a clipboard. The Club has won a combined total of 15 National Championships in both 15's and 7's rugby. Facebook All Blues Shop Club App. Unless the Eagles (national touring team) call, there is nowhere up from here. "The field is critical to us," says Clark. Welcome to the website of the Old Blue Rugby Football Club. The event is streamed online annually, typically on YouTube or The Rugby Channel. On Dec. 2, l882, the first Cal Rugby team to play an outside opponent lined up a group of Rugby-playing ex-Brits calling themselves the Phoenix Rugby Club of San Francisco. The Northern California Representative Side, the Pelicans was also formed in 1974 during the administration of President Pat Vincent, St. Mary's Coach and former New Zealand All-Black. The monster disappeared from view, however in 1886 when Harvard's Oscar Shafter Howard introduced an East Coast interpretation of Rugby to the Berkeley campus. Search. He lives in San Francisco and walks three miles a day on the steep city streets. Old Blues 29 15 Old Wellingtonians In that sense, it is the purest of all intercollegiate sports. Saturday 22nd September DIVISION. There are five players from the U.S. Eagles--the national team made up of the top talent from around the country--playing for OMBAC. "The locker room we have here, it suits us just fine," Stanfill says. . We welcome new players looking to join one of the premier rugby clubs in the Some sports were lightly represented and most athletes were lightly dressed in the heat. And with over 1,400 student groups and organizations currently registered at Cal, there's plenty of options to choose from. Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Blues_RFC&oldid=1081902117, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox rugby team with unknown parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 April 2022, at 10:12. Has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley where he played rugby. Theyve never been a real threat until this year, when theyve loaded up with new players. An easy way to follow the action is to get a fix on the dominating Stanfill, who is 6 feet 4 inches and 245 pounds, and the dashing Hawley, 6-foot-3 inches and 189 pounds, and stay with them. Elbows flying. The Old Blues have recently invested heavily in new playing and social facilities, with a balcony overlooking the pitches completed in 2022. CEO, James Properties; Land and Cattle, LLC; Rugby Partners Inc. CEO, BEAR Data Solutions, Inc.; Managing Partner & Cofounder, Nimble Epitech LLC; Managing Principal, SC Wireless Solutions and SCMSP; EVP of Sales and Marketing; VP Sales, CAT Technology; Director, US & Canada West Region Channel Sales, AppDynamics; CEO, Pacific Rim Environmental, Rugby Player 1981-85; Football Player 1981-84, All-Pac-10 1983; Japan Bowl 1984; Four-time Rugby All-American, USNT 1987-94, Oxford Varsity Blue, Old Blues two-time National Club Champion; Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, Inducted 2010, Cal BA Political Science 1985, Oxford Diploma Legal Studies 1991, CEO & Founder, ONEHOPE; Partner & Board Member, Booshaka, District Manager, Gallo Wine; Supervisor, Stanford Student Storage, President, Film, TV, & Branded Entertainment, Rabbit Content; Sr. VP, Film Development & Production, Feature Films, Icon Productions, Cal BA Political Economy 1986, MSc. On Dec. 2, l882, the first Cal Rugby team to play an outside opponent lined up a group of Rugby-playing ex-Brits calling themselves the Phoenix Rugby Club of San Francisco. A rugby match in front of 5,000 fans in a 70,000-seat bowl is depressing. Old Blues RFC Contacts Established 1873 Phone +44 7507 791517 Email [email protected] Address Dornan Fields Arthur Road Motspur Park, nr New Malden UNITED KINGDOM SURREY KT3 6LX General Enquiries Contact: Mark Davey 07886 015010 Directions Directions By Road: At New Malden underpass on the A3 take the Worcester Park exit. Corporate sponsorships can support your marketing and community engagement needs. Welcome to the Bedford Blues Official Club Shop Search. In 2007, the Gaels finished 5th in the country, and AmericanRugbyNews.com named O'Brien College Coach of the Year. The start to the 2018/19 season saw the 1st XV and 2nd XV running out at Fortress Motspur; the weather being a familiar damp affair which at least softened the ground a little. These quality ball players come from countries where Rugby is the national sport. Dan Hickey, the current president of the Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union who lives in the Bay Area, agrees. Berkeley All Blues Rugby is a fiscally sponsored project of P.A.S.S. Medical Director, Doctor On Demand; Faculty Mentor, Educators-4-CARE; Department of Veterans Affairs Secretarys Award for Outstanding Achievement In Service to, Homeless Veterans; Chief Resident, Stanford University Medical Center; Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Commendation for Service to Veterans; NIH/NMA Fellowship Travel Award, Cal BA English 1994, University of Chicago MD 2002, Stanford Hospital Residency 2005, Assistant Football Coach, Chabot College; Rugby Coach, Old Blues, Hayward Griffins, U-19, Rugby Player 1971-75, Football Player 1972-74, All-California High School Football, 1970 (Claremont); Freshman MVP, Cal Football, Cal Rugby Captain, 1973-75; Pelicans Rugby 1976-87, California Grizzlies Rugby 1979-87, USNT 1981-87, Cal BS Kinesiology 1975, Cal State Hayward MS Kinesiology 1977, Real Estate Broker, Pacific Union International, CEO James Warren & Son Realtors; Sr. VP/Creative Director, Foote, Cone & Belding; Wilton Combs and Colnett; VP/Creative Director J. Walter Thompson; Sr. From 1979 to 1987, he was a member of the first U.S. World Cup rugby team and a mainstay on the U.S. National Team, prompting his induction into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame. . The 12th Witter has just entered the program. When you meet players they will wear out your hand shaking it before, during and after a conversation. To sell Rugby to students, alumni, and the public, Cal President Benjamin Ide Wheeler arranged for a touring New Zealand team to play British Columbia in Berkeley. Combine as many ads as you wish for one flat rate. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "Cal rugby meant so much to Rick," Elizabeth Bailey said. They later defeated Leamington of New Zealand and lost to Auckland (N.Z.). He and other members who have been with the club from its early days in the late 1960s--including OMBACs current coach, Bing Dawson, and club president, Pat Boyle--decided around 1980 to work to build OMBAC into a team of national prominence, capable of attracting top talent. Organization also breeds success off the field. From the stands you can see his tackles, and an instant later you can hear them, like thunder. Tom Rooke, right, freshman, from Bloomfield Hills, MI, flanks on a scrum versus UC Davis at Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, January, 27, 2007. photo taken: 1/27/07 18 00 18.00. 1-ranked Bears. The US team entered the competition when the French had already defeated Scotland. The Old Blues Rugby Club competes in the first division of the Northern California The Rugby heroes returned to the Bay Area without much fanfare. While the exact meaning is still debated, Alcatraz is usually defined as meaning "pelican" or "strange bird. . Your kind donations will be fully tax-deductible. Both Stanfill and Hawley plan to do that. "Show support" is all he has to say, and stiff muscles ease onto cold aluminum benches, including Hawley with a possible concussion. Full Zip pro Active Jacket. Leo Gadsby went in underneath the posts (conversion from Will Avery) to take it to 22-10. They don't even wear rugby shirts. We love the hunt! Four years later, they are a senior and a sophomore all over again in the 125th anniversary season for Cal rugby. New Zealand won 43 - 6 before an enthusiastic crowd of 2,500. It also meant that many colleges and universities, in order to comply with Title Nine, began to eliminate minor men's sports programs, which had varsity status. Stanfill eases himself into the tub, as does Hawley, head still pounding and ear swollen from his collision. OBs took advantage of a loose ball and Mark Davey collected his second try of the day, conversion from Will Avery. "If you're not absolutely f -- miserable today, then we are not where we need to be as a team," Clark says, breaking his own silence.