Dave Richards (Stanford, CA)

Canadian touring team Grey Point High School , from Victoria , BC arrived in the Bay Area, and headed down to Stanford, where Rob Holder graciously opened up their facilities so host Silicon Valley could show the visiting Canadians that rugby is very much alive and well in the Bay Area. If you have not attended, or ref'ed, a game at the Hal Steuber Family Rugby Field / Stadium, you are missing out on one of the premier venues in the state. Gorgeous pitch, gorgeous facilities.

Both teams came to play, and the whole game was played at a frenzied pace, with 6, 7 and 8 phase ball commonplace. Very fit forward packs, with each team boasting several backs with speed and slashing running styles. Silicon Valley , in particular, has two or three backs that are hard to bring down. Silicon Valley opened the scoring with a couple of forward tries, both hard fought, one by a prop, and one by a lock. Point Grey wasn't far behind, and answered with two tries of their own, both coming off beautiful back line plays with the back row forwards providing support out on the wing. Both the flyhalf and the scrumhalf were able to touch down for the scores. Grey Point 's kicker slotted both his conversions, while the Silicon Valley hit one of his. Just before half, Silicon Valley scored again, and converted, leaving the half time score SV 19 - Grey Point 14.

Point Grey mounted a great second half comeback effort, but repeated tackles and great defense by SV out in the backs kept them out of the try zone...The team's fitness was superb, and even in the heat, (over 80 degrees on the pitch) the pace never let up, with both teams pounding the ball upfield and quickly recycling out of the rucks. Well-coached back rows from both teams, but SV's in particular, read the rucks well, and sprinted out to the back line when they saw the rucks were already won or lost...

Both teams scored twice in the second half, with Point Grey converting both of theirs, and SV one conversion, but the extra try proved to be the difference as Silicon Valley won 31 to 28.

A yellow card was given to a Silicon Valley back, for a late, non-wrapped tackle, and sent to the sin bin after one warning for a similar hit had been given earlier. I failed to get the offending player's name, but Dean White will be able to provide it if it proves necessary for record-keeping. I will make sure to get the name in the future. My brain was not working well, due to the state of oxygen bankruptcy I had entered into early in the wide open, run-and-gun match. (I spent only a few minutes in Oxygen Debt, prior to the bankruptcy proceedings)

All in all, the game was a testament to an extremely high level of High School rugby being played here in the Bay Area. This Canadian team was well coached and very fit, and the local boys withstood a pounding, made their tackles, played multi-phased ball, and finished effectively. And a nice BBQ to boot. College coaches would serve themselves well to recruit from this team.