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With the fall 7s season done and dusted for teams in the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference teams attention has turned to 15s. The NCRC has undergone a few changes from last season as the Championship division has gone from an East and West format to a single table. The conference has also introduced the NW Cup featuring small schools from across the region split into three geographic divisions. The winner of the NW Cup has the opportunity to gain promotion to the Championship.
Play in the Championship opens up with Eastern Washington playing host to Washington. The Huskies finished second in the West last year to Oregon and just missed out on the U.S.A. Rugby playoffs. However, the accepted an invitation from the Varsity Cup DI-AA tournament which they ended up winning. They lost players to graduation, specifically Justin Santos, but have returning players like Nick Gadbaw who is turning a few heads.
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When we've talked with Director of Rugby Mike Alfstad he's excited by the fact that more and more players are coming into the program with rugby experience and that underclassmen are breaking into the firs team (as is the case for most schools in the region). Participation numbers have also been up at the school. That said, they didn't have the 7s season they would have expected and enter the 15s season with a lot to prove.
Eastern Washington are a small school in comparison to Washington but their rugby program is nothing to take lightly. They have a solid bunch of players that are known for punching above their weight and playing well. The Eagles are a physical team that will look to wear out the Huskies. Eastern Washington already beat Washington in 7s twice this year. Although they finished fourth in the East last year it was only a point behind Boise State, who had an identical record. (Eastern were recently featured in the student paper.)
The other match in the Championship sees Central Washington host Washington State. The Wildcats are coming off another strong 7s season where they once again won the league. They have dominated the 15s competition over the last few seasons and now with varsity status they should be able to elevate themselves even more. Tony Pacheco is one of the best coaches in his country and with players like Aladdin Schirmer (although he'll be missing this weekend at Eagles 7s camp), Vili Toluta'u, and Josh Bower they have players with All-American and Eagles camp experience. Other players like Clint Lemkus, Tanner Barnes, and others make the team very difficult to beat.
Washington State are not a bad side themselves. They finished second to Central Washington in the East last year and have made a lot of improvements. Josh Vizcaya is a player to watch and has been playing well. Other players like DeShon Bell can make waves. The question for the Cougars is whether they have enough depth to break into the top echelon of teams. They will certainly face a difficult test in Central Washington.
Eastern Washington will play Central Washington on the 10th to close out the fall 15s season. Things heat back up again in January and last through April with the playoffs.
Overall, conference commissioner Matt Hudson expects good things. "The NCRC looks to be very competitive this year, with ambitious program from the NW Cup pushing the bottom teams in the NCRC Championship for promotion. We saw at the NCRC 7s that teams 2-8 are very close in terms of competition, anyone looks like they can beat the other on a given game day. Central is still the heavy favorite, however the Varsity Cup will prevent them from participating in the NCRC playoffs this year so it's up for grabs. Western looks like they've rebounded from a poor year last year and Washington State did very well in 7s."
He went on to add that "teams like Eastern, Oregon, Washington, Boise State are all in contention. With Central already committed to the Varsity Cup, the NCRC Champion will go to the USA Rugby playoffs and the next four teams (three playoff teams and first team out of the playoffs) will get bids to the DI-AA Varsity Cup that Washington won outright last year. A big focus this year at the top level is to get all teams fulfilling second side fixtures for development of all clubs, as well as having clubs help with the referee shortage in the area by having a registered sir on the roster."
The Northwest Cup kicked off it's inaugural season earlier this year.Gonzaga, who had a terrific 7s season, beat Whitman 46-17. Center Daniel Hodge scored a hat-trick in that match. Gonzaga and Whitman are in the East Division with Idaho, who self-relegated from the Championship, North Idaho, and WSU Tri-Cities. Whitman and Idaho will play on Saturday in what will be their third match of the fall. In addition to the match against Gonzaga they beat WSU Tri-Cities 28-25.
The South Division, which has Central Oregon Community College, Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon, and Willamette also played. Central Oregon beat Willamette 43-0 and Oregon Tech beat Southern Oregon 21-0. The West Division features Evergreen State College, Lewis & Clark, Pacific, Puget Sound, and Reed. Play will resume for all divisions in February.
In speaking about the NW Cup, Hudson predicted that "some teams are going to run ahead of the pack but Whitman has already proved that the NW Cup is motivating players. They've gone from a shaky footing with limited numbers to a full side that has already notched a victory in league play. The NW Cup will provide a solid foundation for start up clubs and clubs returning to campuses and defines a clear pathway to get to the competitive upper level."
Once again the NCRC will be fielding a Loggers program. Hudson noted that the team play a combined OSRU/Portland team last year and came away with a victory. He expects more out of the loggers as NW Cup teams begin to emerge.