The Life West Gladiators are a team on the rise having played in last year's DIII final and will play in this year's DII final. In order to get more on the club we sat down with head coach Adriaan Ferris.
TIAR: For those who aren't familiar with the club, who are the Life West Gladiators?
Adriaan Ferris: Life West Gladiators are the club side formed out of Life Chiropractic College West. The team, based in Hayward, CA is made up of both Life West students and local community players. Many of the students on the roster are a part of the Rugby Scholarship program that was initiated at the college in 2013.
The program offers scholarships for rugby players (both men and women) to study chiropractic at Life West in San Francisco. One benefit, as a chiropractic college, is that all players are under chiropractic care, which has helped maximize their performance and reduce injury.
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TIAR: The Gladiators were runners-up in DIII last year and then made the jump up to DII this year where you haven't lost a match so far. Do you think the team is ready to make the jump to DI?
AF: We believe so. There is a strong foundation to work from and the program continues to grow. Our player numbers are high, fielding three men’s teams this season and we are continuing to attract interest from players, both domestically and abroad. Based on how we have performed this season, we believe we are at a point where we can progress to a higher level, whichever league that may be.
TIAR: Who are some of the players people should look for on your team?
AF: We are fortunate to have Nili Latu, current Captain of the Tonga, as part of the program this year, primarily in a player/coaching role but we also wanted players to learn from him, how he plays, trains, prepares etc. The timing of him finishing up with NEC Green Rockets (Japan), his Tongan commitments (PNC & 2015 RWC) and his new contract at Newcastle (UK), meant that he has been available to play and coach at Life West for the past 4 months.
Nili is a world-class player who leads from the front and has helped to develop our forward play.
Orene Aii, former Blues Super Rugby player, is also another standout player. His experience and composure under pressure have allowed our young backline the chance to grow and excel. His on-field game management has been crucial.
Up front, young 21-year-old hooker Jay Finau is a player that can play the modern game. His ball carrying skills and footwork pre-contact makes him a strong attacking threat.
John-Austin Colvill and Akuila Uaisele are two impressive loose forwards that combine well with Nili Latu to form a strong trio.
Our young brigade of Devereaux Ferris (20), Mose Fuala’au (19) and Junior Helu (18) add a different dynamic to the way we play. All players who have big futures in the game.
TIAR: What's the strategy behind using younger players?
AF: We pick players who are good enough, regardless of age. Our players range in age from 18 to 34 and with over 77 players registered to the club, we attempt to be a merit-based team where the most committed, hardest working and best performing players are selected, again, regardless of age.
The fact that Ferris, Fuala’au, Helu and reserve Hooker, Tino Mafi are all not old enough to drink at the local pub is irrelevant to us. We follow the adage that of you are good enough you are old enough.
Naturally, if the player is up for it, we like to promote young players playing at higher levels early in their playing career. Although, from experience, we know players need to be capable and confident to ensure they are not adversely affected by the experience. We are firm advocates of player welfare and feel we have managed this process well.
In all teams need a balance between mature experience and youthful enthusiasm. At the moment, we think we have this mix right
TIAR: What type of rugby does your team like to play?
AF: I’m an attack coach so I’m focused on developing systems that allow us to attack both sides of the ball. I like players who have an attacking mindset and who identify opportunities as they appear on the field.
We don’t place any restrictions on where it is that we attack from or how we attack. It sounds like a cliché but we like to play a style that can vary – dependent on what the defense presents to us on the day and throughout the game.
When we are on defense I expect the lads to be excited to defend and ‘attack’ the offense. We talk a lot about enjoying defense, as it is opportunity to get the ball back so we can attack.
TIAR: What is the team expecting out of this weekend's national championship match?
AF: There is an air of excitement within the squad. In any final, both sides want to win and we know the Wisconsin team will be prepared and ready to give everything they have to win the game.
We expect them to be strong on defense, powerful in the contact area and relentless in their effort. We know with a certainty that they will be a very tough side - we wouldn’t expect anything less.
We have had some good performances this year and some mediocre ones and we know we are only as good as our last performance which wasn’t too flash, despite getting the win, so we are going out there to put in a performance that we can be proud of.
Playing at altitude will be a shock for some of the boys, so this may affect their performance. That said, we have partnered with Standard Process, a leading nutritional company to improve their health and performance this year, so I expect the free nutritional supplements to make a positive difference at some point haha.
TIAR: Describe the culture around the club and the support from the school?
AF: I did know much about Chiropractors and the chiropractic lifestyle before I came to Life West but I realized as soon after I arrived that we had something special here. The philosophy of the college is to “create a brighter future for humanity”. This seems like a fairly bold and broad statement and I didn’t really understand what it meant initially.
The club itself is a mix of students and members of the local Hayward community including many pacific island families. The end result of combining the chiropractic profession, our diverse ethnic make-up and the concept of working towards something bigger than you is that we have created a family atmosphere where everyone wants to be part of.
There has been a lot of hard work put in from a lot of different areas – the college, the student body, the players, their families & loved ones and the players are playing for much more than themselves. We have a purpose and a desire to share the benefits of chiropractic care to a wider audience.