Tournaments approaching:

🏟️Puriri Memorial Invitational
🗓️Feb 20–21
St. George, UT

🏟️Carolina Ruggerfest
🗓️Feb 28–March 1
Charlotte, NC

🏟️Friendship Cup
🗓️March 28—29
Nashville, TN

We’ll cover this in more detail below, but here’s the straight facts:

Fascinating things happening in NorCal right now. St. Francis, De La Salle, Sacramento Jesuit, and Rio Americano are all chasing the number 1 seed in playoffs. Rio Americano, shockingly, might have the clearest path, but they need help from other teams to lock it in. De La Salle and St. Francis are in strong positions, and Jesuit likely needs to win out, with games against De La Salle and St. Francis still on the schedule.

Bottom line: NorCal is clear as mud and competitive as hell.

Barely.
We’ve had exactly one team from the Northeast play a game so far: Gregory the Great (PA) traveled down to Richmond to face the Richmond Griffins over the weekend. Gregory the Great won it 71-0, so they must have some firepower.
At the end of the day, both sides were just happy to have a game. We’re still covered in snow up north.

Speaking of Pennsylvania teams, Doylestown—2025 state champs— head down to Fort Hunt (VA) tomorrow to kick off their preseason schedule before RugbyPA launches in a few weeks.

We’ve been warned not to let Colorado teams slip off the radar. Noted 🫡
This weekend, there’s a round robin preseason tourney scheduled at Valor HS (CO). Teams participating are Monarch (CO), Valor (CO), and NCS Falcons (CO).
Valor has a big showdown next weekend with East HS (CO), so this warmup tourney is just what the doctor ordered before that clash.

Hoo boy! Here’s the match we’ve been waiting for.

Okapi and Boca Raton meet for the first time this season and we don’t exactly know what to expect. Early money is on Okapi for their consistent dominance in the state. But Boca has been pretty dang impressive so far — 4-0 and a 22+ point differential per game.

Who’s going to take control in the Sunshine State? This weekend will help answer that question.

Woodlands is off to a flying start, but it was another recent match that got our attention.

The Boks and Barbarians met on Tuesday, with the Barbarians taking it 20–19. We kept hearing that it was played under “unusual circumstances,” so we did a little digging.

Texas Rugby is short on referees. The state is massive. And there’s a strict 72-hour window for contacting officials. In this case, the referee was contacted roughly 24 hours before kickoff instead of the required 72. Texas Rugby enforced the policy and pulled the assignment, leaving a coach to take the whistle.

The game still happened. But it left a bit of a sour taste.

And from what we’re hearing, this isn’t an isolated frustration. There are questions in Texas around D1 being top-heavy, JV depth being thin, and the sheer grind of travel. Geography is a real factor. Texas isn’t exactly compact.

It’s worth asking whether a regional split, similar to California’s model, could ease some of that pressure. Fewer four-hour drives. More localized growth. More sustainable referee coverage.

We don’t pretend to have all the answers. But when the pitch to parents starts feeling like, “Let’s spend eight hours in the car and go get whacked 85-0,” buy-in gets tougher.

Just an observation.

Shoot me a note if you have insight on the matter.

In other Texas news: Celina looks very strong. That is all.

Super busy weekend. And TWO live-streams 👊

Torrey Pines vs La Costa Canyon | Sat Feb 21, 1pm PST
📺 Watch here

You could feel this one coming.
For weeks now, it’s looked like these two were headed for each other. It’s #2 vs #3 in the Riot rankings, with the SoCal final waiting for the winner.

Torrey Pines has weathered injuries to key players and a brutal SoCal schedule to emerge 8–0 heading into the semifinals. They just keep finding ways to win. The Falcons are balanced and know how to control the tempo. Andrew Taich, Shay Farkash, and Rees Curtis headline the roster, but it’s a full team effort each week. This is a gritty crew.

La Costa Canyon…man, these guys seem to get stronger every week. We knew they had physicality up the wazoo, but recently they’ve been showing off in the finesse department too. Cross-kicks, chip-and-catch scores, clever set pieces—they’re doing it all and having fun.

With a spot in the SoCal final on the line, we expect a dogfight. Who’s going to win is anyone’s guess. That’s how close this game is shaping up to be.

Charlotte Cardinals vs San Mateo Wolverines | Sat Feb 21, 6pm PST
📺 Watch here

The Cardinals and Wolverines meet for their annual cross-country clash. Last year, Charlotte hosted. This year, the Wolverines return the favor and welcome the North Carolina side to NorCal.

For the Cardinals, this is an early barometer for another Nationals push. Their roster is loaded with North Carolina talent, and if you watched the Charlotte Catholic (NC) vs Cathedral Catholic (CA) stream in January, you already know how sharp that region looks right now.

For San Mateo, this is a measuring stick. The NorCal Club Premier Division is no joke. Danville Oaks. SFGG. Granite Bay. It’s a meat grinder. Hosting a program like Charlotte is a chance to see exactly where they stand before league play begins.

Charlotte has had the edge in previous meetings. But assuming that continues would be careless. The Wolverines are athletic, they play fast, and they don’t shy away from contact. At home, they’ll look to dictate terms.

East meets West. Nationals pedigree on both sides.

But the underlying theme is mutual respect, friendship, and a passion for rugby. There’s a strong relationship building between these two coastal programs, and there will be a great feast after the game, regardless of the score.

This one is Can’t Miss material. Tune in tomorrow at 6 PST / 9 EST.

Massive shout out to our livestream sponsor for this match:

We literally cannot produce these live-streams without the support of terrific sponsors like CCOFS. So if you live in the Carolinas and have some nagging wisdom tooth pain, definitely schedule an appointment at one of their locations. They’ll take great care of you.

Thank you, CCOFS!

If you’d like to have your business featured on a game broadcast, send us an email: [email protected] and we’ll make it happen.