Spring 15s: 8 days (March 1st - unofficial start of the season for many teams)

Carolina Ruggerfest: 8 days (March 1st -2nd)

Gonzaga Classic: 50 days (April 12th)

Montana Invitational: 64 days (April 26th)

Nationals Tournament: 90 days (May 22nd)

North Carolina just wrapped up their school team season, with South Meck bringing home the trophy. Up next? Club season. Teams like the Charlotte Cardinals, Charlotte Tigers, and Clayton are already beginning practices to launch the 2025 Club campaign.

SoCal heads into the Semi-Finals next weekend with the Final to follow. Club season will start pretty quickly after that.

Okapi (FL) vs. Jacksonville (FL) — Feb. 22nd
Jacksonville was firing on all cylinders in their season opener, defeating Fort Lauderdale 44-0. They clash with an imposing Okapi side that holds a 3-1 record and just defeated Wellington 33-24. We’ll learn more about both teams’ class as they battle for Florida supremacy this Saturday.

Loyola (CA) vs Orange Lutheran (CA) — Feb. 21st
After losing to Torrey Pines in their season opener, Loyola has quietly put together an impressive 3 game winning streak—most recently a 19-12 victory over Edison (CA). They face an Orange Lutheran team that just took Torrey Pines to the wire, ultimately losing 27-17 on Valentine’s Day. This might be the match to watch in SoCal this weekend.

De La Salle (CA) vs St. Ignatius SF (CA) — Feb 22nd
The common consensus is that De La Salle is the team to beat in NorCal. They did nothing to banish that thought with a 27-12 win over Sacramento Jesuit last week. St. Ignatius meanwhile had a rough outing against St. Francis last week, but could turn things around with a statement game this weekend.
On another note—many would love to see a match between De La Salle and their southern counterpart, Cathedral Catholic. TBD if that occurs, but it would be a monumental California clash. Here’s to hoping…

Strake Jesuit (TX) vs Woodlands (TX) — Feb 21st
This is listed as a “friendly”, but we all know better than that—bragging rights are on the line, and these are high school boys.
Strake has thumped a couple opponents so far, with a combined score of 90-22. Woodlands won their most recent game by an absurd 103-3. We know these two teams are good—and now they’ll duke it out this evening.

🏉[Eclipse] Desert Legion (AZ) ⬆️ 22 spots after a commanding 63-10 victory over Red Mountain (AZ)

🏉St. Francis (CA) ⬆️ 18 spots with their 74-12 win over St. Ignatius SF (CA)

🏉Gregory the Great (PA) ⬆️ 16 spots after beating Fort Hunt (VA) 47-7 last weekend.

🏉Dallas Jesuit (TX) ⬆️ 7 spots with their 78-10 victory Allen HS (TX)

🏉Danville Oaks (CA) ⬆️ 6 spots, courtesy of a dominant 40-12 showing against Motherlode (CA)

🏉De La Salle ⬆️ 5 spots after defeating Sacramento Jesuit (CA) 27-12.

🏉Brother Martin (LA) climbed into the top five with a 65-14 victory over East Jefferson (LA)

🏉Torrey Pines (CA) reclaimed the #2 spot after a tight 27-17 contest against Orange Lutheran (CA)

🏉South Meck (NC) cracked the top five with their State Championship win over Charlotte Catholic (NC)

See the whole picture here.

Yeah, we used this photo in another article already, but it’s too good.

All three players are in the air, Beatty is bleeding from his knee, AND this moment sealed the State Title for South Meck.

At 21 years old (!), Cole Seanoa might be the youngest head coach in the country. But his connection to Rancho runs deep—he was a founding member and first-ever captain. Now, he’s back, leading the same team from the sideline while playing college rugby.

“I’ve been playing rugby for about 10 years. I watch a lot of rugby, I play a lot of rugby, I love discussing rugby,” he says. (Certified rugby buff)

Cole caught the coaching bug early. While still in high school, he helped his dad coach a U10 team, an experience that left a lasting impression.

"Seeing these young kids—who had never played rugby before—become rugby players, that just really inspired me. I love playing rugby, but coaching is my passion."

Hats off to you, Cole. LOVE that.

A Family Affair:

Rugby runs deep in the Seanoa household. Cole’s father serves as Rancho’s backs coach, and his younger brother graduated from the team just last year.

"The family name is stamped all over this team." – Coach Cole Seanoa

Rancho is off to a strong 4-1 start this season, with their only loss coming against Orange Lutheran a few weeks ago. But Coach Cole had nothing but praise for his squad, despite the loss:

"They didn’t give up at all—they kept their heads in it and played very physically."

And these kids don’t just play hard—they have fun doing it. Before games, they jump around, get hyped, and yell “GET FROGGY!”
(It’s unclear where “Get Froggy” comes from, but we’ll let them keep their secret sauce)

Landon Congalton | Sophomore | Scrumhalf
"He’s been making great decisions. He communicates more than anybody, and he’s leading a backline full of seniors—as a sophomore."

Cayden Turner | Wing
"He’s the engine of the team. He gets everyone pumped before games."

Gabriel Gallegos | Flanker
"He’s an animal. My most aggressive player. He’s got a motor that doesn’t stop."

Bruce Barnier | Sophomore | Lock
"He makes magnificent offloads… and the occasional grubber that I don’t always approve of." 😂

Malele Vaiolo | Wing
"He hits people like a truck—even though he isn’t a huge guy."

Rancho faces a tough test this week against a strong San Clemente squad. Coach Cole knows it’ll be a battle:

"It will be a good test—and we’ll hopefully show the other SoCal teams how much we’ve improved this year."

Good luck Rancho Cucamonga! And cheers to Coach Cole—keep crushing it, brother!

This isn’t a highlight of a particular play, but rather a montage from the Okapi vs Wellington game last week.

The real reason I’m putting this here is because I’m SO HAPPY that Rugby Florida is doing this. Highlights every week? Hell yeah!

Oddball musings, induced by borderline hypothermia.

🏉 Hot Take: The MLR ditching scrums to “speed up the game” is like Nissan removing the windshield wipers to make the Versa faster. Maybe it’s a tiny bit quicker… but that was never the problem. Rugby fans want to watch good rugby, not crappy fast rugby.🤦‍♂️

🏉 Should we start a podcast? Maybe we should start a podcast. Would anyone listen to our podcast? Maybe you should respond to this newsletter and let us know if we should start a podcast… 🤔🎙️

🏉 LOL: This scrumhalf definition from @RugbyAddict is too good:
"Gobby midget who gets into trouble marginally faster than he can run from it." (Gobby: loudmouthed, always chirping.)