Sunday is a Rugby Day

This Sunday, the Amazon Women begin their Regular season with a game against San Francisco Fog. Kickoff is 11am @ Treasure Island. With key players already on the bence with injury, it will be an uphill battle for the Amazons.

Saturday's A Rugby Day

Good luck to our U19 Amazons Alisi Finau, Neni Green, Adymary Guzman, Jocey Lausi'i-Tupou, and Angela Ve'evalu who with the Nor-Cal Pelicans will be competing in Colorado this weekend. Bring home a championship!

The Amazon Women will be participating in the Palo Alto Sevens this weekend @ Greer Park.

Congratulations to our U19 Amazons that made the Pelican Sqad

The Pelicans are the Northern CA All-Star team and will be competing against other All-Star teams from different regions in the next few months. Congratulations to the following Amazons:

Joanne Fa’avesi
Sauliloa Fauolo
Alisi Finau
Tolini Finau
Elizabeth Green
Adymary Guzman
Jocelynn Lausi’i-Tupou
Vanessa Lopez
Patricia Manupule
Gardenia Schaaf
Angela Ve’evalu

Good luck and rep our Union well!

Amazons are 3rd in the Nation

For the 2nd year in a row, the Sacramento Amazons U19 team placed 3rd at the USA Rugby Girls Under 19 National Championships sponsored by the National Guard. With many of our players returning next year, we look forward to improving our ranking.

Some of the girls with Pittsburgh Steeler Chris Kemoeatu. Big thanks to him and his brother Ben for coming out and supporting our girls!

Thank you Councilman Robbie Waters

Councilman Robbie Waters, District Seven has made a generous donation to our Rugby Club to help send our U19 Team to Nationals.

To read more about Councilman Waters and his work for the community check out:
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/council/departments/home.cfm?MenuID=5012

Amazons featured on Local News

A story was done on our U19 Amazons on KCRA Channel 3 News. Here it is:

Help send our girls to Nationals!

Pacific Coast Champions!

Next up....Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the 2009 USA Rugby National Championships.

The Amazons defeated the Kent Crusaders of Washington on Sunday, May 3rd by a score of 29 to 10. Kent survived on the previous day against Northern California's Motherlode team, 5 to 0.
Kent scored a try in the first 10 minutes to take a 5 to nil lead against the Amazons. The Amazons answered back with a converted try to make it 7 to 5. Kent looked determined and came back to score another try. With the score at 10 to 7, the Amazons scored another try before the half to make the score 12 to 10 at the half. The Amazons simply pulled away in the second half. Overall, Kent could not match the physical play of the Amazons.
The Amazons now have less than 2 weeks to prepare for Nationals where they will face off against the Fullerton Lions of Southern California.

Sacramento Amazons win Pacific Coast Invitational

Just a quick breakdown, I lost my notes on the game so I dont exactly remember the scores and who scored the tries. It was a beautiful weekend in San Jose as the Amazons faced off against Motherlode on Saturday morning. We were short a few players because of Prom (a headache for many a high school rugby coach) but were able to come away with a win. Motherlode was able to score a try against us.

Our 2nd match was against a combined team of Alameda & Davis. It was a great game with a final score of 22-0 in our favor.

Sunday we faced off against The Colorado State Champions, Summit. Our team was back to full force with the players missing on Saturday, our Head Coach, and backline coach rejoining us. It was a great game with Summit capitalizing on penalties against the Amazons but ultimately we got the win 27 - 12.

Our team captain Neni Green was named Tournament MVP.

This weekend we will be in Redding for the Regional Playoffs, the winner of which will go on and represent the Pacific Coast at Nationals in 2 weeks.

Next Up....the 4th Ranked U19 Club in the Nation

With the stunning win against Stanford B over the weekend, the Amazons get a much needed rest this week. They will use the break to prepare for their next encounter with Summit of Colorado on April 25th at San Jose. Summit is coached by former U19 Girls National Team coach Karl Barth. The only time these 2 clubs met was when the Amazons beat Summit for 3rd place at the 2004 National Championships. Summit brings a lot of speed and experience. They are this year's Colorado State Champions and have already qualified as the West's seed for this year's National Championship in Pittsburgh, PA. The Amazons will look to turn up the intensity at training in preparation for this clash of National Powers.

Stanford "B" Falls to Mighty Amazons U19 Team

Amazons - 41
Stanford B- 22

Injuries, spring break, a wedding and Easter weekend could not keep the Amazons from doing what was needed to win against Stanford. Thirteen players were all that the Amazons could produce for this game. With numbers depleted from injuries, the Amazons still hoped to field a strong side against Stanford. However, several players with poor excuses did not show up for the game. This was very frustrating as they abandoned their team mates. Stanford. Was low in numbers as well and both teams played with 13 a side.
The Amazons took the opening kick off and within seconds, Sauliloa Fauolo was able to weave through the defense to score a try. Stanford played an exspansive game, moving the ball often, attempting torun side line to side line. But Stanford's ball handling often let them down. The Amazons did well to play within their game plan. Stanford had no answer for the Amazon's physical play. Centers, Marina and Hine were pivotal on defense coming through with huge tackles. Nana ran in a couple tries. And Neni definitely took MVP honors with her 4 tries.
The Amazons showed great heart. This game was definitely their toughest game of the year. The Amazons showed a lot of guts and played hard. For those players that decided not to play today, they will be dealt with.

Amazons of the Month

The Amzon of the month honors have been bestowed upon Sauliloa Fauolo and Neni Green. April is the first month that we will begin to honor Amazons who have displayed extraordinary feats on or off the field. Selections are made by the coaching staff. Both players were instrumental in leading the Amazons to the NCRFU Championship.

Schedule for Pacific Coast Regional Playoff/ Championship is Set, For Now

The schedule for the Pacific Coast U-19 Regional Playoff/ Championships has been figured out by Pacific Coast Administrators this week. The 2 top teams from Northern California and top 2 teams from Washington will duke it out for the lone Pacific Coast seed in this year's National Championship. The first round of games will be played May 2nd in Redding, CA. The Amazons are the top seed out of Northern CA with Motherlode as the 2nd seed. Kent and Budd Bay are the front runners for the top 2 teams from WA. Motherlode created a stir this week as they proposed to play the tournament on the last week of April in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Invitational Tournament at San Jose State University in California. They preferred this weekend as many of their players are scheduled to take their SATs on May 2nd. Everyone else involved, including the Amazons disagreed with this propsal. WA is scheduled to have their state championship that weekend and all other teams have already made their arrangements to play in Redding on May 2nd. The tournament has been scheduled to accommodate Motherlode by starting the tournament at 4pm rather than the custom morning start time. Motherlode will kick off against the #1 team from WA at 4pm and the Amazons will face the #2 WA team at 5:30. Losers of both games will play the next day at 11am followed by the Championship game. The Amazons feel uneasy with the change of the schedule but will do what's needed to advance.

Amazons take on Stanford

On Saturday, April 11th, the Amazons will be taking on Stanford's 2nd side. This should be a good test for the Amazons as Stanford's 1st side are 4 time Collegiate National Champions. Their second side should bring some much needed competition for the Amazons as they begin their campaign towards the U19 National Championships next month in Pennsylvania. The Amazons won their league championship over the weekend, ending their league season with an overall record of 9 wins and no losses. The Amazons accumulated a total 434 points so far while shutting out every team so far. The shut out streak will be very difficult to keep against the Stanford 2nd side but look for the Amazons to come out ready for the challenge and not afraid to step up to the collegiate level.

The Amazons will be without the services of several key players due to injury but the game should prove to be a test of their depth and overall toughness. Something that the Amazons have tons of.

Amazons Are Champs!!!

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

The Amazons successfully completed their 2009 league season by winning the Northern California RFU U-19 Women's Championship on Saturday. Defeating a combined team of Alameda and Humboldt in the semi-finals and then Motherlode in the Final. Both the Amazons and Motherlode will move on to represent Northern California at the Pacific Coast Championship, May 2nd, 2009.

The format of the tournament called for shortened games as the first round games were 2 twenty minute halves and the Championship round was a two 25 minute halves. With 4 teams in competition, there was no room for error. Davis and Motherlode were the first teams to play. Davis fought the good fight but Motherlode's forwards over whelmed Davis, winning 18 to 5. With the win Motherlode advanced to the Championship round against the winner of the second game.

In the second game, the Amazons took on the combined team of Alameda and Humboldt. The combined team had a difficult time working together and could not contain the powerful Amazons. They attempted to control the game by kicking, but fullback, Sauliloa Fauolo, was deadly in countering with 2 tries. Flanker, Fehi Schaaf scored twice also in securing a 37 to 0 win and a spot in the Championship game against Motherlode.

Motherlode tried using their kicking strategy through out the game thinking that the Amazons would fold under pressure. But Sauliloa and the rest of the wings did a great job on counter attacks making Motherlode regret the strategy. Neni was able to score 2 tries. The final score was 31-0.

The Amazons have been able to hold every team they have played this year to zero points. The Amazons are back to back Nor Cal Champs and they move forward to Regionals hoping to advance to Nationals where they will want to improve on last year's 3rd place finish. The Amazons were all power and all class on this day. The proven best of the best here in Northern California and hopefully soon, the Pacific Coast.

Amazons vs Alameda/ Humboldt
37- 0
Tries- Lata, Fehi (2), Nana, Tolini, Sauliloa (2)
Conv.- Neni (1)

Amazons vs Motherlode
31- 0
Tries- Sauliloa, Neni (2), Marina, Hine (Penalty Try)
Conv.- Neni (3)

National Rankings

Rugby Magazine recently released a new publication called 'High School Rugger.' The new quarterly newsletter is aimed towards covering HS level rugby through out the US. In the 'Rugger's Spring issue they rank the top 10 teams in the Nation. The Amazons were ranked #8 on this list. Although we may not agree with the rankings, the publication itself is a sign that rugby is growing, especially HS rugby. I feel we should be in the top 5 at least. But at least this way, people will look at us as being weak. If that's the case, you should put all your money on this underdog.

1. Divine Savior Holy Angels, WI
2. Kent, WA
3. Catholic Memorial, WI
4. Summit, CO
5. Lakewood, OH
6. Wayzata, MN
7. Douglas County, CO
8. Sacramento Amazons, CA
9. Maryville, TN
10. State College, PA

Northern California RFU Championships

This Saturday, April 4th, the Amazons will be hosting the Nor Cal league Championships. On the line are bragging rights, the Championship Cup and 2 spots in the Pacific Coast Championship in Redding, CA on May 2nd. The Amazons are heavily favored as they ran through the regular season, racking up almost 300 points and not allowing a single point by the opposition. It is hard to tell which team may pick up the #2 spot as all other teams seemed pretty equal in strength. But with the format of the tournament, if any team is slow to get going, that could be it for their chances, and that includes the Amazons. Expect the unexpected, but also expect the Amazons to show up ready to work.

Kick off Tournament- 2/8/09

This was the first action the Amazons saw this season, besides beating up on each other at practice. The Amazons played a total of 3 games that day. The day got started with the Amazons taking out the Edmonton Lep-Tigers of Canada 15-0. The matches were all 15 minute halves, but the Amazons were efficient with the short amount of time for each game. The second match was against the Motherlode B side and the Amazons won that one 36-0. The championship match paired the Amazons against the Motherlode A side. The Amazons scored early and often in this shortened match, winning 46-0.

Amazons vs Motherlode- 2/21/09

The Amazons hosted this one and won 71-0.

Amazons vs Davis- 3/14/09

Davis played host to the Amazons. The Amazons won this one 64-0.

Amazons vs Humboldt- 3/21/09

The Amazons hosted this one as Humboldt made the long 5 hour + journey from up north. Humboldt held there own but were no match for the Amazons. The Amazons played some good rugby with Neni and Adymary taking MVP honors. The final score was 74-0.

Amazons vs Alameda- 3/29/09

The Amazons made the short drive over to Alameda this weekend. Having to play on Sunday to accommodate Alameda players who needed to use Saturday as prep time for their prom night. The Amazons had to play with out some of their key players who could not excuse themselves from church. A total of 19 players were available on game day. The game started off with the Amazons kicking off to Alameda. Both teams looked good with Alameda matching up well with the big Amazon pack at the begining of the half. Alameda dominated at the scrum and line outs during the first 15 minutes of the half. However, they had a difficult time tackling the big runners that the Amazons had. Flanker, Adymary and #8 Angela bulldozed their way through the Alameda line of defense, setting up offloads to other supporting forwards. The Amazons kept it tight in the 1st half, crashing it up with the forwards. Alameda showed good effort but was not able to contain the powerful Amazon pack as they started building momentum into halftime. The Amazons led 33-0 at the half. Some adjustments were made. The first half strategy was to keep the ball with the forwards and the second half showed how good the Amazon backs were. Flyhalf, Alisi did well to set up some nice runs by centers, Neni and Marina. With fullback Sauliloa knifing through the Alameda backs in route to her 3rd hat trick of the season. Neni also delivered a couple tries and going 8-10 on conversions. Alameda played well but were no match for the Amazons. The final score was 64-0. The Amazons played a clinical game, showing that they could change strategy and score at will.