Davis Boys Varsity Rugby Team Crowned Nor Cal Rugby Champions  (4-29-14)      

The Davis High School Boys Varsity Rugby team capped off an undefeated season this past weekend by capturing the 2014 Northern California Youth Rugby Association Varsity Silver Division Championship at Cherry Island. The Davis Rugby program, in only its second year, capped a 12-0 season and established Davis as an up and coming program for the future.  

In Saturday’s first round game, the Davis defeated a very good Napa Stormers team 34-10 behind strong play by Anthony Pedroia (3 tries), Bailey Murray, Ben Gore, Quinten Jones, Bailey Yarrow, and Joey Dossa. 

In their second game of the day, Davis faced league rival Rio Linda in a rematch of a league game that Davis had won three weeks previous. The game was hard fought throughout against a much larger and heavier Rio Linda squad itching for revenge. Rio Linda jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first half. Josh Greenfield responded for the Blue Devils on a  three yard plunge for try. The teams then traded scores thru the first half to go into halftime tied 10-10. In the second half, Davis’ superior rugby skills overcame the larger Rio Linda squad as Davis built a 10 point lead capped off by a determined 10 yard sprint around the left side by Winfred Roberson. The 20-15 victory secured Davis’ entry into the Championship game on Sunday.   

The Championship game was played on an over cast day against Elsie Allen from Santa Rosa, the champions of the Redwood League. Davis jumped on the first possession of the game and dominated the first half.  Scrumhalf Tyler Roberts scored the first two tries for the Blue Devils with Nash Nunes completing the scoring to head into halftime up 15-0. In the second half, Elsie Allen made a game of it and put the Blue Devils back on their heels outscoring Davis 22-12. Davis’ second half scores came from Seniors Eli Castro and a third try from Senior scrumhalf Tyler Roberts. Tristan Tadano added a conversion kick to secure a hard fought Davis victory, 27-22, and a championship plaque for the school’s trophy case.

The team was led by Seniors Tyler Roberts, Zac Slavich, Bailey Murray, Joey Dossa, Winfred Roberson, Eli Castro, Marcos Herrera,  and Perry Leonard.  Underclassmen contributing were Josh Greenfield, Nash Nunes, Michal Goodison, Anthony Pedroia, Ben Gore, Bailey Yarrow, Wally Perez, Quentin Jones, Tristan Tadano, Jerid Roberson, Dean Boswell, Trent Hart, Yared Haile, Gilberto Aldecua-Felanto, Blaise Jones, and Matt Meyers.

After the game, Coach Andy Malpass stated “I am extremely proud of all the players. They worked so hard this season to finish unbeaten in league play and finish as Nor Cal champions. It’s a fantastic achievement.” 

Looking ahead to next season, Coach Malpass stated “Our goal will be to grow the program’s numbers and be as competitive as possible. We hope to continue our good relationship with the Davis high school football program and develop great athletes that can win championships in both sports.”

2014 Season Update (as of April 19, 2014)

The Davis Boy’s Rugby Club completed the 2014 season in first place in the Silver Division of the Northern California Youth Rugby Association’s Sacramento Division. The Varsity Silver team recorded a perfect 8-0 record.   As league champion, the club received a first round bye for the upcoming high school playoffs.  The club will face its first opponent in the playoffs on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the Cherry Island Soccer Complex in Sacramento. The team is led by Seniors Winfred Roberson, Zac Slavich, Tyler Roberts, Eli Castro, Perry Leonard, Joey Dossa, Marcos Herrera, Marvin Grant, and Bailey Murray. In addition to underclassmen: Gilberto Aldecua-Felanto, Dean Boswell, Mike Goodison, Ben Gore, Josh Greenfield, Yared Haile, Quinten Jones, Nash Nunes, Anthony Pedroia, Wally Perez, Jerid Roberson, Tristan Tadano, Trent Vasquez, and Bailey Yarrow.
 
The Varsity Bronze team finished their season with 5 wins, 4 loses and 2 draws. The Varsity Bronze team was led by Seniors Max Herzog, and Diego Rodriguez, along with underclassmen: Nate Ortiz, Frankie Spinardi, Matt Meyers, Ricky Houck, Robert Campos, Ian Donald, Blaise Jones, Evan Sierras,  Evan Wetzlich, Jacob Young, Maksym Monastyrskyy, Levi Hubbard, Dominique Krogstad,  Aavineet (Avi) Johal, and Jake Sedgley.  The team is rounded out by 9th graders Sam Simon, Jesse Keenan, Jesse Brandt, Eben Kohn,  Ernesto Canchola, and Chase Jones.

Summer 7’s

The Davis Rugby Club is proud to announce that Mike Purcell, Davis resident and former USA National 7’s Team player and captain, will head coach the Davis boys 7’s program this year. The season will begin in mid-May with tournaments in June and July. All current 9th-12 graders are welcome to try this sport which is set to be re-introduced at the 2016 Olympics. No experience is necessary and you don’t have to have played on the rugby 15’s team. 

The game of 7’s is played on a regulation rugby field, but with 7 players on each side instead of the regular 15. Much more space is available for players to attack. Each half is 7 minutes running time. The game is fast paced. Speed, strength and endurance are stressed in this game over size and brute force. An Introductory meeting for players and parents will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Yolo County Library, Davis Branch located at 315 East Fourteenth St.

Questions can be directed to Mike Goodison, 530-902-1312 or mhjdnm@sbcglobal.net.

Davis Rugby is proud to announce the addition of Davis Strength and Conditioning as a 2014 sponsor.  From their web page: “Davis Strength and Conditioning is a sports performance and fitness business. We provide a facility, equipment, and instruction for those who want to improve strength, speed, power, agility, quickness, mobility, work capacity and general health.  We understand the commitment, hard work, dedication and attitude needed for great fitness and athletic performance.”   Check them out atwww.davisstrengthandconditioning.com

Davis Girls Rugby Team is Looking for Players

If you are a female in 9th-12th grade in Davis and want to try a new and fun sport, contact the Lady Devils Rugby Team. Everyone is welcome to come try the sport. See their web page atwww.ladydevilrugby.com

Youth Rugby

For kids not yet in 9th grade, there are some great opportunities to play youth rugby in the Sacramento region. One of the best is Land Park Rugby. It is only 15 minutes from Davis near the Sacramento Zoo, and is an excellent program with outstanding coaches. They only coach U-8 to Jr. High kids. They allow kids to try the sport all thru December before having to commit. Practices are only Tuesday and Thursday.  If interested, check them out at their Facebook page:  Their web page is under construction. https://www.facebook.com/landparkrugby. Dixon Rugby club is also an option. They practice Mondays and Wednesdays.  See them athttp://dixonrugby.com/.

Re-Cap of the 2013 Season

After a 4 year hiatus, our first year back as a boys' high school club team was successful on many levels. First, we created a new buzz on campus.  When kids came out and tried the sport they liked it. We peaked at 44 kids on the roster, and were able to field two teams: Varsity Silver and Varsity Bronze. The Varsity Silver team finished in second place behind Rio Linda in the Sacramento Boys Varsity Silver Division II conference. We avenged an early season loss to Rio Linda with a decisive victory later in the season. The Silver Team finished the season with a convincing first round playoff victory over PITS, but due to previously scheduled SAT testing and the Senior Ball, we were unable to field a team for the remaining playoff games. The Silver team though ended the season with an incredible 9-2 record. 

Our Program

The Davis Rugby Football Club is home of the Davis High School Blue Devils rugby team! We are a second year program having re-established the club after a four year hiatus. We play in the Northern California Youth Rugby Association, Sacramento Valley Region. For the 2012-2013 season, we had two teams: Varsity Boys Silver and Junior Varsity Boys Silver. We competed against teams such as Kennedy, Dixon, Rio Linda, Jesuit, Granite Bay, and Vacaville. 

Northern California is a hotbed for youth rugby. The Dixon Rugby Club won the boy's USA Rugby National High School Championship in 2012. Jesuit also has a long history of winning the national championship on multiple occasions in past seasons. Northern California produces some of the best youth rugby in the country, and Davis High School Rugby Club plans to join that elite group.  

The Davis Rugby Football Club welcomes any and all Davis High School 9th -12th grade boys to the program. Rugby is played by kids of all shapes and sizes. You can’t be too big or too small to play. No experience is necessary. We will teach you the game…and we know you will have fun playing. You are welcome to come out to a practice and try the sport before committing.