LARC v Huntington Beach RFC
Saturday 12th January 2008
By Frank Baker.
RANCHO PALOS VERDES - Los Angeles Rugby Club made a triumphant return to Division I on Saturday, ripping off 26 straight second-half points to come from behind and convincingly defeat the Huntington Beach Unicorns 36-21 before an appreciative home crowd at Dodson Middle School. The B-side made it a clean sweep, overwhelming the visitors 55-0.
LARC’s centers were the difference as the home team erased an 11-point deficit in the final 20 minutes. Inside center Johnny scored back-to-back tries and outside center Hunter made a potentially game-saving tackle with about 15 minutes left, then got his own try minutes later to ice the victory.
Big Bruce scored two tries in his impressive LARC debut. Both times the 6-foot-7 lock picked up loose balls and simply sprinted past Unicorn defenders.
LARC fielded a decidedly different starting squad from the one that earned the Division II Southern California title and a No. 3 finish in USA Rugby last spring. There were no fewer than nine changes in the starting lineup, including four new players – Big Bruce, Johnny, Sean at prop and fullback Simon, whose hard-charging counter attacks kept the Unicorns scrambling all day -- and new faces at the critical 8-9-10 positions. George started at the back of the scrum, Sean from LMU got the nod at scrum-half and fed fellow LMU alumni Marcus at flyhalf.
The match kicked off under a bright January sun and the start couldn’t have been better for LARC. Big Bruce fielded the opening kick and LARC quickly moved into phase play. Two minutes later, prop Kana picked up at the back of the ruck and crashed into the try zone to give LARC a 5-0 lead.
The Unicorns shrugged off the quick opening score and soon began to control play. A wonderfully executed switch between the flyhalf and outside center produced a try and 7-5 Unicorns’ lead at the 8-minute mark.
Following a Unicorns penalty kick at 15 minutes, Big Bruce gave the LARC faithful a glimpse of his remarkably well-rounded game. The Unicorns had a scrum near midfield and split the backs. The flyhalf made a poor decision, attempting a cross-field pass that fell behind the intended target. Big Bruce pounced on it, stepped through a tackle and then sprinted in from 40 meters out, leaving the fullback in his dust and pulling LARC even at 10.
The Unicorns continued to dominate possession but the LARC defense was stout, with the back row of Joe, John and George wreaking havoc from the back of the scrum. With just a minute to go before half, LARC suffered a huge blow when Kana went down with a knee injury. LARC seemed stunned by the loss and was caught flatfooted when play resumed. The Unicorns took advantage, with the scrum-half making a LARC defender miss and scampering in from 10 meters out to give the visitors a 15-10 lead.
In the second half, the Unicorns continued to hold the possession advantage and forced LARC into some costly miscues resulting in two penalty kicks and a 21-10 Unicorn lead at the 20-minute mark. Reserve Omar was one of LARC’s bright spots during the first part of the second half, executing perfect drop kick-offs and making several fine counterattacks to keep the Unicorns pinned in their own end.
The last quarter of the game belonged to LARC, as forwards Sean, Gabe, ageless Joe Katoa, Kevin, Dave and Big Bruce dominated up front and stifled the Unicorns as they attempted to establish their offense at set pieces and breakdowns. The result was several turnovers that LARC turned into points.
The home team cut the deficit to 21-17 when Johnny got the first of his tries. After several phases, Johnny picked up at the back of a ruck, went short side and ran untouched into the try zone from 25 meters out. LARC took a 24-21 lead five minutes later when Simon made a difficult pickup on a bouncing ball, sprinted ahead and fed Johnny, who again left Unicorns defenders grasping for air as he bolted in from the 22-meter line.
The play of the game came just two minutes later. The Unicorns flyhalf made a wonderful pop kick over the LARC defense at midfield, chased it down, sidestepped a defender and then appeared headed for the try zone when Hunter, hustling from the opposite side of the field, tracked him down and created a turnover at the LARC 5-meter line. Three minutes later Hunter ran to glory, taking a pass 15 meters out and dashing into the try zone. Marcus made a very difficult conversion and LARC was up 31-21.
Big Bruce wrapped up the scoring at full time, again picking up a loose ball and outrunning the defense to put an exclamation point on the LARC victory.
LARC looks to move to 2-0 in Ganey Cup play this Saturday at longtime rival Santa Barbara Grunion.
