Under the lights at Cherry Park last Monday, the best-kept secret in Long Beach sports held an important practice. In a city known for the achievements of its youth teams, Belmont Shore Rugby has risen above the rest this season—today, all three of their youth age group teams will be competing for the Southern California Championships at Cal State Fullerton—the U14s will play at 11:45am, the U16s will play the San Diego Mustangs at 4:30pm, and the U19s will play the Los Angeles Cougars at 7:30pm.
As I watched an intense practice, many of the faces wearing the navy blue and gold uniforms began to look familiar—later, I understood why. Interviewing the U19 team as a group, I asked them how many of them played Moore League football. All but two raised their hands—these are athletes from Poly, Jordan, and Lakewood. Justin Utupo and Talia Crichton played rugby prior to signing their scholarships, and a number of Poly players did as well, including linebacker Kenny Tuiloma. In other words, this is a squad made up of some of the hardest-hitting defensive players the city has to offer—guys who relish a chance to play a full-contact sport without pads on.
That was one of two reasons that almost everyone gathered said they preferred rugby to football (captains Matauaina Iosia and Sefo Mikaele emphasized that they all did love football). The other? “Everyone gets the ball,” said one player.
Part of that is the inherent openness of rugby—on the football field, Poly defensive tackle Michael Teo is asked to play one position, with a limited set of responsibilities. That’s even more true for Poly special teams specialist Alan Roniss; in rugby, both players are asked to know all facets of the game. Especially, says U19 co-coach Mike Eriksen, when you play for Belmont Shore.
“We do use the ball a lot, and get everyone involved,” says the New Zealand-born coach. “Some teams just get the forwards, but here, all our players need to be skillful.” Erickson compared Belmont Shore’s style of play to the West Coast offense in football, using total skill, intelligence and finesse to succeed in a physically brutal sport.
Their opponent tonight, the Cougars, is a team they’ve faced before this season, and beaten. Obviously that’s no guarantee of today’s results, but the team will certainly bring its full effort in the SoCal Regional Championship—if they win, they’ll qualify for the National Championship tournament in Utah. They could certainly use a cheering section, and if you’re a fan of any team in the Moore League, you’re pretty much guaranteed a familiar face or two. When I asked Iosia if his team felt the Long Beach pride when they played, he nodded and said, “Belmont is the only team in the city…we bleed Long Beach, and we want to represent it.”
The three matches will take place at 11:45am, 4:30pm, and (with the U19s) 7:30pm at Titan Stadium on the Cal State Fullerton campus. Parking is free, and admission to the stadium will be $5—we sincerely hope to see you out there!