Rugby Update Spring 2015
The Life West Rugby team has been very busy for the past few months. Here are some of the highlights!
We have selected a head coach for the women’s rugby team, the Life West Gladiatrix. Nili Latu has joined us for the next five months as the coach of the Gladiatrix and a player on the Gladiators team. This is exciting news on several fronts. Nili hails from New Zealand and is the current captain of the Tongan national team. Nili is an outstanding rugby player and brings exceptional experience and strength to the men’s team.
On February 14th, several members of the Gladiators were invited to join the Northern California All-Star team (the Pelicans) in Las Vegas for a high profile tournament. Life West Athletic Director, Adriaan Ferris was selected as the coach of the Pelicans and nine members of the Gladiators were invited to play.
The Pelicans beat a formidable and talented All-Star team from Dallas by a score of 41 – 36. The Gladiators played well and showed off their skills to the US national team scouts who were there. The Gladiator team members credited their advantage to having a well-adjusted team. We know their hard work and skills were also critical to their success, but are very glad our team has the advantage of great function due to the chiropractic care they receive regularly.
In other breaking news, we have recently added another well-known international player to the Gladiator roster. Orene Aii played for the All Blacks 7s team and the Auckland Blues, which is a Super Rugby (professional) team. Aii was the IRB World 7s Player of the Year in 2005. He drives in from Sacramento to practice and play with the Gladiators.
The season is off to a strong start for both the Gladiators and the Gladiatrix. The men have played four games and won all four. The score of the last game was 48-19. The women have played three matches and are now 1 and 2. They won last week against San Jose 51-7. This past weekend the Gladiatrix lost by one point to the Sacramento Amazons, who went to the national championship last year. If you see her on campus, be sure to give your congratulations to third quarter student Nikki Loewen, who won player of the match a week ago. Why is this so remarkable? This is her first season playing rugby!
Be sure to watch for updates from lifewestrugby.com and meet us on the field to watch these remarkable teams play. It’s going to be another memorable season.
Photo Credit: Bruce Chester
