Lamo U14s win Rugby NorCal 2022 EOYTÂ
The Lamo U14s ended their season in style at the Rugby NorCal End of Year tournament at Bartholomew Sports Park in Elk Grove last Saturday. The Rodents eased through the playoffs, beating Elk Grove, the hosts & Danville, before encountering a very strong local team, Kaji in the final. After a bruising 30 mins, and a fatal missed kick, Lamo overcame Kaji 14-12 to take the cup.
Daniel Dunne (inside center) scored 2 tries. Thomas Parrott (flyhalf) kicked both conversions.
The U14s were coached by Henk Van Niekerk, Steve Miller, Nathan Rundell, Patrick Dunne, Robbie Haskings, Ray Lehner and Andrew Parrott.
Photo:
B (R-L): Zaire Palmer, Ryan Crane, Eli Levenfeld, Adam Shedd, Danny Dunne, Cole Haraburda, Josh Haskings, OC Lehner (C), Bryce Birdsong, Ethan Kong
M (R-L): Sam Kennedy, Sebby Strittmater, Xander Hagen, Max Mitchell, Kayden Prak-Perry, Thomas Parrott (C), Will Miller, Alastor Friend, Billy Ellis
F: Jeremy Rundell
Open Days
Lamorinda Rugby would like to announce that we are hosting three FREE Open Days on November 6th, 13th and 20th. These will be from 9am- 11am at Orinda Intermediate School. These Open Days serve as a great opportunity for those who have never played rugby to try it out! Coaches will be on hand to answer any questions about the sport, the season, safety and anything else.
Any questions please email us at: admin@lamorugby.com!
Winter Registration
We're pleased to announce that registration is now open for our regular Winter season. Please click on this link for the registration site. The link is also available on the club website:: www.lamorugby.com. All info regarding the season is contained on the registration site.
Please direct any questions re. registration to: admin@lamorugby.com!
In the News
Lamorinda win thrusts team into limelight - GOFF Rugby Report
02.21.2019
Lamorinda shook up the Northern California, and indeed the national, high school scene with a 36-29 defeat of defending national HS Club champion Danville Oaks over the weekend.
For Lamorinda, this was a huge accomplishment and it’s not a coincidence that a couple of days later Lamorinda was invited to the 2019 HS National Championships.
“We felt pretty good about our prospects for this match,” said Coach Mike Leksan. “These guys have grown up with each other as rugby players and have developed together. We feel pretty good about what we have.”
A couple of years ago, the decision was made at the club to keep the younger players separate from the older players. Basically, freshmen and sophomores remained on the JV team even if some might have been good enough to play on the varsity team.
“It was part of us changing the culture of the club,” said Leksan. “Our JV team went undefeated last year, and because we were able to keep them all together, they just really gelled.”
With a forward pack that played solid defense and moved effectively around the field, and with a talented backline led by centers Miles Beaubelle and Oteti Vehitkite, Lamorinda scored early and shocked the Oaks. Beaubelle opened the scoring by slicing through on a simple crash ball, and Vehicle scored on an interception and also countered on a kick from long range for a try.
Lamorinda led 36-12 with 15 minutes to go, before Danville mounted a comeback that fell one try short.
While the Lamorinda backs, directed by a halfback combo that just understands the game and each other, was dynamic, the forwards simply got the job done.
Captain Alex Cotessis has a huge work rate and leads by example, while hooker Zachary Barker was also influential.
So … watch out for Lamorinda, but Leksan said there’s still work to do.
“We have SFGG coming up and more tough tests this season, but it was a good start,” he said.
