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Canterbury HS Player of the Week LeiAloha Taukave-Langman
A new all-girls tournament has joined the northern California schedule this spring. Hosted by Danville and Pleasanton, high school and middle school teams took over two top-notch turf pitches at Robertson Park in Livermore, Calif., for the first Rugby NorCal Girls’ Invitational. The Land Park Harlequins walked away with both titles and also produced the Canterbury High School Player of the Week.
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The competitive spread between the top teams in NorCal has tightened, as the hosts, tournament winner, Bishop O’Dowd and Mother Lode all played each other well (Sacramento Amazons did not participate). Although Land Park is only in its second NorCal season, the Harlequins have already competed at club nationals and emerged as a real threat to the NorCal title this season.
“We’re an anomaly – we shouldn’t be as successful as we are,” said Land Park’s Curtis Popp, who shares coaching duties with Naki Hopoi, Jason Gaskins and Cliff Rouse. “When we came in the first year, we had a lot of girls who had been playing with the boys since middle school. So we’ve got girls who have been playing 4-7 years already, and that’s a huge leg-up we have.
“And the way we coach,” Popp motioned toward Hopoi, who has been rooted in the core group of players since their middle school days, “It’s definitely not me-ball. You can see the passing. We’ve kinda weeded out all that selfish play. Now it’s just clicking on cylinders.”
It’s the sophomore class that features the players with multi-years’ experience, and they’re the ones leading the charge right now. Leireena Anjolok, Mary Jibok, Jacqlyn Miller, Olivia Popp and freshman Destiny Nash form the core of that young group. Lala Reynolds has been a great addition, and players like Qiera Nixon, Claire Fetros and Lilliana Farias have been stepping up as well. Their focus has enabled new players to find themselves, including Canterbury High School Player of the Week LeiAloha Taukave-Langman, a senior at Rio Americano High School.
“Our strength has been in the backline, but our forwards have been stepping up big as of late,” Popp explained. “She has been a vocal and physical leader on and off the field the past few weeks.”
Couldn’t resist … this photo is “rugby joy” incarnate.
The 17-year-old prop got her first taste of next-level rugby at the Las Vegas Invitational and then upped her contributions in Land Park’s tournament title run on Saturday. The Harlequins defeated Lamorinda 62-0, Pleasanton 22-7 and Danville 39-7 in the final.
“Definitely going into contact, tackling, setting teammates up and being able to build up speed and having force to power through the weight of everyone trying to drag you down,” Taukave-Langman described her rugby attributes. “Just as well, I’m very strong in supporting a player on their line break, being there to ruck for the ball and finding gaps. Most importantly is communication. Letting my teammates know what I’m going to do on the field and when to fall back if there are too many in a pod, those little things.”
Taukave-Langman is one of many components to the high functioning team, and the hope is that it all comes together at club nationals in Elkhart, Ind.
“The girls are realizing – the new girls especially – that this is real,” Popp said. “Early on it was, ‘I’m going to play rugby and that’ll be fun.’ But now they’re getting the vibe that we’re playing at a really high level. … That makes them hungrier.”
Rugby NorCal HS Invitational
Quarterfinals
Pleasanton 59-0 Sierra
Land Park 62-0 Lamorinda
Bishop O’Dowd 33-0 Chico
Danville 7-5 Mother Lode
Semifinals
Land Park 22-7 Pleasanton
Danville 29-15 Bishop O’Dowd
3rd: Pleasanton def Bishop O’Dowd
Final: Land Park 39-7 Danville
5th Place bracket
SF: Sierra 15-5 Lamorinda
SF: Mother Lode 66-0 Chico
7th Place: Chico 22-5 Lamorinda
5th Place: Mother Lode 65-5 Sierra