Canterbury HS Player of the Week Qiera Nixon
Land Park garnered acclaim when its high school and middle school teams won the Rugby NorCal Girls’ High School Invitational. That spotlight intensified on Saturday, as the Harlequins defeated reigning national club champion Sacramento Amazons 75-7 in league play.
RELATED: Land Park Wins NorCal Tourney Titles • Women’s Rugby Results: March 18-19 • High School Nationals Update
“This is a win we’ve been chasing,” said Land Park coach Naki Hopoi. “It’s always cool to get a win over the national champion, especially coming out of the same area. There’s a lot of talent out here, and to be able to beat a club like that – it’s our biggest win to date.”
Land Park is only in its second Rugby NorCal season, but the team is built on players who have been in the game since middle school (read more). Young and yet veteran leadership propels a well rounded game, which Hopoi credited in Saturday’s win.
“Everybody’s got to play,” Hopoi said. “It can’t be six against 15. That’s where we came in and took over; we had 15 playing their roles.”
Co-captains Claire Fetros and Qiera Nixon led a balanced attack that saw the scoring spread throughout the lineup. Forwards MVP Destiny Nash – who was really disruptive in the breakdown and moved the ball quickly – Lala Reynolds, Olivia Popp, Zyana Thomas, Daisy Chanthavong, Jackie Miller, Leireena Anjolok, Lei Taukave-Langman, Briyonna Shelton and Lilliana Farias all scored. Canterbury High School Player of the Week Nixon proved to be the most effective finisher on the day, dotting down four times.
“We pulled Qiera from track,” Hopoi said of the fullback and backs’ MVP. “She’s just very disciplined and listens, and plays her role.”
Land Park had a lot of success down the sideline, and once Nixon found an inch of space, she was tough to track down. Sacramento put forth the hard-charging, line-breaking game for which it’s known, and had well knowns like Maryjane Pasioles – fresh off the USA Falcons’ tour to Vancouver – and Salote Tausinga for veteran leadership. The Amazons had several chances to turn a long breakaway into points, but a final knock-on or error at the try line prevented several tries. The team was also missing the influence of Eti Haungatau, who is a game-changer.
Hopoi indicated that the team is enjoying the win, but isn’t getting comfortable. The coach intimated that the Amazons were missing players and rebuilding, and that the densely talented NorCal league pushes its members to improve.
“We’ve got really good competition and good coaching going on,” Hopoi said. “It’s really great to play clubs like Sacramento and the Cavaliers and Lady Oaks week in and week out. I credit Land Park’s success to facing that type of competition – right from the beginning, when we started.”
The win over Sacramento is a big confidence boost, and now Land Park has defeated the region’s top-three teams (victories over Pleasanton and Danville were tournament wins). All three competitors will be getting back injuries and developing more depth as the season progresses, and Land Park hopes to stay one step ahead.
“You face one team one week and win by a big margin. The next week, it could turn out completely the other way,” Hopoi said. “We just have to stay healthy and hope to play your best when that game counts.”
NorCal’s league games are scheduled through April 8. The league quarterfinals begin April 22, and the championship occurs May 6. NorCal is sending four teams – Land Park, Sacramento, Pleasanton and Danville – to the high school club national championship on May 19-20 in Elkhart, Ind.
Stay tuned for high school rankings on Wednesday, March 22.