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Idaho’s DI, DII Near HS Club Playoffs

  • 27 Apr 2021
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Rugby Idaho has been playing high school rugby since mid-March, and the state will contest Division I and Division II championships for the girls in mid-May. The leadership is focused on sustaining teams through playing opportunities, whatever the format, so they can build momentum out of the hiatus and grow into the future.

RELATED: Meridian Wins West Ada 7s

Rugby Idaho Executive Director Mitchell Castro indicated that the participation numbers are right where he expected them. He’d been talking to all of the coaches as the spring 2021 season approached and knew everyone’s numbers were down. Four clubs – Mountain View, Rocky Mountain, Eagle and Meridian are all competing in Division I, which is committed to 15s. The rest of the field is in Division II, which has flexibility in its game format.

“We’re trying to get the numbers back up, and that’s why we have the developmental league,” Castro said of DII. “Teams might not have numbers right now, but if we can keep them alive, then it’ll be much easier to return next year [than after a year’s hiatus]. The coaches did a good job of prioritizing games and just building some excitement around playing rugby again. Then they can keep playing in the summer and fall, and come back and really focus on growing their programs again.”

It’s not all equal footing, however. The four DI clubs all hail from the West Ada / Meridian regions, while the whole of the Boise teams is in DII. Capital, notably, is in DII.

“From my perspective, yes, and it’s whether you were able to play fall sports,” Castro examined why certain areas of the state are in better position than others. “West Ada and the Boise school districts were so different in how they were running their Covid protocols. West Ada definitely had much more resources with fall 7s and lining everyone up for spring. Generally, fall 7s helps prep the girls to be better rugby players because then they’re playing all year round. It’s cool to see that growth.

“But some counties didn’t allow play at all, and it was a tough situation for Boise,” he said. “We moved everything back two weeks so teams that were affected had more time to prepare. So that’s been the biggest factor: West Ada and Meridian were to open up first, so they’re stronger right now.”

Mountain View is 5-0 in Division I and has topped all of its league mates at least once. But after its lopsided season-opener against Meridian on March 18, Mountain View has defeated opponents by an average of 10 points. Across the entire field – again excepting Mountain View’s first game – the largest margin of victory is 17 points.

There’s a bit more disparity and flexibility in Division II, home to seven teams: Capital, Centennial, Idaho Falls, Magic Valley, Middleton, Mountain Home and Timberline. Fifteens is the ideal, but Castro has outlined the process for adapting to 12s, 10s or 7s on game day, depending on numbers.

In the first DII game of the season between Capital and Middleton, the coaches and referee played a game without acknowledging knock-ons. There were so many new players and the desire for a better-flowing game ruled. Middleton and Timberline have been active all spring and on April 24, they were able to play their first 15s match of the season against each other (Middleton won 19-15). Sometimes scores, like Capital’s 52-0 win against Magic Valley, reflect the first of three 7s games in a same-day series, and that single score is what’s recorded in the standings. On other days, teams like Timberline are lending numbers to Mountain Home, just so a game can occur.

The collaboration has meant that only one girls’ team, Emmett, has folded, but Castro explained that that process was already underway last year.

With fewer teams but more structure, Division I will follow a traditional semifinal / placing round format on May 14-15. The DII post-season is a work in progress but the final stages will also occur May 14-15 in the Boise area. There are two DII teams in eastern Idaho, so they might play each other locally in a play-in match, with the victor reporting to championship site. Castro is hoping for 15s but is prepared for 10s in DII. Again, details have not yet been finalized for DII.

When the Rugby Idaho spring season ends, summer opportunities await. Castro isn’t optimistic about the Great Northwest Challenge coming off this year, but is excited to see TOA send girls’ U16 and U18 teams to the NAI 7s tournament in Salt Lake City. Then focus returns to the West Ada 7s competition, which might add a new team in fall 2021, and seeing what benefits came out of the continuous rugby cycle.

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