Amy Naber Bonte / Photo: Jackie Finlan (TRB) Life West is taking a pressure-free approach to the upcoming USA Club 7s National Championship (Aug. 14-15). In regular seasons, the Gladiatrix are title contenders any time they take the pitch, but given the circumstances of the last year-and-a-half, the NorCal team is focusing on the joy of playing and reuniting with the rugby community.
California didn’t fully reopen until June 15, coinciding with the announcement that 7s nationals would be taking place in mid-August. In terms of vying for a national championship, that timeline didn’t work for tournament regulars like reigning champion San Diego and Berkeley, but Life West decided to have a go. [California’s Santa Monica is also competing; more to come on the Dolphins.]
“Essentially we made the decision the last weekend of June to have a 7s season,” Life West Director of Rugby Adriaan Ferris said. “And, yes, that decision was heavily influenced by the fact that nationals was being held in Seattle. Anywhere else and probably not.”
RELATED: Summer 7s a Reboot Season for Many
The squad has changed pretty significantly since Covid-19, as many players have moved out of the Bay Area. Previous captain Nikki Kenyon is in Seattle and playing for WAC; Eagle Bitsy Cairns is in Atlanta; and vet Jenn Sever is in New Orleans, to name a few. Eagle Nicole Strasko is the current captain and brings a ton of experience and poise to the pitch, and she gets support from familiar players like Sarah Buonopane. Hope Rogers-Dellermann and Amy Naber Bonte returned to training after the USA Women’s National Team summer Daily Training Environment (DTE) ended in July, and they really up the on-field leadership.
RELATED: Rogers-Dellermann Coaches Rhinos to NAI 7s Title
There are also local products who have either returned to NorCal and/or are transitioning from the high school realm. Siale Alatini, who has Danville roots, got her undergrad degree from American International College, where she was named a NIRA All-American. Alatini has also trained with the Hawk 7s in Chula Vista. Ferris praised teenager Leila Opeti – who played high school ball with Lamorinda and select side with Rhinos Rugby Academy – for performing really well this summer.
“Bianca Ortiz-Pallen, who is from NorCal and stood out at Central Washington University, is a very exciting, young player,” Ferris added. “She’s a former All-American and I’ve been very impressed with her.”
Ortiz-Pallen came out of Bishop O’Dowd, and she’s returned to her high school to assist head coach Julia Diskin. [Aside: Bianca’s younger sister, Vanessa, is a quality rugby player, too.]
Life West’s scholarship program brings new players to the Gladiatrix as well.
“I certainly don’t want to put any pressure on her but we have a newcomer, Rachel Pau’u, who is Mata and Leti Hingano’s cousin,” Ferris referenced the Eagle sisters. “She played basketball at Notre Dame [de Namur] and has taken to rugby very well. I spoke to [USA Rugby Women’s HP General Manager] Emilie Bydwell about her last year. She’s learning the game and having fun doing it, but she’s advancing better than what I had initially thought. She’s certainly a player that enjoys the robustness of the game and is physical.”
Alia Ah Far has also extended her studies with the chiropractic school. The U.S. rugby community familiarized itself with the New Zealander through DI Elite national champion Lindenwood University, where Ah Far held down the strongside flanker position. She’s a big pick-up.
Playing opportunities have been limited, but Life West has competed in two tournaments: Sun Splash 7s qualifier in Santa Monica and the local Carlsberg 7s in San Jose.
“For us, it was all about gauging. We didn’t set out to go down there and win it,” Ferris said of Sun Splash. “We wanted to test ourselves and see where we’re at with other teams. We played Tempe, who have been to nationals before, and lost to them in pool play. Then we beat them in the final [with no time on the clock]. We were lucky to win that, but it gave the ladies a lot of confidence, so we’re now building off of that.”
RELATED: Tempe Pumped for Nationals Run
The Gladiatrix will have approximately a month-and-a-half together when they arrive at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, Wash., but many teams will be entering nationals with similar run-ups.
“We feel, with the exception of possibly Scion and ARPTC, that every other team has had an interesting summer. Those two, though, will do what they always do and be well prepared,” Ferris said. “We won’t have a helluva lot of 7s under our belt, but we’re looking forward to getting tested in Seattle.”
RELATED: ARPTC Adapts to Training-Heavy Summer
The details for nationals – pools, format, schedule, etc. – is supposed to be released on Monday. Ferris explained that the team is managing the ambiguity well, taking each day as it comes, and just focusing on coming together.
“We have no expectations for nationals. The pressure is off,” Ferris said. “The focus for a lot of the ladies this summer is to just play, and 7s gave us that opportunity. Regardless of who wins, the beauty is that we get our rugby community back together and provide opportunities for these young ladies to play. Going into nationals, it’s an unknown quantity of who will perform and who won’t – but it’s irrelevant in terms of what’s more important.”
The summer is certainly unorthodox for Life West, but the fall will be different as well. With the WPL season moving to the spring, there’s new opportunity in the fall. The Gladiatrix will play some 15s friendlies against western WPL teams as well as Lindenwood University, and individuals will also have the option to join the California Grizzlies – a new entity competing in the new XV Series. In the most basic of definitions, the Grizzlies and fellow members Oregon Elks, Seattle Selects and Utah Club Rugby resemble all-star teams, and competition is less about wins and losses, and more about exposure for coaches and players outside of the WPL and higher-profile colleges. Ferris is at the center of this initiative, so stay tuned for more info as details become clearer.
