There’s a lot going on in the world of women’s rugby this weekend, from the DI clubs naming their finalists (read more here), to the colleges edging toward their regional playoffs. But there’s still one more week of league play for the Women’s Premier League, which is revisiting its first-round matchups in week six.

The Red Conference is already decided. Regardless of what happens in the Twin Cities’ game against cross-town rival Minnesota Valkyries, or San Diego’s match against visiting New York, both have accrued enough points to secure the top two spots in the conference. They will compete in Tier A of the championship in Virginia Beach.

While bonus-point wins are likely in both of the aforementioned cases, they don’t matter even as regards to seeding at nationals. Since Berkeley will likely defeat the DC Furies Sunday and finish first in the league, and either Keystone or Beantown will finish fourth in Tier A, the Blue Conference leaders will probably play each other in the semifinals at nationals.

But it won’t be all smooth sailing for the All Blues. Last weekend, Keystone held the league leaders scoreless in the first half. Nathalie Marchino was on the sidelines and said it wasn’t so much about trying out new combinations in the backline as it was working depth due to a number of injuries incurred in their previous Beantown match.

“We did have some trouble finding our groove in the first half,” Marchino said. “We committed a number of unforced errors, and spent most of the half in our end, defending. We caught a few (that would be four) lucky breaks early in the game, where several tries were saved due to a forward pass or a knock on in the try zone. We regrouped well at half time, made some adjustments which allowed our backs to get some openings in the second half. We started challenging the defense by running at pace and used our tactical kicking to stay in their half. It always helps when you have a dynamic duo in the Gardner pair to get you four tries on the day (all by Elaine but mostly assisted by Irene).”

There is some drama of note in the Red Conference, however. While Berkeley will likely defeat the winless DC Furies in San Francisco, Beantown and Keystone’s game will decide the final Tier A competitor.

Keystone shocked Beantown in week one with a 19-5 victory on the road, and after a solid performance against Berkeley last weekend, the hosts are in the hunt for its first Tier A appearance.

Beantown has made a decent recovery, however, and earned its second win of the season last weekend against DC.

“Our main goal was to win and get the bonus point for scoring four tries, which we did,” Beantown coach Richard Ashfield reflected on last Sunday. “This gives us a fighting chance of making the final four if we can produce again this weekend at Keystone.”

Beantown has fielded a younger team this season, although stars like Amy Daniels and Katie Dowty anchor the team. Recent college grads Elizabeth Fierman at prop and Kathleen O’Malley on the wing have been great additions to the squad, and are turning into fine WPL-caliber athletes.

But Ashfield has still had to work diligently to get everyone on the same page.

“A lot of things that we worked on in practice were evident on the field, which is always very pleasing to see,” Ashfield had said after the 42-15 win. “We had worked a lot on our support from line-breaks etc and this was a huge improvement.”

It should be a good game against Keystone, but if Beantown can keep it all together and build from last week, they could overtake Keystone in the standings. A number of bonus-point scenarios could complicate that outcome even if Beantown were to win (for instance, if Beantown doesn’t get the bonus-point win but Keystone gets the bonus-point loss).

Here are the standings heading into the weekend:

CHATTANOOGA, TN  - October 27, 2011 – Today the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) announced a partnership with Adidas and World Rugby Shop to sponsor the new collegiate rugby conference. According to the partnership agreement Adidas will be the official brand of the SCRC and World Rugby Shop will be the Official Store of the SCRC. 

"Adidas Rugby is very excited to be partnering up with the SCRC and its member teams,” said Adrian Brooks of Adidas Rugby. “We look forward to a long term partnership that advances the game of rugby here in the United States.”

Both Adidas and World Rugby Shop will provide products for the league events and teams. SCRC teams will be among the first rugby teams in the country to sport Adidas’ new line of “mi Team” rugby kit, available exclusively in the United States through World Rugby Shop. 

“In 2011-2012 we will introduce new and exciting rugby products into the market that will benefit all serious players – from custom uniform kits (mi Team Rugby) that allow players to perform at the highest level, to the lightest rugby shoes (F50 AdiZero RS7) in the game,” Brooks said. “We expect the SCRC players and coaches to benefit from these product innovations and hopefully see a distinct advantage over their competitors during the upcoming season.” 

James Farrar, SCRC commissioner, said of the partnership, “These are exciting times for college rugby in America, and we at the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference are proud to have both Adidas and World Rugby Shop as strategic partners moving forward. Both companies are proven leaders in their industries, and are clearly committed to growing the sport of rugby not only in the Southeast, but across the globe. Adidas and World Rugby Shop are highly recognizable brands with which to associate our name, and we look forward to working with both for many years to come.”

Bernard Frei, CEO, World Rugby Shop, stated, “We have partnered with the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference not only because of our geographical connections, but because of the vision and potential of the league. Using established conference structures and rivalries is the future of the college rugby game in the U.S. and the SCRC will tap into a rich tradition of Southern rivalries at the major Southeastern Universities. 

"We are delighted to be working with a league and group of teams that are so highly motivated to move our great game forward and improve the image of rugby in their community. This partnership will help not only establish the SCRC as a legitimate force on the college scene, but also allow World Rugby Shop to grow with this league and better serve the college market and ultimately the sport of rugby.” 

The SCRC is a USA Rugby Men's Collegiate Division I-AA rugby conference featuring teams from the universities in the Southeastern Conference.  The league members include teams from the University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University.