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Written by Evan Wollen
Friday, 17 June 2011 19:50 |
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Op-Ed: About those Jerseys |
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Columns -
Op-Eds
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| The merely OK, the bad, the confusing, and the ugly. Top to bottom, 2003, 2007, 2006, 2008, 2007, 2009, 2011, and the classic. | 
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Read any online rugby comments board, and you quickly discover that American rugby enthusiasts don’t agree on much. They are either for or against the latest USARUGBY or TU initiative (most of them seem pretty reasonable, but don’t affect me too much), for or against Jack Clark and his teams at Cal (met the guy once, and he was nice to me when he didn’t have to be), for or against the Gold Standard (O.K., I made this last one up, but they all probably have a strong opinion about it as well).
Well, let me proffer one vital cause that I think we can all get behind. In short, the return of the classic Red, White and Blue hooped jersey as the official Eagle team jersey.
A team jersey should be iconic. Unchanging save for the smallest details. It is how you are known to the world and a symbol of what you represented yesterday, today and always. Can anyone pin down what the Eagles’ jersey looks like? At every World Cup, it is different. Heck, at every World Cup qualifying game it is different (did you think we really forgot Uruguay 2006?). The shade of red has vacillated between red and some weird wine-like maroon. A nation’s jersey, especially our American jersey, should be doubly unique. Not different for contrarian’s sake, but unique. It shouldn’t be something that looks like we bought it off the “for sale” rack or the discard pile. I don’t think I ask too much. This isn’t a case of American exceptionalism. Every Kiwi, South African, or Argentine thinks the same about their jerseys.
I respect the fact that Canterbury has a distinctive jersey, and that peripheral fact may affect our current decision-making. But if I wanted to buy a navy blue Canterbury jersey, I would order a Scotland jumper. If we are to build a brand, or a Lovemark, it needs to be distinctive. And frankly, this problem predates USA Rugby’s deal with Canterbury. The greatest try of the last World Cup, and most are not contemplating the bright future of rugby in America. Instead we are wondering what those flashes are on Z’s shoulders. An homage to Charlie Brown, perhaps?
It also needs to be classy. I am not sure what that “Starred Chevron” was on Saturday, but it was certainly distinctive; distinctive for screaming “Rugby League” every time an American player was on the TV. Well, on my computer actually. Worse, it was also ugly.
Many of the viable options are already taken, namely Red (Wales and others), White (England), Blue (Italy, France sort of), and Purple (thankfully taken off the board by England).
Luckily, we have a viable alternative. Throughout much of the USA’s early years, and on into the 1990s, we had a jersey that was classy, distinct, and good looking. In fact, I cannot remember when we discarded it. The jersey is like the best friend you once had who drifted away without you noticing it. It was the USA pounding Japan 74-5 in 1996, or Matt Alexander hitting the kick against Hong Kong in 1997, and then crap jerseys after that. Why did we ever abandon it? Greed? Hubris? Too much time at an after-party? I am not arguing that it didn’t need an update. Thinner, more numerous hoops perhaps? Incorporate the All-American scheme of the logo as a shield on the front? Definitely the sheerer look that we see nowadays on rugby jerseys. But nothing too radical. Nothing as bad as we have been subject to for the last 13 some odd years.
Clearly, there are some downsides to this move but I think they are minor. Even a hint of hoops screams “Cal” to haters of the supposed braggarts from Berkley. And you got to admit, ‘Movember’ would look a heck of a lot more normal with the hoops. In response, all I can say is why would we ever want to associate the Eagles with success? If a simple jersey change would do it, we should have done it long ago. And the hoops, while spawned in the 1970s, are not of the 1970s. Much like yours truly. The distinction is important.
That is not to say that we couldn’t have an alternate strip, or wouldn’t throw on a solid color as a “one off” sort of deal. Black to look fearsome or Pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness I guess. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be Neon Pink (see Stade Francais), Neon Yellow (see Wales), Neon Orange (see Scotland), or frankly, Neon anything. But we wouldn’t need an alternate strip for many games. Done right, we wouldn’t need it for any games, save the ones we would choose.
I think the benefits are obvious, and with a World Cup staring us in the face, I think it is high time for a change. Powers that be at USARUGBY, please adopt, nay re-adopt, the classic Eagles Jersey. Let Red be Wales, White be England, Blue be Italy, and the Red, White and Blue be America. Now and always.
Now, about that logo …
Evan Wollen is an officer in the United States Army, and a longtime rugby player, coach, referee and fan.
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Friday, 17 June 2011 14:06 |
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Golden Gate Serious about 7s |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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The San Francisco Golden Gate club is ramping up its 7s efforts this summer, after not competing in 2010.
New 7s Head Coach Jone Naqica, who remains the top all-time USA points-scorer in the IRB Sevens World Series, is assembling a talented squad of players from the SFGG Super League as well as area colleges.
Central to the team will likely be longtime scrumhalf Mose Timoteo and players such as Tevita Okusi and possibly Danny LaPrevotte and Mile Pulu.
But what SFGG needs is competition, and to do that they’ve set up their own 7s tournament for July 2 at Treasure Island.
“We need to have a competitive tournament with serious teams,” said Naqica. “We want to qualify for nationals, that’s the first goal. And we want to have a tournament where everyone plays four games, and goes for a trophy.”
The tournament is the Nesquik Golden Gate Invitational, and will be held at Sheeran Field on Treasure Island July 2. Registration is at www.sfggrugby.com
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Friday, 17 June 2011 18:42 |
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South Shore 7s Starts NRU Season |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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 The first Northeast RFU 7s qualifier gets underway in Braintree, Mass. Saturday with the South Shore 7s.
It’s not a big Qualifier field, as five teams battle for points leading to the NRU championship and a place in the National 7s Club Championships.
NYAC has decided not to play 7s this summer, and Mystic River, which qualified for the national tournament last year, isn’t in Braintree, either. Instead Boston is fielding two teams, and Old Blue, Middlesex and Cape Cod round out the Qualifier field.
Boston Head Coach Kevin Immonje is particularly excited about his team.
“We have some good young players from colleges around the Northeast,” Immonje told RUGBYMag.com. “And we add to that some very experienced players – we have a lot of experience – and we’ve got a deep squad.”
Kyle Marshall, who played for the USA 7s team in Dubai, Duran Vota, who has been in USA camps before, join Derrick Wavomba and Brennan Moore in a core group that has been to two straight national tournaments.
“We gave these guys some time off after the Super League season, but we’re getting back in it nopw, and I feel good about it,” said Immonje.
Newcomers to the club roster include collegians Sam Rabb (Brown), Collin Yip (BC), Julian Rowlands (Rutgers) and Garrett Lincoln (Gettysburg College). Meanwhile some players from other clubs or cities are also coming to Boston, including Mystic’s Adnan Kawama.
The same story goes on at Old Blue, where NYAC 7s aficionado Dave Rader will bolster their forwards, and Penn State standout Kevin Kimble heads a college crop that includes Bobby McMahon (Columbia), Robert Keehn (UNH) and Johannes Cronje (Rutgers).
It’s the usual migration of players looking for 7s opportunities during the summer. Boston, with two teams entered into the South Shore 7s, hopes to provide not only opportunity, but some victories.
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Written by Alex Goff
Friday, 17 June 2011 13:42 |
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Can USA Professionalize 7s Team? |
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Sevens -
USA Sevens Men
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 USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville has told RUGBYMag.com that the National Governing Body is close to being able to professionalize the national 7s team.
Melville said he expects to see the women’s team expand its activities and probably participate in a four-event world circuit next season. Meanwhile the men’s team is expected to have to devote more time to 7s, what with the Pan-Am Games leading directly into the first three tournaments o the 2011-2012 IRB 7s season, Australia, Dubai and South Africa, and a rumored expanded HSBC Sevens World Series.
What is known for sure for the rest of 2011 is a busy calendar. Any player who is on both the USA 15s and 7s team will be in assembly from May through December with breaks only in July and November.
“There are understanding employers, but I can’t think of an employer that would stand for a employee being away that much,” Melville told RUGBYMag.com.
These players will have to be paid, and USA Rugby can do it by diverting IRB High Performance moneys to the 7s program (not for wages, but for other expenses), getting low-cost or freebie facilities through the United States Olympic Committee, sponsorship money, grants, and specific assistance from the USOC.
The 2016 Olympic cycle does not start until after the 2012 Games. But USA Rugby will be meeting with the USOC in August to discuss the need for a foundation for the 7s rugby team now – just as Great Britain, Canada, Russia and other Olympic Committees have done.
“I firmly believe that the next step for us in 7s is to professionalize the team,” Melville said. “In the last four years the program has improved greatly but in many ways they have over-performed. We’re a 5th to 12th-ranked team right now, and we’re probably the only core team that’s not professional. In order to keep pace with this and in order for us to qualify for the Olympics in 2016, I think we need to be a top-six team, and to do that we have to have them in a full-time training environment, and that means making them professional.”
Melville will present his list of needs to the USOC in August, but he hinted at being in talks with sponsors also to help fund the squad. Making the 7s team fill-time will cost around $2 million, Melville said. That is about 25-30 percent of USA Rugby’s current budget (a previous editing error had this number at 40%).
The commitment to professionalize the men’s 7s team, and increase support of the women’s 7s team, also means a shift in emphasis for USA Rugby. Like many rugby nations, the USA sees a quicker path to international success through 7s. The women’s 7s team was third in the world in 2009, while the men’s team has beaten every major rugby nation in 7s except New Zealand and South Africa. The women’s 15s team of course has had some remarkable international success, but the men’s 15s team has only ever beaten one team in the current IRB Top 10, #10 Fiji in 1999.
“After this year the emphasis will change more to 7s,” said Melville. ”There’s a growing momentum in that direction. There are more global opportunities for 7s than 15s. The IRB 7s circuit is year-round; we have to remain competitive in that. There’s been a sea change in how unions approach the game. About 90%, probably more, are now looking at 7s being more cost-efficient than 15s, and offering a better opportunity to compete with the top teams in the world. Things have to be different after the [15s] World Cup.”
That will also mean a change in pay scale for national team coaches will change. Right now RUGBYMag.com estimates are that over 80% of national team coaching salaries are being directed to the men’s 15s team. Most Olympic National Governing Bodies pay their men’s and women’s coaches almost equally, but USA Rugby pays WNT coaches less than $20,000 a year. It certainly seems likely that USA Rugby will adjust its pay structure to bring all four senior team coaches to a more even pay scale, and also allocate assistant coaches more evenly as well.
Melville said he will be involved in helping assess players for the program, and added that just paying players doesn’t make them better. The key, he and coaches have said, is to have them in a consistent, effective training environment, where they don’t have to worry about feeding their family or paying their mortgage.
RUGBYMag.com has reported on similar plans before. Is this a pipe dream?
Melville said no.
“How close are we?” he questioned. “We’re pretty close.”
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