It’s yet another great weekend for the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference (NCRC) and already there’s been a roller-coaster ride of events. Driving conditions leading to cancellations and upsets are only two variables thrown into a pot of unpredictability. Nevertheless, we look at the weekend ahead.

Simon Fraser (1-2) will have to travel to foreign territory to take on the Washington Huskies (1-1). Both teams have rested plenty after last weekend’s cancellations and would love nothing better to get back into the league standings with a win.

SFU will heavily on their backline lead by outside center Mike Boleak to put some points up on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, the Huskies and scrumhalf Justin Santos will use everything in their arsenal to get past SFU’s stingy defense which ranks fourth in the conference giving up under two and half scores a game (2.3).

Next up is University of British Columbia (3-1) against Western Washington (0-3). The Thunderbirds are rolling as usual and boast an offense that averages 42 points a game and are looking to keep pace with Oregon State in the standings.

Meanwhile the Vikings are having a tough year and faced arguable the toughest schedule with their most recent loss coming against Oregon State. However, every team including UBC knows head coach Colin Campbell is getting his troupes ready for a fight and should never be written off by any means.

Over in Ellensburg, the Central Washington Wildcats (1-1) will take on the Oregon Ducks (1-2). The Ducks and coach Duffin McShane try to shake off a tough loss last weekend to the WSU Cougars and will look to use their top-five ranked defense (2.7 ppg) against the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, Coach Tony Pacheco and CWU had to postpone their game last weekend due to pass conditions and are looking for blood early. The Wildcats boast depth and balance and look to attack from multiple angles.

To round out the day, it’s the Oregon State Beavers (4-0) against the Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1). The Eagles have been resting for three weeks and need to get back to the rugby pitch. They will look towards their physical forward pack lead by flanker Eric Populus to contain the Beavers attack.

Oregon State has faced their share of close games and blowouts and look to keep things rolling in Cheney. The Beavers high-powered high offense put up 59 last weekend on the Vandals and has been lead lately by winger Nate Kimmel who has scored seven times in the last two games.