Former USA center Vaha Esikia marks his opening season as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Blackjacks this winter.

The USA 7s team will begin holding an extended camp soon.

Belmont Shore kicks off its DI National Championship defense Saturday against Santa Monica, but does so with plenty of talent from last year’s team off the roster.

The knock on the Dallas Red Rugby Club is that they were dependent a little too much on a small number of star players.

We have pieced together the Elite Cup schedule, and it's posted below.

Lurking around the waters of Southern California’s DI club league are the Dolphins of Santa Monica.

Who won our RUGBY Magazine Awards for 2012? If you want to see the entire awards magazine, subscribe to RUGBYMag.com Premier.

But click here to see the list of winners!

The year in national teams was a year of proving axioms.

There are many pieces of the college application that the admissions department will use to decide whether or not to admit you to their school. One of the most influential parts will be your standardized test scores. 

There are many pieces of the college application that the admissions department will use to decide whether or not to admit you to their school. One of the most influential parts will be your standardized test scores. 

Editor's note: This is Shalom Suniula's latest column in his series of RUGBYMag.com The USA 7s team's most-capped player will be updating readers on life in the 7s team, the players, the coaching, and notes from the IRB World Series. This column is now available to RUGBYMag.com Premier Subscribers. - AG

All the talk about military 7s teams helping develop Olympic 7s players isn’t just limited to men.

RUGBY Magazine is a digital magazine you can read on your laptop, tablet, or other electronic device.

We publish it every month, and subscribers to RUGBYMag.com Premier can see every issue as soon as it comes out.

This month, we review 2012. Our review is so big that we are breaking it up into two parts, with 2012 Year in Review Part 2 coming in January.

So if your favorite part of the game isn't in this issue, it will be in the next one. 

In this issue we wrap up the national teams, get in-depth with Nigel Melville at USA Rugby, cover high school rugby, and those in the game we tragically lost in the past year.

Also in this issue is a historical look back at rugby art on tour and game programs, our gift guide reprinted, and a photo montage from the year.

Editor Alex Goff also chimes in with a few words of (supposed) wisdom. 

Premier Subscribers can click here to see the magazine.

If you are NOT a premier subscriber, click here to subscribe.

RUGBY Magazine is a digital magazine you can read on your laptop, tablet, or other electronic device.

We publish it every month, and subscribers to RUGBYMag.com Premier can see every issue as soon as it comes out.

This month, we review 2012. Our review is so big that we are breaking it up into two parts, with 2012 Year in Review Part 2 coming in January.

Our latest reprint excerpt from RUGBY COACH WEEKLY details an exercise you can replicate at training to produce the right results at the ruck.

Our latest reprint excerpt from RUGBY COACH WEEKLY details an exercise you can replicate at training to produce the right results at the ruck.

The full-time Olympic Training Center contracts have been around for about a year now. It was in Wellington last season that the Eagles fielded their first mostly-contracted side, so we mark that tournament as the beginning of the contract era.

DEAR SANTA 

As a longtime member of the rugby family, I haven’t really asked for many things over the years from you.

It’s a common enough story, but is not less accurate for the repeating.

The USA men’s 7s team finished their last two tournaments 3-7, but with a series of very close losses.

USA captain Todd Clever is now looking toward helping NTT Communications move up in the Japan Top League, but two recent losses have seen them slip to 9^th.

It’s been a bit of a wait to replace Scott Lawrence as USA U20 men’s coach, but Jason Kelly now officially has the job.

College Apps - Kutztown University  ttp://www.kutztownrugby.com/

Karen Fong is a college admissions expert with specialized knowledge of the collegiate rugby landscape. She is a credentialed guidance counselor backed by a team at Dunbar Educational Consultants with over 130 years of combined experience in this field. She is also a former Division I Rugby player at University of California at Davis, National U-23 Team player and currently is on the USA Rugby Referee circuit. With her deep knowledge and strong ties to the collegiate rugby world, Karen is the best resource for families searching for the best fit college for their young rugby player. Various packages are available to suit every family’s needs. To schedule a consultation and discuss client options, please call Karen at (310) 497-0619 cell or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .www.DunbarConsultants.com

College Apps - Kutztown University  ttp://www.kutztownrugby.com/

Karen Fong is a college admissions expert with specialized knowledge of the collegiate rugby landscape. She is a credentialed guidance counselor backed by a team at Dunbar Educational Consultants with over 130 years of combined experience in this field. She is also a former Division I Rugby player at University of California at Davis, National U-23 Team player and currently is on the USA Rugby Referee circuit. With her deep knowledge and strong ties to the collegiate rugby world, Karen is the best resource for families searching for the best fit college for their young rugby player. Various packages are available to suit every family’s needs. To schedule a consultation and discuss client options, please call Karen at (310) 497-0619 cell or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .www.DunbarConsultants.com

There’s some schizophrenia going on in the women’s college sphere. With the advent of conferences, a lack of coordination between USA Rugby and administrators has teams questioning their eligibility for national playoffs or wondering if they’ll have an opportunity to play-in against other conference runners-up.

In the larger picture, the move to conferences was a necessary evolution, and it will help the sport’s growth and recognition. But that lends little comfort to college teams today, who can’t plan their spring seasons or allocate their budgets until some clarity emerges.

USA Rugby’s College Management Council will meet in January, face-to-face, to address some of these issues. Temple, for example, eagerly awaits their decisions, as their fate balances in the wind. At present, Temple is ineligible for DII national playoffs, as USA Rugby informed them over the summer that the program must play at the DI level. That mandate was passed down due to Temple's DI football program. When we spoke with Temple coach Owen Jones in late August, he wasn’t distraught about playing a league season without possibility of nationals.

“Not an ideal situation, but it is what it is,” Jones said. “I understand what USA Rugby is trying to do, and I think it is great how they want the level of play and organization to improve. I just feel they’re going about it too quickly and casting blanket rule over everyone without really understanding the dynamics of each club’s situation.”

But then word started to spread that teams in a similar situation – ones with DI football programs – were eligible for national playoffs. DII’s Washington State, which finished third at 2012 nationals and won it all in 2010, were planning on returning to the 2013 national tournament.

“The last discussion I heard was that in 2015 teams would be required to play in the conference that their school is a part of,” Cascade Conference president Sami Allen said. “This will mean that University of Washington and Washington State University will be asked to either move up or be ineligible for playoffs.”

It was the inconsistent ruling that Owen found troubling, especially since Temple went on to win the Mid-Atlantic Conference. He’s appealed for Temple’s inclusion at DII nationals, and Temple’s case will be reviewed in January.

Division I has evolved a bit easier, but that’s not to say conflict won’t arise. There are currently eight conferences, and thus far, only the champion receives an automatic bid to nationals. That leaves another eight spots to be awarded or contested across conferences in a play-in. In 2011, the Pacific Mountain Conference received six seeds to account for three territories combining into one. But with the fractioning of other territories into conferences, and those conferences receiving their own bids, it’s unlikely that PMC can retain all six seeds.

“The women's re-structuring is in semi-disarray due to miscommunication or no communication prior to [Collegiate Director] Rich [Cortez] and my joining USA Rugby, coupled with directives from some conferences and inconsistent opinions offered by some committee members,” USA Rugby Associate Director Tam Breckenridge said. “There is plenty of blame to go around!  For now, we want to move forward in a timely and consistent manner to ensure that all programs, deemed suited and ready for Division I women's rugby, receive the message and have assistance and direction in joining or forming a new conference.”

Right now, the hope is that January provides a clear, fair plan for the path to nationals. But it’s inevitable that  more conflict awaits in this continual evolution.