There’s a nice bonus with winning the Under 19 state rugby title — the champion gets to host next year’s tournament. ADVERTISING There’s a nice bonus with winning the Under 19 state rugby title — the champion gets to host
There’s a nice bonus with winning the Under 19 state rugby title — the champion gets to host next year’s tournament.
The Hilo Reign are the defending champions and a heavy favorite. They’ve played 11 games since March against the Waimea Boars and Pacific Rim from Kona, and remain unbeaten.
In something of a three-team, leaguewide numbers drought, Hilo played nine games with seven-a-side, and only two games with 15 players.
The state tournament will be 15s at Malama Park, and next week Oahu will host the 7s U-19 state championship.
The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio will debut rugby 7s. Tracy Poch, a 2012 Waiakea graduate, is in the Serevi Rugby training academy in San Francisco. Serevi is akin to a minor league team for USA’s national 7s.
For good measure, Hilo Reign went to the Aloha 7s in March on Oahu, and beat everybody, including British Columbia in the final. Waiakea upcoming junior Pono Auwae, a shifty running back on the football team, was named the MVP.
Hilo’s best player is the accomplished Suwaiter Poch, a 2014 Hilo graduate, who’s a member of the USA High School All-American team — the lowest level in the pyramid to its 7s national team.
“We’re fast and we’ve got strong boys,” Hilo coach Lawrence Fong said. “We also have a lot of new players learning the basics. They’re coachable and easy for me to train and teach.
“One of the new boys was Pono, who was the MVP of the Aloha 7s. He’s pretty fast, and as a new player he understands the game and is getting pretty confident. He’s excited about playing rugby.”
With four more players on the field than football, 15s rugby’s objective is similar: Get the ball across the goal line. It relies on similar principles. Strong athletes are needed to control the line. Speedsters are useful, and tackling the ball-carrier is important.
Instead of a touchdown and six points, rugby’s goal cross, called a try, is worth five points. A conversion is two points for a kick over the crossbar.
There are two 40-minute halves. There’s no blocking and passes can only be thrown laterally or backward. Anyone can kick the ball to avoid getting pummeled by a tackle, which turns air balls into a free-for-all.
The Big Island started its league, Hawaii Youth Rugby, in 2004.
Fong hopes the state will introduce rugby as a high school sport. At the very least, he’d like to see a few of the high school football teams allow their players to participate in rugby, and not choose one or the other.
“Playing rugby only helps for football, especially with running and tackling,” he said. “That’s what rugby is all about. Right now, there are a lot of colleges on the mainland that are providing scholarships. Kids should know that it’s not only football, but they can get a scholarship through rugby, too. It’s a fast-growing sport. Hopefully, it’ll be introduced to high school, and that would be fun.”
He can point to his son, Keala Fong, a 2014 Waiakea graduate, as Example A. He’s on the Reign and is working to get a scholarship at Lindenwood University in Missouri.
Hilo’s top three players are Poch, Fong and Auwae and each offers a different skill set.
“Suwaiter is more educated in the game. He’s a forward and knows when to defend and when to attack and attack at different opportunities. That’s one good thing he’s learned with the U.S.team,” coach Fong said. “Keala is a fly half, between the forward and back. He’s the first to receive the ball from the forward during a scrum. He’s a playmaker like a halfback in soccer. He looks at gaps and he’s a good tackler. He has the ability to punch through the line and kick while running.
“Pono (about 5 feet 4) has speed and he’s not scared to mingle with the big boys. A lot of people think rugby is a really tough game, but you can only tackle below the neck and you have to wrap up. If you get a yellow card, you’re out 10 minutes without a substitution.”
In all likelihood, the Hilo Reign will be in the championship. If Kahuku lands there, it’ll be an interesting matchup because the coach is Nusi Tukuafu. He was Hilo’s coach last year.
“I think we have the talent and knowledge,” Fong said. “Kahuku has a lot of natural athletes. If they use their energy and thinking, they could give us a run for the money, and I’m sure with Nusi they’ll be well-prepared mentally.”
Tukuafu’s stepson, Kolbi Scott, is the one caught in the middle. He’ll be a junior-to-be and wide receiver on Kakuhu’s football team. He’ll also play against a lot of his friends.
“My wife is from Laie, and after a job at UH-Hilo I didn’t have enough construction projects and got transferred,” Tukuafu said. “He’s hoping to come back to Hilo.”
Poch hasn’t forgotten about his old friend and gave him a little good-natured bulletin board material.
“Tell Kolbi he’s not going to beat us,” Poch joked before turning serious. “We’ve got a bunch of new kids. But our team is solid and we have a lot of dedication.”
