Oceanside CA– The Oceanside Chiefs Rugby Club brought their 10-1 record to Little Q Field in San Diego for a Sweet 16 playoff match against an undefeated team from the Arizona Rugby Union. The team from Tempe left with a win and a trip to Texas for the National, Elite 8 tournament.
Oceanside was able to keep it close through the first half of the match, trailing 15-8 at the half but Tempe stepped up their play after the break. Tempe scored early in the second half and never looked back. The Arizona team went on to win 47-8.
Harry Tarrant, Head Coach of the Chiefs, told the team “You should be proud. Don’t look at this game but look at our season. Our first year in Division II and look where we are.”
Words can mean little after a team suffers a big loss but they seemed to have an effect on the Chiefs team. Many players were looking forward to next season and a chance to go further.
A special thanks to Samalaulu Simi for identifying the Chiefs players in the photos of the match in the gallery below.

click on thumbnail image for photo gallery