Chico Men’s Rugby Club Advances to USA RUGBY DIII Regional Playoffs

Chico Mighty Oaks take down Colusa Rugby 45 – 21

The Mighty Oaks defeated the Colusa Rugby team last Saturday down in Treasure Island to become the NCRFU DIII Champs. They will now represent the union in the USA Rugby National tournament. Colusa, known for their hard hitting and aggressive play, came in ranked above Chico, but they could not contain the high powered offense of the Mighty Oaks.

Colusa came out hitting from the blow of the first whistle, however Chico was able to maintain the ball and stick to their game plan of crashing their centers hard, making or breaking the gain line with every attack. The Chico scrum half, Kyle Wright, took advantage of the Chico line breaks by scoring three tries in the first half from the support position, he would end up with five total on the day. Colusa was able to put one down right before half and converted the kick, Jake MFV was two for three the first half putting the score at 19-7 Chico.

The second half found Chico with the wind at their backs and momentum in their favor as they continued to dismantle the Colusa defense as Wright scored two more, wing Tyler Mathis put one down, along with the bruising outside center Chris Rico. Jake MFV was able to convert 3 of the 4, putting him at 5 for 7 on the day. Colusa managed to score two tries near the end of the match. Final score 45-21.

Chico Coach John Fox was proud of the team and credits the solid defense and a deep bench for the success “Defensively the entire team was solid but stand out efforts from Kendo, Rico, Bieber, Boone, Carl, Robert and Cheese. Great boost from subs Hank, Boone, Carl, Justin, and Farris.

Next up Chico travels back to Treasure Island for USA Rugby DIII Sweet Sixteen match against the Eugene Stags (9-0) who are the winners of the Pacific Northwest Union. They have a large pack and an offensive minded loose forward core. Chico plans to keep to their game plan of creating opportunities through their centers line breaks and playing staunch defense.

USA Rugby Regional Playoffs Chico vs Eugene

Saturday, May 6th at 12:00pm

Treasure Island, San Francisco