Motherlode Rugby to host Wolverines Saturday

Rugby is more popular in Northern California than you might have known. Not only are the defending national champions, the Granite Bay Rugby Club, nearby, but the Motherlode Rugby Football Club, who plays their home games at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, has been around for 20 years. The club has around 135 players, both boys and girls, from under-10 teams to under-18. A large number of those players, between 50 and 60, are from Folsom. On the Motherlode varsity boys' team, five Vista del Lago students: Bryn Jones, Jackson Cantelme, Syris Boyd, Carson Ward, and Luke Lundbeck and another from Folsom High, Tyler Walker, are on the 25-man roster. The team's head coach and Motherlode's Coaching Coordinator is Jason Alexander. The 44-year-old, 1997 graduate of Oak Ridge High was one of the players who was on the first rugby team at Oak Ridge in 1996, which would become the Motherlode Rugby Club in the early 2000s. Steve Jones has coached all age groups at Motherlode for the last 13 years, this after playing rugby himself for more than 30 years. He's got three sons playing rugby at Central Washington University, the No. 2 ranked rugby program in the nation, and a fourth son, Bryn, is on the Motherlode varsity team. "The draw to rugby is anyone can play; all body shapes and types, there's a position for everybody," Jones said. "Rugby is all action all the time, unlike other sports where there are a lot of starts and stops. It's aggressive and there's a lot of contact. Off the field, sportsmanship and camaraderie are a big part of the sport." Bryn, 16, is a junior at Vista del Lago. He's been playing rugby since he was 4 years old and admits his dad and older brothers are a big reason why he plays. "I love rugby; it's a great team sport," Bryn said. "The community around the sport is super respectful and teams often hang out together after playing. Since I've been playing at Motherlode, I've always felt connected with and supported by the other teams in the club." While admitting it's a physical sport, Bryn said he's only suffered one major injury while playing, and that was a broken wrist. Motherlode has U-10 and U-12 coed teams, boys' and girls' middle school teams and boys' and girls' high school teams. They play in the NorCal Premier League with Bay Area teams Danville, Lamorinda, Marin, De La Salle, Jesuit and Granite Bay. The varsity boys' team has played three games and won one and lost two but because of the competitive league they play in, Motherlode is ranked 43rd in the nation. Most if all the teams in the NorCal Premier League are ranked nationally. The team's next home game at Ponderosa High School is March 11 against the San Mateo Wolverines, junior varsity playing at 2 p.m. and varsity at 3:30 p.m.