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Championship Rugby League - USA

Izmir Zaferi
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Izmir Zaferi

Izmir Zaferi

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It seems a new group or likely a rebrand of the California Rugby League is coming. 

You can find their website at www.championshiprugbyleague.com

They list Ten teams (all the CRL teams plus some new ones) 

Their logo includes a Bear so that also indicates a rebrand of the CRL. 

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fighting irish

fighting irish

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15 hours ago, Izmir Zaferi said:

https://championshiprugbyleague.com/league-of-heroes-presented-a-new-character/

I'm so excited to hear any news of activity, and in particular any signs of growth in the USA.

I'd like to see Wales playing their best 17 next year. 

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Izmir Zaferi

Izmir Zaferi

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On 16/08/2022 at 10:05, DlEHARD said:

And then you have Pacific Coast Rugby League with the LA Mongrel and San Diego Barracudas.

The USA is a very interesting environment right now with a mix of USARL, CRL, Independants, NARL and a loose affiliation of the two clubs kicked out of the CRL with the PCRL.

One way or another I hope some form of cooperative governance is created. 

I do wonder if the CRL will come out on top in terms of 'elite' Rugby League. They have a massive leg up with the Islander community and Union clubs that may be interested in leaning toward League over Union. The CRL website insinuates that they see the MLR as a failure with Rugby League better positioned to appeal to the population. 

I do however hope that the PCRL continues and creates some form of second-tier Rugby League in the west. 

 

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RugbyLeagueRaj

RugbyLeagueRaj

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I was at the first day of matches in the new Championship Rugby League yesterday (17th Dec).

The two matches were
 

  1. North Bay Warriors vs Salt Lake Spartans
  2. San Francisco Savage vs Provo Steelers


North Bay are a team whose players are mostly of Fijian heritage and are based in Santa Rosa  (about 50 miles north of San Francisco).

Both Utah teams defeated their Californian opponents. There will be footage on the Championship Rugby League YouTube channel soon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVUHiVU2cbaltyVJQopYLOw.

The Spartans won 24 - 38 over the Warriors and the Steelers beat SF 32 - 38.

It was great to see the Warriors and Spartans huddle together at the end of their game and to hear the Steelers sing a hymn at the end of theirs.

Putting aside the discussions about the various leagues in the US, it was good to see 4 teams take the field for full games of 13-a-side with brand new jerseys for the players.

No-one would deny that there is room for improvement as there are a lot of players who are more used to playing Union but the Utah teams should be applauded for giving up 3 days to travel, play and then travel back. It's a 11-12 hours road trip one way. The standard of play will improve as the players play more league.

I did like the number 25 for the Spartans (hooker) who was great at darting out from dummy half and passing both ways.

 

Edited by RugbyLeagueRaj
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Gomersall

Gomersall

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9 hours ago, RugbyLeagueRaj said:

I was at the first day of matches in the new Championship Rugby League yesterday (17th Dec).

The two matches were
 

  1. North Bay Warriors vs Salt Lake Spartans
  2. San Francisco Savage vs Provo Steelers


North Bay are a team whose players are mostly of Fijian heritage and are based in Santa Rosa  (about 50 miles north of San Francisco).

Both Utah teams defeated their Californian opponents. There will be footage on the Championship Rugby League YouTube channel soon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVUHiVU2cbaltyVJQopYLOw.

The Spartans won 24 - 38 over the Warriors and the Steelers beat SF 32 - 38.

It was great to see the Warriors and Spartans huddle together at the end of their game and to hear the Steelers sing a hymn at the end of theirs.

Putting aside the discussions about the various leagues in the US, it was good to see 4 teams take the field for full games of 13-a-side with brand new jerseys for the players.

No-one would deny that there is room for improvement but as there are a lot of players who are more used to playing Union but the Utah teams should be applauded for giving up 3 days to travel, play and then travel back. It's a 11-12 hours road trip one way. The standard of play will improve as the players play more league.

I did like the number 25 for the Spartans (hooker) who was great at darting out from dummy half and passing both ways.

 

Thanks for that. It’s good to hear from someone based in the US and who can pass on first hand accounts to the rest of us.

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DlEHARD

DlEHARD

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Absolutely invaluable reporting, RugbyLeagueRaj. Thanks for going out there and I agree with your sentiments. If only the egos could step aside and we can let the players do the talking with playing the great game. 

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DIEHARD / TITAN / MAROON / KANGAROO

 

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fighting irish

fighting irish

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I wish the IRL would open an office over there with the sole intention of uniting all the disparate groups under one cover.

Whether that be the USARL or some newly constituted business entity then so be it, but I can't help feeling that we are wasting too much time inducting the USA into the International Rugby League community.

The fact that they were not represented in the recent World Cup is a great tragedy (in my opinion).

There's a sleeping giant there, that just needs to be nurtured and nudged out of it's coma.

Come on IRL can't you see the enormous opportunity a professional organisation would bring to fruition over there?

Perhaps IMG could advise and strike up a similar deal as the one they have with RFL.

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RugbyLeagueRaj

RugbyLeagueRaj

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Yesterday (Saturday 28th Jan) I was at the Police Athletic League (PAL) Stadium in San Jose for the day 2 of the Championship Rugby League season. The match was delayed from the 14th of Jan because of the torrential storms that we've had in California.

The East Palo Alto Razorbacks took on the San Francisco Savage with the Savage winning 32-52. The Razorbacks did get the score to 32-36 before the Savage were able to capitalize on the Razorbacks taking some risks which didn't come off.

The feed of the match should be on the Championship Rugby League YouTube channel very soon.

Edited by RugbyLeagueRaj
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fighting irish

fighting irish

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On 29/01/2023 at 22:31, RugbyLeagueRaj said:

Yesterday (Saturday 28th Jan) I was at the Police Athletic League (PAL) Stadium in San Jose for the day 2 of the Championship Rugby League season. The match was delayed from the 14th of Jan because of the torrential storms that we've had in California.

The East Palo Alto Razorbacks took on the San Francisco Savage with the Savage winning 32-52. The Razorbacks did get the score to 32-36 before the Savage were able to capitalize on the Razorbacks taking some risks which didn't come off.

The feed of the match should be on the Championship Rugby League YouTube channel very soon.

Thank you Raj, for this update. Please keep us informed of any (and all) activity over there? 

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RugbyLeagueRaj

RugbyLeagueRaj

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@JM2010 The situation in the US is very confusing at the moment. There are actually two West Coast competitions

with some geographic overlap but no current link between them. The two founding members of the PCRL were clubs within California RL which was the precursor to Championship Rugby League.

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fighting irish

fighting irish

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''Schism'' - a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief.

I think this word was minted in the old days to stand for the separation of a church into two churches due to irreconcilable differences of opinion on doctrine or dogma.

 Nowadays, it's become synonymous with the development of Rugby League, the world over.

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unapologetic pedant

unapologetic pedant

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8 hours ago, fighting irish said:

''Schism'' - a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief.

I think this word was minted in the old days to stand for the separation of a church into two churches due to irreconcilable differences of opinion on doctrine or dogma.

 Nowadays, it's become synonymous with the development of Rugby League, the world over.

The absence of a universal governing body militates against the maintenance of organisational and doctrinal cohesion. Witness the differing historical paths of Roman Catholicism and Sunni Islam.

Might be viewed as heretical on TRL, but I reckon if the NRL had a few internationalists at the helm they would be the most effective in advancing global RL development.

BTW, schism should be pronounced "sizm" i.e. the "ch" is silent. But it's one of these words where the error has been accepted. If you pronounce it correctly everyone will think you've got it wrong. Hence, and it pains me to say it, probably less ticklish to acquiesce and fall in with the errant crowd. Anything for a quiet life.

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fighting irish

fighting irish

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7 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

The absence of a universal governing body militates against the maintenance of organisational and doctrinal cohesion. Witness the differing historical paths of Roman Catholicism and Sunni Islam.

Might be viewed as heretical on TRL, but I reckon if the NRL had a few internationalists at the helm they would be the most effective in advancing global RL development.

BTW, schism should be pronounced "sizm" i.e. the "ch" is silent. But it's one of these words where the error has been accepted. If you pronounce it correctly everyone will think you've got it wrong. Hence, and it pains me to say it, probably less ticklish to acquiesce and fall in with the errant crowd. Anything for a quiet life.

Well I didn't know about the silent ''ch''. Every day's a school day. Cheers mate. 

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RugbyLeagueRaj

RugbyLeagueRaj

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Las Vegas Islanders 40 - Provo Steelers 44

The match was much closer than I was expecting it to be with the Steelers looking like they might run away with it at the start but the Las Vegas side staying in touch and finishing strongly.

The video should be on the Championship Rugby League YouTube channel in a couple of days.

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RugbyLeagueRaj

RugbyLeagueRaj

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This Saturday (18th Feb) was a Utah derby with the Provo Steelers taking on the Salt Lake City Spartans in the indoor field at Zion's Bank Stadium. Both teams were unbeaten and the match was even at half-time 18-18 but finished 52-34 to the Steelers.

The Steelers went on a scoring spree at the start of the second half before the Steelers clawed back some points at the end.

Video of the match is here

I wasn't there but there were about 50-75 people in the stands that the camera was facing towards.

Next match is Las Vegas Islanders vs Salt Lake Spartans

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