Santa Rosa youth rugby team wins Northern California division title

A local youth rugby team forged after the devastating 2017 fires is the Northern California Division 2 champion.

Santa Rosa High School Rugby - a mix of high school athletes from Piner and Cardinal Newman - defeated the Solano-Yolo Solo Falcons, 21-14, for the title on March 13 under the lights at Cardinal Newman.

Coach Darek Bailey said the team came together following the fires as athletes from both schools dealt with the aftermath. At the same time, a Santa Rosa High rugby team was collapsing, so he and another local coach formed the combined squad.

The team plays in the Redwood league, which also includes teams of high schoolers from Napa and Elsie Allen, and against the Bay and Sac leagues from the greater Bay Area.

Santa Rosa went 9-3 during the regular season and advanced to the playoffs against Gridley before facing Solo.

Dino Kahaulelio, who played football at Newman, scored twice for Santa Rosa and kicked his own goals, Bailey said.

The team has about 20 players. The league is part of Rugby NorCal, a State Rugby Organization under USA Rugby. There are boys and girls teams for players ages 5-18.

Bailey, who has played and coached for a number of years, said he hopes to expand rugby in Sonoma County.

“When I was younger, there were five high schools teams, but they’ve all slowly faded away,” he said. “We’re building. We’re looking to recruit. Rugby is a great sport and it’s growing in America. We hope to grow the game back to what it was.”

Those interested in learning more about local rugby - including about coaching and officiating - can visit www.rugbynorcal.org.