A tradition continues

Bryce Alderton

Down at Peninsula Park, mere steps from the sand and surf of Newport

Beach that attracts surfers and bodyboarders, lies a pitch of grass

for a sport that is rarely associated with the Southern California

landscape.

The sport isn’t sanctioned by CIF and often its only exposure

comes from a slot on late-night television, unless you have a

satellite system that grants access to professional games.

But beginning today and lasting through mid-April, players on the

Back Bay Rugby Football Club will run, pass, tackle and no doubt

collect enough grass stains to warrant a double dose of detergent, in

a rite that has become a 20-year tradition in Newport Beach.

The Sharks, as they are called, are made up of several weekend

warriors, along with a few national team players, in a sport that

combines the best of soccer and football.

The sport of rugby is certainly alive and well to those involved

in the club, who are a reason why the sport’s popularity has steadily

risen.

Dave Fleck, a 34-year-old Newport Beach resident and the club’s

current president, began playing rugby 16 years ago while in the U.S.

Marine Corps.

“One day, around a squadron picnic, officers were playing rugby,”

said Fleck, who joined the Back Bay club about 15 years ago. “I didn’t know what the game was, but thought I would try it out.

“I took it up right away. It is a very rough game.”

Fleck will be out at Peninsula Park on the Balboa Peninsula at 1

p.m. today for the club’s first game of the season, against highly

touted Belmont Shore.

The Sharks were supposed to open the season Jan. 8 against Las

Vegas, but snow caused the game’s postponement, said Scott Bracken,

coach of the club’s adult “A” team who is in his third season.

This year the club includes three adult teams while fielding an

under-19 unit for the first time.

Bracken, a Corona resident, began playing rugby at San Diego State

in 1988 and advanced his skills enough to warrant a spot on the U.S.

national team on several occasions from 1993-’97. He was also an

assistant coach at his college alma mater.

“I’ve loved [rugby], it’s been a part of me,” said Bracken, who

works in Long Beach and drives to the club’s usual practices on

Tuesday and Thursday nights at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic

Church and School in Costa Mesa.

“The popularity of the game in the U.S. has picked up well in the

last few years,” Bracken said. “People will do anything to play or

watch.”

Rugby’s allure has also reached Newport-Mesa, where children who

play popularized American sports such as baseball and football are

giving the game a try.

Jerry Whitney, a Newport Harbor High freshman who played football

in the fall and plans to go out for baseball this spring, was one of

nearly 50 players who braved cold and blustery conditions Tuesday

night during practice.

All players except for a few forwards from the adult team were

relegated to the blacktop to run through drills, though, since

standing water covered much of the field.

Whitney, 15, started playing rugby three weeks ago on the urging

of Ryan Bell-Wheelans, a teammate of Whitney’s last spring on a

Newport Harbor Baseball Association Pony squad.

Bell-Wheelans, 15, moved to Newport Beach two years ago from New

Zealand, where he learned to play the game at an early age.

“[Rugby] is everything,” said Bell-Wheelans, who, along with

Whitney, are two of about 20 members of the club’s under-19 team. “It

requires stamina and a lot of running.”

Fleck estimated the club has 90 members, of which 60 are active.

Whitney doesn’t mind the running and likes the sport’s ruggedness.

“I like it because you have to be tough and there are no pads,”

Whitney said.

Spurts of light rain gently fell Tuesday night as players formed

lines of four and ran alongside one another, tossing the ball while

moving.

Players on the under-19 team split into two groups of three -- one

trio for offense and another for defense as they simulated a

takedown.

The first recorded rugby game on American soil took place at

Harvard University in 1874 and the sport has since earned staying

power.

Some say rugby provided the impetus for football -- “touchdown” is

a rugby term.

Rugby players wear little padding -- their uniforms resemble those

worn by soccer players -- and use a ball similar in shape to a

football except points at both ends aren’t as pronounced.

Players progress up the field -- with the goal of crossing a goal

line -- by one of three ways: passing, kicking, or running. Players

may only pass laterally or behind teammates while trying to elude

tacklers. Forward passes are not allowed.

On a typical Saturday across the U.S., more than 1,400 club teams compete.

And afterward, teams usually celebrate together.

“In American sports you play the other team, then both sides go

home,” Fleck said. “[In rugby] it is tradition to host the team you

[played against] afterward.”

A gentle gesture for a tough game.