January Coach's Corner: California Tour Recap

UW Men’s Rugby headed south with a traveling group of 35 players and four coaches for a six-day California tour, featuring sunshine, team bonding, and three challenging matchups against D1A opposition to prepare the Dawgs for the second half of the season.

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The tour began early—very early—with a 5:15 a.m. light rail departure from the U-District before flying into San Francisco on Tuesday, January 13. After landing, the team went straight from the airport to Saint Mary’s College, suiting up for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff against one of the nation’s elite programs.

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Originally planned as a three-period, 120-minute live session, the match quickly proved to be a baptism by fire. UW faced six Saint Mary’s 1st XV starters—including USA Eagles inside center Dom Besag—alongside a strong supporting cast from their 2nd XV. Stepping off the plane and into a prolonged contest against the No. 5 team in the country was a heavy lift, and the session was shortened accordingly. As a result, Saint Mary’s 3rd XV—likely UW’s most comparable matchup—never took the field.

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The following day proved invaluable. Led by Dom Besag, Saint Mary’s players worked one-on-one with UW athletes after a one-hour film session run by Head Coach Tim O’Brien, breaking down the previous day’s performance in detail. From there, the team traveled to Santa Cruz, home base for the next three nights.

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With beautiful weather, beach time, and the boardwalk providing a welcome change of pace, UW took on UC Santa Cruz in front of a strong alumni and family presence, along with relatives of eight UW players who made the trip or came from nearby to support the team. UW fell 5–14 in a spirited, physical contest, but the Dawgs hit many of their performance targets and showed clear growth. After the intensity of day one at Saint Mary’s, the game felt slower and more manageable—a sign of adaptation and progress.

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The final day in Santa Cruz was reserved for recovery and team time, capped by a barbecue hosted by alumni. Special thanks to alumni Jason Hilton for organizing a great evening that brought players, coaches, and supporters together. Additional thanks to alumnus Steve Greiling and Kevin Fuller for their support throughout the trip.

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The tour concluded in San Jose with a matchup against San José State University. UW again stayed competitive, falling 26–36 in a hard-fought match that reflected the gains made over the course of the week. The final night of tour may or may not have included a Kangaroo Court, where players were sentenced for minor infractions while on tour, including the mistreatment of Balto, the team's plush Husky puppy/mascot awarded to promising rookies. Of course, none of this can be confirmed or denied, what happens on tour, stays on tour.

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The California tour delivered exactly what it promised: exposure to top-level competition, valuable learning opportunities, and meaningful steps forward as UW Men’s Rugby prepares for the second half of the season.THIS is what rugby is all about. This incredibly strenuous, aggressive, dangerous sport requiring quick thinking and decisiveness, is most successful when it is done elegantly in sync with teammates. Saint Mary's demonstrated how this game can and should be played. It was beautiful and violent. Over the course of the week, we saw a UW team play more as a synchronized team than ever before.

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While the fall quarter felt like a backwards step in the clubs pattern of two steps forward, one step back, the Dawgs did not back down on this tour. It was all fun, big gains, memories and lessons that will last a lifetime.