PRO Rugby Team Preview: San Francisco

San Francisco Supporters
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San Francisco Supporters
San Francisco Supporters

PHILADELPHIA, PA – They have the most famous player in the league (or will have once he gets there); they have the right sized stadium; they have a strong rugby community around them from which to pull players and fans.  San Francisco is poised to have a good Year 1, and if PRO Rugby can make some slight upgrades to Boxer Stadium, poised for long-term success.

San Francisco has already named their lineup for their first match.

Reasons for Optimism

Canadian center Nick Blevins will create holes in the defense.  For sure.  With a reliable platform in the centers, San Francisco can build their structure around that.  Volney Rouse at fly-half will set up the center crashes in Week 1.  Orene Ai’i might see time at 10 as the season goes on.

Boxer Stadium PRO
Boxer Stadium

Tom Coolican missed out on the World Cup for the US Eagles but was named in the recent Elite Eagles Training Squad and brings a good work rate and handling skills.  Alec Gletzer showed during the Americas Rugby Championship that he is physical enough to compete with good loose forwards.  Fellow Cal grad Jake Anderson plays with ease and confidence and will grow as the season progresses.  If Anderson players well, Mils Muliaina might play on the wing when he arrives.

When David Tameilau is healthy and ready to play, he will be another player that features prominently in attack.

Reasons to Worry

San Francisco is not alone in this, but they are thin at second row.  Additionally, it has been a while since we’ve seen Muliaina and Ai’i in full flight.  The fire power for San Francisco is going to need to be the local talent.

Schedule

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Roster

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Prediction

It won’t be Muliaina leading this team at the end of the season.  Rouse will take charge, and he and Blevins will keep San Francisco fighting to finish with the second best record.

Please feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter@RugbyWrapUpJake Frechette, Junoir Blaber, Ronan Nelson, Jamie Wall, James Harrington, DJ Eberle, Cody Kuxmann, Nick Hall, and Declan Yeats, respectively.

About Jake Frechette 125 Articles
Jake Frechette lives outside of Philly, where he is engrossed enough in rugby that he sometimes forgets that when he talks about the Eagles, most people assume he means the NFL flock. He once played both tight head and inside center in the same game, which shows that he is strong, handsome and has nice hair. One of the things he finds most enjoyable in the rugby world is that Andrew Hore is a Hooker and he can't wait until his sons are old enough to giggle at that one with him.