California Rugby League pt1.

Part one of a two part Q&A with Tom Stephenson , the man who will be helping make history for Rugby League in California and the catalyst for something bigger. The big day is Dec.7th on treasure island in the San Francisco Bay Area.

To jump right in here's part 1. 

• Brief history of yourself and playing career and how you came to found California rugby league?

TS- I came to the USA in 2017 to play for the White Plains Wombats in the USARL, I played for them again in 2018. In early 2019 my partner and I moved to California. My good friend and former team mate Matt Walsh was living in LA and I was living in SF. One afternoon I sent him a text saying, "How good would SF v LA be in a game of league". I didn't think about it too much for a few weeks until my friend from Australia, Robert Bergin put me in touch with some people he knew who had been trying to get some rugby league in California. So I took the reigns on it and now have had expressions of interest from 90+ players in LA and SF and a game on Dec 7th.

• The players that will fill out both teams will they exclusively be League players or are there also Union players involved?

TS- Most of the men in the game have a background of Union. Thankfully there is a community of Australians, Tongans and Fijians who all grew up playing and watching the game and now they finally have an outlet to express themselves on the League field. 

• Why San Francisco and Los Angeles, why not San Diego, Santa Barbara, Oakland, San Jose or Sacramento?

TS-Good question, This was a strategic move to undersupply and understate our ambition to gather a larger demand. I have seen organizations grow too fast and teams are desperate for players every week. With the 2 teams and the 1 game in 2019 it gives us an opportunity to build the foundations of a stable competition over a few year period. Oakland, San Diego and Sacramento are all areas that have attracted positive responses and will be pe

• How did you choose the names and color schemes for these teams, were they done intentionally?

TS-People have tried before to get Rugby League in California going and haven't had much success, I believe it's because they play off the typical, 'surfers' and 'palm tree's' look of California. That's possibly only an outsiders perception. The real California is gritty. The California we all know and love and identify with is less Beach Boys and a lot more NWA. The names came from conversations with friends from around the world. The color scheme mirrors the red v blue rivalry we have seen numerous times through history.

• What is the next step after the match is played?

TS-We are in talks with West-Canada for another game in California in 2019. Hopefully this eventuates, if not we will be looking to out together 5 weeks of competition in 2020.

• is a long-term goal for California rugby league to eventually join the USARL or to forge your own path? 

TS-When this was started I was very extensive in my research of the USARL and how our organizations could work together to assist the game in the US. What I concluded was that the best way to assist the growth of the game was to provide this west coast talent a pathway to the USA national side. This has been established recently with the Head Coach confirming he is interested in hearing and seeing west coast talent.

• Have you spoken with any other interested parties outside California such as those in the Pacific Northwest or the Southwest regions to form some type of collaboration?

TS-I have a close relationship with a number of people doing similar things to what we are doing. The boys in the west of Canada, as previously mentioned we are working on creating a few opportunities there. Andy who is running Carolina is someone we have planned to collaborate on building the wheelchair game in California and we are working with Nate the president of the Women's game to aid his vision. I have reached out to people in Hawaii multiple times but never heard back from them.

Part 2 will be out shortly , I highly recommend adding California Rugby League

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