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The Battery

The Barracuda Rugby League team are making some big moves ahead of their new League start. They've made connections with the MLR team San Diego Legion and have hosted a women's combine, proving once again that in America rugby League and Union can and should work for the betterment of both codes and player development.  Even though the club is young they have made some wonderful power moves. As founding members of the PCRL they look to help expand the code of Rugby League not just in the city of San Diego but across the west coast and to be stewards of top quality rugby for American players to strive for. Ben Calverley,  head coach, from the Barracudas answered some questions I had and I hope you all enjoy in return. I highly suggest checking out the team store online and picking up some awesome swag, logo is great and color scheme is very unique.  

LLR- The Barracudas recently submitted an application to join the USARL, how soon till we hear news if you along with the others from the PCRL have been accepted?

B-The Barracudas have applied to be a full member of USARL, playing under the PCRL umbrella as an official affiliate league to USARL. We're confident we will hear good news very soon hopefully!

LLR- What other programs do the Barracudas offer besides a senior men's team ?

B- We currently offer both men's and women's teams. We are very keen to build a youth section in the coming years - we have a plan developing, but need to get some more coaches qualified down here in order to start delivering that and creating a sustainable future here. We are a small band behind the scenes, but growing! Now that we are back up and running again this year, it's certainly something we will be looking at.

LLR- Are there efforts being made to spread the game amongst the youth in San Diego and the surrounding area?

B- See above

LLR- What's the reception been with union clubs in the area?

B-We have quite a few of our players who also play union, and I think their union clubs have seen the benefits to their players' skills of playing league too. In our first year, we didn't really have too much interaction with the clubs themselves, but this year we are building a good relationship with the MLR side here, the San Diego Legion - we just put on a full day event with them up in Long Beach on December 10 that was a roaring success (despite the men's game result for us!).

LLR- The Cooney-Calverley cup was last weekend, for those who don't know like myself, how did the name come to be?

B- The Cooney-Calverley Cup is a nod to the two founding head coaches of the LA Mongrel and the San Diego Barracudas, Ady Cooney and Ben Calverley. They are both Englishmen who grew up playing rugby league only about 20 miles apart in Yorkshire - a real rugby league hotbed. There is a lot of mutual respect between the coaches and clubs, but it's a fierce rivalry as we saw at the weekend. Unfortunately we weren't able to get the result this time out, but we're confident the next iteration in 2023 will see the cup come home to America's Finest City for the first time.

LLR- Will any matches be shown live anywhere?

B- All our matches will be available on the PCRL youtube channel (youtube.com/@pacificcoastrl).

LLR- Where do you see the code of League in the USA at in 5 years along where the Barracudas will be?

B- It's no secret to anyone that League in the USA over the years has had a rocky journey. However, we're really excited about the structures and pathways we are putting in place with PCRL, we believe in growing the game and being as transparent as possible about how we do things - all of our clubs are a part of our family and have a voice in the league. We hope that in 5 years the PCRL will be an established league on the West Coast with strong men's and women's conferences (and maybe even wheelchair clubs?) aligned to USARL, the national governing body. That will improve the pool of talent that the national teams can draw on, and hopefully we can start to see that translate to the USA moving up the rankings.

LLR- What are the best ways for fans locally and afar to follow along with the journey?

B- Fans can find us online at sdbarracudas.com, on twitter, instagram, and TikTok at @sd_barracudas, and on facebook at @SDBarracudas. All of our games will be on the PCRL youtube channel, youtube.com/@pacificcoastrl.

LLR- Lastly, will USA qualify for 2025 and what is the PCRL doing to make it happen on their end?

B-We certainly hope so! On the women's side, our head coach Ben is also the assistant coach for the USA Hawks, so we're fully invested in seeing them make it to France in 2025. We're uncovering some talents over here on the west coast in both the men's and women's game, and we believe there are due to be talent ID camps on the west coast this year that we will be getting our players into peak condition for!

Ben C Calverley

Head Coach

San Diego Barracudas RL

@sd_barracudas

sdbarracudas.com

#GrowtheGame #RugbyForAll

Dead Birds Fly Together.

    In one of the hot beds of rugby union in America is a rugby league club that looks to be the first step to also making the Bay Area rugby leagues hot bed. Located in the north side of the San Francisco bay area are the Dead Pelicans. Only a few years old they are looking to make some big moves as they prepare for the 2023 season and beyond, they move over from the California Rugby League and join the newly created Pacific Coast Rugby League and the 4th California team. As someone who was born and raised in the bay area I am excited to see a rugby league club growing the game and having such a impact in their community, I hope there will some day be a club in San Jose (my home town). Along with EPA razorbacks and SF Savage the puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place. Thank you very much to Robert Beasley from the DP's for taking the time to answer some questions I hope you all enjoy. 

LLR- First thing is first, the name is amazing. How did Dead Pelicans get chosen as a team name?

RB- Thank you! We pride ourselves on being a player-run organization and taking polls amongst our players is how we make most of our decisions. Which is how we got our name and our colors. The Dead Pelican name was created by a player and it was the option that got the most votes by a long shot. The name also made sense because the Nor-Cal Select side for HS, Collegiate, and men's club is called the Pelicans. And our first team ever, had nothing but players who were at some point in their career Pelicans. Thus, we were all Dead Pelicans.

LLR- You are located in the North Bay , where exactly on the north side are you located?

RB- We went by North Bay in the past but we are actually changing our location to be more exact. We will be switching to the Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans. We are located in Santa Rosa, CA, the heart of wine country.

LLR- How often are practices held, and where do you plan to hold matches?

RB- We will be practicing on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Santa Rosa, CA. We will start practices in April 2023.

LLR- Will games be streamed on any platform?

RB- Yes. We have some of our past games on Youtube already. But PCRL will be streaming our matches during the season.

LLR- How many players are currently registered to play and how has recruiting been?

RB- Our player pool in Northern California is about 100 deep and about 150 Nationwide. But for the PCRL season we plan to be very selective in our recruitment to ensure that we put forth the best team possible every round. We will welcome every player who wishes to be a Dead Pelican to participate and have a fair chance at earning their way onto our roster every round as well. 

We have a great core group of players who have been playing together for over 2 years, who have already committed to playing in the 2023 season.

LLR- Will the Dead Pelicans field a womens side also?

RB- We will not field a women's team for the 2023 PCRL season but we will attempt to field a women's side to play a match or 2 in 2023.

LLR- How has the reception been with the local Union Clubs?

RB- All of our players play for union clubs and a good amount of them are officers for their home union clubs and they are fully supportive. We are currently in discussion with For Pete's Sake (FPS) NPO about using the FPS field as our practice and game field.

LLR- You once were associated with California Rugby League and I assume the Commision also, why the move to the PCRL ?

RB- As it pertains to CRL, It just did not work out.

As for the move to the PCRL, their mission aligns with ours in growing the game on the west coast of America.

LLR- Do the Dead Pelicans plan to play matches against teams from the commission for rugby league?

RB- We have very long and tremendous relationships with both the East Palo Alto Razorbacks and the Sacramento Immortals, so we foresee many matches being scheduled and played with them in 2023.

LLR- Are there plans to bring on more teams throughout northern California and western states?

RB- From our conversations with PCRL, the hope is that more teams from Northern California and Oregon join the fold as well.

LLR- What can we expect in 2023 from the Dead Pelicans , how can people interested follow along?

RB- You can expect the Dead Pelicans to play a fast, hard hitting, High flying, and exciting brand of rugby league that is only going to come from a team based in Santa Rosa, CA. Follow us on Insta and also follow PCRL for league updates.

LLR- What's the best way for potential players, coaches and sponsors to get a hold of someone from the team?

RB- They can contact us directly by email at Deadpelicans@gmail.com. They can also private message us on Instagram @DeadRugby.

LLR- What do you say to those who are looking to a club to support , why the Dead Pelicans?

RB- Well as mentioned previously, we play a very fast, hard hitting style of the game. I think we are the closest thing to the Penrith Panthers in the US. I know that is a very bold statement... but we are a very bold team!

Who says League and Union can't get along?

Special things happening in San Diego.