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
