Wolverines win rugby title

But more than anything, the Wolverines proved they are force to be reckoned with.

“Day 1, we played 23 matches as a club,” said Leka Nemani, club president and high school varsity premier head coach. “We won 20 games, one tie and two losses. … We made a huge statement.”

Nemani and his wife, Salome, started the club about 10 years ago. With a large Polynesian population and not many outlets to play the sport that is hugely popular among the community, the Nemanis decided they would start a club that mirrored other club sports — start with the young kids and then add teams and age groups as the club built up.

“The main thing was, after the football season was done, there was nothing to do,” Nemani said. “For the majority of us, [rugby] is a cultural sport.”

There are a few clubs around the Peninsula made up of high school aged players, but not many that focused on youth players. Nemani wanted to fill that void and now the club is blossoming.

“We have over 250 kids (in the program),” Nemani said. “We started with U8, then U18. We started a U23 program. We just wanted to get bigger every year.”

This is the second year the Wolverines have participated in the North American Invitational as a club, but players from the club have been competing in the tournament for years. Nemani said a majority of the teams in Utah are an amalgamation of two or more clubs in an area fielding what is essentially an all-star team.

“We used to do the same thing, but we did it with a LA team called the Rhinos,” Nemani said. “It got to the point where we were sending 20-25 kids to LA. Half the team was our kids. I never wanted to go (to the NAI) because we were a club team.

“But parents were coming back from LA saying, ‘Why don’t we send our own teams?’ I said, ‘Let’s test it.’”

After having three teams make the finals in 2022, the Wolverines were invited for 2023 tournament and they certainly proved they belonged, with three more squads teams making the finals of their age groups.

This year, the U14 boys’ team ran roughshod through two pool-play games, outscoring the opposition 54-10 (the Wolverines were technically 3-0 in pool play, but their third game was a forfeit).

In the knockout portion of the event, the Wolverines opened with a 21-7 win over Los Alamitos and beat Atlantis 2023 Teal 27-19 in the semifinals.

In the championship match, the Wolverines beat Belmont Shore of Long Beach, 17-12.

“The U14 boys surprised us,” Nemani said. “They have a lot of chemistry. They’ve playing together for year. They peaked well in Utah.”

The u14 girls’ squad was also a surprise, considering this was the the first time the Wolverines fielded a team. They went 3-0 in pool play, winning their three matches by a combined nine points. They then got over the Legendz, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and beat Atlantis Rugby Club 19-14 in the semifinals.

The Utah Cannibals kept the Wolverines from the title, beating them 19-7 in the finals.

The U23 men’s team also advanced to the championship game. In pool play, the Wolverines opened with a forfeit win before beating Mother Lode RC 28-12 and Antelope, 20-0. In the quarterfinals, the Wolverines blasted the home team Salt Lake City Rhinos, 26-0, and topped Mother Lode for the second time, 19-7, in the semifinals.

The Wolverines couldn’t close the deal, however, falling 33-19 to the Mustangs.

The San Mateo u18 elite boys’ squad took 6th; the U18 girls’ team finished fourth; the U16 Tier 1 boys’ team finished third and the U16 Tier 2 boys’ squad finished 8th.

Nemani said his next goal is to start an open men’s team, which was the reasoning behind beginning the U23 squad to gauge the interest of an adult team.

“I’ve been approached multiple times to start a men’s team,” Nemani said. “Now, I feel like we’re taking the steps (to do so).”