Sacromento Lions RFC
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[edit] Founding a Club
The Sacramento Lions Rugby Football Club's inception began in the early 1980's when a group of men got together at Woodbine Park in South Sacramento to play rugby.
[edit] A Strong History
Many of the men, as children had learned to play rugby back in their native South Pacific island Kingdom of Tonga and they had wanted to ensure that their passion and love for the sport was instilled within the hearts of other young Polynesian men living in Sacramento. As time passed, a men's rugby team was created and it was called the South Seas Rugby Club. This team would travel to compete with other Polynesian rugby teams in the Bay area of California, Reno and in Salt Lake City as well.
[edit] Joining the Union
It became evidently clear that unless an effort was made to incorporate the club into the Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU)that many of the talented Polynesian rugby players in Sacramento would not have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and compete on a national level thus membership in the NCRFU became a priority. In August of 2004, a representative was sent to the Annual General Meeting of the NCRFU to petition admission within their union. The petition was acknowledged and approved. The team entered the NCRFU as the "West Sacramento Lions."
[edit] Moving Forward
The Lions made their debut season within the NCRFU competing in the Division II men's bracket was a success, largely due to the guidance of Head Coach Arona Palamo. They qualified to compete in the Pacific Coast Playoffs. The Lions won the Men's Division II championship match but unfortunately due to an error in registration of one of the players by a former manager, the Lions were disqualified even though they had won the match and lost our opportunity to advance to the Men's Division II National Championships in Providence, Rhode Island.
In their second season, last year, the Lions chose to compete within the Men's Division I bracket of the NCRFU but no longer had Head Coach Arona Palamo guiding them. The Lions were unable to qualify to compete for the Pacific Coast Playoffs. Recently, a new Board of Directors was elected and they unanimously decided to rename the club the "Sacramento Lions Rugby Football Club." The Lions hope to do better this upcoming 2007 season and shall challenge all players to give it their all.
