The rain had stopped, but the field was still soaked when Danville came to Jesuit in yet another battle of Nor Cal rugby heavy weights.

After Jesuit lost possession early and got on the wrong side of the referee, a series of penalties allowed Danville to creep close to the line and once the Jesuit defenders were slipping around, Danville punched in a try.  They were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over with two more penalties and a converted try to take a solid lead into the half.

Halftime – Jesuit 0 – Danville 20

Flyhalf Vili Hopoi led the second half attack and was able to slice through to score just two minutes into the second half.  Fullback Mason Phillips converted.  Danville came right back to score and put the pressure back on Jesuit.  Replacement scrumhalf David Starnes then went a weaving run to score under the posts with Phillips adding the extras.  Replacement flanker George Miller showed some balls skills to get over the line and Phillips hit the conversion to make it a six point game.  

With only seconds left on the clock, Jesuit mounted one last attack but were not able to get over the line. 

Final Score Jesuit 21  – Danville 27

Players of the Match – Forward Laiatu Latu and Back Vili Hopoi

“All credit to Danville – they came to play and they brought the physicality and a game plan that kept us on the back foot, but I am very proud of the boys for mounting a spirited comeback,” said Head Coach John Shorey. “The beauty of sport is that we get to look at the film and work on improvements for the next week.”