He’s come back since that season for vacation and plays and teaches our players while here. He’s brought a few others with him who have had international experience and or will be Wallabies soon.

RR: So how much do your sides train?

JW: Right now we have two touch sessions a week. One at our field and one on the beach. We’ll start our schedule soon. We are like most clubs and train twice a week, but as we get closer to the start of the league play and a few weeks after league starts we have three sessions a week. We’ll put in a extra gym session in, or have a talk/walk through to make sure everyone is on same page and focus on specific things like just line outs, etc.

RR: OMBAC has played in the Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) in the past. Last year you played in the California Cup. OMBAC plays in high level competition is that where you want to be or is that just a strain at this time?

JW: We strive to and want to play at the highest level whenever we can. But the cost is always a factor. If there is professional set up that offsets the cost that is ideal, but cost is a challenge.



Look back in the old Super League days. A weekend trip to New York would cost us $20,000. That’s just one weekend of game/travel. Going to San Francisco to play teams there in the California Cup is affordable. Going to say Denver to play Glendale is about twice the cost of San Francisco so money is a consideration.



RR: So was the Cal Cup a good option?

JW: It was. When it started we thought it would be a warm up for a lot of our player who’d be going into PRO Rugby, but that didn’t happen.



I’d say my only complaint last year was the competition was too short. This year there will be more games so it will be much more worthwhile. We’ll have that and then go into the PRP.

RR: What was your take on the San Diego Old Aztecs joining the California Cup last season? That had to be a drain on them financially?

JW: You know what I think it was great. I’m sure it was a financial burden, but they stepped up in competition, they held their own most the time. I called Jocko and those guys to commend them for their work. I know they won’t be in the California Cup this year but Santa Monic is coming in and with more games it will be a good competition again.



RR: Is there an OMBAC - San Diego Old Aztecs rivalry yet, or could this evolve into a derby?

JW: Like I said they are a good team, and did a great job stepping up in the Cal Cup. We’ll be trying to schedule them this season and would like to play them each year. I don’t think the competition at this time is to where it can be a true derby. It’s a good clash and could evolve, but it’s not a rivalry for us. Our number one rival without a doubt is and will be for the immediate future Belmont Shore. After that its San Francisco Golden Gate, maybe Santa Monica. We’ve played them longer and in the various competitions so there is just more history there.

I think OMBAC and Old Aztecs have to maintain a mutual respect and that been the case with the clubs. Sometimes individual players get into the name calling and that just isn’t good. It has to always be respect. I respect the work they’ve done and developed. We just play at different levels, it isn’t good or bad just different. I think players should feel good about moving between clubs based on what their rugby needs are. If you are looking to maybe get into the Eagles pool, OMBAC plays in the higher competition, if you don’t feel you are there but are a good player and want to make sure you can play weekly or get more time then Old Aztecs may be fine. I support players going in either direction.

RR: So we’ve spoken a bit about the PRP, old Super League and the California Cup. I have to ask about Major League Rugby (MLR). Is that something OMBAC is involved in?

JW: We’ve had discussions over the past year with MLR. I’ll say this…we looked at the model for MLR, and it didn’t work for OMBAC. We continue to work on developing our club, and are looking at the models the old English clubs had before the game became professional. We continue to work on our field, and players. We need a professional league in the USA, so I hope it works out, at this time it did not a fit the OMBAC model.