The Pacific Rugby Premiership will once again be home to the highest number of elite matches in the United States. With 43 total games the 2016 PRP season will offer clubs, players, and fans the opportunity to test themselves against each other and gain valuable experience. Last season four players from four different clubs used the PRP to propel themselves on to the Eagles World Cup team. Several more were in the larger U.S. World Cup training squad.
Teams will play a full 12 match schedule split evenly between six home matches and six away matches. Each team will receive two bye weeks. The seven founding clubs from the inaugural season–OMBAC, Belmont Shore, Santa Monica, SFGG, Olympic Club, Denver Barbarians, and Glendale Raptors–all return with strong rosters and organizations.
The season opens on January 30th and will run for 14 weeks with the final regular season matches on May 7th. Teams will take a break for the Las Vegas 7s on March 5th although many PRP will likely be involved. The competition will conclude with the PRP final, which has pitted SFGG against Glendale the past two years. The final will be held on May 14th.
The defending champion Glendale Raptors will open the season on the road against Olympic Club. Glendale will spend the first four weeks on the road before a string of six straight home matches at Infinity Park, then finish on the road with two final matches.
Double-headers, a popular feature from the first two seasons, will also make their return. SFGG and Olympic Club will host four weekends of double-headers at Treasure Island in San Francisco. The Glendale Raptors and the Denver Barbarians will also host four double-headers at Infinity Park.
Other schedule highlights include:
- Glendale at SFGG on February 20th, and SFGG visiting Glendale on April 4th.
- The Bay Area derby on February 27th and April 23rd.
- The Denver derby on March 19th and May 7th.
- OMBAC vs. Belmont Shore on the final day of the regular season. If last year’s table holds this match could have big playoff implications.
