Things only get more difficult for St. John Bosco as the SCIRF league moves on. Four games are on the slate for this weekend, and all four have significant implications.

Defending champion St. John Bosco lost a barnburner last week against Mira Costa. It was clear in that game that Mira Costa has significantly improved from their opening week loss. But it's also clear that Bosco was undercooked. Having just come off a championship football season, Bosco depends on some of those football players to step in to play rugby. They probably needed a little more time working on rugby match fitness and getting into the rhythm of playing.

That said, every team needs that, because there's not enough time in Southern California to play many (if any) warmup games. 

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So this week, Bosco takes on a very strong Cathedral Catholic team that shut out Mira Costa in December. That doesn't mean that Cathedral is 40 points better than Bosco—too much has already changed. But it is certainly possible that Bosco comes out of this weekend 0-2 and looking at a tough road to the top two.

Why? Well there's San Clemente. with lock Charlie Clifford, prop Nate Cross, and flanker Kyle Herr leading a very strong forward pack, San Clemente is 2-0 right now and with a win this weekend, could put them in control of the SCIRF.

Experienced Saints Head Into 1st SCIRF League Game

But that win would have to come against a pretty solid St. Augustine team. With Michael Colucci and Aidan Konja playing well the Saints are 1-0, having beaten La Costa Canyon, and would being excellent shape should they win the big one this weekend.

Torrey Pines and Mira Costa are teams that have shown some flashes but are young. If Mira Costa can win this then the Mustangs have a shot at putting that Cathedral loss behind them. Torrey Pines, 1-0, is just getting started. Their one win was over Fallbrook, which is struggling for numbers, so it doesn't tell us much.

Fallbrook takes on La Costa Canyon. Both are 0-2, with Fallbrook having difficulty getting 15 onto the pitch (league rules allow a game with numbers as low as 12-on-12, but that only serves to give strong teams more space). LCC's losses have both been close, and it's not hard to imagine them turning things around. They can start this week.

SCIRF Standings:

This Week's SCIRF Games: