It’s tempting to just talk about Fallbrook in SoCal, but there’s a whole tier of U18 girls teams benefiting from playing the best team in the nation. South Bay is one of them. The Spartans spent the first three years of existence gaining traction in the community with 7s, then 10s, 12s, and finally 15s in 2014. Last year, South Bay advanced to the SoCal final, against Fallbrook. The pair contested its 2015 rematch – the results of which were similar to the teams’ first meeting – but the Spartans have already demonstrated some growth.

“We love playing Fallbrook,” South Bay coach Emo Pula said. “When we train, we train to beat Fallbrook. They challenge us, and we know it’s going to be a good game.”

The teams played back on Feb. 21, but the mercy rule was employed in the Warriors’ favor; however, South Bay did score 10 points on Fallbrook, which is more than the average contest.

“My team is 80% forward-type girls, and Fallbrook has way more speed than I do,” Pula explained the difference-makers. “As soon as we made one little error, as I like to tell my girls, that’s free candy for Fallbrook to pick up and take – and it’s easy for them because they’re all fit and can outrun us. Every try on us was always on the outside – but they didn’t get through the middle; my forwards wouldn’t let them through, and Fallbrook knew that.”

South Bay used its size effectively against ICEF last weekend, though, and was rewarded with a 44-10 victory. Last year, the teams split games between the regular season and playoffs.

“We’ve been playing them since we started, so we know what we’re facing and our challenges, and I prepare the girls for that," Pula explained. "We know who the fast ones are, so we try to keep it tight, so the fast girls can’t bust through. But our advantage was our rugby skills, and when we played, it showed. Our rucks, pods, support, proper formation, understanding penalties – not many of the ICEF girls had that knowledge.”

The team is pretty young, but outside of the eight new additions this year, the players all have 2-5 years of experience. Chief among them is Eriana Pula, coach Pula’s daughter. The No. 8 is in 10th grade but is arguably the most learned – and crucial – player on the pitch. She scored three tries against ICEF and handled the conversions, via dropkick.

“We depend on her a lot,” Pula said. “She understands the game – things like knowing when to tap-and-go or kick penalties to touch. She helps out [14-year-old] scrumhalf Leilani Mendoza. She runs off the scrum a lot and takes it out to the backs. She’s just very knowledgeable.”

Pula is the main voice in the forwards, while senior flyhalf Aliyah Moala is the force in the backs. She, like Pula, is a four-year veteran of the SoCal Griffins, and the official captain of the team (five other teammates have played for the all-star team).

The leadership will encounter a new challenge this May, when it travels to Pittsburgh to compete in the DII national championship. Might seem hasty, considering South Bay has been playing 15s for fewer than two years, but a trip to the national tournament does wonders for first-time attendees, and the experience will only strengthen the program.

“The club has already grown so much, and I think a lot of it has to do with being in championships,” Pula said. “We’re a big club – we have boys that start at U8 up through men. You start hearing about everyone else’s success, the emails go around, and now the girls are recruiting well. Our numbers jumped so high this year.”