Thunder Rugby keeps on winning.

After a preseason that saw them beat La Jolla twice and the SOC Raptors and Belmont Shore twice, Thunder opened up their Southern California league season with wins over the San Diego Mustangs and the combined Aztecs/OMBAC squad 59-5.

So that set up this weekend’s clash with a very capable Belmont Shore team. Thunder had defeated Belmont Shore 27-7 in a preseason game, and and this weekend repeated the effort (for the most part), winning 31-3.

Thunder put together an impressive team effort to keep Shore from scoring a try, controlling the scrums and lineouts, and playing solid defense.

Flanker Damian Saldana made tackles all over the place and helped keep the strong-running Belmont Shore team in check. 

Lock Larry Ward, who finally got to play some rugby now that football is done, was excellent at making half-breaks that sucked in defenders, allowing him to offload to runners. Ward also poached numerous balls in the breakdown.

And Ward’s second row partner Pita Faasua was a grinder throughout, making tackles, hitting rucks, and making the tough yards.

It was, overall, an important game in the SoCal Youth Rugby league, as Thunder looks to stay ahead of the Raptors and win the league.