The San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club was formed in 2001 via the merger of two Northern California clubs, San Francisco RFC and the Golden Gate Rugby Club. SFGG was formed with the intent of creating one of the strongest clubs in the country, and through the course of our short history, we have already accomplished that.

SFGG competes in the Rugby Super League, America’s premier division of rugby union. In the seven seasons since SFGG was formed, we have never missed the RSL postseason. Our first three years we were made it to the quarterfinals – cementing our spot as one of the top eight teams in the country – and in 2004 we followed an undefeated regular season by advancing to the RSL Grand Finals. We lost the championship game 24-21 to reigning champs and down South rivals, Belmont Shore RFC (LA).

In 2007 our Rugby Super League squad reached the semi-finals before being defeated by eventual champion Belmont Shore, and in 2008 lost to eventual champions New York Athletic Club. SFGG is looking forward to another run to the championship in 2009, but one thing is for sure if you want to win the USA Rugby Super League you must get through SFGG.

SFGG also competes, with our 2nd XV Colts, in the Northern California Rugby Football Union. The “Norcal Squad’ debuted in 2004 with an excellent one-loss regular season in Division II before falling in the playoffs. The Norcal Squad’s 2004-2005 season accomplishments included winning the Silicon Valley Classic, defeating powerhouses Hayward and Olympic Club along the way, and collecting an inspiring win over former National champion San Mateo RFC during the regular season in which the club narrowly missed the playoffs.

In addition to excellent results on the field, SFGG is proud of its record incubating players for the USA National team. Numerous past and present USA Eagles play at SFGG. In 2007, Thretton Palaomo and Tasi Mounga appeared for an impressive USA Team at the Rugby World Cup in France. Past international players include Shawn Pittman, Saimone Laulaupeeaulu, Mose Timoteo, Shaun Paga, Mike McDonald, Matt Sherman, Pat Guire, Britt Howard, Robbie Flynn, Paul Jennings, Jay Wilkerson, Grant Wells, Karl Thomson, Mark Scharrenberg, Paul Still, Steve O’Boyle, Aaron Satchwell, Olo Fifita, Sam Vaca and Jay Hansen, our reputation and club strength also drew Wallaby World Cup champion Tony Daly, who captained our 2003 RSL team. He is the most capped foreign national who has come to play in the United States.

November 2005 marked the beginning of a new chapter in SFGG history with the opening of our dedicated fieldside clubhouse and new pitch. With these in place, SFGG has some of the finest rugby facilities in America. These facilities are shared by our Rugby Super League, Developmental, and Youth Squads.

THE SAN FRANCISCO RUGBY CLUB

“Onward through the Fog”

In 1969 Rugby Magazine nominated San Francisco RFC as the Number One Team in the USA (Equivalent to what is now National Championship). City also won the Aspen Tournament, which remains one of the premier tournaments in the USA (now known as the Aspen Ruggerfest).

In the 70’s the club fielded five teams on a regular basis and made several overseas tours, which included England and Wales, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Orient. City was a regular participant in the Monterey Rugby Tournament and the Golden Gate Tournament, which City founded in 1970 to celebrate the Centenary of Golden Gate Park.

The 80’s brought an increasing percentage of US born players into the club reflecting the increasing popularity of the game in this country. The club’s strong support of youth rugby programs contributed greatly to this change. At one time San Francisco RFC provided coaches to seven different high schools in the Bay Area.

‘City’ continued to play excellent rugby throughout the nineties as a mainstay of Northern California 1st Division rugby. A number of key SFGG players were a part of City in this era, including current former Norcal Squad captain Mike Walker, Toby Jackson, Johnny Mitchell and Brendan ‘Boody’ Dobel.

THE GOLDEN GATE RUGBY CLUB

“Defenders of the Golden Gate”

The Golden Gate Rugby Club was formed in 1988 via the merger of two Division II clubs, the Castaways and Barbary Coast. They merged in order to enter Division I, and quite quickly became a power player in national rugby circles. Several founding members of Golden Gate are still heavily involved with SFGG, including Greg Rocca, Greg Schmidt (both on the Board of Directors), Mike Roddy (owns the sponsoring pub LaRocca’s Corner) and Jon Spear (who still plays!).

The club was a regular participant in playoffs and finals for the Pacific Coast championship through the Nineties. In 1996, the club made it to the “Final Four” of the USA National Club Championships in Chicago. In 1999 and 2000 Golden Gate made it to the National Final Four, reaching the championship game in 1999. High profile players in this era include the USA’s most capped center, Mark Scharrenberg, powerhouse flanker Olo Fifita, and USA players Britt Howard and Steve O’Boyle. Former players Grant Wells, Karl Thomson, and Robbie Flynn were also important components in the late 90’s squads.

Golden Gate was also a founding member of the Rugby Super League in 1996. In order to develop the game and make it more appealing to spectators, Golden Gate made a rugby field out of San Francisco’s Boxer Soccer Stadium. It remains the home field for SFGG’s RSL games, and has hosted the USA Eagles and Collegiate National Championships numerous times. We also hosted the 2003 RSL Grand Final at Balboa Park (the informal name of Boxer Stadium).