Senator Corbett Recognizes Hayward’s Life West Gladiators Rugby Team

Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett (D-East Bay) congratulates the Life West Men’s Rugby team, the Gladiators, on their victories this past weekend which places the team in the United States Rugby National Championship game on May 31st.

Last weekend, the Hayward team battled the Dallas Athletic Rugby Club (31- 14)  in the quarterfinal Elite 8 match and the Southern California Kings (22 – 17) in the Final Four to secure their place in the upcoming 2014 USA Rugby Club Men’s Division III National Championship final game on May 31st in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Life West Gladiators were undefeated in their 2014 regular season, earning the Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU) Men’s Division III and the USA Rugby Pacific North Conference Championship titles in post season play.

The Life West Gladiators are a community team associated with Life Chiropractic College West, based in Hayward, California. Formed in 2012, this year was the Gladiators’ first competitive season. Team players come from throughout the East Bay area, including Hayward, Fremont and San Lorenzo, and many are first-generation Americans of Tongan, Samoan and Fijian descent, exemplifying the rich diversity within the greater Bay Area community.

“I would like to congratulate the Life West Gladiators Rugby Team on reaching the national championship final competition,” Senator Corbett said.  “I join rugby enthusiasts here in California and the entire West Coast as the Gladiators take on New York’s Old Blue RFC for the USA Rugby Division III national championship in Wisconsin at the end of this month.  As they travel this final leg of the championship journey, I am confident that the Gladiators will represent the 10th State Senate District and the entire state of California well. Best of luck, Gladiators!”

—Information submitted by the Office of Senator Ellen M. Corbett