(Shawn Georgiou photo)

It’s no secret that the Southern California Griffins have come to Glendale to play - not just to play though, to win the National All-Star Championships.

After the disappointments of 2007 that resulted in relegation to Tier II, Southern Cal paid its dues last year in the lower division.

The Griffins were comfortable winners of Tier II in ‘08 and now they’re back and they’ve brought a team that they firmly believe can get it done.

The SoCal side is made up of guys from 11 different schools, including several from Division II.

Tim Buchanan (Arizona State), Nick Regas (Claremont), Myles Dempsey (Loyola), Zach Fenoglio (Loyola) and Merrick Brodsky (UC Irvine) are all part of Southern Cal’s drive to the 2009 championship and each one is thoroughly deserving of his spot on the team.

Buchanan in particular is an interesting story. He’s an exchange student from the University of Queensland Rugby Academy in Australia and before arriving in Phoenix for the start of the semester he wasn’t aware of the National All-Star Championships, let alone of his chances of making the team.

“When [head coach] Jeremy Ognall approached me I was obviously very excited,” Buchanan tells ARN.

“I’ve really enjoyed coming in and meeting all the guys, it’s been really good. I think everyone’s been improving at training and I’m really looking forward to the game.”

The Griffins are slated to play reigning champs Pacific Coast in their first match on Thursday and should they win, they will earn a shot at the championship. According to Buchanan, right from the get go the squad has been working together as a single unit, rather than as separate DI and DII pods.

“I don’t think anyone sees people as Div I or Div II guys,” says Buchanan. “I think everyone just sees each other as obviously being picked on their merits so everyone has been accepting of each other.”

The rangy lock, who’s also a pretty handy cricketer, acknowledges that the game in the US is a little different to the way it’s played in Australia, meaning he has had to make a few adjustments.

“Back home we played a lot of the ELVs so that was a bit of a change and getting used to American refereeing was interesting, but there are a lot of natural athletes here in America and I’ve found that quite challenging,” he continues.

“There’s quite good defense and a lot of speed and I really enjoy it.”

Southern California has been hard at it since arriving in the mile high city with two-a-days mixed in with conference room meetings to figure out strategies and game plans that they trust will help them achieve success.

They’ll know the answer to that by around 3:45p (MST) Thursday.

ARN’s coverage of the college National All-Star Championships is proudly presented by Down Under Rugby.

Take your game to the next level by experiencing rugby in Australia. For more information visit www.downunderrugby.com

And when in the Denver area, ARN chooses to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Cherry Creek