Austin and Hayward into DI championship

(Rugby Action Photo)

There will be a club winning its first ever Division I championship Sunday after the Austin Blacks and Hayward Griffins came out winners in Saturday's national semifinals in San Diego.

Action in the first semifinal at the Little Q saw Austin surprise the Olympic Club 27-24. The O-Club held a slim 17-13 lead at the half, but the Blacks proved to be too much.

"Our forwards were pretty dominant, we had most of the primary phase possession," Olympic Club head coach Ray Lehner told ARN. "The ball they [Austin] had they made good use of and our tackling was very, very poor, especially out wide and they came away with it, so pretty disappointing."

In the secnd semi, the Griffins overcame a tough first half, scoring only one try, to beat the Cincinnatti Wolfhounds 17-11. Hayward managed to lead 7-6 at the break, but they broke away in the second half. Both teams will have to dig deep as they get little rest in the chase for the title Sunday.

Earlier in Division II, the Raleigh Vipers downed Tulsa 34-20, while Red Mountain shut out Los Angeles 35-0 to set up a tasty national final.