(Tim Mickiewicz photo)

“The last three years have been tremendous battles between two excellent programs,” said Stanford head coach Jonathan Griffin.

“Penn State is a great program, and our rivalry pushes us to get better each year. I am really looking forward to working with Pete [Steinberg] and the Penn State players.”

“We have great respect for Stanford and not just their commitment to high performance, but the style of rugby they like to play,” stated Penn State head coach Steinberg.

“We lost badly to Stanford four years ago, as they set a new standard for women’s collegiate rugby and we have been working hard for three years to get to that standard. This tour is going to be a great learning experience for both the coaches and the players.”

The Stanford and Penn State players also have a close relationship as many have played with each other on various national teams. It was in fact the players that first came up with the idea of a joint tour.

“From the first moment that we met the Stanford players in August with the USA U23 7s team we felt a bond,” said Penn State captain Lauren Rosso. “Our collegiate careers are connected through our competition at Nationals, and both programs have similar goals and values.”

“It was really at the Developmental 7s camp in San Diego that we really started to discuss playing together,” added Stanford All-American flyhalf Mel Smit. “We both have such strong programs, and we both try to play running rugby that it seemed like a great opportunity to do something special. It is these tours that separate rugby from other sports.”

The tour will start on June 24 with the players gathering in Toronto, and after a couple of days training the team will play two matches against the U20s on the 27th and 29th.