Aztecs Try Not to Stumble Again : Rugby Team Hopes to Survive Tournament This Season

San Diego State’s rugby club team has reached its annual stumbling block--the Pacific Coast Collegiate tournament.

SDSU (24-1-1), the nation’s top-ranked team according to Rugby Magazine, has played in the tournament the past three years but has yet to win and qualify for rugby’s final four.

In the three years since Coach Steve Gray and co-coach Loc Vetter took over, the Aztecs are 77-6-2. But the national title has eluded them.

“It’s the No. 1 priority in my life right now,” said Dwayne Parker, who has been team captain for three years. “It’s been in our grasp in the past, and we’ve just blown it. If you’re in college, it’s the ultimate goal.”

Last year, the Aztecs were ranked No. 1 but lost to UC Santa Barbara, a team they had beaten three times during the season, in the regional semifinals.

“We came into that thinking we’d already beaten them,” Parker said. “We were overconfident. What happened was they got the wind and they had a better kicker that day. After the finals, I saw their coach in the airport and he said we beat them up so badly they couldn’t compete with Berkeley (the Pacific champion).”

For Parker, who has played on the team for 5 1/2 years, losing to Santa Barbara was a shock.

“We beat up Santa Barbara so bad . . . at every phase of the game, and we couldn’t win,” he said. “We couldn’t believe we lost. We just dominated. When we lost, we couldn’t explain what happened.

“We don’t even think about losing, we say we don’t lose.”

“Last year, we really had a hard draw,” Gray said. “This year, the draw is easier, and that makes me feel better.”

Gray said the Aztecs, this year’s Southern California champions, are placed in a weaker four-team bracket than defending national champion Cal, which is the Northern California champion this year.

The tournament winner will represent the Pacific Division and play the East, Midwest and West winners for the national championship May 2 and 3 at Pebble Beach.

The Aztecs, who beat Washington State, 9-3, in the first round Thursday, play Humbolt State today at 4 p.m.

“It’s a lot like playing three football games in three days,” Gray said of the tournament schedule. “It’s such a physical game. You hope your players don’t get hurt.”

This year, the Aztecs avenged their loss to Santa Barbara with a 52-15 victory, knocking the Gauchos out of the Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union race. SDSU went 8-0 to win the union league title.

In 1985 at Corvallis, Ore., Gray decided to rest 10 starters on his 15-player team in the first round of the tournament. The Aztecs were upset by Chico State, 26-22.

Since substitutions are allowed in rugby only for injuries, teams must decide which players to use against certain opponents.

“We have adequate depth on this team,” Vetter said. “We’ve diluted ourselves in the past by playing a full 28 players. I suppose if we use more than 20 this time, I’ll be surprised.”

One major addition this year is Sacramento State transfer Steve Forster, who handles the ball in scoring situations.

“This year we have a goal kicker (Forster),” Gray said. “Last year we would have won the national championship with a goal kicker. In rugby, it’s important to have a goal kicker that makes us more effective in tournaments.

“The forwards were probably better last year, but the backs are better this year, so it evens out.”

Unlike last year, when the team played games up until the tournament, the Aztecs had a two-week layoff before Thursday. Gray said the rest helped the team to be physically ready for the tournament.

“The best rugby right now is played on the West Coast,” Gray said. Cal has won five of the last six national championships.

“The regionals are harder than the final four. The regionals are the hard part. There’s a lot of good teams, but I feel confident we’ll win.”