Last summer – well, winter here in New Zealand – a ship named the Golden Bear pulled into Wellington Harbor. Aboard were some 300 cadets from the California Maritime Academy.

It was a great visit. The cadets were wonderful, hosting some of Wellington’s fine folks aboard the ship and visiting the sights around the city. But they also played a tough game of rugby against Victoria University. It was tough not only because the students had just disembarked from a cross-Pacific voyage, because some of them had never played competitive rugby before, but also because they ran into a very good Billy Goats side.

Rugby May 31, 2011 - The Keelhaulers of the California Maritime Academy vs Fighting Billy Goats of Victoria University.

The Keelhaulers have a long, proud rugby  tradition – one that they have just added to, with the possibility of yet more to come.

Our friend Steven Hiatt, the coach, reports that the Keelhaulers won their Division 3 regional championship last weekend in Nebraska against Wayne State. Yes, he reports, that makes theirs a very large region, as Nebraska is a long way away from California. So, coming up this weekend, the team is off to the Final Four in Glendale, Colorado.

While it’s a little late to hop over for the games, the semi-final games will be  streamed on the web. So,  go have a look, if you’re keen: Webstreaming as well:  The Saturday Semi-Finals, the Sunday Championship game as well as the 3rd place game will be on the web at www.nscro.org  and www.usarugby.org .  You can read more about it here: http://www.eteamz.com/NSCRO/news/index.cfm?id=5368779&cat=0