By: Tiffany Dobbyn, Capitol Morning Report
Steven Fenaroli, account executive for Meridian Pacific Inc., and Colin Hawley, communications consultant for the Assembly Republican Caucus, have more than just politics in common – they both love rugby. And they’re gearing up for the sport’s biggest event of the year – the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament to be held at AT&T Park in San Francisco from July 20-22. Similar to the FIFA World Cup going on now, the event is held every four years and brings together athletes from around the globe. The tournament will be held on American turf for the first time and features 24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams from countries including the USA, New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Zimbabwe.
Hawley and Fenaroli are both avidly involved in the local rugby scene. For the past four years, Fenaroli has been a rugby referee for matches and tournaments across Northern California. And he’ll be calling the shots from the field as a sideline ref during the Rugby World Cup. “This is a big deal for me,” Fenaroli said. “My goal was to somehow make it to the World Cup and to get to ref there, it’s really rewarding.” Fenaroli played rugby while attending Christian Brothers High School and at Oregon State University. After graduating from college he decided to become a referee for the full-contact sport. He later met Hawley, a former professional rugby player who spent four years as a member of the USA Rugby Men’s 7’s (team of seven playing seven minute halves) and 15’s (15-player team playing 40 minute halves). Hawley plans to attend this year’s Rugby World Cup as a spectator, but was a player for the US team during the last World Cup Sevens, which was held in Moscow. “It was pretty incredible to play in Russia,” he said. Throughout his professional career, Hawley played rugby in 28 countries before he was 26 years old. Although he retired from professional play, he’s currently a commentator for rugby games broadcast on the Pac-12 TV Network, and might be called in to help with the coverage of the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Hawley was inspired to play rugby after learning about the sport from his dad, who played at UC Berkeley in the 1960s. “He was my rugby guru,” Hawley said. Following in his father’s footsteps, he was recruited to play rugby at Cal after attending Jesuit High School. During his time at Jesuit, he played under Andrew Acosta, founder of Acosta Consulting who has been a coach at the high school for years. Acosta played at UCLA and was a member of a local men’s club team until his “campaign work got in the way.” Acosta is planning to attend the Rugby World Cup and is hopeful that the US teams will do well (both the men’s and women’s teams are ranked #5 in the tournament).
Rugby on the barge; Hawley pictured third from right on top row
This spring, Hawley and Fenaroli had an opportunity to play together to help promote the Rugby World Cup when the San Francisco Giants hosted “Rugby Night” during one of its home games. Hawley says a rugby field with bright green AstroTurf was created on a barge set in the middle of McCovey Cove and a variety of rugby players were brought on to participate in matches throughout the day. “It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences that you’ll tell your grandkids someday,” Hawley said.
Because of rugby Hawley and Fenaroli became friends and that’s exactly what they like most about the sport – the sense of community it creates. “There’s no other sport like it. It’s just a beautiful game,” Hawley said.
