by Marco Cummings
Writer for and on behalf of the 
City of Glendale
Glendale Raptors head coach Andre Snyman is no shaman; and he can’t predict the future. But the South African offered up a few words of wisdom when asked about his team’s start of a new campaign entering the 2015 Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) season.
“When you’re on the top of the mountain, everyone wants to knock you down. The tallest tree catches the most wind.”
After entering last season as a proverbial sapling amongst bigger and more established clubs within the PRP, the Raptors surprised many by riding the winds all the way to the championship final, only to fall short to San Francisco Golden Gate.
The Raptors entered 2014 widely regarded as underdogs, but the team’s second place finish also places a target on their backs entering a new season in 2015.
“Everyone picked us to finish dead last and that was a driving force throughout the season,” Raptors team captain Zach Fenoglio said of last season’s campaign. “Now, our driving force is to regain our confidence and prove to the competition that we’re a tough team and tough to play against.”
Proving themselves to the competition is just one of several small goals the Raptors have set up for themselves for a new season of PRP play. The team’s ultimate goal for the New Year is to once again make the final, but this time emerge as champions.
Glendale’s method to winning the Pacific Rugby Premiership crown appears simple in theory, but will take a great deal of effort in practice.
“If we want to win the PRP this season we’ll have to improve on all of the aspects from last year.” Snyman explained. “Our skill level has to be higher, our physical level needs to be higher and our defense needs to improve.”
The improvement for the Raptors began in the offseason. This past fall, the Raptors scheduled a slate of games, which included collegiate opponents Lindenwood and Arkansas State as well as the Aspen Ruggerfest, where the team got a taste of hardware as tournament champions.
The majority of the progress Glendale has made during the offseason has not been on the pitch, but in the weight room. After performi
ng a calculated series of tests measuring each player’s physical fitness, the coaching staff placed the team on a regimented strength and conditioning program.
Weeks later, the players were reassessed and the tests revealed a minimum of 10 percent improvement in both weight and repetitions.
Results in hand, the Raptors hope to gain a physical edge over their opponents. Strength is certainly key in a sport like rugby, but so is the ability to outrun and outlast an opponent. The Raptors hope to have enhanced that ability with added depth to the team’s roster.
Said Snyman, “I’ve got about 90 percent of the players from last season back this season. That in itself is a lot. If you can keep continuity within the team that’s a huge contribution to success.”
It’s not simply depth, but quality depth in which Glendale hopes to invest its championship aspirations throughout the course of the 2015 season. Snyman is hopeful that with the remaining 10 percent of new players added, the Raptors have found players that are capable at playing at a high level within the PRP.
One of these “new” faces is a familiar one. Twenty-one-year-old Cody Melphy, a longtime member of Glendale’s developmental programs, is one of several young players Snyman hopes to provide opportunities to throughout the course of the PRP season. Melphy proved to be a factor during the Raptors’ summer 7s season and has since been training with the first team men.
“A player like Cody Melphy has got all the skill and the character to play at that level,” commented Snyman. “The only thing he’s lacking is experience. My job as a coach is to get him that experience whether I start him or bring him in as an impact player. He will definitely be a contributor to the team because he’s a very versatile player.”
Another newcomer to Glendale’s first team is Jake Turnbull. Like Melphy, the Australian has been auditioning throughout the course of the summer and fall alongside a mix of veterans and newcomers.
In fact, keeping everyone happy yet competitive within the group is what Snyman believes will be his biggest challenge as a coach this season, aside from the Raptors’ opponents.
“As a coach, selecting a starting lineup is going to be tough,” he said. “We have at least two or three players who could start at each position.”
But from a player’s perspective, the competition is welcome and healthy, as the team’s captain was quick to point out.
“I think the more competitive training can be, the better. The flexibility of depth is something we’re continuing to work on and haven’t had in the past. In a physical sport like rugby, injuries happen. Having confidence in the guy behind you is a good way to go about the season,” Fenoglio explained.
Competition within the group is just another tool that the Raptors hope to use to propel the team back to the top entering the new season.
“Obviously we have our expectations set pretty high,” Fenoglio added. “We have small and big term goals that will help us throughout the year.”
The Raptors will have a full 14-week season to complete these smaller goals en-route to accomplishing their grander task at hand. Fans will get their first glimpse at the newly energized and determined Raptors when they travel to face OMBAC in their first game of the season on Jan. 31.