The Fog Men’s A side travels to the North Bay this Saturday, February 6, to face the Marin REDS. The match is scheduled for 2pm at the REDS’ Marin City Field in Sausalito, CA. Directions to the pitch are posted below.

Earlier in the day, the Fog B side will play SFSU at the Fog Rugby pitch on Treasure Island. Kickoff is at 11am.

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Training for the women’s spring season began Tuesday, February 2, and will be held every Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 - 9:30pm, at the Fog Rugby pitch on Treasure Island. New players are encouraged to come out!

Upcoming events for the women’s side include the Fog-hosted Rugby 101 clinic on February 20, a scrimmage against the Berkeley All Blues on February 27, and the Champagne Classic tournament in San Diego on March 6 and 7.

Interested in learning the basics of rugby in a fun, no-pressure atmosphere?

Join us on Saturday, October 3rd for a full day of rugby instruction, fun, camaraderie, and a BBQ with beer and great food and folks.

No experience is necessary — we’ll teach you everything you need to know. All shapes and sizes are welcome, with women especially encouraged to attend.

Register online to reserve your spot

You will learn basics of rugby:

• rugby laws
• tossing and catching the ball
• painless tackling with less effort
• forming rucks and mauls
• line outs
• scrums
• rugby songs

The Clinic starts at 11:00am (sharp!) on Treasure Island at the Fog Rugby pitch (near the intersection of 9th St and Ave D).

Register online to reserve your spot

Note: Participants must be 18 years or older to participate in this Rugby 101, but please feel free to contact us about our Youth Rugby program.

Adm. Mike Mullen

Testifying before the Senate today, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that ending the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would be “the right thing to do.”

Mullen told the Senate’s Armed Services committee gay people should be allowed to serve openly in the nation’s armed forces.

President Obama repeatedly stated his opposition to the policy during his campaign for the White House, and pledged during the State of the Union address last week to repeal the ban within a year.

Mullen stressed he was “speaking for myself and myself only.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared before the same Senate panel, announcing that he would initiate a year-long review of the policy.

“The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it,” Gates said. “We received our orders from the commander-in-chief and we are moving out accordingly.”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was passed by Congress in 1993, and permitted gay men and lesbians to serve as long as they kept their sexual orientation secret. “Homosexual conduct,” however, was sufficient grounds for discharge from the military.

Since then, nearly 11,000 troops have been dismissed under the policy.

The Fog Men travel to Redding this Saturday, January 30, to face the Shasta Highlanders. Their last meeting — the Bingham Stein Memorial Match on December 12 — resulted in a 50-5 victory for the Fog.

The game is scheduled for 1pm at Foothill High School. Directions to the pitch are posted below.

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This Friday, January 22, join the men and women of Fog Rugby at the LookOut Bar in the Castro to enjoy all the Budweiser beer you can drink from 6pm to 9:30pm for only $10!

Be sure to check out the selection of Fog Rugby T-shirts and hats on sale that night. We’ll also be raffling off exciting prizes throughout the evening.

Come on out, unwind after a hard work-week, and enjoy a beer with the men and women of Fog Rugby.

Place: LookOut Bar (corner of 16th and Market Streets, San Francisco)
Date: Friday, January 22
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm

The Fog Men will try to capitalize on the momentum of last week’s victory as they face Mendocino Steam Donkeys this Saturday, January 16, on Treasure Island.

Last Saturday the Fog pleased crowds with a narrow 23-21 win over Berkeley in their first game of the 2010 NCRFU league season.

This Saturday’s game schedule is as follows:

Match 1: Berkeley A vs. Aptos - 11:30 am kick-off
Match 2: Fog B vs. Berkeley B/Aptos - 1:00 pm kick-off
Match 3: Fog A vs. Mendocino - 2:30 pm kick-off

Need some inspiration to help you stick to your new year’s resolutions of getting in shape? Start the year off right by coming out to support Fog Rugby in their season opener.

The Fog Men face Berkeley this Saturday, Jan 9, in their first Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU) Division III match of the 2010 season.

The A-side match kicks off at 1pm at the Fog Rugby Pitch, with a B-side match to follow at 2:30pm.

Former international rugby star Gareth Thomas became the first openly gay top-level rugby player after coming out in an interview with British newspaper The Daily Mail.

The 35-year-old Thomas, Wales’ most-capped player after appearing in 100 tests*, retired from internationals after the 2007 World Cup, but still plays for Welsh provincial side Cardiff Blues.

Read more about Gareth Thomas coming out in CNN and WalesOnline.

* Translation: Thomas was a member of the Welsh national team on 100 occasions against other teams in international competition.

The Fog Men will take a brief holiday break before launching into league play early next year.

This week’s Thursday night (12/24) training will be replaced by voluntary Christmas Eve touch rugby at Fog Rugby’s Treasure Island pitch.

Next week, the men will hold a regular training session on Tuesday, December 29, followed by a “Christmas and New Year’s Spectacular All-Welsh Pub Crawl” (further details available that night at training). Training is suspended on New Year’s Eve (Thursday, December 31).

Fog Rugby will be ringing in the New Year on Saturday, January 2, with a pre-season A-side vs. B-Side trial game at 1pm, January 2, on Treasure Island.

Regular training resumes on January 5 in preparation for the first league game of the 2010 season on Saturday, January 9, against Berkeley on Treasure Island.