Founded in 2006, the Mendocino Steam Donkey Rugby Football Club is the first official Northern California Rugby Football Union team in the

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

. Based in Ukiah,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the team is county-wide.

Competitions

The men's side competes seasonally in Division III of the

Northern California Rugby Football Union The Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU) is the Geographical Union (GU) for Adult rugby union teams in Northern California, as well as northern Nevada. The NCRFU is part of USA Rugby. The NCRFU is traditionally one of the strongest un ...

(NCRFU), a division of

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

. Each year the Steam Donkeys play twelve matches in the division III northern California league against Redding, Humboldt County, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Napa, and Yreka.

Club Logo

The

Steam Donkey A steam donkey or donkey engine is a steam engine, steam-powered winch once widely used in logging, mining, Shipping industry, maritime, and other industrial applications. Steam powered donkeys were commonly found on large metal-hulled multi-m ...

moniker is based on a steam-powered winch, or logging engine, as a tribute to the logging history of Mendocino County. It also conveys the hard-hitting style of play the club is known for.

History

Founded in 2005, the Mendocino Steam Donkeys Rugby Club started with only eight players. Outside of a few veteran players, many new players did not even know the basic rules of rugby, but with several practices devoted to the intricacies of the sport, that soon changed. Over the years, word about the club spread around the county, sparking interest and bringing players not only from Ukiah, which is the main hub of the club, but from outlying communities as well, from Potter Valley to Willits, Boonville to Hopland,

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

and Mendocino, stretching as far as Lake County. The Mendocino Steam Donkeys Rugby Club played their first game in 2006.

Community outreach

The club is known for community engagement - especially working with children. In 2013, the club partnered with the Mendocino County Library, to promote children's literacy through "Rugby Reads" where the players read to children. Also in 2013, the club collected toys for underprivileged children donating them to the Ukiah Valley Christmas Effort as part of a coalition with service club, the

Active 20-30 Club Active 20-30 International is an international service club focused on helping children and developing leadership skills in younger adults ages 20–39. In the United States and Canada, the organization is called the Active 20-30 Club and has ove ...

of Ukiah, and roller derby teams Mendo Mayhem and Deep Valley Belligerents.

External links

Mendocino Steam Donkeys Rugby Football Club
— official website

References

{{Reflist Rugby union teams in California Rugby clubs established in 2006 2006 establishments in California