Grizzlies show teeth against Durban, but are cracks in the organization showing?

The Californian Grizzlies may have appeased their die-hard fans with a gutsy 30-5 win over Durban Sports Club, one of the top Premiership contenders. But rumours of fractures in the organization continue after two heavy defeats, one of which was to rival and fellow American side the New Mexico Diablos.

Disagreements between Ownership and Management are rife from one source. With coach Jack Clark taking a lot of flak for his choice of American Jason Damm as Club Captain for the season, going against the Ownership that had the belief that one of the club's marquee signings were more deserving of the honour.

It also was surprising that Handre Pollard and Mark Telea were both absent from the Durban game, a game the club needed to at least show some type of fight, and they are the club's two superstar signings. Also, Pollard should have been itching to prove a point after been overlooked by both Durban and the Capitol Rhinos, the Premiership's two South African sides.

Time will tell if these rumours have any merit, but this coming week in the first round of Conference One the Grizzles host the Tokyo Shoguns, which could be one of the most important fixtures to start strong and show they belong in the competition.