The USA Rugby South Panthers select side program is holding an open tryout for the teams set to play in the Las Vegas Invitational in March.

This will be for the Boys HS Elite and Girls HS Elite 7s brackets at the LVI, and will serve as the opening round in the North American HS 7s elite-level series.

The tryout is this weekend at Montague Park in Chattanooga, Tenn. and runs from 11am to 3:30pm, Eastern Time. (NOTE The Chattanooga tryout has been called off due to thunderstorms.) There will be another camp on February 4 in Roswell, Ga., and then a two-day camp for selected players in Brentwood, Tenn. in Feb. 18-19.

A Boys and a Girls team will be selected for the LVI, to be held March 2-5. All of the NAHS Series programs will be there, including EIRA (boys only), Atlantis, Atavus, Play Rugby USA, Celtic Barbarians, Rugby Rogues, Rocky Mountain, and the Utah Academy.

These selection camps follow on from a trip for the Boys U18 program to the Barbados 7s in December. The team expected to play in a U20 bracket, but eventually the tournament was a men's elite event only, and the South U19s played against top touring teams from around the world. Panthers 7s Director Mark Williams said it turned out to be a different experience than expected - struggling to win against high-quality men's teams.

First up was Esher, a top level touring side from England and last year’s champion. The South found out quickly that missed tackles will hurt. The Panthers missed eight, and lost 36-0.

"We went back to 'Panther Class' and came back better prepared for a match with Barbados," said Williams. "This was a game we could have possibly won if we had played more as a team.  But after a taking an early lead we let things slip away and the home team with crowd support beat us 19-10." 

Then they faced top US touring side Atlantis, and Atlantis won 36-0. On the final game of the day, an elite Trinidadian team Xhosa beat the Panthers 27-0.

On Day Two, they faced Atlantis again and while Williams said the South played better, the scoreline was the same - a 36-0 Atlantis victory. 

So that set them up to face a Warriors team from Barbados. In this game, the Panthers were able to get going and won 26-0. 

"The scores do not accurately portray the team’s performance." said Williams. "Once placed in with the elites our goal was to learn and develop from the experience.  At times this is tough to take as a competitor.  Part of learning is playing above your level, sort of like big-wave-surfing.  The only way to truly learn is by doing."

See video of the game against the Warriors here: https://youtu.be/dyjEY3mk1lM

To participate in the USA Rugby South Panthers tryout, be prepared to pay $25 and register here: https://form.jotform.com/theresa812/2016-2017-usa-rugby-south-reg. 

MANAGEMENT

Director of USA Rugby South - Kevin Kitto  k.kitto@verizon.net

Panther & Tri-Star 7’s Director - Mark Williams   mwilliams@rsucontractors.com 

Management & Travel - Theresa Williams   theresa@willtravelvacations.com 

Marketing & Communications - Dana Catron  xxrugby@gmail.com 

SOCIAL MEDIA

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