NCRC Sends Select Side to Portland
The Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference has put together a select roster to play the Portland Pigs men's team in an exhibition during the Great Northwest Challenge HS all-star tournament this weekend in Portland, Ore.
This is the beginning of a plan to have college teams participate in the GNC each summer. Only one player from champions Central Washington University is on the roster, but that, said NCRC Commissioner Matt Hudson, was due more to timing than anything else.
"A lot of players who couldn't be involved this time around have expressed interest in being full participants next year, so we are all excited that this will conitnue to grow," said Hudson.
NCRC All-Star Roster
St. Mary's '13-'14 College Program of the Season
In a way the above photo embodies the story of the the Gaels, as Alec Barton got little time on the field in the early games, but ended up scoring the game-clinching try in the DIA Final in May. Meanwhile, (click on smaller photo) Joey Reavey helped St. Mary's through a busy fall 7s season that culminated in a 2nd-place finish to Arkansas State. Following that loss, they would lose only once more all season.
Click here for the rest of the story in pictures.
Player of the Week - Christian AdamsIt seems a little strange to call Christian Adams a raw talent, given that he has been playing regularly at a high level through high school, the HS All Americans, the USA U20s, and now in college. But the American International College freshman is still a raw talent, albeit one trying to hone his abilities. One of two freshman named to the Collegiate All American game squad for this June’s matches, Adams has found that his game, and his approach, have both changed. “A year ago, if you asked me what I wanted to show in my game I would have said ‘offense,’” the wing told GoffRugbyReport. “But now I want to show how I play defense - how I tackle, cover kicks, get back to cover. That’s what I am working on and taking pride in.” Adams said he found in college that defenses were tougher than in high school.
Sherman Names Diverse, Untried SideTwenty-one different colleges sent players to the Men’s Collegiate All American camp,, a hugely diverse group that saw 53 players in camp whittled down to a squad of 33. You want diversity? Cal has no players on this team. BYU has one. Of course that’s in part because the two best players from those programs have been All Americans before and are on the USA National Team. And certainly there are other players who might have challenged for a place but have jobs, injury, or some other issue keeping them from the summer camp. But still, this is a diverse group. “All of the players who made the team impressed us, as well as many who didn’t,” said All American Head Coach Matt Sherman (who was an All American at Cal).
Men All Americans Named
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The touring side for the USA Rugby AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans’ upcoming matches against Cambridge University and Ontario Blues has been selected.
MCAA Head Coach Matt Sherman and his staff held a four-day selection camp June 12-15, at which 53 of the country’s top collegiate rugby players trained at Merrimack College.
DIA Looks to Sort Itself OutRepresentatives from DIA colleges met last weekend in Houston to discuss issues related to the 2014-2015 season. The meeting was at times contentious, but according to reports, contentious in a way that produced results. The overriding question seemed to be, how does DIA define itself? Member teams were painfully aware that the vast majority of the sports fan public doesn’t know the difference between DIA and DIAA, and thus Central Florida’s impressive victory in DIAA is seen as equivalent to St. Mary’s winning DIA. How that will be addressed in come months is a major issue. USA Rugby had hoped to fix these sorts of questions years ago with a nomenclature overhaul that produced the College Premier Division (later renamed DIA).
ECRC Names 7s All-Conference
The East Coast Rugby Conference has selected 24 players in its All-Conference pool.
Eleven players were selected to the conference's 1st Team, with 13 on the second team, and two honorable mentions.
First Team
Some Thoughts on 7s Play
This is an opinion column by Alex Goff
This is an opinion column by Alex Goff
Tournament to Help Coach's Daughter
Teams are signing up for a special 7s tournament in Eastern Washington state this July, as rugby players try to raise some money for a rugby coach's sick daughter.
New England College Wins NSCRO 7sThe second NSCRO National 7s Championship was held in conjunction with the USA Sevens CRC 7s event at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. this past weekend and was a great success, especially for winners New England College. Led by the combination of NSCRO's 2013 Player of the Year, Jay Muniz, and the multi-talented Anthony MacQueston, New England College (NEC) found out that the ol' New Hampshire saying of "4th time is the charm" is really true. NEC downed New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) in the final 22-14. Of the overall 215 NSCRO Men’s teams in the USA, 55 competed in eight regional qualifiers in order to play in the NSCRO 7s Championship.
New England College Wins NSCRO 7sThe second NSCRO National 7s Championship was held in conjunction with the USA Sevens CRC 7s event at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. this past weekend and was a great success, especially for winners New England College. Led by the combination of NSCRO's 2013 Player of the Year, Jay Muniz, and the multi-talented Anthony MacQueston, New England College (NEC) found out that the ol' New Hampshire saying of "4th time is the charm" is really true. NEC downed New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) in the final 22-14. Of the overall 215 NSCRO Men’s teams in the USA, 55 competed in eight regional qualifiers in order to play in the NSCRO 7s Championship.
Column: What Now for the CRC?
One more CRC down and some serous questions to ask about the college 7s game and the event.
Remember that the CRC is a business - it's put together to grow fan interest in the game and get fans to buy tickets or watch on TV - and the decisions made by United World Sports are business decisions. Hence the decision to switch the semifinals at the last minute.
The plan had been to have the quarterfinals be 1 v 8 and 4 v 5, with the winners playing each other, and 2 v 7 and 3 v 6, with the winners playing each other. That didn't happen, as, after the quarterfinals, the matchups were changed so that Cal would play UCLA and Life would play Kutztown. These pairings would ensure that a name school (Cal or UCLA) would be in the final.
Cal Wins 2nd-Straight CRC
PHILADELPHIA – The University of California won their second straight Collegiate Rugby Championships 7s invitational Sunday, defeating Kutztown 24-21 in an exciting final.
The Golden Bears from Berkeley overcame a 7-0 deficit early in the first half with three unanswered tries, adding a fourth try during the responding run from the Golden Bears from Pennsylvania, and held on to preserve their victory as the final whistle signaled the program’s second consecutive championship in the Olympic code of the game.
Cal exited the tournament with the most tries scored (31) and best points differential (+127) in the 20-team field, and sealed its title with the type of hard-nosed play that pundits expected from the opposition and a national TV audience witnessed from both teams.
Cal Poly Coach Steps DownAfter three years in charge of the Cal Poly Rugby Club, Head Coach Dave Burnett is stepping down and returning to his hometown of Sydney, Australia.Burnett informed the Cal Poly Rugby players, parents and alumni of his resignation at a recent Rugby Club dinner, citing the decision as the best life and career move for him at this time.
