HS Boys

USA South Comes Back to Beat T&T

The USA Rugby South U19s needed a big second-half comeback to defeat Trinidad & Tobago and book a place in the Rugby Americas North U19 Championships final Saturday in Miramar, Fla.

Trinidad showcased their dangerous long-range attacking style and the South defense had trouble keeping up early on.

This led to two penalties - one for pulling the lineout jumper down, and one for not rolling away in the ruck. Both were slotted by flyhalf Leon Pantor. Both of those penalties came after lineouts that were set up by previous USA South penalties.

Calvin Gentry made a nice break to get the South going forward, and the Panthers got over the tryline but were held up. From the ensuing scrum, the South’s backline move was muffed badly, but Trinidad was offside and wing Sean O’Driscoll put the kick over.

EIRA U16s Surge to Beat BC

The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U16s defeated the British Columbia U16s 40-17 Wednesday in Vancouver.

It was a game where the young EIRA team had to figure things out quickly. As with the EIRA U17s, the EIRA U16s were able to steal some lineout ball and that helped them get into scoring position. That’s how the game started, with Russell Lemaster making a key run, and young Aidan Barry (Reeds Weybridge) moving the ball with alacrity from scrumhalf.

Kaipono Kayoshi was another tough runner, and eventually Lemaster was in under the posts.

But BC came right back and looked the stronger player. It was a bit of a shock to the EIRA players, and while EIRA got three points back, BC then scored in the corner on a quick tap, and led 14-10.

EIRA U17s Beat BC U17s

The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U17s took it to the British Columbia U17s Wednesday in Vancouver, beating the host provincial team 58-17 on the campus of the University of British Columbia.

The EIRA team was superior, for the most part, playing a wide game. They pushed the pace and showcased some impressive ball-handling and decision-making. With flanker Garrett Kay stealing ball in the lineouts and in the loose, and with flyhalf Justin Petersen making some smart decisions, the EIRA team was able to open up some gaps early. 

“We wanted to play wide but the key was to not push it but test them in the interior channels first,” said EIRA U17s Coach Brendan Keane. “Jack and Quinn did an excellent job straightening the lines and getting us behind them.”

That would be centers Jack Wendling of Chuckanut and Quinn Perry of Santa Monica.

US HS Teams Tested as Harrow Tours

Harrow School from England is touring the USA, playing teams on both coasts in a trip put together by Varsity Travel. 

Varsity Travel runs rugby tours to the US and also for USA teams going abroad, finding the right competition for them and additional cultural experiences.

"We've had a great time so far," said James Melville, who is a teacher and coach at Harrow School and traveling with the team.

Charlotte Academy Wins Cape Fear 7s

The Charlotte Junior Rugby Academy upended the Northern Virginia Nomads 19-0 to win the High School Championship at the Cape Fear 7s in North Carolina.

The victory was revenge for the CJRA as they had lost to NOVA 21-14 earlier in the competition.

Neither the Charlotte Academy nor NOVA allowed any points from other teams. The competition itself featured eight teams from North Carolina and Virginia. 

"Fear 7s was our team's toughest challenge to date," said Charlotte Coach Erik Saxon. "Our boys came out of pool play with a loss, meaning we had to beat a strong Cape Fear Flytrap side in the semis just to earn another crack at the Nomads."

Cape Fear was 3-0 in pool play.

Mira Costa Wins SoCal HS 7s

The Mira Costa Rugby team completed the sweep of the Southern California Championships by winning the Southern California 7s Championship title on Sunday at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa. 

This marks the first year in the brief history of the Mira Costa Rugby program in which the Mustangs won not only the 15s title but now also the 7s title. 

The Costa Mustangs looked very good on the day, defeating San Fernando 33-0 and Tri-Cities (Oceanside) 49-5 in pool play. Jordan Fischer scored repeatedly from long range, and was there in support to take the offloads, as well. Captain Justus Tavai and his brother Jonah provided physical running as well as did David Arredondo, Blake Curtin and Alec Oshita.

EIRA U17s Look to Build on 2015 Success

While the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U16s are getting an early foray into high performance touring, the U17s are already old hands. 

Head Coach Brendan Keane took a large chunk of the U17s to British Columbia last year, and they swept the BC U16s in two games. So they are relatively seasoned coming into this week.

“We’re looking to build on last year,” Keane told Goff Rugby Report. “Several of these guys were in BC last year or in Las Vegas. We’re developing a really good culture where they’re all pushing themselves to be better.”

This U17 team is now looking to be, along with some other select sides, a nice step toward the HS All Americans. 

EIRA U16s Gives Young Talent Their HP Start

Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U16 Coach Jon Banarhall has an important job, but it’s one he relishes.

With Banarhall being the development coach at West Point, he’s used to bring talented player along and peppering them for higher levels. This is why the EIRA U16 team, which is in Vancouver preparing to play the British Columbia U16s on Wednesday, exists.

“We’ve got some really talented young players,” Banarhall told Goff Rugby Report. “But they are young. For several of them, this is their first experience playing in a high performance team and playing an opponent at this level. But we’ve seen it work. We’ve had other players go with us to Las Vegas who cane away thinking less me-me-me and more about critiquing their own performance so they can get better.”

Okapi JVs Beat Tourists

The Okapi Wanderers Junior Varsity players faced UK tourists Harton Tech College at Tequesta, Fla. this past Friday, and came away with an impressive victory.

Okapi, led by High Performance Director Fabian Pourrain, had developed a game plan and style of play that had made them Florida champions, so Okapi Coaches were eager to see if it worked at this, more demanding, level.

Job One Done for South U19s

It's all started nicely for the USA Rugby South U19s; Saturday the Panthers shut out Bermuda 41-0 to kick off their RAN U19s tournament.

They handled coming together quickly, and the heat (over 90 degrees), and perhaps a few nerves. The South team benefited with experience of returning players and the leadership of  Matt O’Connell, which set the tone among the forwards. And they got rid of some of those nerves by scoring two tries in relatively quick order.

Center Andrew Rappe was a handful, hitting the tackles hard and also shifty in his running. Grant Broeder and Calvin Gentry were repeatedly on the scoreboard, and the backs in general looked good - in part because the forwards made them look good.

Solid Weekend in Victoria for Cannibals

The Utah Cannibals U18 Open squad, composed mostly of U17 and U16 players won the Victoria International 7s Boys Open bracket Saturday, defeating British Columbia 27-12 in the final.

The Cannibals were led by Taysan Hammer (Herriman HS), Jarred Messina (Herriman HS), and Gabriel Mauinga (Herriman HS) in the final. The Utah Cannibals entered two boys U18 sides, one in the Elite and one in the U18 Open, as well as a U16 Boys team and a U18 Girls team. The Tournament was attended by teams from Canada, New Zealand, England, California, Colorado, and Utah. The BC 7s lived up to its billing as the top 7s Tournament in North America and British Columbia Rugby used the opportunity of the timing as a tune up for its backs and loose forwards in preparation for their U16, U17, and U18 15s matches this coming weekend. 

USA South U19s Win RAN Opener

USA Rugby South U19 men opened up the Rugby Americas North U19 championships with a 41-0 defeat of Bermuda in Miramar, Fla.

Bermuda struggled to play as a unit and had a few promising attacking moments, but little fumbled passes, forward passes, and some hard-hitting USA South tacklers prevented them from scoring. Meanwhile, the Panthers scored in the opening moments, working the phases inside the Bermuda 22 before outside center Calvin Gentry cut back to go over for the first try.

South U19s Named to Face Bermuda

The USA Rugby South U19 Panthers have named their starting lineup in the opening round of games in the Rugby Americas North U19 championships.

Rugby Americas North is what used to be called NACRA (the North American Caribbean Rugby Association), and USA Rugby sends its South all-star team to the RAN U19, women's 10s, and Men's senior championships. The Panthers team was drawn from HS and college teams from around the region. Head Coach Mark Williams has chosen returning panther and flythalf Josh Ingles as captain.

The Panthers will kick off v. Bermuda at 6pm Eastern. The game is slated to be live-streamed here. 

EIRA U17s Picked for BC Trip

The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U17s have been named for their tour of British Columbia.

The U17s will face the British Columbia U17s on the campus of the University of British Columbia on Wednesday, July 13, and then against on Saturday, July 16.

Sixteen of the players who swept the BC U16s in 2015 return to this lineup. Two of the players, Bailey Wilson of United in Utah and Joshua Schnell of Katy in Texas played for the HS All Americans in Ontario last week. Boys HS Rugby National Champion club team Granite Bay sends four players to BC on this team. Among the players to watch is Royal Irish flyhalf David Hannon, who emerged as a talented pivot for the Indianapolis club this season.

Watch out also for lock Blake Richards-Smith of the Coastal Dragons, who had a high-impact season for his club and also for Torrey Pines HS.