La Salle HS Wins RugbyPa HS 7s
The La Salle College High School Explorers won the RugbyPA boys HS 7s State Championship last week at Cumberland Valley HS.
The Explorers bested teams from Doylestown, Coventry, Gregory the Great Academy and Media to go an impressive 5-0 on the day and capture its first state title in the team’s three year history.
Gregory the Great beat an experienced and well coached St. Joes Prep team in the quarter finals and lost a close game to LaSalle in the Semi-finals. Media beat Bishop Shanahan in the Semi-finals to advance to the finals.
Union Stays Unbeaten in Oregon HS 7s
Union HS remains undefeated in Rugby Oregon’s fall HS 7s competition as the teams enter into the final weekend of regular competition.
Next week will see teams play for various trophies, but right now it’s still part of league play, and Union sits 12-0, just ahead of 10-1 Portland Pumas.
“The core of the team started playing together in Spring 2014 in their sophomore year,” said Union Coach David Curle. That group went through the Summer of 2014 and the fall of 2014 undefeated in 7s, and then undefeated in 15s this past spring.
“They all are a tight-knit team of friends on and off the pitch who have been playing together the last two years,” said Curle. “They are all great players who equally contribute to the team. They all, including the forwards, have good passing skills left and right.”
Good Weekend for Pelham Rugby
The Pelham Rugby HS team swept the NJ Challenge Cup this past weekend, defeating New York, Keio Academy, Pelham B, and Play Rugby USA.
Pelham ran out a small roster of players because they entered two teams in the competititon, with the Pelham B side going 2-2, with one of their losses being against Pelham's A side.
Herriman Still Unbeaten in Utah HS 7s
The Herriman boys rugby program’s Gold team ran its record to 18-0 in the Fall 7s series by winning its third straight tournament.
The series started back up after a month long layoff and saw the level of skill improved on the heels of the 1Team Atavus camp, which Rugby Utah put on the night before. In the camp, players and coaches had the opportunity to learn from rugby legend Waisale Serevi as well as several members of the Atavus staff.
Fallbrook Boys Program Fights for Survival
Fallbrook High School in Southern California is apparently looking at ways to jeopardize the boys rugby program.
Fallbrook plays in the Southern California Varsity Red competition, a conference that includes only single-school teams from the San Diego area. The idea was to emulate a California Interscholastic Federation-sanctioned district, following academic and eligibility rules within the CIF, the organization that oversees varsity high school sports in the region.
Fallbrook then retains most of its players to move on into the club season in SoCal. Most single-school teams send their players to a club that merges players from more than one team; Fallbrook doesn’t do that.
EIRA Gets Going with Fall Sessions
The Eagle Impact Rugby Academies are underway around the country with a few more ready to get started.
The EIRA chapters are designed to give high school players who have aspirations in the game a stronger grounding in rugby skills and a better understanding of the game.
“We are trying to elevate skills and helping kids find schools,” said EIRA Director and head of Player Development Salty Thompson. “We want to produce players who can contribute to the game at university level or higher.”
HS 7s Kicks Off in Oregon
The fall 7s season is underway at Rugby Oregon and the Aloha/Beaverton boys team has started strong.
This past Saturday at Lentz Park in Portland, Aloha/Beaverton defeated Oregon City, Lakeridge, and the Valley Rams to go 3-0 on the day. Meanwhile, the Portland Pumas played only two games, but won them both, beating Lincoln and Newberg.
Of course, Aloha and the Pumas will face off this weekend. Also jumping into the fray will be Union HS, the defending single-school 15s champion team. Union also faces Aloha, as well as Valley (1-1-1) and 201 Lakeridge.
October 3 Scores:
Fall HS Warmup in Indiana
Penn HS hosted a six-team boys tournament this weekend for high school rugby players who wanted to get some fall rugby in.
Penn, Penn B, Bishop Dwenger, Carroll, St. Ignatius out of Ohio, and Warsaw participated.
Penn HS went 3-0, beating Carroll, St. Ignatius, and Dwenger, scoring 92 points and allowing 17. The games were 30 minutes long (15-minute halves).
Aside from Penn’s dominance, the games were competitive, with Dwenger and Ignatius tying 7-7 with Ignatius equalizing with a try at the death. Penn B and Warsaw also tied, this time 5-5.
Boys Nationals 2016 Venue Announced
The Boys High School National Championship will return to the Rugby Athletic Center (RAC) in Charlotte NC on May 19-20-21, 2016. The three-day event will again feature 24 of the best High School boys teams in the country.
Teams will apply for event consideration via online applications in January. Check back with Goff Rugby Report to see information on applications. A selections group will announce the field of teams in late February.
Last year the event featured what many called the best and most balanced event ever.
“We are pleased to partner with the RAC for the 2016 Championship”, said committee member Bart Bottorff. “The RAC provided a great venue for both the teams and fan experience last year- we expect it to be even better this year.”
Pelham HS Wins Morris 7s
The Morris HS 7s were held this past weekend in New Jersey, with the Pelham HS team out of New York taking the cup, beating Play Rugby 35-19 in final.
Pelham jumped out to early 21-0 lead, but Play Rugby scored near end of first half to make it 21-5. Pelham scored again in 2nd half to make it 28-5, and while Play Rugby replied with a try, Pelham answered right back to basically put the game away.
The tournament featured 11 teams in the Varsity bracket: Pelham A, Pelham B, Play Rugby, Christians Brothers Academy A, Christian Brothers Academy B, Ridge HS A, Ridge HS B, Highlanders, New York, Morris, and St Augustine.
Pelham defeated CBA, Morris, Ridge B, and Highlanders to get to the final, while Play Rugby defeated New York, Pelham B, St Augustine, and Ridge A to get to the championship game.
Houston's St. Thomas Releases Schedule
The St. Thomas HS rugby team out of Houston, Texas has released its preliminary 2016 schedule.
The coaching staff, headed up by James Wolfinger, have tried to put tougher a challenging schedule that includes a full slate of league games in Texas, along with some tough games from outside the state.
St. Thomas will open the season against Brother Martin in New Orleans, and will also play defending Ohio state champion St. Ignatius in March. A Spring Break tour is slated for March also. St. Thomas has previously logged impressive results against a Gonzaga HS 15, St. Joe's, and other ranked schools on these trips. Finally, St. Michaels College of Toronto, Ontario will be making the trip to play St. Thomas in Houston.
Utah Fall 7s League Kicks Off
The Utah Youth Rugby Fall 7s kicked off with Herriman Gold winning the first tournament and Wasatch Murray also showing well.
Wasatch Murray beat Herriman Blue and TC Fusion, to go 2-0 in their Pool, which is still waiting for a fourth team, while Herriman Gold defeated Portneuf, United, and Kau Toa to go 3-0 in their pool.
"I really like the fall league," said Herriman Director of Rugby Jeff Wilson, who works with Head Coach Derek Smith on a Herriman program that entered three teams in the fall league - the Herriman White team was in the B division, where the Northern Utah Yettes took the cup.
Utah 7s Series Kicks Off
Salt Lake City, Utah - The combined Rugby Utah & Utah Youth Rugby Fall 7s Series kicks off this Saturday in Clearfield, Utah.
The four-leg Fall 7s Series combines both the men's division with the high school boys and girls divisions and will crown a state champion for the respective divisions.
Joining the kick-off for the series is Rugby Utah partner and ATAVUS ambassador Waisale Serevi, one of the world's rugby legends who will be on hand to promote the October 23rd Rugby Utah/ATAVUS 1Team Camp.
Serevi will also be joined by former USA Eagle Shawn Pittman, as both not only look to promote the 1Team Camp but also work with all the Utah Youth Rugby players and coaches.
St. Ignatius Posts Demanding Schedule
Rugby Ohio championship Boys HS team St. Ignatius has released its 2016 schedule, which includes several high-level out-of-state opponents, including both NIT championship teams.
St. Ignatius Coach Dan Arbeznik said his program still has two open dates early in the season, but added that he is excited to test his squad against top programs from Indiana, New York, Texas, and DC. They will face off with perennial Indiana tough guys Penn HS, and then also annual New York champion Xavier HS in mid-March. Then comes a four-game, five-day tour of Texas before the league season trule gets underway.
Then defending HS club national champion Royal Irish on April 23, and HS single-school national champion Gonzaga on May 1.
Georgia HS Association Opposes Merger
The Georgia HS Rugby Association has come out in opposition of the proposed merger between the Phoenix Alpharetta and Roswell HS programs.
According to multiple sources, the merger announcement came just a days after the Georgia HS programs voted against creating large super-clubs and instead concentrate on single-school teams (to remain intact “as is” with no restructuring of the league’s format or executive committee). According to GHSRA President Daniel Pretorius, both Alpharetta and Roswell supported that move (the motion) only to make a surprise announcement on Thursday.
