HS Boys

EIRA Players Reflect on Day One

Despite only going through a couple of training sessions together, the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy 7s team is on a roll.

The group that is largely the same as the HS All American 7s team that finished 2nd to British Columbia in the LVI Boys Elite 7s, is hoping for a rematch in the final of the Victoria International 7s, and it looks like that is what will happen.

After going 3-0 against two tough BC teams and the Utah Lions, EIRA will face the Upright Rugby Rogues Saturday at noon -  a team the HS All Americans beat convincingly in Las Vegas. BC Gold will take on BC Blue in the other semi.

“It's hard only having 2 days of practice, but once we got going we really gelled as a team,” said Back Bay U19 star Travis Heer.

Greenwich’s Luke Bienstock agreed.

BC, EIRA 3-0 in Victoria

The British Columbia Elite 7s Gold team and the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy both finished Day One at the Victoria International Youth 7s with 3-0 records.

The BC team, coached by former Canada 7s great Shane Thompson, opened up with a shutout of the Loggers out of Washington, a team put together as part of the EIRA program in that state. Then BC Gold shut out the Utah Cannibals, before finally giving up some points in a 38-14 victory over the Upright Rugby Rogues.

EIRA, meanwhile, had a tougher road. They took on BC White (19-7 win), the Uta Lions (an impressive 40-7 victory), and then BC Blue (a tough 26-17 win). Those other three teams all went 1-2, putting, by our calculations, BC Blue in 2nd thanks to points difference.

Aircraft Charter Solutions PoW - Deion Mikesell

Transitioning from 15s to 7s is expected for the players with the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy 7s team set for the Victoria International 7s, but one of their number doesn’t have to worry about that.

Deion Mikesell was a star player in the Iowa HS league, which is 7s only. he 6-0, 215-lb senior from the state champion Southeast Polk team has only known 7s - although he knows a few other sports, too.

He played football and wrestled at SE Polk for four years. He ran track as a freshman and sophomore before concentrating on rugby for the last two years. 

“Football is more wild than rugby is in the contact area,” explained Mikesell. “I’d say I liked wrestling a lot more than football. Most of my skills come from wrestling - leverage-wise and finishing tackles.”

In track he ran a sub-11-second 100 meters and also was a high jumper. 

Short Looks to This Weekend, and Ahead to Fall

Eagle Impact Rugby Academy player Nate Short is one of several players on the team looking ahead to a new chapter in college rugby.

The Dixon HS halfback will join a song Arizona State University recruiting class this fall

“I’m excited, and really confident about it,” said Short. “I am excited about the 7s team we can put on the field. I want to do anything and everything I can to help them. There are some really good California guys going into the class of 2019.”

Short said ASU was the first school he toured and he just loved it.

Utah Lions Set for Victoria

The Utah Lions program is aking two boys U19 teams to the Victoria International Sevens in British Columbia.

The White team will play in the Boys Elite brace with three teams from the BC Elite 7s program, Eagle Impact Rugby Academy, EIRA Washington, Upright Rugby out of Ontario, and the Utah Cannibals.

Video- EIRA 7s Teams Prep for Victoria

The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy squad is in Seattle training with the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy Washington team to prepare for the Victoria International 7s.

Goff Rugby Report spoke with some of the players, and got some footage from training camp. Below is a short video report (refresh if you don't see it).

Additional reporting by Owen Goff.

A Closer Look at EIRA U16s

The Eagle Impact Rugby Academy U16 team under Coach Brendan Keane is going to British Columbia for a two-game tour, and it’s an interesting and diverse group.

Some notes on the team:

David Ainuu is a 250-pound prop from the Prairie Mustangs in Yelm, Wash. The Mustangs struggled to field a full team this year, so Ainuu got some time with the Liberty Patriots squad, and played for the Washington Loggers JV team. He has been with the HS All American JV team on their tour to France and Belgium and has all sorts of potential. Two more Washingtonians showed well in JV play, with Chuckanut’s Jack Wending strong in the backs and scrappy freshman Noah Wright was the youngest player in the HSAA winter camp, and didn’t let that set him back.

Aircraft Charter Solutions PoW - Luke Bienstock

Sometimes the hardest thing to deal with is heightened expectations.

For example, when most of your team’s backline is  invited to the HS All American camp, you’re expected to perform. But a twisted ankle here, or a case of the flu there, and it can sometimes start off on the wrong foot, and then expectations move you to force things.

None of that happened to the Greenwich HS team in Connecticut, which ran through testate undefeated, pushed both Xavier and Gonzaga close, and then won the Northeast Regional Cup all-star tournament with what was essentially their regular high school team.

Rugby Indiana All-State Boys

Rugby Indiana has named its all-state selections for the Boys Super League, Boys DI, and Boys DII.

Nault, Germishuys Enjoying South Africa Academy

Two USA age-grade standouts spent the 4th of July in South Africa as they are part of the Sharks Academy in Durban.

Hanco Germishuys and Brian Nault received scholarships to attend the academy for four weeks, and have been exposed to some new ways of thinkings about rugby, as well as some major rugby luminaries. Germishuys got to meet both South African Rugby World Cup-winning captains in Francois Pienaar (1995), and John Smit (2007).

“It was pretty awesome,” said Germishuys.

Nault was also enthusiastic about his time in Durban, saying “rugby is amazing down here.”

The players both spoke about how much they’ve learned, but it’s interested to see how both loose forwards are learning different things.

Kalihi Carries Banner for Hawaii

“We just buckled down,” said center/fullback Sioaosi Pakileata about his team’s strong finish. “Our coach said to rest up, not play stupid, and pass the ball.”

Kalihi had plenty of pace but didn’t use it the first day.

“We were all tired, and got down on ourselves,” Pakileata said. “Hawaiian rugby is building. We’re getting better. We’ve got a lot of hard teams, and the rugby is pretty good, but it’s tough to play other teams. We’d like more games. Hey, come to us, or we’ll come to you and play.”

The team approach to rugby has been attractive to the players - many of whom play football. The rugby team is more fun, said Pakileata.

Also fun was watching No. 8 Alberdean Finau, a massive player who probably projects as a prop if he’s not playing defensive end on a college football team sometime soon.

Helena Honors Teammate with State Win

Helena came out of nowhere to win the Montana Boys HS championships this spring, coming into the state playoffs seeded 6th, but winning it all.

The final was played against Bitteroot, and was played in honor of a Helena player who had committed suicide - the game was played on the late player’s birthday.

“It was one of the most emotional games I’ve ever played in,” said captain and prop Cody Maykuth. “We needed to beat the #1 and #2 teams to win it and we did. We finally came together as a team. Everybody gave that little more, and we won.”

Back and co-captain Josh Schlicht powered through an injury to play in the game, and he said the expectations were not high.

2015 Boys Select-Side Rankings

The regional all-star tournaments are now done, and perhaps the biggest thing to come out of them is how many scouts, coaches, and organizers have expressed how impressed they have been with the boys JV level of play.

This extends down to the Middle School level, and our own observations bear that out - the young players have a more solid grounding in rugby skills. This is a direct result of leagues and coaches emphasizing youth play and finding fulfillment in coaching very young players.

We might look into ranking Middle School select sides this summer. Give us time. But here are the final top 15 for both Boys Varsity and Boys Junior Varsity.

Boys Varsity Select Side Rankings

1. Utah

2. Southern California

3. Northern California

4. Virginia

5. Celtic Elite

6. Texas

7. Florida

Loggers Selected for Victoria 7s

The Washington state branch of the Eagle IMpact Rugby Academy has named its squad for the Victoria International Youth 7s July 10-11 in the British Columbia provincial capital.

The squad includes seven players who suited up for the Loggers at the Las Vegas Invitational in February. The Loggers will join three other USA teams - EIRA national, Utah Lions, and Utah Cannibals - in the U18 Elite Boys bracket. Also competing will be three British Columbia Elite squads, plus the Upright Rugby Academy out of Ontario.

Washington Loggers 7s for Victoria: 

1.       Kyle Saalfeld (Kent) - prop

2.       Hayden Warneke (Kent) – prop/hooker

3.       Finlay Bruce – (Seattle) prop

4.       Tristan Ingold – (Kent) hooker