HS Boys

Coast to Coast Action in HS Boys Rugby

Close to 50 games are on the slate in HS rugby this weekend.

One key note is that North Caroline's school-league final has been moved to Sunday due to weather. 

"We've had a great week of practice," said South Meck Head Coach Rick Norvell. "I rate the practice and often use the phrase 'championship teams have to have championship practices.' The board have embraced that despite the cold."

Bad weather in North Carolina have led to mistakes in training, but that's OK as they have to get used to these conditions.

"The rain hasn't helped but the boys have been dialed-in," said Charlotte Catholic Head Coach Jason Zehmke. "There is a great vibe in the squad. We are really looking forward to being a part of the big dance."

Among the other games to watch:

Gamebreakers in Boys HS Rugby for Feb 1-8

We are back looking at top performers in Boys HS rugby around the nation.

Charlie Mohr, Strake Jesuit

The Strake center was mde big meters on his line breaks and also was impressive defensively as his team beat HCYA.

Santiago Casserly, Key Biscayne

In the Rats' win over Okapi White, Casserly was dangerous with ball in hand, set up some other tries, and kicked the conversions, too.

Chris Matthews, Dallas Jesuit

Matthews scored three tries in the Rangers' win over Great Hearts.

Bo Linstroth, Raptors Rugby

The Tennessee club pulled off a well-taken win over AYR Golden Eagles and Linstroth's work in the lineout, winning his own and stealing opposition throws, was a big part of that.

Fort Hunt vs DeMatha and Strake vs Brother Martin Midweek

In a midweek cross-boarder game, Strake Jesuit edged Brother Martin 12-10 on Wednesday.

It was a vary hard-hitting game and a bit of a heartbreaker for Brother Martin. They got a try from flanker and their player of the game, Caleb Williams, and then a clearance kick bounced somewhat awkwardly and wing Caden Flanagan raced in, scooped up the ball, and outpaced everyone else to make it 10-0.

Just before halftime Strake was able to score to make it 10-5.

For Brother Martin it was a frustrating game as they got close to the goalline, or over it, several times only to be penalized instead of getting the try they hoped for.

South Carolina Wraps Regular Season, Greer Unbeaten

South Carolina’s winter 15s league play concluded this past Saturday in Columbia, SC. 

The marquee matchup of the day’s slate of games was Greer vs Oceanside Collegiate Academy. Both teams, which know each other well, were undefeated in league play coming into the matchup. They’ve met in the last two state championships with Greer coming out on top last year. With both teams coming in undefeated, they were guaranteed to meet again in the state championship scheduled for February 22nd in Columbia.

Rugby Ohio Had a Board Meeting, But Did Anything Happen?

The journey through Rugby Ohio’s governance change took another, albeit belated, step forward this week.

Monday night was the first phone meeting of the newly-elected Board of Directors. 

This meeting was a held 11 days after the elections, which seems to be a little slow considering the speed with which both incumbents and change-advocates wanted to move.

Current Board President Chris Northup told GRR that there was some paperwork some Boardmembers needed to get straightened out, but the newer members felt some of that could have been dealt with more quickly, facilitating an earlier meeting and more information available to everyone at that meeting.

HS Boys School Top 50 Week 5

Oh now we're cooking.

Eighteen teams in this ranking had games this week, and while that may seem like not a lot (36% actually), this early in the year it is, in fact, a lot.

It gives us fuel to make some moves. The Texas teams are sorting themselves out. North Carolina is wrapping up so they might be hitting their ceiling, but they can still change their rankings even after they stop playing. As we get to the end of the SoCal single-school season and there's a crossover with the top NorCal school teams, we'll see some movement there, too.

Could one of those SoCal teams move to #1? Possibly. Beat De La Salle in convincing fashion, and, yes, it could happen. But it will be very difficult to hold onto those rankings as other teams get going.

HS Boys Club Top 50 2025: Week 4

The weather is warming and a few more HS Clubs are in action.

We saw Elsie Allen beat Granite Bay and we had those two teams ranked very close anyway, so we just have had them switch places.

Raptor gets a boost after a good win over a ranked AYR Golden Eagles team. Florida and Arizona will probably see someone break out very soon.

This coming weekend Scottsdale plays Phoenix, Gregory the Great (single-school team) plays Fort Hunt, St. Xavier (single-school team) plays Pendleton, St John's (single-school team) plays Richmond, Motherlode is at Danville, and the San Mateo Wolverines play Granite Bay, and we've got a full slate in Florida and Texas.

So there will be more fodder for judgment.

Contenders Emerging in Expanded Texas-Louisiana League

New Orleans Jesuit, Strake Jesuit,and Dallas Jesuit all won in the Texas/Louisiana Cup this week.

For New Orleans defeated St. Thomas out of Houston 36-12 in a nice bounce-back after last week's non-conference loss to Florida club Okapi. After the Okapi loss Head Coach Adam Massey had said there were some positives to take away from the game.

This week, they showed some of those. James Roniger broke through for two long-range tries and Jack Holly was a force in the lineouts and stole five St. Thomas throws.

Tight Games All Around in NorCal Single-School League

Excitement all-around in the Northern California single-school league as we had four games this past weekend.

Jesuit vs St. Ignatius

Jesuit held off St. Ignatius 29-26 in a dramatic one. Coming off a nice win on Week 1, St. Ignatius got three tries from No. 8 Flynn O'Connell and gave the Marauders trouble.

However, the likes of Jack Patock, Duncan Broughton, Joshua Baleiwelagi, Tristan McLoughlin, and Brody Leonard got over the tryline to edge the Wildcats.

“It was a game of momentum,” said Jesuit Head Coach Andrew Acosta. “Both teams struggled with the referee but an exciting game.”

De La Salle vs St. Francis

In a hugely physical match De La Salle came away 33-19 winners.

South Meck, Charlotte Catholic to NC School Final

South Meck garnered revenge over Hough in the North Carolina Single-School league semis with a 24-20 victory to book a spot in next week's final.

Having lost to Hough 34-14 earlier this season, South Meck had some work to do in order to get the win and Head Coach Rick Norvell said that is exactly what his players did.

"All credit to me boys," he told GRR. "They worked to get here."

The difference, said Norvell, was plying with cool heads and with focus. They faster this time around and focused well on defense.

"My boys are really, really tough and they worked super hard to get to his point," added Norvell. "I've coached a handful of the kids on this team since middle school."

Jackson Wilson, Jameson Beatty, Quinn Miller, and Aiden Galant were all outstanding on the day as South Meck scored in the closing moments to win it.

HS Bragging Rights, Playoffs, and Statements

Boy this is a big-time weekend for boys HS rugby.

North Carolina holds its semifinals. Hough and South Meck both feel like they want another shot at Charlotte Catholic and, more pointedly, each other. Hough beat South Meck 34-14 a month ago, but this is playoff rugby and we have seen things shift in North Carolina before. Marvin Ridge could find the right recipe this time around, but we do think Charlotte Catholic is favored in the other semi.

In Southern California, two teams on a bit of a roll meet up in Rancho Cucamonga vs Orange Lutheran.

Leinster School of Excellence Set for Syracuse in the Summer

Syracuse, NY – Coming off the success of the past two years, Leinster Rugby in partnership with Syracuse University has announced the third edition of its School of Excellence.

The camp is set to run July 27-August 1, 2025. The School of Excellence camp and clinics will provide aspiring rugby athletes from age 13-17 (girls and boys) with a comprehensive rugby training and educational program that simulates a week in the life of a professional rugby player. Campers will learn to play the Leinster way, as they gain a greater understanding of the game and learn about values such as teamwork, commitment, integrity, and communication. The residential camp has attracted campers from all over the US as well as campers from Europe.  

HS Boys Club Top 50 2025: Week 3

We did do a video on clubs to keep an eye on, but one team we didn't discuss was Scottsdale.

In fact, we now have four teams from Arizona in the Top 50. There's no guarantee they will all stay, but it seems clear to us at GRR World Headquarters that the state is more competitive than it has been in a while. All of that is good for the game.

Impressive Showing for Okapi in Cross-Border Clash with Jesuit New Orleans

The Okapi club out of Southern Florida visited Jesuit New Orleans this past weekend in a cross-board clash.

Jesuit had just dug itself out of a snowstorm, a very rare occurrence for New Orleans, and, yes, it's still early days for both teams. However, it was Okapi's ability to control field position that told the tale, with the Florida team winning 45-5.

"We lost most of our lineouts; great kicking game from Okapi," said Jesuit NOLA Head Coach Adam Massey. "That was the different. Win [the lineouts] and the match would have been very different."

Certainly with Okapi realizing that they could kick to touch and steal Jesuit's lineout throws changed the tactical game. Massey said he was very pleased with a number of aspects of the game, felt his team did well in other areas, and encountered the type of competition they really need.