HS Boys

Gonzaga Classic Tournament Back For April in Virginia

The Gonzaga Rugby Classic celebrates its’ 10^th Anniversary on April 13-14, 2019 at Morven Park in Leesburg, VA. The tournament will have 3 divisions (Varsity, JV and Freshman). 4 to 6 natural turf championship fields will be in use Last years field included teams from Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvannia, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington DC. Four of the teams advanced to the Boys High School National Championships.

Washington Loggers Partner With Seattle Saracens

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Saracens Rugby Club and Washington Loggers Rugby announced today a unique development partnership to grow and develop the game in Washington state and provide a clear pathway for youth and high school players to continue to compete for top collegiate programs and play for the Saracens – with the potential to play professional rugby in America’s rapidly growing domestic competition.

This new partnership will focus on:

SoCal Independent HS League Set For Kickoff

The newly-formed Southern California Interscholastic Rugby Federation (SCIRF) kicks off December 8.

The league, which features varsity boys HS programs from the San Diego and Los Angeles regions. This group of eight teams have splintered off from SoCal Youth Rugby to manage their own affairs, and ensure competitive games throughout the season. One other, La Jolla, will play in the league but the games won't count toward the standings.

And the new independent schedule kicks off December 8.

Dec 8
Las Costa Canyon at Torrey Pines

San Clemente at Mira Costa

Fallbrook at St. Augustine

Dec 15

Fallbrook at Cathedral Catholic

Mira Costa at St. Augustine

San Clemente at La Costa Canyon

Torrey Pines at St. John Bosco

Dec 22

St. Augustine at La Costa Canyon

NY 7s A Wealth Of Elite HS 7s

The New York 7s provides a unique opportunity in the fall and winter to see elite-level HS 7s rugby.

Certainly the LVI is another chance (so maybe unique is too strong a word), but there are so few tournaments where top-of-the-line HS teams from the United States and Canada can face off.

Watch for the growth of the North American HS 7s of the course of 2019, with stops in Florida, Canada, Colorado, and Utah slated in the future. The NY 7s provides a preview of all of that.

Watch New York 7s LIVE All Day November 24

Play Rugby Takes Rugby NY HS 7s

Play Rugby USA Academy won the Rugby NY Varsity boys 7s this fall, with Pelham taking 2nd.

It was a superb effort from a Play Rugby team that has really started to blossom, not only winning games but starting to put players in contention for national age-grade team honors.

Keio/FASNY took 3rd.

In the JV bracket, Pelham won out over Keio/FASNY.

The competition continues to get better, and 3rd-year club Bishop Loughlin out of Brooklyn showed significant improvement. Also, Queens Rugby Club made its debut. A completely student-funded program, they found wins hard to come by but got progressively more competitive, and, for as important, pitched up and played hard.

(Photos of Pelham HS and Keio/FASNY by Keith Killeen.)

SoCal Single-School Teams Form New Association

Ten single-school high school rugby teams from Southern California have formed their own association.

The teams are all working toward getting official sanction from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), and at the same time are looking for a more regular challenging games during league play. This move appears to be a separation from the Rugby SoCal oversight.

Here is the group's statement:  

In an effort to accelerate the growth of rugby in high school the top high school rugby programs in Southern California have established the Southern California Interscholastic Rugby Federation. The inaugural season kicks off on 8 December and concludes with the championship game being played on 23 February.

Boys HS Nationals Confirmed For Salt Lake City

The Boys High School National Championship Committee is pleased to name Salt Lake City, Utah as the host site for the 2019 Nationals on May 16,17 & 18.

The event will again feature the 24 top boys high school rugby teams from across the country.  The three-day competition will be held at the Regional Athletic Complex – just minutes from the SLC airport and downtown.  The format will again separate teams into 3 competitive 8-team brackets (Single School, Multiple School Club, and Tier II).  Every team will play a full game each day.

Alex Cleary To Carry USA Flag At Youth Olmypics

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Rugby athlete Alex Cleary (Ferndale, Washington) was selected as Team USA's flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, which runs from Oct. 6-18 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. Cleary is the first rugby athlete to serve as an opening ceremony flag bearer for Team USA at either the Olympic Games or Youth Olympic Games.

Herriman Leads Utah HS 7s Pack

Since the inception of Fall 7s rugby in Utah, Herriman HS has won the series every year, and halfway through the season it looks as though that trend will continue. 

Fundamentals, Rugby IQ At Center Of Rugby Maryland Skills Camp For Girls And Boys

Registration is open for the Girls and Boys Rugby Maryland Academy, and this is a chance for players to hone the most important rugby skills..

The Academy has a stated mission to raise a player's rugby IQ, and with that in mind has lined up the likes of Laura Miller, Mike Petri, AND Nancy Fitz, plus other experienced coaches, including Towson University head coach Tony De Cesare.

This is the first year for a boys academy, but Rugby Maryland has been working with girls for several years now.

HSAA Winter Camp Dates Set For Boys And Girls

CHULA VISTA, CA. - Dates and a location have been set for USA Rugby's Girls and Boys High School All-American (HSAA) winter camps, hosted at the U.S. Olympic Training Site in Chula Vista, CA. Assemblies will take place from Dec. 27-31 on the Girls side and Dec. 26-31 on the Boys side, with invitations for both sent this September.

The girls camp will see U18 and U19 teams compete in intra-squad play, allowing all teams to face the best players in their age-group. The boys camp will have two U18 teams and one U19 team face Canada's U18 and U19s as part of the North America Four competitions. Boys matches will take place Dec. 28 and Dec. 31 with additional information for both camps provided closer to date.

Eastside Lions Impress On Ireland Tour

The Eastside Lions enjoyed one of their best seasons in the club’s history, and a big part of that was a tour to Ireland.

Eastside finished the regular season in Washington with an 9-1 record, and took 3rd in the Boys HS National Championships Tier 2 after a one-point loss in the semis.

For coach Ray Keane and the team, the success was tied into a tour of Ireland talent with Irish Rugby Tours.

The Lions toured Ireland in April and reconnected with a coach who has a history in the Pacific Northwest - Tony Smith is head coach at Trinity College in Dublin, and before that he coached high school rugby in the Seattle area for some years. Smeeth ran a session with the Lions and was impressed with the Lions team.

Ramblin Jesters Young 7s Player Of The Month: Tomas Gallo

One of the exciting things to see in a young rugby player is initiative - when a player doesn't wait for his chance, but takes it.

That is Tomas Gallo.

The former Okapi Wanderers player, who played in the All American system, is still searching for opportunities.

From Florida, Gallo has secured a spot with the London Scottish Academy, and will return there for this season. It's not an easy position to attain, but he worked hard to get there, and stay there.