HS Boys

Bay Area Wins Boys Varsity at GNC

The Northern California Bay Area went 2-0 on Saturday and 2-0 on Sunday and took the Boys Varsity bracket in the Great Northwest Challenge.

Led by a dynamic backline and an unselfish and hard-working forward pack that set the platform, Bay Area defeated Southern California and Sac Valley Sunday to take the cup.

“It was a tough day,” said Jon Straka, part of the Bay Area coaching staff. “Some very tough opponents.”

Straka may have been a little generous in that both games were won fairly comfortably - 29-10 and 29-7. In fact, Bay Area was one of only two teams on Sunday to play games separated by just an hour and get a better score in the second game. That was a testament to their depth.

Straka said his team’s first opponent,  SoCal, was difficult. 

Great Northwest Challenge Latest Day 2

The Northern California Bay Area select side has won the Great Northwest Challenge Boys Varsity bracket.

NorCal Bay Area, NorCal Sac Valley, and Southern California all won their pools on Saturday and advanced to a three-team championship round-robin on Sunday. In the opening game, Sac Valley defeated SoCal 25-10, and then Bay Area beat SoCal 29-10, cinching 3rd for the Griffins.

In the final game of the round-robin, Bay Area defeated Sac Valley 29-7 to win it all.

The three second-place teams also entered a three-team round-robin for what could be dubbed the Plate (but wasn't in official tournament standings). It was a very competitive grouping, with Rugby Oregon winning a close one over Rhinos Training Academy 31-22. Then the Washington Loggers defeated Oregon in an even closer one, 26-17. In the final game, the Loggers slammed Rhino 48-5.

Californians Lead in Great Northwest Challenge

It's going to be a Californian champion at the Great Northwest Challenge in the Boys Varsity Bracket after all three California teams won out.

Nine teams started the day in Corvallis, Ore., and the format is one of Goff Rugby Report's favorite formats - three pools of three, with the pool winners going into a round-robin for 1st on Day Two, and the 2nd-place teams playing a round-robin for 4th, and the 3rd-place teams playing a round-robin for 7th.

The format guarantees every team four games, and doesn't rely on tiebreakers among teams that don't play each other.

Top Teams Flood Great Northwest Challenge

The only major HS all-star tournament West of the Continental Divide kicks off this weekend in Corvallis, Ore, with a massive feast of rugby at the Great Northwest Challenge.

And the tournament is also an interesting experiment to see how splitting off of all-star efforts from their State-Based Rugby Organizations works.

In Northern California, select side efforts have divided on geographic grounds, which makes sense for anyone who has tried to just zip down to the Bay Area from Sacramento without going crazy over traffic (hint, it can’t be done). Do there’s a Bay Area team, and there’s a Sac Valley team. The talent pool is very strong for both teams to do well.

Midwest Challenge Cup, Small But Challenging

It’s a small tournament, and as such one where almost anything can happen.

The Midwest Rugby Challenge will see two Illinois select teams in the Boys Varsity Bracket, as well as the Indy Speed and Des Moines.

Illinois has split its team along geographic lines and Coach Lou Raymond said the teams are basically of equal quality. Some of the players who helped the Indy Speed perform so well in Colorado are back with their Illinois teams for this weekend, while Spencer Krueger (No. 8 converted to prop), Nick Chevalier (scrumhalf converted to wing), and fullback Austin McDonnell would be players to watch. Meanwhile Joe Fasolo, John Rizzo, and Ian James switch from the Speed to the Tornados.

Two All-Star Tournaments This Weekend

Two all-star tournaments finish off the Regional Cup Tournament series this weekend, with the Great Northwest Challenge in Corvallis, Ore., and the Midwest Challenge Cup in Rockford, Ill.

The two tournaments are very different in size and scope.

We preview each separately. - Great Northwest Challenge (boys) here, and Midwest Challenge Cup (boys) here.

Simple Things Lead to EIRA SoCal Win

One of the common issues in rugby across almost any level of play is the idea that an opposing (and usually winning) team had an unfair advantage.

This could be that the players are from overseas (but legally in the US) or the players use some weird tactic. For the winners of the Rocky Mountain Challenge Boys Varsity Bracket, the grumblings were more about the EIRA SoCal team somehow being some special all-star team.

Well, here’s the breaking story, everyone in Aurora, Colo. was a special all-star team. Any team in that tournament could draw any players they wanted to (and did - Arkansas had a couple of players from Oklahoma - completely fair and above board; 5785 drew players from Colorado Springs and Boulder, but had no limitations on who could play for them).

Utah Lions Boys Win Gold at United World Games

The Utah Lions Rugby Academy ended a European tour to the United World Games with Gold and Bronze medals to show for the trip.

Traveling with Waisale Serevi as part of the Atavus partnership, the Lions had the opportunity to train and prep with the best! The team had hoped to play against some top clubs or, even better, national team sides and the United World Games definitely provided. Top teams included Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS), Lithuanian National Team, Czech National Team, Hungarian National Academy, German National All-Star team and numerous other quality organizations.

Everyone Gets Something from Bowdoin Rugby Camp

By Samantha Hoegle - Nestled along the coast of Maine is Bowdoin College, a small, liberal arts College known for delicious food, challenging academics, and successful athletics. Bowdoin College is also host to Polar Bear Rugby Camp, July 14 – 17, run by Coach MaryBeth Mathews of the Bowdoin Women’s Varsity Rugby Team.

Indy Speed All-Stars Into High Gear

One of the developments in HS all-star rugby is the rise of non-state select sides.

Some groups not affiliated with state-based rugby organizations have put together teams, and sometimes it’s the state itself that splits. This second development is what happened in Indiana, with the North Indiana Hawks going 2-2 in the South RCT Varsity bracket, and the JV team finishing second at 3-1.

Meanwhile, in the Rocky Mountain Challenge, in Aurora, Colo., the Central Indiana team - dubbed the Indy Speed - did one better, going 3-1 with the Varsity team too take the Plate, and going undefeated with the JVs to win it all. 

The Indy Speed JV team was perhaps the star of the Indiana show here, beating Colorado 15-0, Wisconsin 45-0, Texas 26-7, and, in the final EIRA SoCal 19-3. That’s four games, during which they gave up exactly one try.

South Carolina Does it Right in South RCT

There are winners and also-rans in these All-Star tournaments, but it’s worth sometimes having a look at those that finished lower down in the standings.

Take South Carolina, for example. The SC Boys Varsity team won the Bowl in the South RCT, which is a consolation prize, but they only lost one game. That was their opener, 15-10 to the Florida Juice, who ended up making the cup final. South Carolina then ran the table, beating Virginia 2, ARE, and Arkansas to take 5th.

It was an impressive showing for a state that still struggles to get some respect. The SC runners-up, South Greenville, went 1-2 in the Boys HS Rugby National Championship, but learned a great deal there.

Celtic Elite Win South, Rep Ohio Well

With Rugby Ohio concentrating on running existing leagues and expanding participation numbers, the select side endeavors have fallen to the Celtic Elite program, and so far things seem to be going fairly well.

Long a traveling side for players from St. Edward and St. Ignatius - perennially the two top boys HS teams in the state - the Celtic Elite was opened up to any Ohio HS rugby player this year. Not enough tried out, in the opinion of Head Coach Tom Cleary, but there were plenty of players outside of Ed’s and Ignatius who made the team and made an impact.

In Boys Varsity, the Celtic Elite defeated ARE 19-0, Louisiana 52-5, North Indiana Hawks 23-19, and then beat Florida 25-12 in the final to win the South RCT.

The Boys JV defeated Georgia 45-0, lost to ARE 19-12, beat Tennessee 28-0, lost to Virginia 27-21.

All-Star Boys Roundup

Here’s a quick wrap-up of the Boys HS-level All-Star tournaments played this weekend:

In the Northeast, the top three teams played a round-robin on Sunday to determine the Boys Varsity winner. Western NY and Met NY, which had tied on Saturday (MetNY won on kicks), tied again in the first game on Sunday, 17-17. MetNY was awarded the win based on the fact that they scored three tries to WNY’s two.

Boys All-Star Standings, Brackets

After Saturday's play at the three Regional Cup tournaments going on this weekend, we have some bracket rundowns and pool standings.

In the Northeast, there are two brackets, one of four teams and one of three. The scores are here.

Here's how the Boys Varsity brackets shape up: