US Rugby Foundation Launching Regional Plan for Grassroots Rugby
The US Rugby Foundation is set to establish new representation in 10 regions where there are open spots for capable rugby supporters to serve as governors promoting the growth of the game at the grassroots level.
“Being a part of the US Rugby Foundation—usrugbyfoundation.org—gives one a chance to bring meaningful change and progress to the game of Rugby in the United States," said US Rugby Foundation Director David Bruck. "Let’s give our kids the same opportunities to play rugby as in commonwealth countries, and make rugby a mainstream sport in the United States for girls and boys.”
HS Fall 7s Around the Nation: Plenty of Drama
Here's a look at the the fall High School 7s around the country.
Rugby PA
Susquehanna University hosted a leg of the Rugby PA Boys series, with series leaders Berks not in attendance.
In Pool A was West Shore, Bishop Shanahan, St. Joe’s Prep, and the Bethesda (Md.) Roosters.
Pool B had Blackthorn, Doylestown, Conestoga, and a Motley team.
Conestoga won Pool B with a 3-0 record, while the Roosters took Pool A 3-0, holding off St. Joe's 19-7.
In the semis, the Roosters kept going with a 31-10 defeat of Blackthorn, while the most exciting game of the day saw St. Joe's Prep get by Conestoga 17-14.
Penn HS Shines in Indiana Boys HS 7s
Penn HS held off two impressive challenges to win the Rugby Indiana Fall 7s at the Moose Rugby Grounds in Elkhart, Ind.
Penn was led by an MVP performance from Saeed Kiruu, who, along with Mudsock's Hunter Lewis was the most consistently effective kicker in the tournament. Kiruu was also a dangerous attacker in his own right and set up his teammates as well. Jonathan Wise was a hard-nosed runner and excellent finisher.
Rugby Oregon Kicks Off Fall 7s
Rugby Oregon kicked off its fall 7s this past weekend with brackets for both boys and girls.
In the girls competition, the bracket was well-attended and the games were competitive throughout. The opener between Newberg and Reynolds went to the Newberg Lady Tigers, but it wasn't a walkover as Reynolds held Newberg to just two tries in a 10-5 results.
The Valley Panthers and the Salem Snapping Turtles faced off next, with Valley winning 19-12 in a game where Salem challenged the Panthers. A fresh East County/Grackles team overcame Newberg 29-15 in a game where both teams showed some nice pace.
Rugby Ohio Gets Big Turnout in Fall 7s
Rugby Ohio kicked off their fall 7s with a massive event in Vermilion, Ohio, just west of Cleveland.
Many boys and girls teams from around the state competed in what was more a chance to get on the field than a championship. In the boys side well-established teams such as St. Ignatius and St. Edward were, unsurprisingly, solid in both their varsity and JV teams.
North American Lions Set to Play in Dubai Again
The North American Lions are back on the field and will compete in the Dubai 7s U19 International competition December 2-4 in the United Arab Emirates.
One of the most highly-anticipated 7s tournaments in the world, the Dubai 7s is a stop on the World Rugby Sevens World Series, and also (like the USA stop in LA) has a wide-ranging festival of competitive tournaments around the World Series event. There are eight International Invitational brackets and eight more for Arabian Gulf teams. The U19 Boys International event is a tough one with national teams and provincial teams from all over the world.
The North American Lions last were in Dubai in 2019, when they won their pool and made the quarterfinals before losing in that round. NA Lions Experience Invaluable
Utah Boys 7s Week 2: Longtime Rivals Clash
Week 2 in Utah Youth Rugby's fall 7s is in the books with the combined United/Genesis team coming out on top.
Both United/Genesis and Herriman were unbeaten in pool play. Herriman beat Kearns 26-0, Brighton 54-7, and Wasatch 33-5 to win their pool.
National School 7s Slated For 2022
A new 7s competition only for single-school high school teams will be launched in October, 2022.
Slated to be held in Salt Lake City next fall, the event is designed to promote high school rugby supported by schools. The National Rugby School 7s hopes to bring in existing single-school programs as well as teams that don't have enough players from one school to form a 15s team.
"Getting more rugby teams in schools is the goal," said Tournament Director Mike Cressler. "So to that end, if you normally play for a high school club, but, say, 12 of your players come from one school, you could field a single-school 7s team for the National School 7s."
Atlantis Holds Player ID Camp for HS Boys, Girls (Updated)
The Atlantis Rugby Corporation will host an Individual Testing and Open Rugby Sevens Camp for High School Boys/Girls on Sunday, October 3, 2021 from 9AM to 3PM.
UPDATE: All preregistered players will receive an Atlantis T-Shirt Sponsored by Dunkin' (Atlantis Runs On Dunkin'). There are still openings but the camp is filling up fast.
The camp will be valuable for novice and experienced players alike and is open to any male or female player registered with USA Rugby.
Berks Continues to Impress in Rugby PA 7s
Berks County Rugby won the second in the fall series of RugbyPA 7s tournaments on Sunday defeating Gonzaga I in the final.
Hosted by Knightmare Rugby in Hempfield, Pa., the Boys tournament had two pools: Pool A was Berks, Gonzaga I, Bishop Shanahan, and West Shore United, while Pool B was Hempfield, Cumberland Valley, Conestoga. and Gonzaga II.
Berks won all three pool games and the final. The team is now 9-0 on the season, after having finished 5-0 in the first RugbyPA 7s tournament, hosted by Millersville University September 19.
USA Youth and High School Rugby Names New Executive Director
USA Youth and High School Rugby, the sanctioned body for all Youth & High School Rugby across the country is proud to announce and welcome Giovanni Vaglietti as its new Executive Director.
Vaglietti comes to USY&HS from Southern California Youth Rugby, where he has served as the CEO for three and half years. He brings extensive sports management experience that includes over 15 years in the youth sports industry. Previous roles include companies such as Football.com, where he worked hand-in-hand with soccer clubs throughout the United States to develop an innovative club management platform. Vaglietti has also worked at the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open, San Diego State University’s Athletic Department, and Club Corps. Along the way, he has worked with world class athletes including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Teemu Selanne and Bode Miller.
Utah HS Fall 7s Kicks Off
Utah Youth Rugby opened up their fall 7s season with action for Boys HS in two divisions, plus Girls HS and Girls Middle School.
United started well. In the Girls HS bracket United beat Provo 20-5, Wasatch 34-0, Mountain Ridge 22-5, and Majestics 29-10 to go 4-0. It's not unusual for these teams, especially Provo, to beat United, so these winning margins are especially impressive.
Teulla Nawahine and Marlee Neiufi lead a really solid team performance that was strong in defense as well as with the ball. Newcomer Anya Chiara has turned heads in the early going.
Majestics looked powerful on offense with two big early wins and they also edged Provo by two.
Utah Youth Rugby Names New Executive Director
On September 21 Mark Numbers was introduced as the new Executive Director of Utah Youth Rugby, a state-based organization under USA Rugby and World Rugby.
In this position Numbers will oversee the organization of rugby programs for ages 5 through 18 and ensure the mission of Utah Youth Rugby is met throughout the state of Utah.
Mark Numbers is a familiar face in the Utah rugby scene having coached on all levels from the youngest players to high school as well as at the University of Utah and with the Utah Warriors, Utah’s professional rugby team. With a 22-year career in rugby coaching behind him Numbers is “grateful for the opportunity and excited to work with local coaches, parents and players” to grow the sport he loves most.
Next Phase Rugby, Panther Academy Announce Partnership
Panther Rugby Academy and Next Phase Rugby announced a strategic partnership to cross-promote their services to the youth and college rugby communities.
Panther Academy will leverage the Next Phase Rugby platform to further support it’s players to research schools that meet their academic and rugby goals. Using the app, Panther players can promote themselves through on-line profiles and highlight videos, use advanced search features to find schools, and access coaching contact details for their target schools.
Under the partnership, Next Phase Rugby will communicate Panther Academy camps and events to it’s high school athletes. In addition, Next Phase Rugby will offer preferred pricing on its premium membership to all registered Panther Academy players.
Atlantis to Host HS 7s Showcase this Weekend: Space Still Available
Atlantis Rugby is hosting a Player Showcase for 7s teams—both high school boys and high school girls—this weekend in Wilmington, Del.
Deadline to sign your team up is Midnight ET September 9.
The event will be held Sunday, September 12 at Alapocas Run State Park, 1914 Park Dr in Wilmington.
Space is available for 16 boys teams and eight girls teams, and the event is designed to provide teams with a chance to play some 7s and for top players to be identified by Atlantis, the North American Lions, the Rugby PA All-State team, and various colleges which will be in attendance.
Every team will play 4 matches, with games running from 9am - 3pm. After the conclusion of the matches, Atlantis coaches will select the top 24 players in each of the following brackets. These players will then compete in a mix scrimmage event from 3:30pm - 4:30pm.
